Comments on: Michael Dell back as CEO; Rollins resigns

The PC company's namesake founder once again has control of the day-to-day operations.

[vm019302]

Job 1:

Hire someone who speaks English in your customer service department.

[ogman]

More like...

...hire only those who speak English. Dell support was a major part of their ascent and descent in the market. Customers didn't care about "touching" the product as long as it was shipped on time and well supported. The fall can be directly traced to lousy, incompetent, outsourced service. However, I would bet they will stubbornly try to ignore that fact. After all, ignoring the customer is what it's all about these days.

[Hardrada]

Exactly!

Make "Dude, your getting a Dell!" mean something besides a requirement to learn sanskrit.

[donald17]

You, want me to tell Dell how to make more billions?

Sure, why not?

First, with MS Vista on the scene, make sure all Vista-related issues are answered and those answers are easily and quickly accessed by site visitors.

Second, make it a smooth and easy process to find and order a computer. 'Up Selling' is to be expected, but sometimes in the past, it's been so damned tedious, and confusing, to consumate an order.

Third, as has been mentioned by another writer, staff up Customer Service and Tech Support with adept speakers of English - American English and UK English. Have in place qualified Spanish-speaking service people.

Fourth, when showing product, provide sufficient photos so as to replicate what the customer would experience if they were actually at the Dell factory picking out their computer. Lots of large, detailed photos showing all components, from all angles. Do what car dealers do when they sell on Ebay - photos, photos, photos.

Fifth, keep the free shipping. For myself, that's a deal closer. Keep the in-home warranties. Keep the free upgrades. Keep up the e-mail promotion campaigns.

Sixth, unleash Michael Dell and have him go public to present the latest and greatest Dell products. It works for Gates and Jobs, and it will work - again - for Dell.

[direct225]

Bravo!

Very well put. It seems the bigger a company gets the more they seem to forget the basics that makes a customer want to do business and repeat business with them in the first place. The only good change Dell made in the past year was to do away with mail in rebates and take the discount right off the top.

[kaintuck]

Mr Dell

Bravo! Bravismio! It's time to get it right!

[kaintuck]

Bravo

Bravo! Bravismio! It's time to get it right!

[kaintuck]

Michael Dell back as CEO, Rollins resigns

Bravo! Bravismio! It's time to get it right!

[ServedUp]

BIG DEAL!!

Dell was still running the company during Rollins tenure anyway.

Changes nothing.

[Understarsidream]

They've gotten way too expensive...

When I bought a Dell several years ago it was a really good deal for what I wanted. Then 2 months ago I priced a new one out and it was more expensive than most of the computers on the market (ie, Sony, HP, and even Apple). Between the cost and the support being farmed out it's just not a good buy.

[ajbright]

I'm not sure

but what definitely loses my business is the extortionate shipping costs.

Even if HP, Gateway or whomever sell there product at $100 more, it still works out less expensive for me, because of my location - Alaska. The last time I bought from them it took nearly an hour to convince them that the UPS ground truck outside my door actually existed (they don't deliver to AK my arse).

So I won't buy from Dell because the shipping makes them too expensive.

I can go to Best Buy, CompUSA or even an independant computer store and buy for less than Dell sells new.

They do have some really good refurbished PC deals, but again, by the time you add the shipping I'm saving less than 10% on a used PC.

And surely if they can offer the State of Alaska the won an exclusive vendor contract with the State, which is sort of illegal but there you go) with its 15,000 employees a better deal than local businesses (including Gateway which had a +10% in state advantage due to their Anchorage store), surely they can find a local shipping point for consumers.

[mtoc]

dell reversal of fortunes!

why is it that customers know why Dell sales are down and the Dell execs are in the dark? I bought an HP desktop. good price ,value,hardware, and
better tech service. not sorry, either. I am also a touchy-feely person. I like to see what I am about to buy.I admire Apple stores. perhaps Dell should offer less variations to lessen price and
confussion. it might also improve reliability.
Dell has much to learn from Toyota. it's PRODUCT,
PRODUCT,PRODUCT!

[Hardrada]

RE: Dell should offer less variations to lessen price and confussion.

Wrong! The opportunity to "build the computer the way you want it" has always been a Dell strong-point. (It's one of the reasons I bought my laptop from them in '03.)

Whether or not the MSM wants to acknowledge its overriding importance, lousy customer support--as epitomized by shipping technical calls to Indian call centers, and dropping in-progress calls that may already be hours-long, forcing the caller to start over from Square One--is what has put Dell in this pickle. You just can't treat your customers like crap, and expect them to come back for more, or expect them not to tell their friend to stay away from Dell.

[StargateFan]

Great News

I believe that this a great step in the right direction. And I mean no disrespect towards Kevin Rollins. But thinking back to the ninties and into the few years of the 2000's Dell was the king of pc's. Now they are being surpassed by both HP and Apple. Both Apple and HP are companies I have respect for. But I have always liked Dell, I believe their products have fallen a little under what many of us are used to when it comes to Dell. And this period of decadence began shortly after Michael Dell stepped down. Now the cofounder is back and I'm excited to see that hopefully Dell will once again become the company we all remembered it to be.

[topgunb2]

Its product and support

I'm a highly dissatisfied dell user, bought my notebook 2 yrs back , had hard drive replaced twice, display once, dvd burner once, and finally the whole motherboard in first year of use. average wait time at customer support was 30 minutes only to get to speak to someone who did not know what speedstep on p4m was. after year of struggling and loosing my data twice i went for hp, never had a problem. I would not mind if my notebook is ugly looking as far as it doesn't breakdown.

[felgercarbnaysay]

Try Innovating for a change.

I've bought at least 4 Dell machines over the years. I'm finished with them. My latest purchase is a Macbook. Why? Innovation. To be fair, I've never owned a Dell notebook but I'm willing to bit it suffers the same problems found in it's competitors. Apple has the Magsafe power connector. Hardly rocket science, but no longer are the solder joints on the power jack a stress point. I've had a Sony and Toshiba laptop die. I was a Mac bigot before switching to windows in the early 90's I'm back.

Dell has been sucking at the breasts of Microsoft, the Linux community and the myriad Asian-sweatshop-commodity hardware outfits that supply them. They are noting but the Walmart of the computer industry. Crappy quality products at not all that great prices.

[nmehta0]

Right on!

Right on, felgercarbnaysay! I also switched to Apple and it's been
fantastic. Dell makes horrible, unimaginative products and now,
their results show it.

Can Michael Dell change that? I doubt it.

[pjianwei]

Are they not made from the same place?

Taiwan and the same manufacturers?

[msg-e8]

DELL Warrenty

I purchased my DELL 8300 in 2004 at which time I purchased the $ year warrenty I checked Dell Support sight and it shows my warrenty EXPIRED. By my math I still have 2 more Years I guess they use another type of math. Tred to get it corrected but no luck. LEAVE DELL ALONE...

[Nevermark]

Dell can jump ahead, if they get it.

I was also a Mac user in early 90's, a Windows user since, and now a Mac user again. Good experiences with Apple products and seeing their incredible rate of improvement (iPods, OS X, Macs, ...) did it for me. I never expected to go back.

Dell needs to give their customers good experiences again, and start doing new things with their hardware. Notebooks could be improved in a lot of great ways by a company like Dell. 3D LCDs are available, that would get consumers (and my!) attention.

Or get Apple to license OS X.

There are a lot of ways they can jump ahead of the pack once they recognize that manufacturing efficiency and direct sales are not going to be enough any more.

[alenas]

Toilet seat designs?

I am sure the main problem with Dell notebooks is TOILET SEAT design. HP DV6000 series is like a Pamela Anderson on top of toilet seat :) Which one would you choose? No one would hesitate :)

[darix2005]

test

hmm

-----
http://mortgage.emigrantas.com - all info about mortgages

[teakilla]

IT ABOUT TIME MICHAEL DELL

GOT BACK IN THE DRIVER SEAT AND STAY THERE AND HE COULD GET BACK TO FIRST IF HE WOULD MAKE IT WHEN PEOPLE CALLS TO GET HELP MAKE SURE THEY SPEAK TO SOME ONE THAT THEY CAN UNDERSTAND AND MAKE SURE IT THE RIGHT COUNTRY FOR WHO EVER IS CALLING TO GET HELP PLUS THINK ABOUT MAKING TV'S WITH COMPUTERS IN I SURE WOULD WANT ONE PLUS I LIKE THE IDEA OF A TV WITH A COMPUTER BUILT IN IT

[GrahamSivill]

Hurrah - Perhaps support will now improve?

I have been a strong Dell supporter, but in the last couple of years it has been very noticeable that they were slipping up with their support.

Machines are always well built, but the support has not been good. Recent calls to support have ended up in India and I had one conversation with a lady in support who didn't understand what I meant when I asked about a "Tape Streamer" for a server?? On another occasion I requested a battery for a laptop and they sent the wrong one, I called them and said they had sent the wrong one, so they sent another one and again it was the wrong one, the third battery was the wrong one as well and I rang them and said that it wasn't the one I had identified for the model of laptop and the Indian tech said it was the correct battery to use, when I checked the volts and amps they were totally different to the old battery. I pointed out that using a battery with a different rating might lead to overheating and explosion (this was well before the Sony battery problems) and the tech assured me it was safe to put in as this battery replaced the one quoted on their web site. I plugged it in and stood well back, it didn't blow up but it made me very nervous and I got the distinct impression the techs in India had no real idea of the dangers? I am sure they do now!

[jillmichellern]

After writing this first response I was assisted by Ms. Swisher at a random Dell site I found online. She sent it directly to Mr. Michael Dell. I received an immediate response from Saran at Dell. He assisted me in checking the computer for diagnostic problems via the phone for approx the 5th time. However, when he realized he could not discover the problem this way he told me he was sending me a new hard drive to install. He never mentioned there would be a cost. I expressed my gratitude and the hard drive arrived. However, I then noted on my dell account I was charged $180.00. He never told me I was being charged for this. I should not be charged for this due to the fact that the computer never worked right to begin with. I have been a loyal customer for years. Currently we have 3 dell lap tops and I purchased recently two GPS systems and frequently order ink replacements for my dell printer. Does anyone know how I can reach Mr. Dell personally. This is terrible customer service and want to be treated like the loyal customer that I'm.

Thank you,

Jill
[e-mail]


On Apr 6, 2009, at 4:47 AM, Jill wrote:

> Contact Form results:
>
>
> Subject: Dell
>
> I found this site when I googled How can I find the CEO of Dell.
> I'm hoping you can help me. I purchased a Dell 1535 for my daughter. The computer has been freezing up since we purchased it. I have had her calling the company to resolve the problem and they have ran several diagnostic problems and claim there is nothing wrong with it. But it has done this since we opened the box.
> So I called myself and was routed to several foreign countries. Where the accent is so thick making communication very difficult. I was hung up on several times. They will not let me speak to a US rep unless I pay the 180.00. I want my computer exchanged or a full return. I have never seen such poor customer service in my life. Are you able to assist me with this problem or give me direct access to someone that will?
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Jill