Geeks to Grandmas - Service Customization

How IdeaStorm Works:

Service and Support Comments | Service and Support Ideas

2450

Geeks to Grandmas - Service Customization

2450 points posted to Service and Support by dell_admin1 05/18/07

Dell wants your feedback on the following idea intended to improve customer service and support:

We're considering providing customers the ability to self-select their service queue based on their own technical capability, such as "Advanced Computer Knowledge," "Intermediate," or "Beginner," further customizing the support experience.

UPDATE (May 18 at 8pm Central):
A number of people are asking for more information about this idea so they can comment. However, this idea is not a defined “offer” at this point, so many details have not yet been determined. That’s why we want your feedback! Others have asked if this idea would cost extra or not… in this case, that has not yet been determined and we’re hoping to use your comments to help define the answer.

sugarbear 05/18/07	The customer will choose the cheaper option everytime. Irregardless of their experience.
bbarnwell 05/18/07	I understand pairing high-level techs with advanced users... but accordingly would it make sense to pair grandma with an India Tech reading from a script who doesn't know a processor from a hard drive? I think the better idea would be to provide us with better trained service technicians in the first place. Give the advanced users more tools to fix their own problems such as Tech Support 2.0 website that I can use a java program to diagnose and submit a trouble ticket on my own without the use of a technician. If 'I' know what's wrong, let me submit the trouble ticket myself... assuming that you will have a live technician review the ticket on the back end before dispatching parts.
fxmulder 05/18/07	It looks like you do this already in some form or fashion ... but why don't treat us for the problem we have first ? Inspire yourself to what hospital do .. I've never seen a triage made based on my medical competencies ... rather on my illness specifics or urgency ...
badblood 05/18/07	Better still: ALL OF YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES SHOULD BE ADVANCED USERS AND ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH GEEKS AND GRANDMAS. Presently they treat everyone as if they were Grannies. That shows a lack of customer understanding. Each representative should start by asking are you and advanced user or a beginner and go from there. The approach you propose would have you shunted from department to department.
kenjennings 05/18/07	"I've never seen a triage made based on my medical competencies ..." Hospitals don't expect patients to have extensive medical knowledge. Though, sometimes it can get to the point of ridiculous. On one instance when I accompanied a friend to the emergency room, the personnel doing triage would keep asking the paramedics stupid questions that the patient could obviously answer -- "Is the patient conscious?" (Yes, she was obviously conscious. Did you look and see, dope?) The problem is that computer support works the same way. The usual assumption is that the computer owner has zero computer knowledge, so many people with a clue or even part of a clue are quickly P-O'd being asked the same lame, obvious, or even unrelated questions. "Did you power down the computer? And all peripherals? And disconnect the cables?"
phubert 05/18/07	Again, if we want custom service, I think we should be willing to pay for it. And, no matter what for-profit entity (or even not-for profit) we deal with, eventually SOMEONE is paying... It's when we pay the same for POORER service that it gets a bit more than annoying and, unfortunately, in all too many areas today, we ARE paying for POORER service (think plumbers, even). But, I think we're being asked here about this as a CONCEPT. So, do I like the concept? Yep.
fxmulder 05/18/07	I've voted for ... any form of triage is better than nothing. @kenjennings ... my point is that priority should be given to qualify the problem customer is having rather than qualifying the skill level. Of course having a set of technicians dedicated to people that have higher skillset is a good triage practice if you can appropriately define triggers (perhaps having a Dell Certified Professional certification giving access to this dedicated queue ?) - perhaps not the one to put in place by priority (I bet the vast majority of customers calling Dell is skewed toward average Joe rather then Average ideastorm participant).
phubert 05/18/07	Servers come with a Dell partition... do workstations/desktops as well? Improving automated (or manual execution OF a diagnostic program) diagnostic processes to simplify the process (the user's copy of DSET often isn't up-to-date ... make it self-updating when internet access is functioning) would help. I believe reg said most problem calls were software related... why should DELL be providing _software_ support to begin with????
akidan 05/18/07	I really like this.. I think it would be a win-win. Done right, this can potentially mean a LOT less time on the phone for both Dell and the consumer. Experienced users would get off the phone faster, which makes them happier, and this could allow reps to spend more time with the 'grandma's at no additional cost.
dhdeans 05/18/07	It makes sense to map the support experience to the customer's ability to share their insights about the problem they have. While skill level can be easily established during a dialog with a tech support person -- self-support, via the web, is another matter. A one-size-fits-all approached to automated self-help is illogical -- given the vast spectrum between the most technically skilled and least skilled customer. Designing the experience around three consumer personas (novice, intermediate, expert) is a good starting point. Since the label itself (novice, etc) may be subjective, it helps to define what is meant by the three levels.
phubert 05/18/07	Of course if the CUSTOMER selects the level, there WILL be mismatches... (what I THINK my level is vs. what Dell FINDS my level really is!)
jervis961 05/18/07	I like this idea but overall Dell is splitting this all up the wrong way. Each idea has its good points and bad but need to be combined for true success. I can't remember if I deleted my Idea or it got merged but anyway it was better than what Dell is putting out here. I would be willing to pay an extra fee to join a special Dell membership club (say $50 -$100) . By joining the club you get more specialized service and discounts such as: North American Tech support and sales, special sales for members and special phone numbers to cut in line when you call in. Since I do like this idea I'll add the customized support based on your experience level but I'll add to it. Dell should have a personal file on you in the computer that pops up when you call in: likes, dislikes, experience level, how much business you have done with the company, the kind of stuff that a local store owner would remember about a regular customer. In actuality most of the things I just mentioned SHOULD already be in place at Dell but are not.
stevied 05/18/07	The triage works, but what I am really seeking is quick answers to a problem which I have diagnosed. In many cases I have the script already memorized, I just need the tech to read the answer on line 147. Am I advanced? No. I just have experienced the problem before and know the solution exists (I just forgot the keystrokes or filename). A bit like going to the Doc and asking for Penicillin to clear up my STD. I know the problem, I know the cause and I know the solution. Now we can skip the lecture and give me the shot.
dell_admin1 05/18/07	A number of people are asking for more information about this idea so they can comment. However, this idea is not a defined “offer” at this point, so many details have not yet been determined. That’s why we want your feedback! Others have asked if this idea would cost extra or not… in this case, that has not yet been determined and we’re hoping to use your comments to help define the answer.
lenny_eh 05/18/07	great idea but some people over estimate their knowledge and others under estimate so they would have to be given the option on every call or ability to change what they have claimed to be.
jervis961 05/18/07	This should be a free program that is just an enhancement of what is currently offered. Perhaps as simple as a new option on the phone menu asking if you know what the problem is or if you need help diagnosing it.
akidan 05/18/07	@dell_admin1: I would say offer this at the same cost on all levels.
ben_b 05/18/07	Must not cost extra, should allow customers to do self repairs to their computers and just have Dell send replacement parts.
akidan 05/18/07	@ben_b: They don't do that on their consumer line? Man, that's the only way I've done it for our PowerEdges. :)
fahim.a.sabir 05/19/07	I don't agree with the 3 tiers, as not many would put themselves on the middle tier - I wouldn't say I am an expert but seem to know more than most people that claim they are. All the same, I don't appreciate being told to reinstall my computer with a customer service representative on the phone, having already done it 5 times myself in every single combination possible. So two tiers would be a good idea!
lhendrickson 05/19/07	Should offer at same cost. I just had the experience of my daughters laptop motherboard needing replacement since the on off switch would sometimes not work after 14 months from purchase date (not under warranty). After 10 phone calls and transferred to two lines that went dead, the person is reading a script. I had already read the troubleshooting online and work in an IT department. Extremely fustrating and I would say the worst customer service as far as the confusion on who to transfer the call to, the phone representatives were nice but limited knowledge. Need better training on where to route calls. Is there a quick reference quide on where to route the calls?
lindahewitt 05/19/07	I am an IT Pro but that does not necessarily make me an expert in all areas. I have excellent trouble shooting skills and can quickly determine what to do to fix a problem. In this area, I would label myself an expert. But I have an intermediate level of expertise when it comes to hardware or Windows registry. When I encounter a problem, I research the issue (Google) and trouble-shoot the problem. I make it a practice to not call Tech Support until I have exhausted all of my trouble shooting resources. When I have encountered a problem, such as a blue screen of death, it is very frustrating to always have to start at the beginning of the script and do all of the same tests again according to the script. Never mind that the last time that I called, the same script and tasks were followed. Most of your customers are going to have the same problems in defining their level of expertise as I would have, so Dell would have to state the boundaries of each classification. One poster said that most users would not define themselves as an intermediate but would select expert. There are also a number of users, who would define themselves as intermediate, even though they are really newbie beginners. I think that there would be a real benefit for Dell to do whatever handholding is necessary for the grannies - newbies. I think that Dell could charge for this additional level of tech support. In short, I think that Dell needs to have tech support experts performing the Tech Support function. Dell could then give the Tech Support rep the authority to bypass the script with more experienced users or if these tests had previously been done in a previous tech support call. Dell needs to improve their customer support substantially before they even think about any additional charges. Dell needs to recover its reputation for high quality and elimination of all deceptive business practices, which many users perceive Dell as promoting. Full Disclosure prior to purchase is the way to go but the Dell ordering process must be completely revamped first. If Dell upgrades its customer tech support as suggested for its more experienced customers, then this should reduce Dell's support costs and improve its image with its customers. That is what I call a win-win situation. Just to be clear, I do NOT think that this proposal is workable for either Dell or its customers.
petzymathuram 05/19/07	Hi, What if a person with an issue is not able to grade the nature of the issue as "Advanced Computer Knowledge," "Intermediate," or "Beginner," this idea will again be a pressurized factor on the customers. The customers need is to get an immediate resolution, not to sit back and research where he/she stands based on the issue. This idea will not work. Sorry!
badblood 05/19/07	hoooray! petzy you are so right. It will not work. It will be a telephone merry go round until you find the right person. Each Dell service rep just needs to be able to work with and communicate with basic AND advanced users. If they cannot Dell is just well providing poor service. That's all.
thebittersea 05/19/07	http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/62156< idea which Dell said will implement should also be part of this trio of ideas!!!
glent 05/19/07	Great idea, provided that the scripted response for triaging service calls is adjusted to the stated level of competence. This could be a real time saver and frustration reducer for those of us who are supporting others who have Dell warranty issues.
wsteiner 05/21/07	Many great ideas presented here! After reading all the comments, I have a few to make. I think this is basically a good idea but as mentioned, users will (initially) be confused as to where they belong (Am I Advanced, Intermediate?) Maybe some generalized definitions would help them reach the correct rep. After the first call, they should know where they belong when making future calls. Before everyone starts banging away at this comment let me say that I do understand that everyone can't always fit into one category, and may fit into multiple categories depending on the nature of the problem. The more advanced users understand this, computer illiterate individuals don't. BUT, with this tiered system, they (beginners) WILL know where they belong. I think 3 tiers is a good number. In an ideal world, every dell tech would be trained to the expert level but this just isn't really feasible for several reasons. To extend the analogy above, not everyone in the ER is a trauma surgeon and ninty-nine percent of the time, grandma doesn't need advanced help. I don't know how many support people Dell employs for telephone support, but I'm sure it's a high number. Trying to train all of them to expert level would be a nightmare (financially and logistically) and could even increase their employee turnover rate, BUT continuing education is a must for these people. As with any job, there should be ongoing "professional development" and the shining stars should rise to the top. So, I think trying to get your customers to "self-triage" is not a bad idea in an attempt to offer better service, but it certainly isn't a cure. Continued training and empowering the dell reps to deviate from the script at the intermediate/advanced level would also help. I can see this will be a tough nut to crack, but thanks for trying and also for asking for our input.
petzymathuram 05/21/07	Hi wsteiner, "After the first call, they should know where they belong when making future calls". How can you assure that the issue he is facing the next time will be same as the first time inorder to grade his issue of understanding? Suggestion1: Whenever a new scenario ( issue ) pops up the respective rep / team needs to keep a record of it. The update needs to be extended to the entire tech support team without any delay. Suggestion 2:The AHT Average handling time will not be an issue if they are thorough with the concepts to the full. Suggestion 3: Whenever the customer comes up with a difficult issue & the rep does not know the correct answer, the rep can fix a call back within a few minutes, meanwhile the rep needs to perform the way out in a "Lab" / ask his colleagues/ search the web/ ask the leaders Suggestion 4: To test if the entire team has taken the update seriously, keep a test just to check their IQ on the update. I repeat once again the grading of customer's understanding of the issue will not work, it would rather complicate. This idea will just once again be a " frustration" to the customers.
jervis961 05/21/07	I can think of better ways and places to die. :-0
jervis961 05/21/07	No it was fine, I can't stand hospitals either.
jake1026 05/21/07	My view is that the tech, not the customer, should be able to determine the expertise level of the customer. This rating would reduce logjam and pressure on the customer to classify themselves and spend more tiime getting to the solution. The rating (subject to change as more info is gathered) would be dynamic. I agree that previous call history, customer profile, issues/fixes, order staus, etc., would gain the customer's confidence and provide them with the personal touch everyone desires (wow, Dell remembers me).
petzymathuram 05/22/07	jake1026, " My view is that the tech, not the customer, should be able to determine the expertise level of the customer. This rating would reduce logjam and pressure on the customer to classify themselves and spend more tiime getting to the solution" Well said Jake. The tech needs to understand the customer's knowledge and guide him accordingly. POSSIBILITY: There is a possibility that this idea may shoot up more sensitiveness among the customers. The tech support mostly being outsourced, if a customer comes up for an issue and you give him the embarassment of self estimation by asking him where his level of knowledge stands.....You think people will like it? Certainly not. I repeat..... this idea will not work. If at all you prefer "Advanced Computer Knowledge" community people to ask questions to tech support, the community should be and it can be only from the "IT Department". Can the high tech IT community not resolve the issue by itself? You think there will be too many queries from the Advanced computer knowledge people?. I don't think so. Rarely there may be a few cases. ;-) Hence I once again conclude that this idea will not work. This will be simply a waste of time.
petzymathuram 05/22/07	Hello gmat & jervis, FYI: A "lab" means a place close to the techsupport zone where in a few computers will be alotted for practical testing of errors/ issues, from where training materials, guide materials, can also be accessed. A tech can go ahead to perform the issue and learn how to overcome it practically. Trainers, Quality, team leads, team mangers etc etc can help the techs to learn to troubleshoot issues practically. gmat & Jervis you can feel at ease, lab is not just meant for hospitals;-) ;)
jervis961 05/22/07	I know what a "lab" is petzymathuram and it can also be a dog, you forgot to mention that. :-) I was just picking on gmat's comment.
phubert 05/22/07	Dell's initial question is a fair one ... and a good one to consider. The issue is one that may be of greatest benefit, in the end, to Dell, itself. However, just to point out one potential problem, I've been helping one older friend, a retired graduate engineer, who by my estimation continues to _refuse_ to discipline himself to accommodate to a computing environment. He is intelligent and active, but nevertheless consistently fails to maintain some necessary details (like a Google browser synch password!). And, there are other very simple, but critical (from a use standpoint) issues as well. Like how a full install of a game will run entirely from the hard drive, while a partial install will require the game CD every time you play it! I don't see that Dell or any company could provide full support to such as my friend without losing money.
jervis961 05/22/07	Some people you just can't help, maybe another catagory for them. Geeks, Grandmas and Goobers?
phubert 05/22/07	I was talking with a co-worker yesterday and he described the same problem (only worse) with his mother! It really isn't that uncommon. For that matter, I've WORKED with individuals (in IT) who had a 'fear' of computing! Well, remember I DO work for the state in civil service! And, I believe I am raising a most valid point: just how many people classifying themselves as novices (or even some who ARE skilled but 'mind lazy') WILL be either very costly or completely impossible to support? ** Apparently, lindahewitt is one of the best ones. I KNOW I can be very mind lazy... if it doesn't interest me, I tend NOT to pursue it. If we were in a UNIX environment, perhaps I'd be more motivated... I won't say what I think of Windows... it wouldn't be clean.
jervis961 05/22/07	I know what you mean.
hjs000 05/23/07	I like it! Not only would this allow more efficient queuing but also allow the rep to be better prepared/trained to answer questions. I also love the idea that the rep won't start at the lowest common denominator, "are you sure you have it plugged in?" type questions, if I indicate that I'm not a beginner, and won't talk over me if I am totally lost. I like this idea.
enufalready 05/24/07	I would pay a bit more for a phone tech that can ACTUALLY SPEAK ENGLISH WITHOUT AN UNINTELLIGIBLE ACCENT! "Hulluo, mai naaam iz Geoorge Worshinnggton houw would I be help of yoou toodayy?"
claypidgeon 05/25/07	I find it hard to vote for any of these options when the same core issue remains un-discussed. The lack of Dell's active management (read this as reviewing each tech and center [whether sourced or not] ) and the restrictive policies and procedures each tech has to follow. I could right a book on this, but Dell insiders "KNOW" what I am talking about. That being said, the tech should automatically be able to do this (yes I was able to do this) and should be part of the initial phone process. I found most people who knew what they were doing, were able to convey information that demonstrated it (certain sourced centers Management did NOT allow the tech this leeway - dell not actively manageming the facility lets this and other silly policies impact the customers experience). Know, will this queue "arrangement" address some of the annoyances (script reading, language barriers, etc)???? one big fat NO. Pair this with a host of improvements, yes it should. The direct2dell blog the VP posted a comment: "The early results are promising. We’ve seen a 62 percent decrease in our tech support transfers in the past year, and our customer satisfaction rate for tech support continues to improve where we've implemented these changes." This is a prime example of that management is NOT managing the process, they are managing the metric. If they manage the process the metric will take care of itself. Guys (Dell management), the customer really doesn't care what fluff we talk about, they care about getting fixed. Why is there not a progressive tech status (you can use L1 - L3 if you wish) to were the "first line" tech can approve to what SME's, L2's, and L3's can do now and the first line can do without a transfer and annoy the customer. This is one of many examples to where you manage the process and the metric will take care of itself. Want me to write you a lengthy list, email me a request. For those that don't know, I worked at a US sourced center was essentially a repeat call agent and "trust me" I saw all the issue these threads have talked about. Dell is great on their NBD service, but there are plenty of customers making dozen calls, long times, etc not getting any acceptable service. I think Dell should consider a complete overhaul of the internal support process for the consumer (large customers have it EASY) and be VERY active in managing the centers.
lindahewitt 05/25/07	claypidgeon, The URL in your message above (see first paragraph) was not displayed.
roboho 05/25/07	User levels should be the way you advertise your product, not your product support.
lotu 05/25/07	Mabye you could ask the user a couple of simple question to determin their level of compatance. Like what is the operating system, what internet browser do you use, and how long they owned a computer, and how old they are. If they don't know the first two then they are a beginer, if they've onwed a computer for a long time like > 5 years they are advance, and if they are very old maybe they are just intermediate. Either way Dell should save this infromation so it can be reused when the person calls back.
claypidgeon 05/25/07	Lindahewitt, I was rushing to type that in this AM before work, just fixed it, there was no intent for a URL (i removed the sentence fragment). @lotu: You find that %99.9 of the customer who have no clue (aka beginner) actually introduce themselves as having no clue. Then you find %50 of the people that think they have a clue, actually have NO clue. I am finding it hard to grasp at how this self grading would impact customer support or actually improve, so I really can't vote yet (leaning to demote), perhaps a little more clarity from admin1.
jervis961 05/26/07	As I said on May 18th. The best solution may be answering one question: "Do you think you know what the problem is or do you need assistance figuring it out?". It isn't a yes or no question so most people will say how far they have looked into it. If they have done no investigating at all you've got a newbie and act accordingly. If they mention they tried some of the automatic trouble shooting programs with no results, you've got an intermediate user. If they say I need "x" part replaced, you've got the advanced user. In the advanced user case there would still need to be a verification that they are correct in the diagnostics, just have the tech say "I understand you need "part x" I just need you to help me verify your information so we are sure we get it right"
lindahewitt 05/26/07	Claypigeon, What does NBD mean? You stated " ... Dell is great on their NBD service."
akidan 05/26/07	@lindahewitt: NBD means Next Business Day
lindahewitt 05/26/07	Claypidgeon, You wrote: "I saw all the issue these threads have talked about. Dell is great on their NBD service...." I bought one of your Optiplex top of the line systems and paid for premium "NBD" service (which cost almost $500 More) but when I encountered a blue screen of death, I did not get NBD service from your Indian service centers. After spending 2 months of troubling shooting my brand new computer, I finally called Dell. To make a long story short, after 6 months of no satisfaction, I finally hired an Independent tech support person to check out everything at my expense. Dell did not solve my problem. I had to pay someone else to solve my problem. When the BSOD occurred my computer was 5 months old and I was very disappointed in the service that I received. Oh yes, I asked to speak with supervisors and was told that they were not available. I even called Dell in Round Rock to get Michael Dell's email address and I was told that he did not have one. This is when I decided that the only way for me to get my problem solved is to hire an independent tech support person, which is what I did. Dell, absolutely must, intitute a process for dissatified customers to contact someone at a higher level, whose sole responsibility is to see to it that tech support issues do not go unresolved. Customers should not allow customers to fall through the cracks. The Indian support people told me several times at the end of each tech support call, that if I got mad enough and raised enough hell, then Dell would send out a tech support person. To say that I was unhappy with Dell is an under statement. The jury is still out as to whether or not I would buy another Dell computer. Everything hinges on whether Dell returns to its former high quality performance of the 1990s. One of my prime reasons for buying Dell is their former high quality technical support. If Dell does not remedy this situation, then they will no longer a notch above other vendors. IMO, this is the major reason that Dell has seen a decline in their market share percentage. It is because I did extensive research on BSODs that I have made some of the suggestions that I have in other threads. If Dell's tech support had been at its former high level (1990s), then my problem should have been solved within in a limited amount of time. Defining this process is easy. Every tech support repreeenting Dell person should be well versed in this area.
badblood 05/26/07
phubert 05/29/07	I will have to agree with lindahewitt on the key point: Dell was once rated all A's in customer satisfaction and tech support. THAT, alone, was reason to choose Dell. If that is no longer the case, I'd opt for a 2nd-tier supplier like PogoLinux... What's up, Dell?
sethdixie 05/30/07	That would be great- I am always ahead of the tech guy!
zeavott 05/31/07	Very good idea. Although shouldn't the technician be able to ask a few simple questions to find that out?? "OK, so I understand you're having a problem with _________, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being a beginner and 10 being a computer expert, how would you rate yourself?"
goldy 05/31/07	I agree with badblood. Dell should provide better customer service in the first place with representatives that are able to communicate with geeks and grandmas. The representative should be showing the customer a few things he didn't know, rather than the other way around. In addition to this, please do not charge customers for any form of customer support. I'm good with computers, so if I can't figure it out and I need an "Advanced Dell Representative," then it's probably going to take at least an hour for us to figure out the problem. Before you know it, charged by the minute, that's a huge hole in my pocket. Plus, nothing burns more than going to a customer support site and seeing that to get reasonable help is going to cost a lot of money. When I spend a lot of money on something, I expect it to work. When it doesn't work like it should, I shouldn't need to pay more money to get it back to proper working condition (especially while its under warranty). However, I do like the idea of the customer choosing how experienced he is so the customer support representative can speak in higher computer language/slang and give shorter instructions (instead of giving step-by-step instructions which take longer to type and read). This will help expedite the problem solving process.
phubert 06/01/07	What can the OS do to provide better information about system problems? This suggestion (below) asks for more comprehensive, automated, solutions to hardware issues, but software problems are, of course, another matter. Where can operating systems improve to provide more useful information on failures (hardware AND software)? Hardware diagnostic software and indicators http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/65367< BIG part of problem resolution, when calling tech support, is giving the tech accurate and complete INFORMATION. Ordinary computer users are not disciplined to provide such and even computer professionals often fail when the problem is on their own machine! However, so often, the information is not readily available to the user. So, ONE issue is -extracting- information FROM the user, which often means TRAINING the user ON THE PHONE. If Dell is looking into this seriously, they must evaluate every aspect of support. As someone who has provided support to programmers (and once having been a programmer), I know that many 'computer professionals' are undisciplined and even refuse to take responsibility for their own, unmanaged machines! Naturally, I've also provided SOME support to real 'end users' and am familiar with the need to TRAIN newbies to make better observations and report with far greater DETAIL. I'm sure many of us provide support to friends and family and, here too, I've found I must TRAIN individuals to be better observers. For Dell, there will be a number of questions/areas to address, and Dell's response to those would naturally follow the easiest to implement through longer term, initially more difficult and costly means. Meaning, some solution paths toward more effective 'service' may require some investment of time and development cost, but they may also repay Dell in the long run.
phubert 06/01/07	1) untrained end-user support (software or hardware) a) how do I get this individual to provide me the details I need in order to resolve their problem? b) (could be 'a'), How do I CALM THEM DOWN from whatever panic or anger state they're currently IN. 'a', however, COULD be aided by automated software or improvements in operating system error reporting. How to get minimal functionality back for the user has been addressed in a number of suggestions, including the one I referenced above. As long as the motherboard/CPU hasn't failed, a bootable, RUNNABLE (LIVE CD) CD or Flash stick, especially if it has enough of the _user's_ current configuration on it (ISP/mail settings) could go a VERY LONG way toward providing the user with ongoing functionality while their problem is being addressed. A copy of the equivalent of 'my documents' (accounting for Linux as well as Windows), as well as such software as OpenOffice and Firefox could keep the user working... and THAT could go a long way toward providing better customer satisfaction!
phubert 06/01/07	I would think the most difficult part would be asking for changes to operating systems... but that would hardly be unreasonable. Dell SHOULD be participating in such efforts as should every provider of hardware platforms.
izach 06/02/07	I've been deaming about this type of service. Instead of: Service Person A: "Please can go to CNTL Panal" System, Device Mgr Tab,,,,, with the new concept, I announce my technical level, and now: Service Person B: "please what is the brand and rel levle of your Network Adapter? is is on? I hope you all are getting my message..... I'm vo0ting yes,
claypidgeon 06/02/07	@lindahewit: sorry, been sick for a few days, but here goes hoping you are still looking at this. I don't work for dell, nor have I ever, I worked for one of their US based sourced centers. The NBD is standard (except portables you can elect for a cheaper mail in repair service) for home systems. The $500 you paid extra was likely going from 1 year to 3 or 4 years of coverage. Now, your experience with your months blue screens is exactly what I have been speaking of in these ideas. The "metric" the upper management spouts off about is so absurd, your situation probably never generated a low metric for your call or any of the tech you spoke to. See, when I worked at the center, I took repeat callers (such as you would have been) and at least 50% of my callers (6-8 each day) were like you, months of calling receiving poor (read this as NO) service, for what is likely an easy fix. And most of not all those callers had reached the same center you speak of, over and over again. With the increase of phone speakers on this side of ocean, you will definitely understand the techs better, but the service you will receive may likely stay the same if the same policies, procedures, QA, and other non-sense doesn't change. None of any of the tech you spoke with solved your issue and all probably didn't get a bad "grade" for your calls. Now, your system was 5 months old, and based on the warranty you bought, dell would be responsible for bring your system to a "like new" state (aka the OS restore/reinstall) but your tech should have given you best level service before that - problems occur when the customer doesn't want the restore, and troubleshooting blue screens are technically outside the warranty (as the dimension/inspiron warranties stand today). Speaking with supervisors are pointless, they are typically worse than the people you initially speak with. They have a process for escalation of customer who request it, you just have to do so properly. You said "The Indian support people told me several times at the end of each tech support call, that if I got mad enough and raised enough hell, then Dell would send out a tech support person." which is absolutely baffling to me because the only way you get on-site is for replacement of hardware only (not sure of the ultimate cause of you blue screen). If the error was determined hardware related, then part/tech should have been dispatched and arrived next business day. @phubert: Amen brother! Many times it was sooooooooooo hard to get the customer to explain what the error was, what recent things they installed, etc. Really, some customers thought they could call up and the problem would be magically fixed. I will admint Dell connect was a great implementation to help fix OS issues but like you suggest, more tools like that should be implemented to help diagnosis. ### Back to this topic, the technician does (should) do this already, perhaps a little more meat into what or the goal would help.
lindahewitt 06/03/07	claypidgeon, Yep, I am still here. If Dell were to implement a tech support best practicesa and reward customers who do this in some way (faster service, tier 2, etc.) then a lot of calls could be expedited. In addition, the months and months of repeat calls could also be eliminated. In my specific BSOD situation, the Microsoft website defined the error code that I was getting as being caused by malfunctioning hardware 95% of the time. Dell said that the OS had mysteriously become corrupted. However, if Dell had a defined best practices, this is what should have occurred IMHO. 1. I would have signed up and bought the software bundle, so that I could implement best practices. 2. When I encountered any error code, I would use TechSmith's SnagIt program to copy the entire window and save it in a separate folder labeled BSOD errors - SnagIt. 3. Part of the best practices procedure should include pre-scheduled full backups each week with daily incremental backups. 4. Instead of looking at the hardware for the problem, the problem resolution should begin with the software because more than 90% of BSODs are caused by poorly written software. A full backup should be taken prior to installing any new hardware or software component or any downloads. This information should be in a document, Excel for instance, where you provide the most basic of information (date, product name, version #, URL, folder path where saved. 5. Then do a Google search on that product - version number. Also post query at such forums, such as http://www.virtualdr.com/ and post at the software vendor's forum about your issue. It may take 2 - 5 days to get a response but most of the time the customer is going to find out that this is a problem, which has been posted by others. So the customer would do a full backup for the record of the current situation; then he/she would revert back to the previous full backup. With the exception of newbies, most users would be able to trouble shoot their own issues. However, if this did not fix the problem, then the customer would call Dell and provide them with a detailed document of what they had already done including all error codes. Dell would then look at hardware, dlls and the OS. The initial contact with Dell might not even be by telephone. It might be by email, with all of the requisite steps and documentation. Dell techs could then quickly scan the customer's trouble-shooting efforts and call the customer to trouble-shoot and solve the issue. It would then be in Dell's best self interest to capture all of the issues and their resolution, which would greatly improve their tech support. Doing it this way would also provide evidence as to whether or not the customer had implemented best practices. Training needs to be provided for some users, where the customer is walked through the process and everything is explained. Ideally, this should occur in Dell's retail center. Once this policy was implemented, I would bet that Dell would see more than a 50% reduction in tech support calls. My experience with buying Dell's top of the line computers is that the hardware components almost never fail. However, I do not know this high quality software paradyme holds true for Dell's other consumer computers. BTW, the cause of my BSOD was an AVG program, where all of the possible error codes had not been defined by the development team.
petzymathuram 06/03/07	Hi all, Best is the PC tune up option wherein the customers when they have issues calls up Dell, The rep goes ahead to pull the system IP address of the customer by Pinging, the rep will be able to see the screen of the customer's (Home/ office) laptop or desktop. Now the rep can go ahead to troubleshoot right from Dell's support center. While troubleshooting if the issue is critical, then knowledgeable techs ie Tier ,2 3 etc can help the troubleshooting process and resolve the customer's issue. How about this ? Is this not a better Dell practice? Linda of course Dell has good values.....U C. Linda What is your opinion about this?
claypidgeon 06/03/07	Wow, AVG caused a blue screen, that is odd. Of the blue screens I solved 90% were software related (Drivers [mainly NIC drivers], Corrupted Registry, Competing software, etc) and 10% hardware (Memory, HDD). Also, a majority of the calls were from systems that couldn't run because of the error (including blue screens) so doing the snagit et al wouldn't work. Remember I supported XPS so we did resolve OS issue other than going straight to OS restore. I don't think Dell would rely on places like your virtual Dr site, and they used to monitor the dell tech support forums but for some reason stopped. @petzy: Currently all support tech at dell can use Dell Connect (Dell's home grown remote control software) and it is a great tool but of course only works if windows runs so it use is limited in as a diagnosis tool. In my opinion, there shouldn't be any L1/L2/L3 and the cruddy escalation process, L1's shouldn't exist, and every phone person should at least have knowledge of L2 and probably L3. ### and to this topic every tech should do this automatically and i see no benefit to self grading.
petzymathuram 06/03/07	Claypidgeon, Your name looks nice, it sounds similar to TrojanHorse, ie ClayHorse. ;-) Yeah I agree that all techs need to possess the knowledge level of L2 & L3. Hmm can't deny what you say...
claypidgeon 06/03/07	Name comes from my initial unreal tournament days (i was such an easy target). I know the L2/L3 expectation works, that is what is the current expectation for XPS support staff.
petzymathuram 06/03/07	Claypidgeon, Hmm.. quite interesting......yr name, yr ideas etc. etc. bye 4 now...
superterran 06/04/07	It would be nice if Dell just had a 'we'll trust your ass' certification. I'm what Dell would consider an Expert at computer repair and diagnosis; and every time I call any tech support line, you have to keep repeating 'I know what the problem is... I know what the problem is... I NEED A NEW HARD DRIVE! SERIOUSLY! SEND ME A NEW HARDDRIVE' - and then you have to walk through six different procedures so they can mis-diagnose the problem. Then, you spend 20 minutes debating it with them... 'No, it's not the cooling fan - the Hard drive is making a click sound, and every time it makes that sound, the drive actually moves... it's not a case fan, it's not over-heating... I swear, it's not over-heating.' When I call any OEM, Dell included, I don't want to put up with the shit. They should be able to form some basic competency exam, and if I can pass it, they'll just take my damned word for it. Here's how I expect this to work... DT "Hello, Thanks for Calling Dell technical Support, my name is Steve, do you have a case number?" Me "No... I need a replacement part." DT "In order to skip the diagnostic phase of this case, would you please give me your e-mail address so I can verify your technical rating?" Me "Absolutely, my E-Mail is 1@2.com" DT "Thank you. Ok, I've got your infomation right here. What's your problem?" Me "I need a replacement motherboard. None of my IDE channels are working, and I cannot get the POST to detect any drive I connect to any one of the IDE channels; I've tried a confirmed working CD-ROM drive on both cable select and master on both the primary and secondary channels. I flashed the BIOS with the latest version on your website, and that also didn't work. After the flash, I went in and tried to reset the CMOS and I even tried configuring a working IDE hard drive manually in the BIOS and the system hung." DT "Are you sure it's the motherboard?" Me "As sure as I can be; The system supports SATA and it boots in to windows... I can even run 3DMark and it's stable and Memtest. It seems to be a problem with the IDE bus; anyways - everything else is running fine." DT "Ok... i've logged all of that infomtation. Here's your case #... hold for your fed-ex number." That's what it should be. You deserve an explaination on why it doesn't work; and you should try and confirm my diagnosis was right when you get the system back. If I keep callin' it on the bad parts, you should let me skip right over the bullshit 'did you try starting in Safe mode?'. I understand those parts cost money and you don't want to just send them out freely. But, I also don't want to spend 3 hours on the phone for something that I've already diagnosed and could pretty easily fix. As long as my batting average is high, I think y'all should just trust me... it'll cut down on tech support calls dramatically; I only want to talk to those guys for like 5 minutes anyways.
lindahewitt 06/04/07	superterran, I agree with you. This is the way that it should work but I don't see the Dell tech support ever working this way. Unfortunately, I don't think Dell hires tech support personnel with your level of expertise or better. No doubt, they have engineers that could match you but they are NOT working in tech support. Again, this problem goes back to staffing requirements and training and until those two things are upgraded, I don't see anything changing.
phubert 06/05/07	@superterran & @lindahewitt - do you think my overall suggestion at Hardware diagnostic software and indicators http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/65367< address some of this issue??? Meaning, the problem would be better defined BY the diagnostic software... and easily provided TO Dell as an upload! Have you already used DSET (at Dell's request)? Found it to be a pain to download the latest version again and again?? Thought DSET updates should be automated, perhaps? Not to mention Server Update? Why not have the same for desktops/laptops?
lindahewitt 06/05/07	I used Dell's diagnostic software and it was worthless. I used the short version (took a couple of hours) and the long version (took 14 hours) to run. Dell's diagnostic software that I used was strictly focused on hardware, since the reps were convinced that my NIC card was bad. I ended up running this series of tests twice but the results were negative all four times. There is a real need for thorough and comprehensive diagnostic software that users can use as well as tech support. Unfortunately, I don't know of anything in this area that I would recommend. BTW, explanations need to be in clear understandable English, no geek speak or MS speak. I have not used DSET? When new updates come out, the user should not have to download everything again and again and again. The fact that this is currently the situation is just indicative that this software is not fully developed, IMO. phubert, I just read your link and I concur with your suggestion for better diagnostic software for both hardware and software, although I don't know if Dell is the best one to write this software. However, what Dell could do, is to initiate the effort among vendors and possibly invest in those efforts. There are two new products (I have not had time to evaluate either product) but both look promising. The first product is "The Ultimate Troubleshooter", This product was recommended to me by a business associate. When he showed it to me, one of the real benefits is that everything is explained in non-geek, easy to understand English. This is primarily a PC Tuneup program but it could form the base for building a software - hardware diagnostic http://www.answersthatwork.com/TUT_pages/TUT_information.htm< other program is Raxco's Perfect Disk RX Suite. This is a new product, which includes their legendary defrag software and other tweaking tools. Raxco is an outstanding company, which dots every "i" and crosses every "t" in terms of their software design, development and documentation process. I have already purchased two copies of RX Suite to check out this http://www.raxco.com/products/perfectdiskrxsuite/
phubert 06/05/07	What diagnostic software have you used, lindahewitt? DSET is for servers and I only do server support, it runs very quickly and provides a text file report that Dell support asks you to upload (email). YOUR problem is another matter... and certainly worthy to be addressed. A better software solution to -hardware- problem analysis, along with some recovery ability (updated boot CD/flash memory stick) I think would go a long way to saving both the customer and Dell time and money... However, it is also definitely no panacea for ALL issues.
lindahewitt 06/05/07	I don't remember the name of the software, but it was not DSET. What I forgot to mention, which I think is critically important is to get customers trained on doing regular backups. A full backup needs to be taken prior to adding new hardware or software. It would be very helpful, if Dell developed a simple little program, where the customer could document that they were installing the new xyz program, which they have downloaded from abc URL (or purchased from xxx, etc.) The same would also be true for new hardware. If there is a separate partition for the OS, programs and data, then the full backup could be for just the OS and program partitions. Doing it this way, would also eliminate one of the users objections of losing any data that they had entered since installing new hardware or software. This would allow customers to put their computers back to the way that it was and eliminate a lot of tech support calls. IMO, training needs to be provided (at an annual charge of like $99 per year, similar to what Apple does) because there are many customers, who would not implement this without this extra assist.
phubert 06/05/07	Anything like XP checkpointing... I had to use that ONCE... worked very well. But, I have few software problems. Now, if someone just came up with backup/restore software that did this FOR me (on Linux?) ... I've never been careful that way, but rarely had to reload. Part of it must be an OS issue, however, as I've never seen an IBM mainframe broken by software installs (unless we're talking significant Operating System software upgrades... especially by sysprogs who have worked a long, late-hours weekend and are working in a daze in command-line mode!). PC software should be as solid as fault-tolerant systems software (Stratus VOS, IBM zOS, UNISYS OS/2200)... haven't PC's been AROUND long enough for that??? Do you do server support, lindahewitt? (a DSET report is a pretty standard request from Dell techs)
superterran 06/05/07	phubert & lindahewitt, I don't care what kind of diagnostics software they write, or for what platform they write it on. Diag software is almost always shit; GIGO. When your working with a system as complex as your run of the mill Vista Certified system, Diagnostic software can easily pull false positives. When somebody, I don't care who they are, takes the Diagnostic log file as the authority on if that system is running OK or not, then they aren't going to make a proper diagnosis most of the time. And, in lieu of a trained pair of eyes, ears and real-time interaction with a system... no amount of phone support will ever live up to your average 15 year old kid in most instances. Diagnostics are designed to supplement technical expertise, not replace it. Unless I'm just absolutely stuck on a problem, I tend to use Diagnostics to get a confirmation on my diagnosis; not to pin-point my problem. I know, first hand, that getting errors durring a memory test could just as easily mean that the frequency*multiplier is wrong, or that the PCI SCSI card keeps dicking with the memory addressing. I know to check for these things, and when I run a diagnostic for a specific problem i've already eliminated those potential causes out. So, I don't rightly care what diagnostic software comes on a computer, if it has firefox installed, or if it has Beryl for that matter. I want Dell to say 'hey, this guy knows his shit... we won't insult his intellegence by giving him a crappy diagnostic CD and taking it's word over his.' Now, your average computer user might have to depend on Diagnostic's to figure out what's wrong... and the script-reader, i mean support personnel, might not be able to get a better diagnosis than what his software says, but That's where the Grandma Tier support comes in. I'm in the 'Expert' support bracket, and I'm telling you - I want to inform you of my status, and then I want you to become little more than a yes-man. I don't want to be second guessed, and I don't want to sit there and have to go six rounds with somebody who doesn't even speak my language natively; and If I have to go six rounds with him, then he sure as hell put up a fantastic argument to support his cause. I don't mind debating with people who know what they're talking about - but I hate being in the situation where your explaining to them basic principals that they should have learned years ago. Sometimes PC support is worse than the local telephone co-op's internet support; 'I'm not restarting every PC on my network because your cable modem won't connect... that has nothing to do with it... Look, you obviously have no idea how DHCP works...' <->s rampant. Thats my 2 cents.
superd 06/05/07	I fail to see why people need tech support in the first place. It's like buying a car - Ford will sell it to you, but they aren't going to help you drive it. People who can't swap out their own memory/HDD/battery to diagnose their issue should pay more than a tech who has already tried all the parts in another system and has narrowed it down to the PSU. Software support is costly to Dell. Have a problem? Hardware techs aren't any more prepared to instantly diagnose your syntax error at line 397 than you are. Don't like it? Call M$ or do a full reinstall.
phubert 06/07/07	But, your Ford (Honda, in my case) dealer WILL maintain the WARRANTY. And, I thought that's what this was about. ESPECIALLY when, as in the case of lindahewitt, you have PURCHASED such support. As to diagnostic software. Well, I'm not interested in diagnosing OTHER software. MY concern is with the hardware and the systems I've always worked on (not Intel platforms) have had pretty much failsafe, foolproof diagnostics, with phone-home and automatic hardware replacement delivery! I can see no reason why ANY hardware platform should not have comparable automation from the standpoint of identifying a hardware problem accurately and reporting it clearly. Dell's OpenManage RAID management software will post impending failure WARNING messages for disk drives from which a phonecall to Dell elicits shipment of a new disk drive BEFORE the old one fails completely. My point is that there are EXISTING tools, but they are not integrated, they don't self-update, and they aren't available across ALL platforms Dell sells. And, I have TRIED to say if Dell _addresses_ this issue (integration, self-updating, availability on all platforms) and even extends it for desktops/laptops, they can dramatically IMPROVE the customer experience, while ultimately reducing their own costs.
phubert 06/07/07	BUT, we ARE carrying on different discussions in this thread, addressing different problems. We just have to sort that out as we read so we don't wind up criticizing someone because we have lost the context of THEIR argument.
liraco 11/30/07	It would indeed be nice, and it could probably also spare tech support people a few headaches or at least prepare them for the user that's coming if they're assigned to a certain area (advanced, "grandma", etc.) Still, this could also see several issues rise up if people are choosing a level higher than what they are (let's say a kid thinks he's advanced and has no idea how to see what version of video driver he has installed.)
phubert 11/30/07	Looking at this thread again, I wonder that Dell hasn't gotten more involved in the DISCUSSION. Do they prefer we move over to the FORUMS???? But, @dell_admin1, you PUT THIS HERE. IF Dell wants us to 'discuss' -with- them only in FORUMS, shouldn't you have put a link TO the Forums here?????? Once more, I make wild assumptions and ask a question because of silence.
zanlok Feb 4	http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/services/prosupport/end_users?...
jackie_c Apr 21	FYI: What’s Next for Dell Customer Service

Please log in to post a comment

recently demoted by:

How IdeaStorm Works:

Categories

Status

IdeaStorm Team