As I’ve written more recently, the single reason I haven’t already canceled my order is because I’ve gotten very good service from a few people at Dell, and not just Customer Care reps either. Some of these people I’ve worked with have gone above and beyond their stated duties to make me stick with them. Unfortunately, not everyone has had this kind of service and I can see why they are so angry at Dell. It’s really a shame that this product was at least partly ruined by a shoddy launch.

As for people who’ve received the M1330 with the LED display, I’d suggest you take a look at this thread over at Whirlpool Broadband Forums. I took a quick glance through it and it doesn’t seem like anyone’s received it yet, unfortunately.

I ordered my system on July 10th (White cover, WLED screen) 5 days later, I received an email with an estimated delivery date of Aug 7th. I called and complained but they said that there is not much to do about it. On July 20th, I received a call from a CCR named Julia. She is very helpful. She apologised for the delay and offered me a Wireless mouse as a freeebie.
When I received the confirmation email, I realised that
she had also added the larger battery for free. The email announced a build date of July 28th. All good. However, then the situation got a lot worse: Julia emailed me that the system would arrive in the 3rd week of August.
I wasnt happy about this and asked Julia whether she could do something about it. She said she would contact me with any news, which she did on Aug 3rd. Unfortunately, it was the opposite of what I wanted to hear: Instead of an earlier delivery date, she told me that the white Screens are estimated to arrive at Dell on Sep 4th, which would push my order to mid/late September as they have to test systems before they go out to the customer.

I agree with everyone here saying that it was a paper launch. However, I must say that Julia is very helpful und friendly. Apparently, she works for Dell for over 8 years and has never experienced a situation like this.

At the moment I just hope that they will deliver the system sometime in September….

It would be interesting to know whether anyone in Australia has received a XPS M 1330 (with LED screen) and when they placed the order?

The communication of availability is indeed a major fault of Dell’s in this instance. Many people in North America who ordered early after the launch were not told of any delays at all – it wasn’t presented as a pre-order. The representative I spoke to prior to ordering ensured me that I’d have the laptop in my hands within 10 to 15 days. Obviously, that wasn’t the case and in fact it’s been a month and I’m still waiting for it to ship, let alone be in my hands.

As for compensation, that’s the nature of the business. If the customer doesn’t complain, it’s unlikely they’ll actively attach bonuses to orders. If you are unhappy (and it sounds like you are) I’d urge you to complain to Dell and make sure they know that this sort of behavior isn’t going to be tolerated. Don’t stop until you get what you believe you deserve. I know people in the States have been able to tack on the free Timbuk2 bag. It may not be easy, but escalate your concern and you’ll get someone who’s willing to make you happy.

On the Australian Dell website they advertised the XPS M1330 as pre-order with an Estimated ship date from 21st July. On the 28th July that notice had changed to a big bright ‘AVAILABLE NOW’ button, prompting me to put my order in. As it happens they have taken down the ‘available now’ sign and replaced it with an extended ship time of 5-7 weeks.

So what about customers like myself who bought it thinking it was available and would receive it in a few weeks (8 business days) and now have an estimated date of the 20th of August???? If you follow the whirlpool forum of Aussie buyers people who ordered long before me have had their estimates revised, in some cases up to 4 times, to after the 10th of September.

If you ask me Dell ought to have been aware of any parts problems and by inticing customers with an ‘AVAILABLE NOW’ button is deceptive conduct, dishonest and very bad for PR.

Reading through the forums I know some people are having ‘bonuses’ added to their orders as sweetners but they seem to be limited to the insistant ones who speak loudest. Dell should be up-front, keep the communication open and if they offer a sweetener to one person on the waiting list they should offer it to all!

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=769928&p=16#r309