I bought a Dell server 3 years ago, its power supply is now damaged (because of a power outage and failure of the surge protector). It is unclear whether there is more damage, but the first thing to do is to try using a new power supply.
I called Dell to order a new power supply. They didn't have it in stock, but promised to get back to me by the next Monday. They never got back to me. A week after that Monday, I called them again and they directed me to a third-party supplier. That supplier listed the price of the power supply at $259.99 (the power supply is not available in any local store in the Seattle area)
In fairness, Dell sells PCs at low prices, Apple sells their products at premium prices and so it may not be fair to compare the two. However, in terms of customer support, it is hard to see how you could be correct in suggesting that Dell's customer database and awareness of customer concerns is anywhere close to that of Apple.
Also, to be Fair - Dell is optimized for supporting the poweredge line with a support contract, which it offers in 4 Hours turnaround time. Since 1999 I've had roughly 600 Dell Servers under active support at three companies in the Bay Area, and have probably called dell about 20-30 times. They've never missed their support window of 4 hours (come close several times, but by the 240th minute, I've always had part and a body on site). Ironically, Apple still doesn't make it easy to purchase that type of support for their product. The typical answer is "Take it to the genius bar" - Apple is optimized for consumers, Dell is optimized for corporations.
Also - None of the people who come on site, for parts or labor, are actual "Dell Employees" - they are subcontractors that are typically certified on a number of platforms - Dell is just one of them.
I have a T7400 Dell Precision Workstation, basically the class of hardware you would find in a MacPro of the same vintage.
Should it break, I'm not responsible for packing and hauling all 25 kilos of it back and forth to a "Genius." Instead a technician will come to me because the basic warranty is next business day on site.
I didn't have to pay $300 extra to have warranty coverage which matched the machines depreciation schedule, because three year coverage is standard.
One year depot service is fine for consumer electronics. But my computer is vital to my business.
I bought a Dell laptop a few years ago, and the main battery went flakey. I still had a service agreement in place, so I called them up. After a few minutes dancing around the "I don't have Windows installed" prelude I explained the behavior and was all set.
Had a new battery show up at my house either the next day or the day after, with postage-paid packaging to send back the old one. Pretty sweet.
I called Dell to order a new power supply. They didn't have it in stock, but promised to get back to me by the next Monday. They never got back to me. A week after that Monday, I called them again and they directed me to a third-party supplier. That supplier listed the price of the power supply at $259.99 (the power supply is not available in any local store in the Seattle area)
In fairness, Dell sells PCs at low prices, Apple sells their products at premium prices and so it may not be fair to compare the two. However, in terms of customer support, it is hard to see how you could be correct in suggesting that Dell's customer database and awareness of customer concerns is anywhere close to that of Apple.