Yes, my Inspiron 8200 has made its Airborned journey to the Dell repair center in Memphis, Tennessee and back, all in the space of just two days. Inspiron seems much better now with her new video card, and I almost feel like taking back all of the nasty things I’ve said and thought about Dell Computer over the past few months—or however long I have been struggling with daily freezes, screen garblings, darkened displays, and consequent loss of some of my most brilliant prose, for Inspiron always seemed to shut down just before I was about to press the “save” command, and just after I had written something incredibly precious that would never pass through my mind again in such a clear and pristine fashion.
A dependable computer is, I would say, more central to a man’s happiness than even a good dog, or (dare I say the words?) a good woman. For good dogs and good women are quite common, but a dependable computer is a rare gift to be treasured when it is found. Especially for those of us chained to the Windows operating system. I shall praise Inspiron during her present period of stability, hoping that this helps keep me on her good side. Hopefully we have embarked on a fresh relationship that will be filled with positivity, mutual respect, and a commitment to neither of us crashing on the other (I confess to having had sledgehammer fantasies involving Inspiron recently, but those are rapidly dissipating now).
As a side note, I’ve heard that all of Dell’s tech support personnel are stationed in India now. This certainly fits with my experience. Each time I call Dell, I get a competent, well-mannered, courteous person with a distinct Indian accent. They may not solve my problem, but I enjoy how pleasantly they treat me while they are not solving it. It isn’t really the Indian accent that suggests these people are in India; it is the competent, well-mannered, and courteous qualities these tech support people exhibit—rather rare in the tech support world, I’ve found.
It’s kind of cool that I can dial a number on my phone in Oregon that ends up ringing in India, which results in an Airborne employee appearing at my home two hours later to pick up my computer, which then flies to Tennessee on Tuesday, and is back, all repaired, on my desk by Thursday. It’s getting to be a small world. Now, we just need to find a way to make it a truly livable small world.
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