August 16, 2005
Useless Dell Order Status Page
I recently ordered a PC plus two flat-panel displays from Dell. The order was submitted on July 27. A few days later I received the written order confirmation from Dell, citing the fourth of August as the planned shipping date. Of course, in the meantime I had checked the online order status page, and it already showed a planned shipping date of August 9. By the way, the German version of the order status page is titled "Statut Des Commandes" - so much for their QA. Well, as August 9 came nearer, the planned shipping date kept slipping backwards. First to August 12, then to August 19, then (yesterday) to August 22. During the whole time, the order status was frozen at production preparation. Dooh. Today I checked the order status again, an, out of the blue, it has changed to shipped, as of August 15, 18:20. So much for the usefulness of Dell's order status page.
