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90

Customer Confidence

90 points posted to Service and Support by phubert 03/15/07

Perhaps the GREATEST thing Dell can do to regain its momentum is to look back at its own history and then at every facet of its present organization and ask:

"What can we do to provide our customers with CONFIDENCE in the systems we sell and in their overall computing EXPERIENCE."

I know that is a tall task, since much of the experience has to do with software issues beyond the hardware vendor's control.

There are several things that Dell can address, however.

phubert
03/15/07		 Confidence in their machine

* more reliable parts - for example POWER SUPPLIES and DISK DRIVES
* (optional?) EASY backup/restore/configuration restore solutions
* more support -options- and a better support experience
* easier access to 'what I need' at Dell's web site
* perhaps a new -reference-only- section
* a site FORUM for Dell customers and others to share problems/solutions

A co-worker gave me a Dell OpenManage CD for one of our servers that _analyzed_ the system for ROM upgrades, including BIOS, THEN installed all appropriate upgrades requiring only a single reboot. It was GREAT!

Similar analysis/upgrade software for home systems would be a Godsend.
phubert
03/16/07		 Didn't customers once HAVE confidence in Dell?

Is THIS what has been lost?

OR is that any significant part of the problem??
phubert
03/19/07		 A co-worker has been expressing HIS frustration with Dell over a PC he bought for his brother.

It seems that, when he purchased the machine with Windows XP pre-installed, there was a promise from Dell that he would receive a copy of Vista.

After repeated calls, he still hasn't received that copy, and he can only express his unhappiness _with_ Dell.

IF this is an issue Dell can't help (long waiting list, perhaps?), they should explain it clearly to the customer, perhaps with an apology???

Confidence?

This is one example.
phubert28
03/28/07		 As far as I know, it has been Dell policy to not provide machine warranties (or service contracts) beyond 5 years. Typical visible _offerings_ are 3 or 4 years.

I would very much LIKE to see Dell offer machines with PARTS (disk drives, power supplies), themselves, WARRANTIED for 5 years, minimum.

**

Remember, Dell, on the mainframe/mini side of things, in enterprises, it has been (and remains?) typical to have continuous SERVICE CONTRACTS for ALL systems, however long they are kept.

Could this be an effective EXTENSION of Dell's business model?

Are newer, higher-density drives more likely to fail than our old, reliable 20-40MB drives of the 80's??

SHOULD newer technology be LESS RELIABLE than OLDER technology???

If more reliable parts must come at a premium, then SELL machines with just such an assertion AT the higher rate!
phubert28
03/28/07		 Is HP aiming to ALIENATE ITS customers???

HP kills Linux laptop warranty
http://www.theinquirer.org/default.aspx?article=38540< HP is TRYING to HAND Dell an OPPORTUNITY, or HP is headed toward a quick about face in its policy!!
phubert28
04/04/07		 Is MICROSOFT SOFTWARE ANY way to increase customer

http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS3993153601.html< me quote from Ziff Davis' Security Watch site: "If you're reading this with Internet Explorer on a Windows machine, don't. The Windows animated cursor zero-day attack that was coming through on IE 6 and 7 running on fully patched Windows XP SP2 is now also hitting Windows 2000, Server 2003 and Vista. As F-Secure advises, better to use some other combination."

Elsewhere from the article:



Let me quote Larry Seltzer, a friend of mine with one bad habit, he's a strong Windows supporter. Seltzer, a security expert, wrote, "The analysis of the bug and its history speak badly of Microsoft's efforts in many ways: The company's patching practices came up short, its security protection technologies came up short, and its code analysis was shoddy. There are many reasons why this should never have happened, and now we should all be upset about it."

This is from a strong Windows supporter.
phubert
05/08/07		 This topic is about everything Dell can and must do in relation to its entire range of customers, worldwide.

Home users, home office, small business, Education, government, large enterprises, and all of these internationally.

By OFFERING Linux to consumers, Dell is putting itself in front of a very large audience.

Will Dell LOSE significant confidence if that effort fails due to Dell's own limitations ON the offer?
I certainly hope not... both for our sake and for Dell's.
jorge
05/22/07		 Just wanted to say this was my last missing Idea! I can rest now.
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