allism's Journal: Dell Rebates

I bought a new laptop from Dell the first week in January - they offer fairly good deals around the holidays and I was tired of worrying about whether I was going to damage my laptop whose warranty had expired.

I sent my rebate paperwork in within a week of getting the laptop. It's still not showing up in their system. I sent a request for an investigation into my rebate status a week ago. I got an auto-response that said I would get a response within 2-3 days - nothing. I called them today, they say that they received nothing but based on my phone call they will process it. So if anyone is in the same boat, call up Dell and harass them. Next time I'll just wait a few weeks, then call them and save myself the cost of the stamp and envelope.

So here's why I don't feel comfortable having a laptop without a warranty:

About six weeks after the warranty ran out on my last laptop, I was on a deadline for work and had people coming in from out of town, so I was trying to get a bunch of work done and get the house cleaned at the same time. I set my toddler (Rhys) down with some crayons and paper while I vacuumed. I was halfway through vacuuming the living room when I turned around to see Rhys coloring on the walls. Took the crayons away, turned on the TV in the den (where my laptop was sitting on the coffee table) so that I could finish vacuuming. When I shut off the vacuum, I heard a BANG BANG BANG coming from the den. I ran in to find Rhys slamming his hardback copy of "I Love You So Much" into my laptop's keyboard. Keys were flying everywhere.

I had had good experiences with Dell when I sent my laptop in under their CompleteCare warranty (shipped it out in the afternoon one day, got it back the next) and so I called them to find out about having them replace my keyboard. After over an hour of being shuffled from department to department, I was told that they wanted $270 to replace the keyboard. I asked them what it would cost to ship me a keyboard to have a friend replace it locally - they said it would be about $60 but they would not be able to ship it for over a week.

A seller on Ebay got me a keyboard within two days for $40, and I paid a friend of mine $40 to replace it - he would probably have done it for cheaper, but considering what Dell was going to charge me I offered him $40, feeling like it was a bargain.

While I was on the phone with Dell trying to iron all this out, my son painted himself and his bedroom with Desitin. So, of course, it was bathtime. I figured while he was in the bathtub I could clean the bathroom. I turned back to him after scrubbing the sink, to see him dumping cups of water in a box of tampons on a shelf by the bathtub. Those things don't dry out...

Some days...

[Timex]

...it doesn't pay to get out of bed.

I know what you mean about your son; I have three boys like that (ages are almost-8, 6, and almost-4)... My youngest has been diagnosed with PDD/NOS, which basically means that he requires a bit more attention than the other two. :)