Microsoft Complete Care Walk-In vs Dell Support

[chanukya]

Hi everyone,

I recently bought a Surface Pro 2 online, and ended up returning it as I had my eye on the Pro 3. I made a mistake of returning it in the store and had a very hard time getting my refund as both systems (store vs online) don’t talk very well. Was on the phone with Microsoft support a lot over 2 weeks and was very unimpressed to say the least. They did not have a clue. Finally got someone in store to help me by escalating and got a refund the same day. The store folks later told me that support is outsourced and not even within Microsoft.

Long story short, I finally have a Surface Pro3. However the wife bought a Dell XPS 12 convertible and we can only keep one. I have the Surface Complete care and am trying to figure out what people’s experience has been like with it. There are 2 Microsoft stores where I live and I can do a drop-in in case of any issues. Do I get a replacement machine the same day/ within 2-3 days? Have you had cases where despite a drop –in, machines are shipped back and you go 2-3 weeks without one, and spend hours talking to cust support?

With Dell, I know the customer support is not that great, but if you complain and act helpless they quickly mark it up as a technical defect and send a tech over in a couple of days. I’ve had my current XPS 17 fixed at least 4 times in 3 years, and I know what I’m getting into – not exactly a dependable machine, but one that will be fixed without me waiting for weeks.

What I keep ultimately boils down to what support I would be getting for it over the next couple of years, so would really appreciate your opinions…

 

[Aegeas]

The XPS 12 has a known screen burn in problem that is well documented. Get rid of it asap. I should know, I had one. It is due to the cheap panels they selected for those units.

 

[Rich McCabe]

I would not be making the decision based on support. How often do you really need support?? I would keep what you like as far as functionality.

 

[GreyFox7]

Hmm, with the Surface there's always surfaceforums.net which is better support than you'll find anywhere.

 

[lonaysta]

Well, I have experience with both the 2 products.
I used XPS 12 for 9 months and then discovered the screen burn issue. Got 3 LCD replaced and 1 whole device replacement but the issue persists. The support service was...terrible IMO. Finally got the case escalated and got a full refund. Get rid of rid asap if the screen burn issue is still there with the latest model.

Half a hour ago I made a call to MS store customer support to cancel my pre order on Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter since my local Best Buy has it in stock now (and will release for sale Friday morning). From that call I can tell the support service is indeed outsourced. Oh BTW Dell's online&phone support is totally outsourced....

My Surface Pro 3 is covered by Complete and my local Microsoft Store is great at customer service. At the end of September I found a small area on my screen is not responsive to pen, and brought it to store. In about ten minutes I had a brand new replacement in hand. Remember the device delivered June 20th! 3 months had passed and I enjoyed hassel-free in store replacement for a brand new device. So, I really can't complain anything about the customer service with Complete.

YMMV, but I'd choose Surface Pro 3 without hesitation.

 

[malberttoo]

Dell and Microsoft's phone support are both outsourced to other companies, as is the Online Microsoft Store I believe. Your best bet for that kind of support directly from MS is at a physical Microsoft Store, or perhaps the Microsoft dude at a Best Buy that has a Microsoft section staffed by a genuine Microsoft employee.

I believe that you can no longer walk into a MS Store and do an exchange right there. You used to, but many members have said that they stopped this practice and now make you do the exchanges over the phone and shipped. However, with Microsoft Complete it is almost guaranteed to be pain free, as they'll exchange for just about any reason. Minus your deductible of course. I believe most folks say their turnaround time is 2-4 days, someone may chime in here who's actually done an exchange.

I've been a computer user for a long time, and while it doesn't always work this way, it does seem like you get a better level of help from communities like SurfaceForums.net, because here, there are people hanging around who genuinely want to help, and have seen a lot of the different issues that can occur on just this one machine. Online or telephone support can often be good as well, but a lot of the time there you are dealing with someone who is not a very computer savvy individual and they are often reading from a script. So this whole last paragraph was just to say, don't discount a forum of peers as an avenue of support .

Hope it helps.

 

[Liam2349]

Well unless you require some more serious GPU power, I really can't think of a better portable machine to own than an SP3.

In terms of support, I've not had to send mine in but I did request replacement nibs for my pen and they sent me a whole new pen - presumably because they didn't have nibs in the UK yet, so it's good to see that they will go to that extra level to make sure you are happy.

People have problems with a lot of different hardware, and in terms of things that can go wrong with your Surface, this is a good place to get general to advanced support, but for anything really serious you should of course rely on the Surface Support line and they will get you an exchange.

 

[Emmanouil Bagiartakis]

i have bought a surface pro 3 one month ago however i have noticed some artefacts on the touchscreen

i have returned the device on 10-10-14

they received my tablet on 17-10-14 and microsoft send me an email saying that within 2 working days a replacement device will be send to me.

11 days later i still do not have a tablet

a support rep (Jamie) escalated the case on friday 24-10-14 and now i am waiting the decision of the escalation team.

the last 18 days i do not have a tablet and i have bought it for my medical exams which are in 3 weeks

as a young doctor i cannot afford to buy a new device every month

surface pro 3 is a great device however there must be a proper support in case of an issue.

microsoft must respect customers who trusted microsoft and should not try to punish us for our choice.

i am disappointed and i am waiting the decision of the escalation team which as i was told needs another 3 working days to find out what happened.They need 2 working days to send a replacement device and if they do not they need another 3 working days to inform you what went wrong?Strange.

from microsoft support i was told that i have nothing to worry about because this happens rarely with microsoft support which is the best and i was just unlucky!!!

 

[violet182]

Emmanouil Bagiartakis I have had the same thing happen to me!
My surface pro 3 was freezing every 3 seconds then catching up. Tried restore etc: no dice.
So they organised for me to send it in for replacement.
Sent mine on 13th of oct
they received mine at the service centre 16th oct
now 28th of october and still have not received a shipping notification of the replacement

"Jamie" escalated me on Friday as well. I am waiting 2-3 business days for them to "look" at it.
But I was told they are "out of stock" at the service centre.

So frustrated. Mine was only 3 weeks old.

 

[GreyFox7]

i have bought a surface pro 3 one month ago however i have noticed some artefacts on the touchscreen

i have returned the device on 10-10-14

they received my tablet on 17-10-14 and microsoft send me an email saying that within 2 working days a replacement device will be send to me.

11 days later i still do not have a tablet

a support rep (Jamie) escalated the case on friday 24-10-14 and now i am waiting the decision of the escalation team.

the last 18 days i do not have a tablet and i have bought it for my medical exams which are in 3 weeks

as a young doctor i cannot afford to buy a new device every month

surface pro 3 is a great device however there must be a proper support in case of an issue.

microsoft must respect customers who trusted microsoft and should not try to punish us for our choice.

i am disappointed and i am waiting the decision of the escalation team which as i was told needs another 3 working days to find out what happened.They need 2 working days to send a replacement device and if they do not they need another 3 working days to inform you what went wrong?Strange.

from microsoft support i was told that i have nothing to worry about because this happens rarely with microsoft support which is the best and i was just unlucky!!!

What country? it seems like some countries encounter more difficulties perhaps due to logistics of localities and support hierarchies. These issues should be much better coordinated than they are though.

 

[Emmanouil Bagiartakis]

What country? it seems like some countries encounter more difficulties perhaps due to logistics of localities and support hierarchies. These issues should be much better coordinated than they are though.

i am in Greece.

i have bought the device from microsoft Germany.

as i have said the device is great however in case of an issue there must be support and respect for customers in all countries.


only Jamie can save us

the best support rep in the world!

 

[Matthew Reimer]

I haven't been impressed with dell in years. Even selling them in Staples I have had a lot of them come back in a few weeks after purchase. Dell loves using proprietary components ( I know SP3 is in the same boat).

If I were you I would stick with the SP3.