Dell got back to me.
"A defective keyboard is not covered by warranty. Such defects are always caused by the customer. We can only send you a new keyboard. They cost €45. Shipment costs are €30."
This is absurd. *THIS is a €2500 workstation class business laptop, you *** moron! It is in use 6-10 hours a day!*
History Lattitude E6500 (2008-2016):
- Broken screen (no image): 1x
- Broken bezel: 3x (and now, out of warranty, it's broken again in 2 places)
- Broken keyboard: 1x
- Failed hard drive: 1x
(All fixed under warranty)
History Dell Precision 7510:
- Torn back cover (out of the box): 1x (fixed under warranty)
- Failed SSD: 1x (fixed under warranty)
- Broken keyboard: 1x (refuse to fix)
And no, I don't handle my laptops like an idiot. They're in a laptop bag, and get handled normally; they only get used A LOT. That's the reason why I buy business class laptops.
I've already told them this will be my second and last laptop. I've also told them I'm going to file a complaint with the Dutch consumer authority ACM. I will order the keyboard myself, and as soon as something breaks that I can't fix on my own, both the Lattitude and the Precision are going to be thrown in the junk.
I still have a desktop computer, which has fallen into disuse because I've been using the laptop so much, but I think I'll be returning to my old setup: a €1500 desktop that can last 8 years, (including gaming with a GPU-upgrade after 4 years) with a €750 low-end business class laptop as a backup.
I blame the fact that Dell first moved their production from Ireland to Poland, and then from Poland to China. I hate the fact that Lenovo bought the IBM Thinkpad line... and that brand is in China as well. The current T and W-type laptops are nothing compared to the old Thinkpad T and W's.
Read only if you're interested in the current state of affairs in the acoustic piano world...
Spoiler:
Every time something moves to China, I see a marked drop in quality, of not managed and overseen by a European, Japanese, or American company. In piano-land, people even advise to buy only these brands (in Europe) when going new:
- Steinway (Germany / USA)
- C. Bechstein / Bechstein and Blüthner (Germany)
- Grotrian-Steinweg (Germany)
- Bösendorfer (Austria)
- Kawai & Yamaha (Japan)
- Petrof & August Förster (Czech Republic)
- Fazioli (Italy / Canada)
Why? Often, the brand still pretends to be a European manufacturer, with a European (German/Austrian) website and an elaborate history, but they're nothing more than a name owned by a huge Chinese company, mainly Pearl River. They just put German names on generic piano's; sometimes they just make the names up.
If you HAVE to have a new piano and can't afford a 'real' European, American or Asian one (like, as in built there), these are the brands recommended in Europe. These are all built in China, but in a factory of one of the European/Asian sellers:
- Boston, Essex (Steinway)
- W.Hoffmann (Bechstein)
- Eterna (Yamaha)
- There's also a brand owned by Kawai, built in Indonesia; forgot the name.
- Rösler (Petrof)
- Rönish (Blüthner)
- Perzina (Dutch (!), seems to be well regarded)
There might be others... and, of course, the second hand piano's of brands from before when they became stencil brands and/or owned by a Chinese company, such as Feurich, Seiler, Schimmel.... and many others.
Why does it matter? Because it seems most, if not all piano's produced in China (mostly by Pearl River) are below par with regard to quality, durability, and tone... and it's said Pearl River produces over 75% (!) of all the piano's sold in the world.
The same is also true for Samick and Young Chang (South Korea), who basically do the same as Pearl River.
The most shocking thing is the fact that one of the very highest status symbols in China at the moment is to own a European piano. They don't even want their own stuff... and to be honest, I think that's sad.