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Time to CHANGE the CORPORATE CULTURE By phubert,  Jan 30, 2008

A recent survey of readers by The Register highlights perceptions of IT companies.

I don't go by others' perceptions, but businesses that MARKET PRODUCTS cannot AVOID doing so.

Here's the link to the PDF download... Dell does and doesn't fare so well.

Have you Dell guys already been reviewing this one??

http://whitepapers.theregister.co.uk/paper/view/374/0901-reg-buzz
phubert90.0
  Wed Jan 30 13:13:04 GMT 2008
Comments: 19
Categories: Dell  
Status:Acknowledged


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By jervis961  Jan 30, 2008
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Thanks for posting this in an idea phubert, it is a very interesting read. It shows Dell is mentioned by many people in conversations (good and bad) so it has the hosehold name part all wrapped up. What I find more interesting is the rest of the study which shows people see Dell as a follower more than a leader. It also shows that people are not impressed with Dell's culture. Dell needs to work on changing how it operates to change these perseptions.
By jervis961  Jan 30, 2008
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To change the culture perception Dell needs to continue to improve the conversations with customers whenever they are delt with, be it online, in person or over the phone. Many of the complaints you read about Dell indicate that they seem to make promises and do not keep them. This goes across the whole Dell business: sales, support, Finance and online communities. There have been reports of sales people who seem more interested in making a sale that providing accurate information. If a customer asks if a computer will get a specific upgrade in the near future the rep should have that information available. People will come back and have a happier buying experience if they get what they want rather than buy a product only to find out if they waited a month they could have gotten exactly what they wanted. One example of this would be things like higher screen resolutions or better video cards that Dell has recently released on some notebooks. Support goes slightly hand in hand with sales since sometimes the extended service is not properly explained. People read or are told that Dell provides IN HOME service when in fact it is over the phone diagnosis, self installed parts and Dell only sends out people as a last resort. People don't read the fine print because they trust that when a company promises in home support that is what they are going to get. Perhaps Dell needs to chaneg the name to over the phone support or guided support. Another issue with support is the drivers available. I upgraded my Inspiron 6000 laptop to Vista and downloaded drivers from the support site. Dell Never released a driver for my touchpad so I had to find my own work around and now they have removed Vista drivers from the downloads available for my system. Things like this really sour a customer on Dell and need to be improved. Finance hopefully will change when Dell completes the buyback of the 30% of Dell Finance from Citi group this year but still needs to improve. The interest rates are very high and people I know with excellent credit complain that they cannot get financing through Dell for some reason. Finally we can discuss the online communities. I think Dell has already heard enough from me about how they need to improve on this so I will make it short. MORE PARTICIPATION, FOLLOW THROUGH ON PROMISES AND MAKE THE SITES MORE USER FRIENDLY. I can elaberate if they want but I think they already understand and are slowly working towards solutions, SLOWLY but I will address that in a new comment.
By phubert  Jan 30, 2008
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I promoted Dell here when it was a start-up and NOT at all in favor at a state agency... now (and FOR now) it is our agency's standard. That may change, especially on the server & storage side. Dell has really TRIED to be helpful with a problem we encountered with an order, but I don't give them high marks for the _execution_ of their efforts. And, as I posted in another suggestion, I believe the situation is one that might be prevented with more interactive software on their web site and with sales reps. with greater knowledge who could see and offer alternatives. Meaning, if they asked truly helpful questions. Of course, I'd recommend using dyed-in-the-wool techs, now moved-on from tech support (maybe old guys like me? :-)) ...'old hands' at IT who understand systems and data centers... with a desire to help customers obtain the best results with their systems decisions and purchases.
By phubert  Jan 30, 2008
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Programming and systems support can be fun for a time, but it gets old... "been there, done that" ... interacting with people can be far more interesting... once a tech has gained the people skills he once lacked... But that COULD be the best of both worlds for CUSTOMER SALES SUPPORT... someone who thoroughly understands IT... better still, a TEAM with a very broad range of knowledge... each with their own in-depth skills. I've always chafed at state civil service titles... classifications and assignments... some of it amounting to territorialism, when a more flexible environment would allow staff to find their own areas of interest and fill needs as THEY see them... and as others DISCOVER them and make USE of their knowledge!
By jervis961  Jan 30, 2008
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Dell needs to find a way to move the company faster and become a leader rather than a follower. As it is they have too many steps to even do something small like add a link to Dell.com on IdeaStorm. That one link took months to impliment instead of the 2 minutes it would have taken a mom and pop setup to do. By the time Dell is able to react to a market's change direction the marked has already rounded the next corner. Dell needs to have a group set up to react more quickly to market trends and act more like a start up company than the lumbering bohemouth Dell has become.
By phubert  Jan 30, 2008
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Yes, that is partly why I posted the "re-brand GREEN" suggestion... to me, Global Warming is a "me too" cause... so recast it completely... what are the REAL roots of what the world needs? Get to the source and go from there... it will cross swords, however, with many who do NOT 'do right'. Google's "do no harm" is not enough by a long shot. It's far more, in a way, than we see from many corporations... but it's more like fence-sitting if you think about it. As Bob Lewis once pointed out: If you want morality in your business, you must BRING YOUR OWN. O.K., Dell, exactly what is YOURS?
By phubert  Jan 30, 2008
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Note that this isn't in any way intended to be hostile. It IS intended to challenge! After all, if you don't challenge yourselves, do you expect to grow? You certainly won't LEAD.
By sugarbear  Jan 30, 2008
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Valid points on all fronts. The public view of Dell is not the best, to many huge problems with customer support on the home user and small business front. There have always been problems getting them to pay on rebates and now the gift cards. All the law suites in different states isn`t good, but is warranted. It almost seems deliberate on the part of tech support or customer service to give us the permanent run around or treat us as a sub human class. Dell is pushing into Europe and Asia for new sources of sales and money. All these countries read every thing we do, and will soon have the same complaints. I believe Dell is stuck in a long, long rut, and dosen`t see a way to climb out of it. Many of the sales reps will tell you any thing to make the sale. Often the reps have no idea of what they are selling or tell you that they can give you a big discount, that never happens. This in not meant to be a hostile post either. It`s just the facts as I have experienced them in the last several years.
By zanlok  Jan 30, 2008
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Argh.. I clicked the wrong button!
Mostly, change the marketing culture where computers -look- like they will be cheaper than elsewhere. However, we all know a properly configured Dell will actually cost *more* than everyone else's. My experiences with Dell support have been better than with anyone else overall, and Dell offers great high-end performance options not available elsewhere - so I basically always buy Dell. Still, I'd like to see more honesty about pricing, and better ways to reliably obtain discounts. (especially for return customers)
By jackie_c  Jan 30, 2008
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@phubert: So just to be sure I understand, is this an idea or a challenge? If it is an idea, is the idea for Dell to change its Corporate Culture?
By jervis961  Jan 30, 2008
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I think he means it as a little of both. You really need to read the study to understand better.
By zanlok  Jan 30, 2008
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jackie_c has a point, though. I know we all hate edits, but maybe phubert can and better state the result he specifically proposes..?
By aaron_h  Jan 30, 2008
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I skimmed The Register Buzz report. Interesting reading, not totally unexpected, Dell has been a leader in so many behind the scenes innovations for inventory, manfuacturing, cash conversion cycles, JIT manufacturing, and many more, but has been seen as a follower as far as new technology is concerned. As far as culture, well there is no accounting for taste. ;)
By phubert  Jan 31, 2008
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jackie- the suggestion is that the culture is the reason Dell apparently responds so slowly. I'm also thinking of organizational issues... as related, for example, to some of our own issues recently with Dell... some due IN PART to our own fault but that could have been prevented, I believe, with (1) a more accurate Dell web site (product descriptions), (2) a more INTERACTIVE web site (able to anticipate and offer alternatives), and (3) a more flexible and knowledgeable sales staff... for starters. I wasn't directly involved in either of these situations, but I was part of the cc's of much of the interplay.
By phubert  Jan 31, 2008
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And, aaron, the Register report is primarily a lead-in to the topic, not necessarily proof of an actual problem.
By zanlok  Jan 31, 2008
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This is a type of problem indemic to most large corporations. It takes a lot of focus from good management to stay "customer-driven". Personally, I'd like to see Dell hold on to the market lead. I didn't like the market when the leaders were any of HP / Compaq / Gateway. Dell deserves the lead. I'm no CEO, but it is obviously no secret at all that HP and IBM together have huge market share. I think the idea is that Dell should readjust their business model to better compete against those threats.
By phubert  Jan 31, 2008
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HP and Lenovo, do you mean? IBM's no longer part of the desktop/laptop market. On the server side, of course there's another mix. AND, there are two ways of measuring: revenue and shipments (#/boxes sold). In 'the old days' we also had MIPS!! :-d
By zanlok  Jan 31, 2008
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Yeah - Lenovo is what I meant. And, yes, datacenter competitors are a different bunch. Heck, there could be more dollars in that space, I don't actually know. I am getting the taste from IdeaStorm that not too many other people are in that official Enterprise IT category, though. Perhaps I misjudge since I'm not as hip as I could be about the computing needs of the above-midsize business realm. I am just a consultant, so I don't own any 'real' servers, but I'm around them a lot.
By phubert  Jan 31, 2008
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I'm sure there's more margin in the higher-end machines... how the mix of volume and margin/unit works out, I have no idea...

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