Secret Shopper 2025: Dell's Sales Experience Reviewed

Secret Shopper Concept

• 🎯 The 2025 Secret Shopper series aims to evaluate the pre-sales experience of eight PC gaming system integrators.
• 🔍 This first episode focuses on ordering computers and rating the sales teams, with future episodes covering system performance.
• 💡 The primary goal is to assess telephony etiquette and the sales process for each company.

iBuyPower Sales Experience

• 📞 The iBuyPower representative offered context on component shortages, which was appreciated by some but considered information overload by others.
• 🛒 They recommended a pre-built RDY system for $1399, noting it did not include tax or shipping.
• ⚠️ A notable point was the salesperson suggesting the customer purchase a system from a retailer like Best Buy instead of directly from iBuyPower.
• ❓ The sales interaction lacked crucial questions about the customer's needs, such as intended use or desired games.

Dell Sales Experience

• ☎️ Dell's phone tree was described as significantly worse than previous experiences, involving multiple AI voice prompts and dead ends.
• 💻 After navigating the phone tree, the sales representative asked repetitive questions and assumed the customer wanted a laptop.
• 📧 The process involved creating a Dell account and sending emails, which were slow to arrive.
• 💰 A recommended Alienware system was priced at $1700, featuring a 14th Gen i7, 32GB RAM, and an RTX 4060 Ti, but had a single RAM stick and a 460W power supply.
• ⏳ The overall experience was lengthy, with the sales representative taking a long time to send a quote and process the order.

HP Sales Experience

• ✅ HP directed the call straight to the Canadian sales department without a lengthy phone tree.
• 🎮 The sales representative asked relevant questions about gaming and PC use, quickly recommending an Omen desktop.
• 💰 An initial recommendation was $200 over the $1400 USD budget, featuring an RTX 4070, but a second option with an RTX 4060 was offered for $1999.99 CAD.
• 💬 The interaction was described as friendly and reasonably quick, though some banter was perceived as slightly awkward.

Main Gear Sales Experience

• ⏳ Main Gear was initially closed, and their operating hours were noted as unusual.
• ❓ The sales team inquired about games and build speed, mentioning potential delays due to GPU shortages.
• 💡 A key selling point highlighted was their offer of lifetime advice for upgrading systems.
• 🔄 The customer was transferred to a second representative to discuss options, and ultimately received a link for an MG1 Silver system for $2059.38 CAD, which included a 4060 Ti and 7600X CPU.

Cyber Power PC Sales Experience

• 🚫 The initial response from Cyber Power PC was that orders could only be placed online, despite the customer wanting a recommendation.
• ℹ️ The representative eventually provided general recommendations (i7/Ryzen 7, 4060+) but noted many items were sold out.
• 💻 A pre-built gaming PC (GLX9614) with a 4060 Ti was identified as a good price at $1999.99 CAD.
• 📉 The interaction was perceived as lacking friendliness, with the representative seeming disengaged.

Origin PC Sales Experience

• ⏳ Origin PC had good wait times but struggled to meet the $1400 USD budget for custom builds.
• 💰 A pre-built system with an RTX 4070 and i5 13600K was available but started around $1900 USD, leading the representative to suggest financing.
• 📉 The sales representative's role seemed to be informing customers with lower budgets that they couldn't afford the desired PCs.
• 💻 The lowest priced system found on their website was $1999.99 USD.

Lenovo Sales Experience

• 🚫 Lenovo stated they had no systems within the $2000 CAD budget, citing stock issues and waiting for new generation GPUs.
• 💰 The lowest option available was over $2700 CAD, significantly exceeding the budget.
• 📉 This lack of available stock was unusual, as typically some older stock is available.

Star Forge Sales Experience

• ❓ Star Forge lacked a phone number or chat support, only offering a contact form.
• 💻 Most systems on their website were sold out, with a note about new GPU availability.
• ⚠️ The cheapest available system was sold out, and the next option required a $100 shipping fee, leading to an order of the wrong system.
• 🤷 The lack of guidance and website-only support resulted in a poor experience and an uncertain purchase.

Data Brokerage and DeleteMe Sponsorship

• 📱 The video is sponsored by DeleteMe, a service that removes personal data from data brokers.
• ⚠️ The importance of data privacy is highlighted due to the prevalence of spam calls and data breaches.
• 🚀 DeleteMe offers to scan and remove data from hundreds of brokers regularly.