After being told that the Dell rep had no idea where my laptop was, I called the number she gave and here's what I discovered: “Thank you for calling Dell, the world's leading direct computer company.
Your call may be monitored or recorded for quality control purposes. Please
listen to the following options before making a selection. If you know your
party's five-digit extention, you may press [1] at any time. To make a
purchase or receive pricing information, please press [2]. For technical
assistance with a hardware or software related question, please press [3].
For order status, return information, or any other non-technoical customer
service related question, please press [4]. To return to this main menu at
any time during your call, please press [9].”

I press [4] and it tells me: “If you are calling to check the status of your Dell system order, please go to www. Dell Customer Care .com.” This is turning into the most vicious of circles. Now I get: “Current Status: In Transit To Local Carrier / Sent by: UNITED PARCEL SERVICE / Tracking Number: Not Available.”

I grow tired of asking, so this will be the last time: where is the rebel laptop?
If you don't know, then perhaps some other human being does? What happened
to the “Award-Winning Customer Service” y'all keep bragging about? I have a
good mind to return the damn thing to sender when it finally gets here. It
shouldn't be my job to do what you get PAID to do. Feh. Annoyed.