Dell’s Black Friday Sale was a Bust
Ashley Allen / 8 years ago
Dell was offering some of the UK’s biggest discounts this Black Friday, but only a lucky few were able to take advantage of the so-called “Doorbuster” offers after the company’s website collapsed under the demand, while customer service phonelines were perpetually engaged. During the debacle, Dell vacillated between ending the sale then launching it again,
Some of the major Black Friday “Doorbuster” discounts offered by Dell included:
- Dell S2817Q Monitor: £264 (£279 off)
- Dell XPS 13 with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD: £1,012 (£147 off)
- Core i3 Dell Inspiron 15 3000: £199 (£180 off)
- Celeron Dell Inspiron 15 3000: £129 (£140 off)
However, many potential customers complained that their attempts to take advantage of such deals were fruitless, with some angry consumers accusing the company of fabricating the sale:
@Dell #dell Why don't you bloody sort your website out? it is not working properly! Unprofessional!
— Veemsen Lama (@VeemsenLama) November 25, 2016
@Dell uk never do Black Friday sale. Wasting others time- site down at checkout. on chat waited for hours at end @delluk said offer over.
— DV (@DineshVimal) November 25, 2016
A bargain so good it can't be true… .you guessed right it wasn't true
— Berksman (@ColinBu65762157) November 25, 2016
And exactly what use is that now? The "deal" is gone, as is my time, & I've missed out on other offers. Consider me an ex-customer!
— Gringo (@gringo1804) November 25, 2016
Even some of those who were able to access the site found that they were not able to complete a purchase:
https://twitter.com/Mouli_Martial/status/802283151297048577
https://twitter.com/Alan_K123/status/802280805699555328
https://twitter.com/Joshua_Wraith/status/802281412409880576
Nope, i still cant checkout. Will i be able to complete my order tomorrow?
— Dave Ryan (@CtrlF5) November 25, 2016
the laptop at the offer price but could not take payment details but would receive call back to take payment..
— Louise Hardwick (@Lou_Hardwick) November 25, 2016
“Due to an overwhelming response from our customers regarding the Black Friday sale, we have had a few issues,” Dell customer service told a furious tweeter.
While the above offers have now expired, the discount code SAVE12 is still valid for a 12% discount on items until 28th November. Dell has added that, following Friday’s “disruption,” it will be launching further “Doorbuster” offers on Cyber Monday.
“We have been experiencing some disruption to our web site,” a Dell spokesperson told The Mirror. “The site is now back in action and we are very sorry for any inconvenience caused. There will be further doorbuster deals on Monday.”
