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Do NOT order from Dabs.com - A Cautionary Tale...

J

JS77

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 18, 2008
231
2
Ok, so I got around to ordering a base 21.5 over 3 weeks from Dabs.com as they were offering a price cheaper than on Apple.com

...Anyway, it dispatched and I had that horrible niggling feeling that I should have gone with the 27... so when it arrived, I called them right up and asked for it to be returned (it was unopened) and that I'd like to pay the difference for a 27. This is where it went all wrong...

To cut a long story short, Dabs seem to use a moronic customer support ticket system which NEVER assigns a ticket to the same customer support rep. So, in other words, you end up in a never ending circle of having to constantly explain your request, only for it to be replied to by a completely DIFFERENT person who has no way of seeing previous notes/emails.

I have a an email conversation of SIXTEEN emails where I am asking the same questions, and each time, a different support rep replies with a completely different answer.

To make matters worse, although DHL confirmed delivery, Dabs claimed to have not received the returned iMac (which "showed up" a few days later apparently...)

And here's the real kicker... I was advised to order the 27" whilst they processed my refund so I did (stupidly). It showed delivery 1-2 days which is fine... but they didn't even have it in stock although their system did not flag this on the website or during the sales transaction.

So, now, I have a charge on my credit card for a 21.5", a 27" and neither machine to use. :mad::mad::mad:

I just this second sent another email and got a completely different person telling me that "once the item is booked in, the fault will be fixed" - WHAT BLOODY FAULT??????

Seriously, I'm shocked at how bad their customer service is and now I can't order a Mac from Apple (which is what I should have done in the first place...) until they refund both orders.

*sigh*

So, if anyone here is planning on buying from Dabs.com... D O N ' T.

I have no idea what to expect now. I can't believe these amateurs are "authorized" apple resellers. :mad:
 
JS77 said:
To cut a long story short, Dabs seem to use a moronic customer support ticket system which NEVER assigns a ticket to the same customer support rep. So, in other words, you end up in a never ending circle of having to constantly explain your request, only for it to be replied to by a completely DIFFERENT person who has no way of seeing previous notes/emails.

I have a an email conversation of SIXTEEN emails where I am asking the same questions, and each time, a different support rep replies with a completely different answer.
Click to expand...

Not to be a pessimist, but this is generally the way of things with customer service these days.

It'd be nice if we had a governing body that set standards for business operating in the U.S.

We could call it the Better Business Bureau. Or soemthing.
 
dh2005 said:
Yeah? What kind of bad experience have you had with Scan? They've always been great for me, and I've used them a dozen times or more.
Click to expand...

problems with refunds over faulty goods
taking ages to sort out problems
slow delivery times
when ordering goods that are out of stock they don't reserve the in-stock items so that when the out of stock items come in, the other items in the order are now out of stock

At one point, the easiest way to get a problem sorted was to post it in the Scan forum at Hexus, where Scan reps would jump on it and get it sorted since it was in full public view, rather than waiting ages for their CS to get it resolved.
 
Mm. That's a pity.

I've never had to send anything back to them. I guess that's the real test.
 
dh2005 said:
Mm. That's a pity.

I've never had to send anything back to them. I guess that's the real test.
Click to expand...

Yep. That's the trouble with using box shifting companies. They might be cheap, but that means something has to give to keep the prices down. Usually it's customer service.

Nowadays I use two stores. Kustom PCs, since they are owned and run by a friend of mine and Novatech, since there is an outlet a few miles from me where I can pick stuff up.

Kustom PCs are excellent, only a small shop but they are good at ordering in hard to find items and their customer service is excellent.

Novatech RMA'ed a drive for me to Samsung a few years back (within warranty but a good few months old by this stage) and when Samsung were taking too long to replace it, gave me a replacement from stock instead. I couldn't argue with that!
 
Last edited:
fat jez said:
Novatech RMA'ed a drive for me to Samsung a few years back (within warranty but a good few months old by this stage) and when Samsung where taking too long to replace it, gave me a replacement from stock instead. I couldn't argue with that!
Click to expand...

Very nice.
 
Mr. Pink said:
Not to be a pessimist, but this is generally the way of things with customer service these days.

It'd be nice if we had a governing body that set standards for business operating in the U.S.

We could call it the Better Business Bureau. Or soemthing.
Click to expand...


can't do that the Republicans would scream Communism
 
JS77 said:
Some customers waiting 56+ days for a Refund!

... really should have checked the forums before I ordered :(
Click to expand...

That is diiiiiiiiiisgraceful.

Don't blame yourself, mate. Dabs are a big name in their field, and they've been established for years. You'd quite reasonably expect better.
 
If you want to get the quality of customer service that Apple offers, order from Apple.
 
Consultant said:
If you want to get the quality of customer service that Apple offers, order from Apple.
Click to expand...

Perhaps not particularly polite, but there's more than a little truth to it.

Apple products and services are too expensive. They plough the extra revenue into customer service. This is why they can afford to give excellent student discounts, and to pay-off grumpy customers with free iPods.
 
Unfortunately it seems most UK based places are going this way :(

Did you try phoning Dabs? on their contact page there is a number listed, its worth phoning them and explaining calmly and politely your problems and seeing if they can help you out before you try anything more.
Failing that you said you bought on credit card so your card issuer should be able to help you under section 75 of the consumer credit act

Distance selling regulations allow you a seven day cooling off period on items bought online if you returned it within that time.
 
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