Tag: return

Asus UX305 Noisy Clicking Trackpad Problem

One of the issues I noted in my first day with the Asus UX305 was the weird trackpad that had a clunk/click sound when tapped on. I couldn’t understand if it was normal or not; I assumed it was just a poor design decision on Asus’ part. When I posted my first impression review on the Amazon product page, one of the commenters shared that he too had the clicking trackpad issue. When he contacted Asus tech support they told him it wasn’t normal and that he should return the product.

Curious about this, and having the personality type that doesn’t keep a product if I think it’s defective and would need to be returned anyway, I ordered a Microsoft Signature Edition (the UX305FA-USM1). I’d gotten into a somewhat heated discussion over in the Amazon product review comments with someone who insisted that the Signature Edition was a superior product due to the software build Microsoft put on it (bloatware-free). Oh, also some guy who was mocking me for not lying and using the student discount like he did.

Figuring I now had the opportunity to see for myself, I ordered the Microsoft Store version. And, somewhat to my surprise, there was a big difference in the trackpad. Watch the video to see why.

Shortly after doing this video, I returned the Amazon version.

Dell’s New Nightmare Return Process

Dell sells a lot of products, and I figured that since nearly everyone reading this site has probably ordered from Dell at one time or another, it was worth sharing this story with you. I’ve also posted this story to Dell’s IdeaStorm, so if you have an account there, please go promote my suggestion.

So what’s the issue? Dell’s new return process (RMA) is horrible. It’s beyond horrible: it’s so frustrating it makes me not want to purchase a Dell product again. The way it used to work? You’d call customer service, talk to an agent, and they’d issue an RMA via email. Pretty fast and simple, with only the occasional frustration of having to deal with an agent who tries to talk you out of returning the product.

The way it works now? I phoned Dell customer service on October 23rd, asking for an RMA on an Inspiron Mini 9. I was told that my request would be passed on to the sales agent who processed my order, and he’d phone me back. What? I have to wait for a phone call from a sales guy to return the product? Not surprisingly, a full week passed and I didn’t receive a phone call – sales guys sell things after all. I phoned customer service again on the 28th of October, asking again for the RMA – this time, they emailed the sales guy again and told me they CC’d his manager. Two more days go by, and still no phone call from the sales guy.

On the 30th I call customer service again, and this time they give me his extension so I can phone him directly. I do, leaving him a message with all the details. No call back. On the 31st I phone him again, and after a few hours he phones me back – it’s now been 8 days since he was supposed to contact me. He tells me he’ll pass my return information to the returns department and I should expect a call from them within a week.

Dell’s goal seems to be to make it nearly impossible for customers to return products, thus boosting their bottom line by reducing the money lost on returns. I’ve easily wasted two hours of my time with all the phone calls I’ve made, and at the time of this writing I’m still waiting to hear back from the returns department.

It simply staggers the imagination that Dell considers this process acceptable. I will now have to think very hard about whether or not it’s worth ordering another Dell product in the future – they’ve created a nightmare return process that I never want to go through again.

Dell, go back to the old way of doing returns – the new system is a disaster!