maxfall

Make all parts optional

Sales Strategies submitted by yank 05/20/07

Plenty of people spend a LOT of time shopping around on Dell's site for a great deal. They trust the brand and haven't the time or interest to build there own PC so when they see a good deal they try and buy that new Dell PC with as few options as they can manage.
Let them!
Allow them to remove:
Monitor
Keyboard
Mouse
Hard Drive
Video Card
Etc.
Keep just the minimum basics and allow them to pick and choose what they want! 12 Comments »

Laptop Alarm

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Laptops submitted by badblood 06/22/07

Make an alarm for laptops that makes them beep like buggery if anyone tries to move them or access them without the proper permisions.

(please note this seems to be an original idea! not a bloody duplicate like all the rest) 16 Comments »

Include 1 share of DELL stock with each computer purchase.

Dell, Sales Strategies submitted by reg 06/13/07

"You Own the Company"

Nothing increases involvement like increasing peoples involvement!

Including 1 share of Dell stock with each PC sold involves the consumer,
no longer as simply an end user of DELL equipment, but as an active owner
of Dell - with a personal interest in seeing DELL succeed.

If someone buys 5 PCs, 1 share each - they get 5 shares!

This is a great way for people to 'Buy American' and support DELL and the USA Economy. 35 Comments »

Allow customers to come to Dell.com and Order just "Plant a Tree"

Dell Web Site, Environment, New Product Ideas submitted by clocks 06/27/07 **ALREADY OFFERED**

Allow users to work with dell to imrpove Dell's "green" image. Make an "Accessories" product to allow people to just order "plant a tree" or to order as many "Plant a tree"s as they want. This option was not presented when I bought a desktop just a few days ago and I personally would go back right now and order "Plant a tree" because I would like to.

I think that if nothing else, the few minutes it would take Dell to setup this option would give you guys something to point to, even if it wasnt an option that a lot of people had taken advantage of.

if you wanted to take the concept a step forward, build a few add banners/buttons etc to make freely availible with the code to insert one on your web page. The button would be something along the lines of "Join Dell in planting trees". Your logo is associated with an environmental practice, blue logo on green with various tree abstracts in the image, etc. Reputation boost, plus you have genuinely provided a capability to your user base and various concerns on the internet to actively take part in helping Dell be green.

Sure, maybe you are using a few hours of the time of your salaried workers who you already pay for to add the item to the site and create some logos but if you really care about improving your reputation in this area, it might be an investment well worth it. 14 Comments »

Rebadge and sell the [Dell] miniOne

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.) submitted by badblood 07/02/07

Coming out in early 2008 the miniOne comes with 3G, HSDPA with WiFi worldphone packing 16GB of flash.

Make it the Dell miniOne.

33 Comments »

Put All Case Stickers on the Underside of Notebooks & Bottom of Desktops

Desktops and Laptops submitted by reg 06/11/07

Stickers and case badges make a PC look cheap.

Stick the stickers on the Underside - yes still there - close by the Serial Number for Notebooks and under by the feet on a desktop or tower.

Do you see stickers all over the more stylish notebooks from japan or stuck all over Apple products? No.

Stop 'Tagging' our machines like some two bit punk graffiti artist.

1 Comment »

No more power transformer !!!!

Servers and Storage submitted by corbo12 07/10/07

some 10 years ago, laptops were only slightly bigger. At the time, 2 schools were battling : Internal vs. external power adapters.

Some models (like Toshibas Satelitte) had their power transformer INSIDE the laptop... All you needed was one of those thin power cable (fits in a pocket).

In the age of wireless and "all included", why can't we have laptops with power transformers inside. It would avoid to need "Laptop bags" (you know, with the big bulge on the from where the power transformer and cables are).

A 620 that has everything inside, with power included : put a handle on it, and I can take a plane with nothing else (cord in the pocket). Or I can put it in just any bag, making it a lot more discreet than those laptop "steal me" bags.

From a road warrior... 21 Comments »

Backlit Keyboards

Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Sales Strategies, Desktops and Laptops submitted by rarmasu 02/21/07 **PARTIALLY IMPLEMENTED**

I find myself many, many times in dark or poorly lit environments having to guess the various keys - would be fantastic to have a backlit keyboard - with backlit individual keys as the best option.

I would actually pay extra for that convenience if the option was available.
This could be done for desktops or notebooks.


Check out Vida_K's comment below on the New Latitude.
300 Comments »

Dell List the Error Codes from the Dell Diag. CD

Service and Support submitted by jorge 07/08/07

Dell List what the Error Codes from the Dell Diag. CD mean so your customers can identify what it wrong with their systems without having to call and go through at least 2 people to get the meaning of a code. Most phone support techs do NOT have the look up table (call and find out if you don't believe me) even though the manager above them states they do as they read off what the code means, yea I take up to get the answer to this.

7 Comments »

Make your legal team restrain themselves when they're trying to silence bloggers who are trying to help people buy from Dell.

Dell, Dell Community submitted by jmxz 06/15/07 **IMPLEMENTED**

Yesterday Dell sent the following letter to a blog that was giving advice on how to better order from the confusing Dell web site (like clarifying pros and cons of when you should go to the Small Business vs Home Office sections; and when you might do even better going to a Dell Kiosk- which Dell's own web site never makes clear). Rather than a take down notice from Legal, a polite email from Marketing with corrections to the inaccurate parts and specific requests to remove the confidential information would have been:

Better for the Blogger - because he wouldn't feel threatened.
Better for Dell - because the article never would have been so widely publicized (I learned of it only because of the takedown notice).
Better for Dell Customers - because the rest of the non-confidential information in the article could still help them.

- - - - - - - - - -
from Tracy Holland
to ben@consumerist.com
date Jun 14, 2007 4:39 PM
subject Posting by former Dell employee

Dear Ben,

Please remove the posting located at the following

http://consumerist.com/consumer/insiders/22-confessions-of-a-former-dell-sale...< contains information that is confidential and proprietary to Dell.

While not all aspects of the entry are accurate, ostensibly an ex-employee posted Dell's confidential information in violation of his or her employment agreement and confidentiality obligations (which prohibit the disclosure of such information both during and after the period of employment).

We would appreciate your prompt attention to this matter. Please confirm that the posting has been removed by the end of the day tomorrow.

Thank you, and please give me a call if you would like to discuss further.

Tracy Holland

Tracy J. Holland
Counsel
Dell Inc.
- - - - - - - - - -

While some of the information wasn't correct; the blogger has been continually updating the article fixing inaccuracies as they're pointed out to him. Your legal team also referred to "confidential information" but never specified what was the offending confidential information that should be removed. It's a bit hard to guess what parts of that posting might have been considered confidential; because it seems like just about all the info in the article can be found (just with difficulty) browsing the Dell web site and Kiosks.

Ideas for your legal team:
* For the case of this article - point out the "confidential" information (if there really is any) and I'm confident the blogger will remove that confidential information while keeping the rest of the helpful advice (which helps your customers buy Dells) up there.
* In general - try to restrain yourselves from legal threats on Bloggers. It would probably have been nicer if someone from Dell Marketing asked the person to correct things; and the whole thing would have probably gone away quietly -- instead of being very visible on many high profile places on the internet and on mailing lists now.
We hold ourselves at Dell and all our employees to high ethical standards and believe ex-employees have an obligation to uphold those standards. We live and learn in this new world of blogs and appreciate your suggestion.


32 Comments »

Instant start-up

Desktops and Laptops submitted by j.bandringa 07/12/07

I would like to have a pc that starts up immediately. 21 Comments »

Offer computers without an OS installed!

Operating Systems submitted by auraofblade 07/10/07

I realize this idea is slightly crazy, but hear me out.

An added with this idea is that the price gets cut. There are some people out there who really don't have quite enough money to buy even the cheapest computer. With around $100 cut off the price (that's that price of a cheap OS right?), people will have the ability to purchase the hardware sooner.

Of course, where do they get their OS? The main one they can use is Linux...its free. On a slight sidenote, you can potentially include an install disc for Linux with the package. And of course that little sticker saying what OS the computer has disappears. 8 Comments »

Make Installation of Microsoft Internet Explorer Optional

Software submitted by badblood 07/12/07

And/Or -

-Microsoft Media Player
-Microsoft Movie Maker
-Microsoft Mail
-Microsoft Calendar 13 Comments »

Use magsafe power connectors

Laptops, Laptop Power submitted by badblood 05/20/07 **UNDER REVIEW**

MagSafe power connectors, by Apple, are magnetic power connectors that pull out harmlessly when the cord is tripped upon.



They are very cool and quite sensible.





103 Comments »

Smaller Power Bricks

Laptops submitted by drew08867 06/28/07

I know they've gotten smaller with the new line of inspirons, but lenovo's are still something to be rivaled. What is the point of having a thin/light laptop and a heavy power brick you have to carry around with it? 4 Comments »

Get rid of google desktop and google toolbar

Operating Systems submitted by aldrlandon 07/12/07

Stop shipping google toolbar and google desktop, as they are both unneeded with windows vista and ie 7. 25 Comments »

Provide extra small rubber feet for your laptops.

Laptops submitted by jmxz 07/11/07

Yesterday a group of us were joking that all 3 of us had three-footed Dell laptops.
The guy with a mac had no such problem.

This is an annoyance to your customers and embarrassing to Dell.

It's been pointed out elsewhere that your small rubber feet on your notebooks fall off easily.
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/70965/Smaller_rubber_feet_that_dont_fal...
Until you can fix this, please supply a few extra small rubber feet when you ship your laptops so people can replace them.

Also - since this is such an annoying defect and makes Dell laptops look almost laughable when they wobble in a business meeting; please send extra rubber feet to any of your existing customers who send you a self-addressed stamped envelope asking for some. 3 Comments »

Give costumers a reason why Dell recommends what it does

Dell Web Site, Sales Strategies submitted by sakuramboo 07/08/07

I would like to see exactly WHY Dell tells me that it recommends one option over another. Why does Dell recommend 1 Gig of ram over 2 Gigs or 512 Megs of RAM, for example? Show us comparisons with in depth analysis as to why I should go with one set of options over another. 4 Comments »

Change the WEB site so I don't have to choose Home/Business/Enterprise before getting to the hardware.

Dell Web Site submitted by kalamos 07/19/07

I wish there was a one-click link on Dell's website to get to a major hardware category. IE I'ld like to be able to click on Notebooks and go directly to Notebooks. Why must I chose the type of customer that I am. I fit many of these categories. I work for an Enterprise, I own a small business, and I am a home user. 4 Comments »

Move the call centre to a English speaking country

Service and Support submitted by matt_h1 07/03/07

Im sick of ringing support and getting people I can barely understand, who constantly misinterpret what you have asked, A number of big companies in Australia tried the offshore call centers and most went back to Australian ones due to customer backlash. 16 Comments »