Hi Donny,

Checkout this article from PCWorld on Dell Service: Readers Rate the Manufacters

I've owned several Dells, and have been very happy with the PC build quality, but have noticed their telephone service & support to have fallen sharply over the last few years, with considerably longer (60-90 min and longer ) hold times, foreign country language communication problems, plus frequently passing the buck by not accepting responsibility for problems, claiming the problem is not with Dell, but the software or hardware manufacters instead. After years of buying Dell, I decided to buy my current one (a custom built PC) from a Mom & Pop store instead. The main advantage I found is that I got exactly the PC configuration & hardware components I wanted, and at a price slightly less than Dells. The other advantage is that service & support is quick & immediate, allowing me to drop my PC off and have it back the same day. The risk of going with a Mom & Pop store is that with the big guys (Dell, Gateway, Sony, etc) continually taking business away from the Mom & Pops, their out of biz demise appears inevitable, meaning no more service & support. Because of this, I'm still not sure where I'll be buying my next PC from: Dell, Gateway, Costco, Frys, CompUSA, Best Buy, or a Mom & Pop store.

Scott