My experience with Dell customer service and technical support has been absolutely horrendous.

First, I was lied to by my sales "professional," concerning the terms of my financial agreement and about the service Dell On Call provides. It all went downhill from there.

Second, the computer arrived much later than expected.

Third, the laptop has not worked properly since we bought it. I spent countless hours on the phone with technical support. It took nearly four months to finally get Dell to agree to send a technician to my home, even though at-home service by a technician was part of the warranty I purchased. I was told next-day service was part of that contract. When the technician finally arrived, he promptly made the computer worse (he took a laptop that crashed and had graphics issues, and made it unusable by ruining the mouse and keyboard). When he came out the next time, he broke the laptop completely.

My "single point of contact" from the Dell resolution center said he would replace my brand new, custom-built laptop with a refurbished model, and not with a new one, even though I never received what I purchased - a top-of-the-line, working Inspiron 1720. He refused to guarantee the same specifications or color. He would not even guarantee that the old hard drives, which contain irreplaceable high-priced programs, graphics, and projects, would fit in the new computer. He said the software lost was my problem. When I asked to speak with a supervisor, he told me his supervisor absolutely will not speak to customers. When I asked for another "single point of contact," he flat out said no, that he was indeed my "single point of contact," and that I could not speak to anyone else.

He then offered me the choice to accept his offer of whatever refurbished computer Dell decides to send, or to get nothing.

As of now, my daughter has been without her laptop, used for school and work, for two weeks, and will be without one for at least two more - and that's only IF they send the replacement on time, not weeks late like the original.

Dell's customer service and technical support is by FAR the worst I have ever encountered. This is the first time I have been told, in no uncertain terms, that I can "take it or leave it." I was offered absolutely nothing for my troubles - no rebates, no coupons, nothing.

I want Dell to listen to my concerns, and to at least pretend to care about them.

I don't want a refurbished computer; I paid for a new one.

I want Dell to send me a replacement guaranteed to be the same as or better than the specifications I originally ordered, right down to the color green. If the old hard drives don't fit in the replacement, I want Dell to send someone out to transfer the software from the old computer to the new computer, since it's their fault that my laptop is now completely broken.

I want them to guarantee me a perfectly working laptop as soon as possible.