[Streak 5 General] dzerveviktory:
Full post with links can be found on my Blog Here

Dear Michael Dell and Dell Customer Service,

I doubt any of you at Dell saw this post yesterday, but my streak took a small tumble (less than 1 foot) and the screen shattered.

Before I start getting a bunch of people writing back saying, “No manufacturer covers accidental damage, etc, etc, etc…”

I worked in retail for nearly 5 years I am well aware that manufacturers and companies as a whole generally do NOT cover accidental damage with their standard warranty.

That being said quite a few of the memebers at the StreakSmart Forums have spoken up and said that all it took was a quick call to Dell explaining the situation and they shipped you a BRAND NEW Dell Streak no questions asked. This raised my spirits until I actually made my call to Dell Mobility Tech Support (800-308-3355 & 800-624-9896).

After being placed on hold while they “pulled up my information” I was informed since this is physical damage to the screen it will have to go to the Out-of-Warranty department. Okay I thought this is different from what everyone has been telling me.

Just over an hour passed when I heard from Arvind in the Out-Of-Warranty department. He informed me that since this was considered physical damage it voids the warranty and they can not just replace it. Instead they can offer me a new unit at the reduced price of $249.99. I balked at this price tag and told Arvind I could walk down the street to Best Buy and get it for $99 after renewing my contract with AT&T so I’m going to have to think about it.

After getting off the phone I returned to the forums to update my post and see what people thought I should do.

While waiting for some input from others, I decided to take to Google and see what else I could find on people having their streak screens shatter and the resolutions to their situations.

That lead me to this thread over on XDA. While reading through I found these posts:

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I called Dell tech support and they forwarded me to Dell mobility who indicated that Dell will replace the cracked screen with a FREE once in a lifetime replacement. Further they paid all the shipping for the cross-shipment.

Two days later I had my replacement unit in my office, and on Monday I will send them back my broken one. I used the Dell PC Suite to back and restore all my data and I am happy as a clam.

Needless to say, I didn’t even take the new item out of the box until I had bought my new Otterbox!

Dell Rocks! (On this one at least.) Nice customer service experience guys.

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It sounds like Dell will send you one new phone. I told them my screen cracked. I was asked if I dropped it and said yes. It also sounds like the replacement phone will still have 1.6 and will be locked. I was also told that all the phones will be updated by the end of Dec. My screen wasn’t that bad, I wonder if I should have waited. All and all I am pertty happy.

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I cracked my screen and took it to carphone warehouse. They quoted me £39 to repair it and sent it off but when I went to pick it up they just gave me brand new one.

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After researching broken screens, I was fearing the worst, but I am in the phone with Dell and they are replacing my phone at no charge, no questions asked. Even asked me if I knew what to expect about the 2.2 update. No complaints about customer service from me.

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So i phone dell, i spoke with Laura in the tech support center. She is shipping me a new phone! She told me all it will cost me is a smile! This has completely changed my opinion of dell, and sure they may be kinda ****ting the bed with the 2.2 roll out, but with customer service like this, i have no issues waiting for my update!!!

2-3 business days to arrive, prepaid label back to them, and you can bet your ass im going to buy me an otterbox now…

Good luck to anyone else!

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Thank you! Just phoned Dell Mobility (UK 0844 444 3244) and the guy I spoke to (In US) said as the Streak is new they don’t have a service in place for us to order repairs so they will do it for free even if accidental!! They do have the facility in place for fixing the phones, but we cannot pay them as yet when it’s our fault.

Love you Dell and yes, I am getting a screen protector and carry case too!

Since putting a sticky-tape on the screen to avoid cut fingers, I have realised that capacitive screens are much better than resistive when it comes to screen protectors. I could still use the phone with no problems even through the sticky tape!

Hopefully everything goes according to plan and I was able to encourage someone to check with Dell too – and good luck.

Best wishes!!

PS Thank you Dell!

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As you can see there are quite a few different people that had their devices exchanged without incident for cracked screens, and this is only from one forum post. Similar situations can be found on other forums including Streaksmart.com.

Now normally I would not take issue with Dell not taking back the device since it is damaged. However the lack of consistency in handling these similar situations is what erks me.

I called out Lionel Menchaca over on @dellcares on twitter about these inconsistencies:

@dellcares I get the no AD cov. thing i worked retail for years however how do you xplain numerous ppl getting xchanges 4 cracked screens?

@dellcares specifically several ppl on @xda noted here http://ht.ly/3Kark and on streaksmart….

And was given this “explanation”:

@dzerveviktory Hi Brett, Sorry for any disappointment, Each exchange is decided on a case by case basis through the mobility queue. Thx, LM

So what it boils down to is that Dell arbitrarily decides whose devices will be replaced. Each and every one of the forum posts that I have listed above had the EXACT same situation as me. Their devices had a small drop and the screen shattered. Their devices get replaced no questions asked but my claim is denied.

Can someone explain the logic in this?

I can be reached via the following information:

**Removed due to forum restrictions**

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Just received this email from Dell's "Executive Team". Aside from the obvious break in copy and paste skills this is crap...

Mr. Kaminski,

I was truly sorry to read about the accident that resulted in damage to your Streak screen. Dell customers have had their systems stolen, vandalized, flooded, struck by lightning, dropped, and otherwise damaged or compromised in a variety of ways. While Dell realizes that these situations are often accidental and beyond the customer's control, they are also beyond Dell's c

Dell customers have had their systems stolen, vandalized, flooded, struck by lightning, dropped, and otherwise damaged or compromised in a variety of ways. While Dell realizes that these situations are often accidental and beyond the customer's control, they are also beyond Dell's control. As a result, and in fairness to all our customers, I am unable to honor your request for a warranty replacement of this component. Please understand that while I appreciate your situation, I must respectfully deny your request for warranty replacement.

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/mobile-devices/f/3824/t/19353929.aspx

If you wish to further discuss your situation, please contact the Dell Mobile Devices at 1-800-308-3355 (US) or 0844 444 3244 (UK)

Donna Moore

Executive Support

Dell

ofc 1. 800.624.9897 Ex 72-62272

fax 512.283.8673