dellcomputersarah

Give Dell employees better discounts so they can experience the customer experience

Dell submitted by pwalker 02/02/07 **PARTIALLY IMPLEMENTED**

Dell employees tell me they don't get discounts on Dell products. It's time to give Dell employees good discounts so they will more frequently experience your customer experience. This is important. I believe motivating them to be Dell customers more frequently will generate a lot of ideas for improving dell.com, products and services.


We did update our Employee Purchase Program in November.
60 Comments »

The Clutter Is Forming: We Need A Moderator

Dell Community, IdeaStorm submitted by googideas 02/17/07 **IMPLEMENTED**

Approximately 48 hours into its life, and Ideastorm is filling up with repetition and senseless comments. Since moderation cannot be exercised by the participants a moderator a la Dell Employee must put up her hand. Or his hand. We aren't picky!

One: Repeating the same ideas from earlier posts is a pain to the reader and a waste of space and time. These should be removed.

Two: Suggestions which are without applicability to the issues at hand should be removed: one post states that "Dell should set up Dell Pay to compete with Paypal." Sigh. Why?

For what unique purpose? Dell's business is not online payments, in the same way Apple's is not selling music (they sell music at a loss to sell iPods at a gain). There is no benefit to Dell and it meets no need.

Since this format is experimental and fully funded by Dell, I encourage Dell to cut the wheat from the chafe and remove as much as they see fit. For all of the "I have rights" and "freedom of speech" advocates, you don't. This is a place where the good keep going and the bad go out.

The less posts the better. It provides Dell what they want: the opportunity to test strong ideas properly. Without the removal of clutter, the good ideas will by dint of the time they are posted (e.g. 3am) and the increasing volume of posts, inevitably suffer at times the forest's size despite the grandeur of the tree in question.

I may be going against the grain of popular opinion, but you add your vote to this post if you believe in the goal of this site, and not the freedom it offers to utter the first inane thing which comes to mind.
jackie_c is IdeaStorm's moderator. Also, for any mod updates, check out the talk with the moderator blog at the top of the page.




144 Comments »

ONE SHOPPING CART PLEASE (dell.com)

Dell Web Site submitted by ootleman 02/16/07

Why split it up into 4 different shopping carts (home, small business, etc)? I still don't know how it works. 1/2 my products go into one cart, 1/2 my orders go into the other, possibly depending on where I was browsing from.

And, then, seems like the shopping carts expire after a few hours. After all that time spent configuring, why not keep it around longer.

Matter of fact, why not split the site up at all? If I click on desktops - show me all desktops. Do I, as a small company, need differ computers then a medium business? Please show me everything and let me figure out what works best.

6 Comments »

New Dell Retail Store! Death to Mall Kiosks!

Advertising and Marketing, Sales Strategies submitted by evilspell 02/16/07

Dell should open a retail store very similar to the Apple store. I know that they have small kiosks inside malls that they try to sell Plasma TV's and a couple laptops next to a guy selling knock off sunglasses and verizon cell phone sales sharks! Very unprofessional. Open a classy Dell Store and offer Tech support right in the store just like the Genius Bar in the Apple Store. 144 Comments »

The secret is people.................

Dell submitted by stockerchanning 02/18/07

Treat your own employees better. Much better.

This is at the heart of most service issues. Many Dell people one has met complain of galley slave-like burnout conditions in a below-average, uninspiring, depressing environment.

Treating employees as fungible day labour has hurt Dell badly (classic mass manufacturing age mentality of bosses and worker bees). It leads to faceless, scared bureaucrats who just want to "yes" the boss and get home away from work.

What Dell needs is way above average performance.

Sullen, indifferent, fearful employees will never lead to even average results let alone home runs.

It's about time that Dell, as well as many other American companies figured this little nugget out. Trust the employees, don't punish failure, give them some slack, hold them accountable, give a little love and see Dell roar back to life :-)

Dell used to be an innovative, rebellious, cool, kick-ass company -- it can be once again.

However it won't be consultants that make the difference.

It won't be systems and processes.

It won't be outsourcing to Elbonia.

It'll be the oldest arrow in the quiver: Dell's own people.

The secret is people....................

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Have Michael Dell in the Dell Commercials

Advertising and Marketing submitted by carap 02/16/07

It would be really cool to have Michael appear in a commerical where the customer is shown ordering a system on line. Cut to - The door bell rings -Customer opens the door and Michael is standing there with their system.
YOU GOT A DELL!! 28 Comments »

Built in Projector

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Desktops and Laptops submitted by alokjain 02/18/07

First few minutes of a meeting always go in setting up a projector, if a projector can be built in (just like webcam these days), at a decent cost, it could have a market. Potential target also exists in watch movies etc.. 3 Comments »

All hardware should have 5 year support on parts

Service and Support submitted by ronsemail 02/17/07

Only offering parts for only 18 months after you introduce a new model is a big probelm for customers when you design your servers to only last 18 months on average. 3 Comments »

Local Tech support options

Service and Support submitted by darrenreinhardt 02/17/07

Would be great to call a local company providing home support that can take my support calls and dispatch local techs if needed. Like what some of the retail companies are doing.... Comment »

CDs, please include everything or let me download it from the website

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Dell Web Site submitted by uklathemock 02/17/07

After reformatting my e1505 to remove all the bloatware, I needed the Media Direct Reinstallation CD. Well, it took about 3 chats wiith customer service before the correct CD was finally sent. I had to provide the part number myself. :( Why not just put all the Dell software up for download? I have a high-speed connection...and it would save me a few phone calls. Comment »

Could Dell Own Green?

Environment submitted by adrian 02/01/07 **REVIEWED**

Environmental concern and sustainability are today real issues with consumers and voters in many of Dell's markets. It looks as if a genuine commitment to reducing carbon and cleaning up their footprint will become a more important factor for companies wanting to strengthen consumer loyalty in the coming years.

Dell has already made its environmental commitment clear.My suggestion is that this could become a hallmark of the company - why not make the products, literally, green? If Apple can own 'pretty' and IBM/Lenovo can own 'serious', why can't Dell own 'green'?
Dell continues to do a lot to support our environment like our Plant a Tree for Me program and other activities documented on our Environment blog on Direct2Dell. Click here for more details.




77 Comments »

Lighter laptops - some suggestions

Laptops submitted by amri64 02/17/07 **IMPLEMENTED**

Would like to see more laptops below 2kg (4.4lbs).

Suggestions:

1. Replace Hard Disk with solid state storage device. Advantage: 1) lighter 2)no moving parts means less probability of breaking down (esp due to wear & tear)

2. External DVD drives. On the road, most things needed are already in the laptop. Leave the movie-watching & software-installing to the home/office/hotel room. The DVD drive can be checked in the suitcase.

3. Option to power off graphics card, camera, etc when not used for task at hand. Prolong battery life.

4. Lithium polymer batteries? For comparable charge densities, aren't they lighter?

Challenge: Fujitsu already has a 15" notebook at 2.4kg, though specs aren't so impressive, imho. Can Dell produce one at 2kg or less, & with specs "to die for"?


Please see jackie_c's comment
24 Comments »

Sell more desktops without monitors, keyboards, etc

Desktops, Environment, Sales Strategies submitted by gordonbrown77 02/16/07 **COMING SOON**

Make it an option to not get things people may already have when upgrading a PC such as monitors, mouse, keyboard. This would be good environmentally and save people some money if they already have theae things and will not be keeping the old PC. 34 Comments »

Use Real Parts In Laptops

Laptops submitted by laptopuser 02/17/07

The firm I founded used to use Dell laptops exclusively. However, we can no longer use Dell laptops due to the shoddy materials used. Examples of problems we've had:

- In Week 1, Latitude case cracks when picked up by the corner (as you can do with all other laptops!)
- CD drive falls out of Latitude when held in lap
- defective memory
- defective motherboard
- defective replacement motherboard (2x for the same machine)
- screws in laptop strip easily
- pointer stick breaks after 6 months; needs replacement
- keyboard breaks after 4 months; needs replacement
- monitor breaks after 8 months; needs replacement

And there are only 3 of us! On average, we had to have our laptops serviced more than 2x per year each. Thankfully the on-site service is generally good. Too bad we were able to get to know the repairmen!

When we switched to ThinkPads and later MacBooks, we have not had similar problems. In fact, we don't really know how good the service is because the machines just work. 2+ years on the ThinkPad, nearing the first year on the Macs without a single incident.

You have to fix the quality gulf. Comment »

free online backup offer, preloaded

Dell Web Site submitted by harborsparrow 02/17/07

take a page from Apple--all you have to do to back up your Macbook online is give them a credit card--off it goes! Comment »

I'll pay more $$$ for better Technical Support

Service and Support submitted by johnc 02/17/07

I have been in the PC home & business field for 20 years.
I speak to all my users and all agree that your offshore tech support is
nearly always horrible and despite it, I still recommend your product (though it's waning of late when I keep hearing about offshore horror stories.)
Each user agreed with my theory, WE WOULD PAY MORE FOR A NORTH AMERICAN TECH SUPPORT PERSON than a person whose native tongue is not english. Nice people offshore but a hinderance to any real problem solving and discussion. I would welcome the wait times higher for
a person of North American background.

Thanks and God Bless America. 10 Comments »

Dell Executive Series Desktop and Laptops

Desktops and Laptops submitted by jeffwebb 02/17/07

The success of Michael Dell is legendary and many technologists, executives, entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs and other consumers dream to emulate that level of business success.

Dell should develop a product line of desktops and laptops branded as the computer that Michael Dell uses; such as the Michael Dell Signature Series or Executive Series of computers.

These desktops and laptops should incorporate the latest components and will garner higher profit margins.

Who would not want to have the same computer that Michael Dell uses?

Be like Mike!!!

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Laptop I-pod/phone/tv player with great sound quality

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Laptops submitted by tonytorti 02/17/07

lets face it - the i-pod is here to stay and "other" players don't have a chance in my opinion to catch apple since they continually improve and reinvent themselves. however, i have a dell laptop that i plug my ipod into everyday to recharge the batteries and download my cd for transferring to my i-pod. however, if i want to play my i-pod I either have to plug into my stereo or put my sony headphones on. Man, it would be nice if my laptop had some jammin speakers built right into it. I would find someone like Harmon kardin to partner with or Bose, you would get instant brand recognition.

by the way, i recently tried to buy a i-pod player (boom box) from Sony for my i-pod, other than headphones they have one poorly reviewed box. thats pathetic, if i asked 10 people for the top 3 boom box brands i would think most would list sony. my point is there is an opportunity for Dell to use the PC as the "player" device.

moreover, i think this whole internet phone service is something the hardware manufactures need to grab on to. Now, i don't use it but i would if my Dell PC had a key board or software keyboard that made it easy to use.

i think dell has to stop thinking about what they make (hardware) and more about how people can/will use it. more consumer and less manufacturer 1 Comment »

Carry your full product line on the web

Dell Web Site submitted by majid 02/17/07

Too many products carried by Dell are only available by ordering on the phone, and you wouldn't know unless you remember to ask. In this day and age, it is unjustifiable not to carry the entire product catalog online. I bought a pair of Nortel BPN 3050 gateways/SSL accelerators once, but there was no trace of them anywhere on the site. Comment »

Idea Storm

Desktops and Laptops submitted by boblove25 02/17/07

Authorize installation of old hard drive with all of its files and applications into newly purchased Dell PCcomputer without jeopordizing warranty of new computer. Kiosk Dell tech at Lakeline Mall in Austin, Texas told me it was not possible. Therefore, I shall not purchase a new Dell PC unless I am assured that such action is authorized and does not cancel my warranty.

Dealing with overseas tech support is time consuming,frustrating and hardly ever ends up solving the problem at hand. When I had problems with my Dell 720 printer I was told to purchase new ink. I did. However , the ink I received was the same sample ink supply like that which came with the printer. No matter what I did, I could not get my money back or a regular ink cartrige.

Give customer's the ability to customize their planned purchase of a PC or noterbook expeditiously instead of having to find the customize page. It should be up front and center when one wishes to place an order. 1 Comment »