Comments on: Dell apologizes for remove-this-blog-post-or-else nastygram

A blog post at Consumerist.com offering tips on buying from Dell draws a nasty cease-and-desist letter from the company's attorney--and then a chastened apology from a Dell manager.

[dem0]

big companies seem to forget...

the old lashing out against the little guy doesn't work on today's Internet. Every time one tries to cover up a story, they end up making it that much more popular. You can't censor everybody and it's getting to the point where people realize if they stick to their guns they can make a fool out of anybody.

[MaLvaDo39]

Close shop

Dell should sell the company and give the money back to the
shareholders.

[mr3vil]

They need to fire the robots.

It seems like more and more these big companies have robots spitting out C&D letters like credit card companies spit out "You're pre approved" letters. If they had a human being at the controls...or more properly a human being capable of rational thought...Dell wouldn't have ended up with egg on their faces.

[ralahinn1]

"secret" information would give me more incentive to buy

If I was to buy something from a big company these days, it is probly because some "insider"(disgruntled or not) has put information about the product/ company on the web that the general public doesn't know. Regular consumers today need an edge in their choices, since quite often there is alot of competition among the big companies today in the types and formats of products offered.

[Jane in KC]

Lawyers and What They "Know"

The article commented: "Expecting our esteemed members of the bar to be familiar with the First Amendment might, it's true, be asking too much."

Good shot, and indeed it might. Lawyers seldom "know" much more than the interested, intelligent "man on the street." They are taught how to find the information, though, and certainly have a responsibility to make that effort before jumping to conclusions.

Correctly or not, they are also taught how to argue any side of a question. Therefore, some corporate lawyers think it is their job to automatically support what they perceive as the side of their employer.

The thinking process is time-consuming and therefore not observable any more in the legal profession than in any other.

[Dr_Zinj]

Hope Dell fired that attorney

Making mistakes is one thing, sticking your foot in your mouth up to your hips is another.

Also, if there is no consequences for making a blunder, there's no reason to stop making them. i.e. if Mr. Lawyer is going to learn anything, it's going to need to hurt him a bit.

[ewon91]

Typical Corporate blindness

I have some experience having been one of their corportae customers in the past. Dell is a huge nebulous organization and employees with knowledge either are not enpowered to act or when they do make decisions(management)are so far removed from the day to day business that they tend to make the wrong move. The big picture is these "tips" will land Dell sales for consumers. Dell has gone from a nice computer company to being an aggorant entitlement minded company. You can't squash information.

[stlwest]

What kind of tip was that? Here's a tip.

Go buy the system you want and then within the allowed timeframes call in and tell them you want to return the system. Chances are you will be offered a discount to keep the system. This seems to work especially well on laptops for some reason.

It is just easier for them then having to QC the system, possibly re-package, and then sell as refurbished at a discount to somebody else. Of course as an alternative you could buy a refurbished system from Dell.

[qwerty75]

The only tip you need

Never buy from Dell. Their computers are made of junk parts, with junk performance and support.

People who buy Dells have absolutely no right to complain.

[Des Alba]

I don't buy Dell any more.

Having owned a couple of Dell PCs in the past, they can keep 'em AND their customer service. There are many other great PC builders out there, with ibuypower and pugetsound just being two of them, in case you don't have time to build your own. This legal nastygram and the confused apology that followed illustrate that this company is in a state of confusion and has lost its way.