dell customer support online chat ftw

So, again, this is totally un-wedding-related, but I am just so pleased I needed to share.

Background: my computer's charger has been crazy moody lately. Like, I will have it plugged in, it will charge for a minute, but if you jostle it at all, it will stop charging. Even if it's firmly plugged in the wall, firmly in the computer, it's not going. I think some kind of wire inside it is shorting out, but regardless, it's incredibly annoying. I called Dell customer support about it about 3 weeks ago, and was told that because it works sometimes, they think it's not the charger, they think it's the hard drive and I would have to send my computer in for about 3 weeks for them to check it out. I tried to explain that, no, the computer otherwise works fine, and it's just that the charger sometimes doesn't work, but "Jeffrey" would have none of it. I realized only afterward that if I just told him it didn't work at all (despite the fact that it sort of works if you hold it just right and don't move at all) he would be much more receptive. This after I held for 15 minutes. He said he would send me an email showing a reciept of our conversation, but I never got it. I think something about the spelling of my email address got lost in translation.

(Aside: "Jeffrey" told me he was in India, and then proceeded to try to sell me a premium Dell service where you can speak to a real person in North America, instead of some lousy old Indian dude!)

Anyway, I finally got fed up enough with the precarious charging system today to try to call Dell again. As I was looking around their website for the phone number, I found that I could chat online with an agent instead. The following transpired:

Session Started with Agent (Madhusudhan_187930)
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "Hello Kate. How are you doing today?"
Kate : "I'm okay"
Kate : "how are you?"
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "Good and thank you for asking."
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "How may I assist you today Kate?"
Kate : "my power cord is not working properly"
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "I understand that your power cord is not working properly, am I right?"
Kate : "yes"
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "Okay."
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "May I please know as what exactly is the problem causing the power cord not working properly?"
Kate : "I don't know why it's not working"
Kate : "but if I plug it in and put it in the computer, the computer doesn't charge"
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "Okay."
Kate : "I'm using a friend's power cord now"
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "Could you please tell me Kate does your friends's power cord working fine with the computer?"
Kate : "yes"
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "Okay."
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "So you mean to say that the battery is getting charged if you are using your friends power cord but not the one you have, am I right?"
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "Kate are you still connected to me?"
Kate : "yes, sorry"
Kate : "that is correct"
Kate : "it charges with my friend's power cord, but not mine"
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "Okay."
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "Any other issues apart from this you are facing with your computer Amy?"
Kate : "no"
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "Not a problem Kate, I am going to send you a replacement Power cord for your computer."
Kate : "great, thanks"
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "You are welcome."
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "May I please have your contact number and full mailing address to send the AC adapter?"
Kate : "sure"
Kate : "phone number is (xxx) xxx-xxxx"
Kate : "mailing address is xxxxx"
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "Kate I see a different address in your records, do you want me to change the address with the current address which you have given me right now?"
Kate : "yes, please"
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "Sure, give me couple of minutes while I log the case and give you the case number."
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "Thank you so much for waiting Kate I appreciate your patience."
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "Please pen down the Case# xxxxxxxx ."
Kate : "no problem"
Kate : "okay"
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "You will be recieving the Ac adapter withing 2-3 business days."
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "Anything else apart from this you want me to help you with?"
Kate : "no, thank you"
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "You are welcome."
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "So have I answered all your queries and questions today?"
Kate : "yes"
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "Thank you so much for your time and patience, thank you for your help today."
Agent (Madhusudhan_187930): "Thank you for choosing Dell technical support."
Kate Dennis: "thank you, Madhusudhan"

Pretty soon, I will be able to charge AND blog or shop for overpriced wedding goods at the same time! It's a revelation!