Long past the stage of being of any use to anyone I suppose, but credit where credit is due. Had problems with Windows XP on my Dell laptop, looked up the manual and found a toll free number for support.
Loaded up the fridge, got in a couple of DVD's to pass the time and rang the number. One automated query, to which I replied yes, I'd like to speak to a tech, and bugga me if 20 seconds later I wasn't speaking to a human!
She took me through the whole process, decided a clean install was the best move and insisted on staying on the phone while I started it in case there were any problems. Once it was going, she said she would ring me back in an hour to supervise the installation of the drivers. And she did! My gaster was flabbered!
Hats off to Dell from this satisfied customer; yes, she was in Bangalore, but she spoke English a hell of a lot better than I speak Hindi!