This post will be interesting to only a few of you, but since its my blog, tough.

The reason I am a Dell Reseller is primarily the support they provide. They will send someone to your home or office and replace the hardware that is failing. The only issue with that is you have to convince them that the part is failing. For most users that is not very fun. It takes hours of phone time and call backs and emails. For me, while not simple, I usually get what I want. I have typically spent an hour or so trying to fix the issue already. I know what they are looking for and how to answer their questions in a way that moves us toward the resolution I am after.

Here is an example of what I am blabbing about. I have a client, let’s just call her Sally. Sally’s WiFi card seems to be acting up. She can connect to her wireless router, but cannot surf. I spend about an hour and a half trying to solve the problem. I tried many different things that are spelled out in the chat below.
I use Dell Chat because I find it faster. I don’t have to wait on hold for a technician and I feel like I can control the conversation better. Also, I get less angry and impatient with the technicians. Sometimes I pretend to be the user, sometimes not. This is a case where I started out as the user and revealed myself halfway through.

6:34:22 PM System You are now being connected to an agent. Thank you for using Dell Chat
6:34:22 PM System Connected with ALGb_Mark_166901
6:35:17 PM ALGb_Mark_166901 Thank you for contacting Dell. My name is Emm, how may I help you today?
6:35:31 PM Sally I am having a problem with my wireless connection. It will connect to my WiFi router, but then nothing happens in the browser. I have tried multiple browsers. I updated the BIOS, Intel Driver and Chipset from the Dell website and even tried swapping th Wifi Card with an known good one – same problem.
6:36:17 PM ALGb_Mark_166901 If that is hte case this might be an operating system issue.
6:37:20 PM Sally The system was recently infected with a virus, so we used the Dell Restore CD – this was in the last month or so. The WiFi has been working fine until now.
6:38:03 PM Sally The wired connection works fine.
6:38:27 PM ALGb_Mark_166901 I see. If you already replaced this with a known good card and the problem is only with regards to the browser, then this is not a hardware issue.
6:38:52 PM ALGb_Mark_166901 Browser works fine on wired connection?
6:39:21 PM Sally Yes, it does. I can browse the web. On the wireless, neither the browser or the email works.
6:41:02 PM ALGb_Mark_166901 I see. I’ll try my best to assist you. Can you please provide me with the callback number and your fullname?
6:41:48 PM Sally Bill Robinson 720-840-7227. The computer is registered to either Laurie or Rachel Fisher. I am a Dell Reseller and a technician working on their behalf.
6:42:12 PM Sally I can provide you with their information so you can verify if need be.
6:42:27 PM ALGb_Mark_166901 FGNV4G1 is the service tag of the computer correct?
6:42:35 PM Sally yes.
6:42:53 PM ALGb_Mark_166901 Okay. Let me pull up your records.
6:42:57 PM Sally Ok
6:47:33 PM ALGb_Mark_166901 Okay. What software do you use to try and connect via wireless??
6:47:52 PM Sally We tried the Intel software and the Windows software that is built into XP.
6:47:55 PM Sally No difference.
6:48:33 PM ALGb_Mark_166901 Have you tried the dell wireless utility?
6:48:48 PM Sally Its not installed.
6:48:55 PM Sally where do I get it?
6:49:43 PM ALGb_Mark_166901 Have you checked the device manager?
6:49:59 PM Sally no exclamation points or question marks.
6:50:19 PM Sally yes, i looked.
6:50:29 PM ALGb_Mark_166901 But do you see the wireless card?
6:50:32 PM Sally I uninstalled and reinstalled and updated the driver.
6:50:35 PM Sally yes, it is there.
6:51:18 PM ALGb_Mark_166901 Okay. Let me verify again, you already tried a known good card correct?
6:52:06 PM Sally Yes. I have the same machine. The ST for mine is 762b4d1.
6:52:15 PM Sally we are using mine right now. over wireless.
6:52:48 PM ALGb_Mark_166901 I see. Give me a moment to speak with our dispatching team.
6:52:52 PM Sally Ok

At this point the chat session was disconnected. He called me right away, however. He asked if I had performed a Windows Restore. I told him that was a great idea and I would give it a try. It didn’t work.
He then agreed to send me a motherboard. I finished the phone call at 7:28.

So the upshot is, I got what I wanted, he was assured that I had taken all the troubleshooting steps. Throughout the chat process I tried to anticipate his questions and have my answers ready. For example, when he was trying to infer that the Operating system or browser was the culprit, I told him that the wired connection worked fine, thus he had no choice to admit that the issue was hardware related.

If you have read all of this, thank you. While an hour might seem like a long time