Dell’s Automated Customer Support

If you are ever looking for a good laugh then you need to head over to This Is Broken. That is where I found a user that submitted a technical support question just to receive a funny automated response. The user sent an email saying “I need a system restore CD for an inspiron 5150 purchased in 2003. Thanks!” and received the following email:

******************************************************
Original Message Follows:
*****************************************
Problem:
I need a system restore CD for an inspiron 5150 purchased in 2003. Thanks!
***********************************************

Dell’s e-mail software interprets your message as a request for help
with buying an auto/air AC adapter for your Dell notebook computer.

To purchase an adapter to charge your portable computer from your car or
while in an airplane go to:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/default.aspx?cs=19&c=us&l=en

* Click Notebook Accessories in the Browse For Products list
* Click Power Adapters and then choose Auto/Air
* Click the company name to see more details

If you have other battery questions please check our general battery and
AC adapter troubleshooting guide at:

ftp://ftp1.us.dell.com/diags/R66243.htm

Dell obviously needs to work on their keyword matching system. From the looks of it the email must not have been sent to a support group and instead must have been sent to the sales department since they are obviously trying to get you to purchase some accessories.

I thought this was pretty funny since many of us have had similar experiences where technical support people don’t even understand what we want. So how can they expect a computer to be able to figure it out?