Dennis Dietz
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Upload & Sell: Off
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 p.1 #4 · Dell 2209W = S2209W ? | |
Oh, I so have to post here now. It's longish story, so I apologize.
The 2209WA is very. very hard to find right now and most go for a premium as Dell has been sold out for a while. My needs in a monitor are not as great as many folks here so after a trip to BestBuy (there is nothing like seeing screen type, size and quality) I realized that a S2209W would suit me just fine. The color banding and view angles are 10x better than the screen on my 5 year old inispiron600m laptop and I've been making that work. The price also, was good selling point for me.
Checking the Dell website though I got curious about the "green" monitor, G2210. Uses an LED backlight and only 18watts power when on (most 22" use 30-40 when on) plus its made of many recycled materials and few nasties in the circuits, all for about $40 more. My concern was that I could not see it and had no idea how it would work for photo editing. Lots of google searches turned up very little. Most monitor recommendations now claim you have to have 24" and it must me IPS or PVA or you suck. I don't have as strong of needs and money is an object for me. Still, very little in the way of customer reviews regarding photography.
I decided to call Dell, after reading their return policy, to see exactly what the deal is. Legaleese is not my strong suit. Apparently there "might" be a restocking fee but only Customer Care will tell you if it applies. I spent literally 3.5hours being transferred around. I discovered it is easy to order from Dell, but impossible to get your questions answered. I even twoce had the Customer Care operator refuse to connect me since I had not already bout the monitor, one even hung up on me. Angry, frustrated but undaunted and still polite to each person I talked to, I finally got a sales rep to transfer me directly to a Supervisor in Customer Care, only to have the connection lost after 1.5 hours at that point. This was not Dell's fault, I know.
I spend the next two hours trying to get back there. I also asked every sales rep (the automated system seems to funnel to sales, regardless of what numbers you push) the return policy question "If I buy a monitor that does not have adequate image quality for my needs, and I exchange it for another monitor that does, is there still a 15% fee/ What about shipping if I return the item and get another?" I got as many answers are sales reps I talked two. Some were obviously ignorant or blattenly lied trying to make the sale. All spent a lot of time trying to take your phone information so they could call back later and sell me the monitor. I finally resorted to telling a sales rep (after I was transferred there from Customer Care against my will) that she could have the sale if she would connect me to a Customer Care rep or supervisor. Took her about one minute to get a rep in Customer Care into a conference call with us. This amazed me since the Customer Care operator informed me that reps could not be contacted without a order number since the system was electronic and would not work that way. The rep finally told me that unless I got a damaged screen or Dell sent me the wrong item, a restocking fee applied "no matter what".
Was that really so hard I asked why Customer Care could not be contacted, I was told it was to prevent fraud. I said something to the effect if since they do not take orders, I could easily call sales with a stolen credit card and order anything I want. He agreed that was true.
I was given incorrect phone numbers (once to Canada, only finding that out after I called them), bad advice and lost most of my morning. I finally decided that the restocking fee, plus the loss of the current $159 deal on the S2209W from Amazon and Dell, made the risk of trying to go green not worth it to me. Yes, I do have guilt about that.
Bottom line, great monitors, sucky service. I was so mad I almost went to Target and bought an Acer. I mean, how are people supposed to try new products if they can;t see them. The only reason I am buying the S2209W is that I was able to see the 20" version with my own eyes locally.
That being said, I did not intend that to come off as a rant. Sorry. The trick I did learn is that if you ask a sales rep to create for you a customer account (only your name, address and phone is needed) you then qualify to talk to a customer rep. Maybe that tip is worth reading the rest of my post.
If it helps, I'll be happy to post back here my opinions of the S2209W when it arrives. having seen its 20" cousin, I feel that TN is not as bad as its made out to be, especially for folks who can't quite justify a $300-400+ monitor. I'm already spending $800 on a new box. If figure in a year or so, if I find the monitor is holding back my images, I can buy a better one, moving this one to the bedroom for movies or having a dual monitor setup, or selling it. I do know that the 20" is so much better than what I currently use, and which I have not found to be a current limitation, especially compared to process speed, HD size or videocard, that unless you really need a true IPS monitor, it is not worth it to me.
I will certainly update my feelings on this monitor once I have it in front of me though, if you wish.
Best,
Dennis
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