Comments on: Dear Dell: Customer service should be free

Charging consumers for access to American customer service agents - as soon as the computer is out of the box? This is clearly the wrong move at the wrong time.

[RealMaxPug]

I work in the IT world and I can tell you I would gladly pay not so much to have a better technician but just a technician I can understand. The company I work for already does this with Microsoft.

[Kainchild]

I never will go with a Dell ever again. They make too many cheap parts inside their computers that break down. So far I had to replace parts myself with my Dells and had to rely on my own computing skills because it was a horrible experience trying to get through the foreigners lack of English comprehension (and yes as "bigot" as that sounded, it was a fact, only 1 out of 10 people I would speak to would even understand me, in fact they had to get "supervisors" help just to complete the conversation, I swear it was like the blind leading the blind).

I have had DVD's and even Ram break on their machines that I had to replace and if any of their software started bugging out, I was on my own because of their terrible customer service. When Dell first started back in the day, the customer service was good, though not great since the people I spoke to seem to be more eager to sell the product rather then help fix it afterward, but it was 10 times better then what it has become today.

[hyperb0le]

when you buy something from a company, and it proves to be faulty (as seems to be the case all too often with Dell products), the company has an obligation to repair/replace the item within the terms specified under the warranty, because they failed to uphold their end of the bargain. if you're buying something from a company, you have every right to expect it to work. why a company would ask its customers to pay more money when the company failed to give them a properly working product in the first place is beyond me.

[angelreyes7]

aztec92154: Great response, my sentiments exactly. Anyone can offer free tech support when they are charging 2-3 times more for the same hardware.

[veruslite]

Wow im both shocked and appalled at the fact that so many of you are totally against the idea of some form of complementary customer service. CUSTOMER: I.E the individual who just paid a "monetary" value on an item to which they are now the owner of after the seller has relinquished the rights to after getting a "profit" off of its sale. Therefore i dunno where you get this whole FREE customer service crap from. I paid for the item as is in the condition as to which it was advertised. Guess what? the item you get doesnt allways work as advertised. so your actually telling me that. I purchase a product, its defective and i should then have to pay an additional fee just to reslove a problem that never should have occured in the first place and was never my fault to begin with. : get bent.

Secondly offering a "premium" customer service experience by offering to allow us to speak to an American representative is like the ultimate slap in the face. For years all the companies have been outsourcing our customer service swearing that its just as good as it always way. Now all of a sudden the premium service is speaking to an american tech support agent for an american product basically tells me that your basically admitting to being completely full of SH*t because your now admitting that your outsourced support is inferior and basically a cheap cost cutting ploy. So now i should both save you money and earn you an extra profit all at the same time for something i should have always had in the first place. once again GET BENT.

[Commandoclone87]

Have you ever worked in customer service? Have you ever heard of some of the crap they have to put up with? Also considering that when speaking to an American support person, it costs the company at least twice as much to pay that person than it does for someone overseas and you get the exact same support.

If you want to complain about, then don't use phone support, you can always use email support and online forums. I mean, you want to see someone in person from Geeksquad, you have to pay them for doing the same thing that someone can do over the phone.

[Hanspuppa]

I have emailed Dell support probably a hundred times and never got any response from Dell what-so-ever.
But if you think that will get the results that I need, I will try it again. Thanks for the heads up.

[ppgreat]

Dell is in decline. Talk to any reputable investment house. It's a house of cards.

[Bh01]

So many people here seem to be missing the point. If I need tech help I need it from somebody I can UNDERSTAND. It is the same with almost every industry. If I call for help with a credit card issue half the time I cannot understand the agent because even though they may be speaking English it is so fractured or accented that I cannot understand them. THAT is the problem. It has nothing to do with bigotry or jingoism or anything else. I don't care who I speak to or where they are as long as I can understand them! For Dell to charge extra for help in understandable english is ridiculous. It makes them look like money grubbing fools and in this day when customer service is an essential part of customer retention their action is just stupid.
As an American living in America buying from an American company I feel I have the right to receive whatever tech support is offered in understandable english whether the person speaking it is Indian, Mexican, or any other nationality.
BTW, I use Apple and am very impressed with their level of support. Yes only the first 90 days of phone support is free but I have never been charged for help even after that time frame was up. One can also take the computer to an Apple genius bar anytime and get free assistance even after the year warranty is up. Apple isn't perfect but they have a very good handle on customer service that others could do well to emulate, and not just in the computer industry.

[oooh5615]

And, besides, they give out those big badges in Apple stores, for free. Every such badge proudly carries the Apple logo and proclaims: "GIMME THE KOOL-AID AND I'LL TOAST TO APPLE!"

[Bh01]

Thank you 000h5615 for substantiating my statement that the point of this article is being missed. This is not about Apple vs pc. It is about CUSTOMER SERVICE. Does anybody even remember what that is, or was anymore? The issue is whether as an english speaking customer I should have to pay extra to receive tech support in understandable english. I say no. Foreign techs may be as competent or more competent than their American counterparts but IF I CAN'T COMMUNICATE WITH THEM what difference does it make? Suppose you went into Burger King and the clerk did not have the language skills to take you order? Suppose they sent you to an english speaking clerk, but then charged you extra for his services? How would you feel about that? Suppose Dell decided to charge extra for tech support in any language other than english? How quickly would there be cries of discrimination raised? Dell is not required to provide tech support at all. But If they do it should be available to ALL customers on an equal basis. Charging extra so the tech can be understood does not, in my opinion, meet that standard.
The issue here is how a company treats its' customers. To look at it in another context I recently bought something from a Guitar Center store. When I got home it didn't work. I went back, they were out of stock, but they ordered me one and shipped it to me at no extra charge. Unfortunately that item too was bad. When I went back they exchanged it for one that we checked out in the store as working AND they gave me a refund. Now that is customer service in the extreme. The item cost $30.00. Would they have done the same with a $2000. guitar? Probably not, but the way I was treated makes me feel very confident about buying an expensive item from them as far as warranty service and support go. It's called providing a positive shopping experience. The exact opposite of the experience I had in Sears. I was waiting my turn in the auto dept when a clerk came by and asked if I needed help. When I told him I needed tires he said "oh, well this isn't my department, you'll have to wait for the auto clerk". What was the point of that? Did he think it was a joke? Let's just say this did not provide a positive shopping experience and I got the tires elsewhere.
The point Is that businesses of any kind are going to survive on the service they provide for the products they sell. It is a proven fact that it is less expensive to retain a customer and get repeat business from him than to have to get a new customer for every sale. Charging english speaking customers for support in understandable english is just stupid.

[soundman45]

Let me just say, I agree with the author. Ive had experience with Dell and their foreign support team. Just an awful waste of my time. Charging extra just so american customers can understand a dialect is ridiculous. I agree customers should pay extra for customer service after the limited warranty is expired but asking a potential new customer to endure the wrath of of uninteligable support or pay extra to understand what the support team is saying is nonsense. it's just bad business. Shame on Dell and shame on companies like Sutherland Global Services that are in the business of subcontracting these subpar services.

[ckurowic]

Anyone that has half a friggin' brain and 2 seconds of experience in the IT industry knows that Dell support has always sucked. Non-news.

[Shinywalrus]

So, wait.

I want to be sure I understand.

Apple gives no service and charges extra for any service at all, and that's a brilliant business model.

Dell gives a base level of crappy service and charges extra for premium support, and that's a crappy business model that is unfair to customers.

How's the view from under Jobs' desk?

[jscott418]

I don't here anyone complaining about Apple who charges $50 after 90 days per incident. Unless of course you buy Apple Care. Let's face it, people want computers for practically nothing. Maybe its better for people to pay for good service who really need it. Then to throw in added costs to everyone in the computer costs. The days of free stuff are gone. I think its great news that if you don't need it then you won't pay for it.

[317morgan]

My last 2 laptops have come from Dell as I like being able to configure online, however the customer service was horrendous as I could not understand the Indian service rep. I refuse to pay for what should be part of the purchase agreement and will no longer look to Dell for products while this policy to charge a fee is in place. Disgusting is the only word, especially when we should be providing work for Americans, not farming out the work overseas!!

[bzboy01]

So the way I see it, calling a customer service center outside of the US would be free. And so an "A" class service which will let us talk to an American Customer Service Center will cost us $12.95. Difference in providing service to a customer is quite appalling. Is Dell making us believe that providing free customer for their products, calls to outside of the US, is like providing a "B" class service since an 'A" class service will cost us $12.95? Wow, is this why all our American jobs are being exported, so that the same customer that buys your product gets a free after sales service. Dell, learn something from your competitors such as APPLE, or even E-Machine. They both provide amazing free customer service without a wait time.

[supermjr]

I don't want to be forced into paying for tech support that I never use. Building in the price of tech support into a unit I buy is basically subsidizing the cost of support for another user -- I don't want to foot the bill for that. And who is to say that the paid "American" tech support is any better than the foreign tech support? They both probably follow the same computerized/on-screen scripts. It seems like the argument is really whether you can can wait a few extra minutes waiting on the phone and whether you need an American accent talking back to you. If you own a phone with a speakerphone and you can understand foreigners making a good faith effort to speak in your language, this is probably a moot point.

[dennisl59]

Good Afternoon All,

After reading the comments about warrenty service on a product, I thought I would offer my perspective.

And I will not compare Apple vs Dell vs Anyone else.

First, warrenty service calls to a vendor for a product would be reduced if, in my opinion:
1) Good Design,
2) Quality Parts, and
3) Excellent assembly.

But let's say, for example, you purchase a vehicle from a foreign manufacturer, with the usual FREE bumper to bumper 1 year warrenty, and it has some issue, windshield wiper blade motor is noisy, A/C fan makes a racket, etc...

Now, you drive into the Service Lane and the Service Writer says, you have two choices:

1) You can have Johnny here(that gets paid more per hour) that understands every word you are saying, including slang, etc , to talk to you about the issue, make recommendations, etc., BUT you will have to pay extra for that service.

OR

2) You can ask for Hans(who gets minimum wage) who you have a very hard time understanding what he is saying about the issue, you have to repeat yourself, BUT for no extra charge.

You have no idea which one is the more competent technican.

You decide to ask for Johnny ONLY BECAUSE OF THE LANGUAGE BARRIER, but will pay extra $$$ and maybe he'll get to the car a little sooner for you, so you can be on your way to do stuff.

If people are willing to pay extra for not having ONLY a language barrier, then that is their decision.

But who is to say which Technican is really the best and fix your problem the first time?

You cannot know this in advance when you bought the product.

I invite people to draw their own conclusions.

Thank You.

[rstilwel]

This is why I switched to apple! I am not trying to start the whole Apple PC fight but The two times I have had to call customer services I get an American that I can understand clearly. I do not mind the accents most time but there were a couple of times with my old dell that I would just reboot the system rather than roll the dice calling Dell customer service.

[bad_one]

I completely agree with what you are saying, I find it quite preposterous myself!

[michaelo1966]

Buy an IBM; they may be owned by Lenovo and manufactured in China, but their customer support group is top-notch and is based in Georgia (the state, not the country).

[bohiker]

I have been checking for a good deal on a new computer. I now have a Dell. Thanks for the latest info on Dell. I have crossed them off my list of companies to buy from.