Dell Customer Service

You guessed it. I am looking into buying a laptop for ease and so I decided to contact Dell. Well, I know pretty much everything I needed excluding having one simple question. Lets see how the conversation went, of course with comments, shall we? My thoughts and comments will be in red either before or after those from Ragne.

1:08:26 PM -System Initial Question/Comment: I am considering adding the TV Tuner & Remote Control Bundle to the notebook I am ordering. I would like more info beforehand.
1:08:37 PM-System: Ragne has joined this session!
1:08:38 PM-System: Connected with Ragne
1:08:38 PM-Ragne: Thank you for contacting the Dell Employee and Student Purchase Program. My name is Ragne, I will be your personal assistant today. I will be glad to assist you with your questions.
Personal assistant? Why can't I have one of those in real life?
1:08:42 PM-Ragne: To be sure that I can further assist you, may I have the name of the company or institution that you work for?
Why in the . . . well, by saying this I won't be lying but I won't be entirely truthful either.
1:08:54 PM-Me: Pacific Lutheran University
1:09:07 PM-Ragne: Thank you.
1:09:34 PM-Me: You're welcome.
1:10:02 PM-Ragne: How may I help you?
1:10:34 PM-Me: I would like to know how the TV Tuner & Remote Control Bundle works to see if I want to add it to my future purchase of a notebook.
Here we go again. I guess I should have specified how it attaches to the notebook.
1:11:22 PM-Ragne: A TV tuner allows you to receive TV signals from antenna, cable TV or VCR on their PC.
1:11:41 PM-Ragne: What does the Media Center remote do? From the comfort of your easy chair or across your living room, you can use the remote to browse Media Center, including the TV program guide listings, recorded TV, music, photos, and videos. You can also make your selections by artist, show or album title, or genre. When you're not using the remote, you can also access Media Center by using a mouse and keyboard. (Optional TV Tuner required to watch and record TV)
Oh look, an answer that they pulled from an online system so they do not actually need to be aware of the products they sell or their functionality. Wonderful!
1:12:38 PM-Me: By that I am guessing you would need to plug it into the receiver (for example from Comcast) at which point it is then connected to your PC. Is it wirelessly connected to the laptop or not?
Better clarify.
1:12:53 PM-Me: Correction, not PC . . . notebook.
1:14:12 PM-Ragne: On a notebook the TV Turner is connected to the USB port.
Um . . . duh.
1:14:37 PM-Ragne: May I know what model are you interested in?
1:15:12 PM-Me: Unfortunately the one showing on your site that can be included with the notebooks does not have a model number or additional info listed.
Besides, I already tried to do some research on that one specifically before contacting you. If it had a model number, I would not be asking for your assistance, now would I?
1:15:26 PM-Me: That is the one that I'm curious about though.
1:15:52 PM-Ragne: Have you saved the cart?
Not grammatically correct . . . alright.
1:15:57 PM-Me: Yes
1:16:17 PM-Ragne: May I have the e-mail address that you used to save your cart in order to review it?
1:16:37 PM-Me: E-mail address removed
1:16:47 PM-Ragne: Thank you.
1:17:01 PM-Ragne: Give me a moment while I look for the information.
1:17:31 PM-Ragne: There are 3 computers in your cart. What is the price of the one you were planning on buying before discounts?
Then you obviously did not look in the cart, did you?
1:17:54 PM-Me: There is one computer, a mouse, and a program.
1:18:16 PM-Me: The computer's price is $1992.00
1:19:41 PM-Ragne: All the systems you have saved give the option to have TV Turner.
Considering there is only one computer . . . that is true! You deserve the "Mister or Madam Obvious Award" for the day!
1:20:10 PM-Me: This is correct, and that is the TV tuner I am wondering about because no additional info was given regarding it.
1:21:56 PM-Ragne: Do you have any other questions on Tv Turner?
Considering you did not even answer the question I asked, yes . . . I most certainly do.
1:22:39 PM-Me: One moment, please allow me to rephrase my request.
1:23:22 PM-Ragne: No problem.
Let's play stupid now, shall we?
1:24:32 PM-Me: You stated, "A TV tuner allows you to receive TV signals from antenna, cable TV or VCR on their PC." I understand. Say I am 50 feet from the television and the Tuner is plugged into my notebook. Would I need a cord long enough to stretch across the room to also be plugged into my television receiver at the same time or is there another way to do it?
1:27:07 PM-Ragne: What do I need to purchase in order to connect my Media Center PC to a TV? You will need a graphics card with an S-video or DVI output port.
Once again, I have no idea so I'm going to utilize this online resource that will not adequately answer your question.
1:27:32 PM-Ragne: I need a TV feed (cable/satellite/antenna) to the TV I have connected to a Media Center Extender No, the TV feed will come through your Media Center PC, and then be carried over the home network (either wireless A network or wired network) to the Extender. A wireless A router is recommended for wireless networking since it doesn’t interfere with things like the cordless telephone. Microsoft recommends using a wired network to extend TV or Music content.
You need one? Great, go get one and give me to somebody else who can help me instead of helping you!
1:29:36 PM-Me: So, with the notebook I have saved in my cart, excluding the components for a home network, would you say that I have the required components for this to function properly?
I'm guessing the answer will be a resounding yes since they doubtfully know the difference between their mouth and their . . . ear.
1:31:08 PM-Ragne: To make it part of the Wireless network you will need a wireless router.
1:31:29 PM-Me: Yes, that is part of the home network I was referring to. I already have that set up here. My apologies, I should have said wireless network instead of home network.
1:32:56 PM-Ragne: Great. Then you have everything to make the TV Turner part of it.
Somehow, I doubt your knowledge of the product. Alright, time to run screaming.
1:33:12 PM-Me: Sounds good. Thank you so much for your assistance. I believe that is it.
1:33:32 PM-Ragne: Is there anything else I can be helpful?
Lets see, bad grammar. Should I say, "Yes there is something else you can be helpful!" Nah. I know they're required to ask this but I already answered the question. Lets insert some sarcasm here.
1:34:04 PM-Me: No, I believe you have helped enough. Thank you!
They have most certainly helped enough.
1:34:29 PM-Ragne: Thank you for using Dell Chat. Please contact us again if you have any further questions. Have a nice day.
1:34:36 PM-Me: Have fun over there.
1:34:37 PM-System: Ragne has left this session!
1:34:37 PM-System: The session has ended!
The session has ended!
Session ID:12117654