So...Dell Doesn't Suck?
Dell's customer service has taken some very public dings recently, and my own experience with trying to get them to replace a $100 AC/DC automobile charger that made stinky sizzling noises and died after 90 days was ludicrous at best. The part didn't fit into their customer service scripts, so the half-dozen Indian reps I talked to over the course of two or three days were mostly at a loss.
However: after nine months of light use, the life of my trusty Inspiron 700m's main battery dropped to 45 minutes or so. After two e-mail exchanges, which included some straightforward trouble-shooting procedures, I am going to receive replacements for not one, but two batteries. That's a replacement battery and a free battery, in less than 24 hours.
Now that is how customer service is done.
I was contemplating whether I wanted to take a bit of the house money and get a newer, smaller laptop to take with me on my cross-country journey, perhaps a swanky Sony Vaio with a carbon fiber case...but no. Every so often you get a machine that, despite the industry standard 1-in-5 lemon rate, just hangs together and keeps going, and I think my 700m might just be one of those. If Dell will back up the laptop as well as they back up the battery, I have no qualms about dragging it across America.
---
UPDATE:
Not only did they send two batteries: they sent a regular battery, an extended battery...and they arrived in one day.
