If Apple can go home again, why not Dell?

An unexpected bump in the head landed yours truly in the emergency ward recently, and when they wheeled me up to the CAT scan, I handed over my cell phone.

"Oh, we don't need that," the attendant told me. "We only take iPhones."

Wow, I thought. Of all places to land a scoop!

"You mean there's something about the device that interferes with the picture process?"

"No," the attendant laughed. "We're just looking for iPhones, not that other stuff."

Just around the same time, Consumer Reports announced the results of its findings that Apple had the best technical support in the computer industry. Talk about the rich getting richer.

These are obviously boom times for Apple. But fortunes are fleeting in the computer business and it wasn't so long ago that Dell was the PC maker with all the sizzle. In fact, in October 1997, Michael Dell was at a Gartner symposium, and he was asked what he would do if he owned Apple (which then was struggling). "I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders," he said. (Dell was responding to a verbal pot shot from Steve Jobs, who was quoted previously saying that Dell makes "un-innovative beige boxes.")

With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, Jobs wasn't entirely wrong. Dell's bigger problem wasn't that it was unexciting. Rather, the company got sloppy as it grew into the world's biggest PC manufacturer (nowadays, it's No. 2). Jobs had no way of knowing that Dell would fumble its once brilliant advantage over rivals when it came to price and delivery. Up until then, the fact that its machines were, well, boring, wasn't a handicap. In fact, corporate IT types actually prefer boring--as long as it's dependable and backed up by solid service. That was the key because complaints about Dell's once highly regarded online support also mounted. The company's reputation took a high-profile hit after blogger Jeff Jarvis chronicled his tech support woes on his popular personal site.

CNET News.com reporter Erica Ogg has a great take on Dell's customer service today. The company says it's worked hard to repair any lingering problems. Still, you have to wonder after reading the comments in the Talkback section responding to Erica's piece.

Of course, take the anecdotal evidence with a big grain of salt. Still, there are a lot of aggrieved customers who remain furious at the company. They can't all be flamers when you consider that in the same Consumer Reports survey, Dell finished behind Apple both in notebook support and desktop support.

But times change and today's top dog could easily become tomorrow's top dog in a blink of time. Just ask the folks who have worked at Apple or IBM or Compaq or Hewlett-Packard. When he stepped in for his second tour of duty at Apple, Steve Jobs inherited a royal mess. Back then, Michael Dell could dismiss Apple and not give it a second thought. A lot of people felt the same way. Smart product design and better management execution ultimately changed the critics' minds.

Now that he's the company founder returning to a troubled company as CEO, Dell obviously has a very personal stake in getting things right. It's hardly mission impossible. Dell has bounced back from previous stumbles so who knows? With a bit of luck, maybe the next time I get wheeled into to the radiology department, they'll be asking whether I've brought a Dell laptop with me.

[Jortibereal]

Dell may not be #1 PC manufacturer these days, but I don't know if I would describe it as a troubled company. After all, only one company can be #1, so second place isn't too shabby. It's safe to say that Dell is in a better place now than Apple was during its troubled years.

[keypox]

All I see is Blah Blah Blah in this article.

[maxgladius]

consumer reports? Do you really trust them while buying a car? I own an IT consulting compay and 95% of our clients run Dell equipment, and have been doing so for the last 8 yesrs. Well guess what? Dells tech support is great. Amazing. They come out in 4 hours or next day, they will send you parts, call you, email you, follow up. I think people are frustrated with Windows and Spyware and take their frustration at the manufacturers. Dell is not responsible for Microsoft's issues. Just wait till Apple takes more market share, they will have the same issues, spyware, viruses. By the way, Apple's corporate support is ZERO
SO IF YOU ARE NOT IN IT BUSSINESS, PLEASE STOP WRITING STUFF THAT YOU HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE ON.

[delf76]

I wouldn't trust Consumer reports with my life.

[KCL]

Hey Mr. Dell... Er, maxgladius.

And yes, I do trust Consumer Reports when it comes to buying a car. Are they my only source for information? Of course not. But they have the unique position of not depending on ad revenue for funding so I tend to consider them as a good place to start.

And I beg to differ in that Dell is responsible for Microsoft's issues. That is their BUSINESS (See, I can use all caps, too!) and like it or not, that's what they are responsible for. Anyone can just "sell hardware" and many do. Apple doesn't. Apple actually has the admitted advantage of being able to control both ends. Is that fair to Dell? Sure. Dell doesn't have the overhead of writing Windows and that's one way they've made money. But if you want to compete with Apple for consumer mindshare, then you'd best not just "pass the buck" to Microsoft and have a staff that is well-trained enough to support all the Windows quirks (Um, yeah... Good luck with that.)

My problem with the Support staff of just about every PC maker (and I've dealt with WAY too many) is that I usually know more than they do. They walk me through the basic diagnostics and almost always come back with, "Wow. That is weird" and either elevate me to another level, tell me to reinstall and call back or send it in. I've worked with Dells, HPs, IBMs and almost always have a negative experience with clueless support staff.

Now, when I called in to AppleCare to fix some weirdness with a Mac Mini I had bought for Q/A testing, the FIRST person I spoke with handled it. While she walked me through the diagnostics, just as her competitors would, she actually had some very insightful suggestions to try. The problem wasn't simple and she patiently waited on the phone while I tried each suggestion until we fixed the problem. Not only that, but during the time we had while the system did various scans/reloading, we had a side conversation about the latest articles on Slashdot. The woman was INFORMED.

My only concern is that if Apple does indeed start gaining ground market-share wise, they'll get hit with anti-trust stuff and be broken up.

Also, max. If you're going to complain about someone having no knowledge of the IT Business, you might consider spell-checking and not misspell "BUSINESS". It just kind of undermines your point and makes it seem silly.

[Penguinisto]

Of course, failing to mention the diff between Dell's pricey corporate support and cheap off-shored home consumer support does help bolster your arguments doesn't it? 'course, anyone who isn't a help-desk monkey or a wannabe already knows the diff between the two, ne? ;) Incidentally, AppleCare works just fine for business-folk, as it is of a high enough quality to not require a costlier plan just to get decent service. ;)

[rbor]

not if you are disabled & can't open case Dell says hire local tech have him call them so they can guide them. can't or won't do that then Dell says nothing more they can do despite paying for extended warranty. They sent a order for parts whereby Banctec simply tells Dell pc fixed & tested but Banctec never came Dell's attitude so what you're right great service.

[bgnm]

Guess what! If you buy Dell, you get Microsoft. Life is too short to waste on either.

[JeffroDude]

So many of us forget why Dell became number 2 !!! Remeber a little company called Compaq? They used to be #2 until they were bought by #3 HP most places when you merge #2 and #3 they will surpass #1

[patrick_i]

As far as I can recall when HP/Compaq came together Dell was at or about to take over #1. HP's were ok and Compaqs pretty much sucked. After a while HP got better and Dell got worse. Dell is great if you have access to their services and many REGULAR consumers don't. Dell is still preferred by many busineses but I wouldn't even look at one for my personal use. Their laptops seem 2nd tier unless you can afford their $2K units and many configs take 3wks to ship. I use Apple at home and the only help I've had to give people about them is how to connect to secure wi-fi. Honestly. And maxgladius.. not everyone is in IT and can afford SPECIAL IT TECH 24 HR ONSITE BLAH BLAH BLAH..... whatever.

[kgsbca]

Dell is the poster child for unimaginative anti-innovation. Their big selling point was always how you bought their product. Guess what? It's 2008, everybody can sell stuff on-line now. What other tricks do they have? None, they're just another giant company trying to convince customers they have something special.

Maybe they will improve their service to the point where it is as good as Apple's, but that is irrelevant. They have no clue about what to do next, they will always be following the lead of companies like Apple. If you want to know what is state of the art today, look at Dell's website in a year or so.

[elllroy]

only in the world of windows enthusiasts like this blogger dell could have been"the PC maker with all the sizzle". are you kidding? what sizzle? being cheaper than the rest? building the same windows-boxes from the same generic parts as all the other windows-box assemblers and doing that as cheap as possible: that's the only achievement they have ever accomplished. comaparing this to apple or any other innovative company is laughable.

[GatesOfHell]

Someone's mistaking sizzle for fizzle ... it all sounds the same to the untrained Windows ear. Contrary to what max has experienced, my average experience as a BUSINESS user of Dell/MS (over 5,000 desktops and hundreds of servers deployed company-wide) is one of repeated mutual finger-pointing when issues arise. And when you finally do manage to convince Dell that it just really might be (i.e., is) a hardware problem (NOT easy) they hand you off to the folks that run you through the multi-hour "Is it plugged in? and Is it turned on?" routine. Many times, you'll get the additional treat of trying to get past the automated version - truly fun for the whole family. One time we had to send a critical server in for repair after their local techs failed to solve the problem after replacing every part they were allowed to replace. We dogged them for an estimate as to when the machine would be back ... always got a response of "one more day, a day to test, then it ships." This went on every few days for THREE WEEKS. They finally admitted that they LOST THE MACHINE in their warehouse and ended up sending us a new one - something they should have done eons ago in the process.

[JeffroDude]

"windows entusiats" haha funny statement. so many people are anti windows. I am not "pro windows" but most people have to use it and it seems to get the job done . But I will assure you that if any other OS takes over as the leader in business needs, then and only then will we see all the security flaws, compatability issues, and other problems that everyone yells at microsoft about. Wonder how apple would handle being the target of every hacker, virus maker, and spyware junkie in the world.
I have no loyalty to microsoft and honestly would like to see competition drive the marketplace, but as of now, no other OS is ready to step up.

[The_Decider]

Really?

Than please enlighten us about the reason that the #1 server software is not the most incompatible and does not have even close to the most security issues.

Keep dreaming fanboy.

[cyclelogicpress.com]

"With a bit of luck, maybe the next time I get wheeled into to the radiology department, they'll be asking whether I've brought a Dell laptop with me."

Don't bet on it. :)

[cyclelogicpress.com]

"Just wait till Apple takes more market share, they will have the same issues, spyware, viruses."

Better check your résumé. You sound about seven years behind the curve.

[charlie cooper]

thanks for stopping by to add to the conversation, troll

[vaporland]

which one?

[The_Decider]

Dells are junk. Pure and simple.

[john55440]

In spite of their problems, Dell is #2 in worldwide personal computer sales. Apple's worldwide market share is still in the Others category, behind at least five other companies. I suspect that Dell will bounce back and do better in the near future.

[JeffroDude]

EMC seems to be the most stable of SAN solutions out there now for several years....guess what they run on??? You guessed it, windows xp embedded!

[JeffroDude]

This article was about servers? I thought it was Dell PC vs Apple computers. My comment was to the desktop OS only. The ones that most end users work and play with. If I am a fan of anything it is VMware ESX.

[JeffroDude]

The Decider,
This article was about servers? I thought it was Dell PC vs Apple computers. My comment was to the desktop OS only. The ones that most end users work and play with. If I am a fan of anything it is VMware ESX.

[Understarsidream]

Dell is going down rapdily for two reasons - they're customer service is horrible beyond words and they are stupidly overpriced. They used to give customers good value for the money but when that stopped people left. It really is kind of scary that Dell can't figure that out.

[rbor]

I was happy with support until my experience my pc not even a yr. old I got my money back for ext warranty & got help from my local tech he found my trouble in 3 min a iomega drive. I know many will say yes can't open case screw you but I think most would not agree. Tried contacting Dell in TX was just dumped on India who wanted me to repeat problem my first & last Dell

[Matthew_Maurice]

I think it's important to remember why Apple had it's comeback before you start planning to watch Dell have a similar one. Apple's success comes from having great products that people what. That's a simple enough concept, but the devil is in the details. Here those details are either new, innovative products that seduce the public (iPod, iPhone) or existing products that are better looking, better performing, and/or better made than the others (Macbook Pro, Mac Pro). The really big devil here is that those products have to be so superlative that people will buy them despite the inherent premium price they require (enter Jon Ives). Apple succeeds here, like many other luxury goods companies, and that's the hard part. Of course there's a trade-off, and Apple has chosen to make it. They'll never have a huge market-share, especially among cost-conscious corporate customers, but that's OK. Apple makes a butt-load of money ignoring bargain-hunters, and its stockholders are very happy about it. Their customers like it too, because Apple's HUGE margins (a couple of times the industry standard) give it the luxury of often replacing equipment rather then engaging in a long, tedious repair process (which is fine with me because Apple's American tech support people don't seem to be any better than other companies U.S. support people to me ). And I just don't see Dell, or any other manufacturer, doing that.

[The_Decider]

Compare a Dell with two Xeon processors with a Mac Pro.

Which has the premium price?

[Asmodeus69]

Amazing. Someone who actually GETS IT about Apple and "market share". Most people who are looking for an anti-Apple argument always fall back on this old nugget. Reality check: APPLE ISN'T OUT FOR MARKET SHARE, at least not intentionally. All other anti-Apple arguments are based on the fact that they're successful, but not successful enough.

Anti-Apple zealots will never learn.

[musocat]

>>Wonder how apple would handle being the target of every hacker, virus maker, and spyware junkie in the world.

Dear Stupid: It already is. Can you imagine the fame, fortune, and glory that would go to the first guy that could actually make a real, in-the-wild, self-spreading OSX virus? Cripes, even a proof-of-concept made in a lab that can't spread itself makes big news. Windows is a POS. Apple's freedom from virii ain't because of "obscurity" anymore, that's for sure.

[JeffroDude]

LOL, Stupid, nice one corky. Look I think mac is fine but they only have 7.3% of the market share in desktops. That means that when hackers try and steal credit card, SSN, and other personal info, wouldnt it make sense to go after the 90+% group of users? Everyone makes windows compatable software, therefore it is the most used and most compatable, people just hate way to much! Dell Rocks, HP Rocks, IBM is so so and apple is still an infant. get off the breast milk and play with the big boys. The only reason they have 7.3% is that they have the coolest commercials.

I sure love stirring you silly apple tree huggers up.