Forbes.com has an article titled Dell Satisfaction Takes Deep Dive. Unless there are some major changes or frustration level acceptance is recalibrated - this hurts the whole computer industry.
I have long purchased Dell machines and had been quite happy with them. When I got my first non-Apple PC, I built it. Why? Because it was cheaper and had everything I wanted it to have - I did not have to swallow whatever CompanyX was throwing at me (and charging for). This is a great solution when it is for yourself; building a single PC is as simple as going to New Egg and takes little time after the parts are acquire... But I digress.
When I started purchasing Dell products, they offered the same level of customization that I had when I built them. Thus, when ordering systems for business (or home), Dell became my place of choice. The systems never looked the flashiest, but they often had at least the option of great components, and the price was certainly in range. Furthermore, when buying any computer you depend on (much less 5, 10, 100+), support becomes an issue. Dell used to have good support, along with decent choice; neither is the case anymore.
A large systems upgrade I was involved in was from Dell was in the 2000 to late 2001 range - in other words, the systems are now long in the tooth and have been breaking down. They began taking a hit over the last couple of years. Yes, there were problems before, but under warranty, I always felt at ease because either parts or technician could be counted on to solve the problem. I could call day or night if there was a problem and get something done. I was satisfied with Dell support.
In the last 5 years I have noticed a huge difference in phone support. Yes, the call centers were outsourced and I would prefer to say that had nothing to do with it... But it does have something to do with it. There are the communication barriers that a lot of people have cited, but even more than that, the inability to deviate from the script, perhaps because of the aforementioned communication issues. I have no illusions here, Dell must believe they are cutting costs and raising profits by doing so. However if a company is going to outsource support, the first requirement should be providing good support. Good support cannot be completed if each party has a hard time communicating. That is certainly not a knock on the people providing support, it is a knock on how Dell is implementing their support. The point is this - Dell has done a disservice to not just the customers, but the call center workers as well. The support personnel is yelled at and treated poorly by frustrated callers, and the customers who have shelled out thousands of dollars should not have to spend countless time frustrated.
Moreover, a good support person is able to listen and determine the cause for many common issues without deviating from a script. Why? Because a lot of people have very common issues, is the most effective way of solving the problem and certainly does not require multiple reformatting attempts (yes, I have personally been told to do this). In addition, how can a support person know how to effectively search for and find a solution if there is difficulty in understanding each other? How does that provide good support service? Instead it leads to parts being sent out, on site support and longer calls - all driving up the cost... And what about lost sales? Is that not a cost?
We move on to choice. A part of being satisfied (perhaps not in the article - but in practice) is choice. If I have rolled out as few as 5 machines, I have an interest in staying with the same vendor? Why? So I have one point of contact for support (which we have discussed), sale and familiarity. As time rolls on, new hardware and technology is released. As such, systems purchased later may have the need to have said features. We now circle back to choice which Dell used to provide. I am not saying they provide no choice - but how late are they to many times to the game? Example: AMD
For years it has been discussed and re-discussed about how Dell is in the cahoots with Intel. I do not particularly care - what I do care about is having the choice of best product. In this case, for many uses, AMD provides the best product and since Dell is the only major PC maker without an AMD based product - Dell does not have the best product choice. Many times the AMD product is also more cost friendly - translate that to cheaper. Choice? More expensive, less performance versus Less expensive, more performance. Is that a choice?
The sad part is Dell still is probably among the best places to at least buy business PCs. Compare the satisfaction numbers to the other major choices and what you are left with? For a lot of businesses, you are left to the choice of HP versus Dell. Neither of which are providing great satisfaction. For laptops there are plenty of more choices.
For my part, I have gone back to the pre major PC days and gone back to building my own systems. The support is adequate, I can call myself 24 hours a day... The additional cost beyond 90 days is zero and has lifetime on site support. The parts do cost money, however, I have yet to spend a dime on replacement parts... I also did not have to shell out hundreds of dollars for a warranty. I priced out my system to two slightly less well equipped systems from two companies: I saved over $1000 and have a satisfaction rating of 100.
Ben
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Benjamin Bach
http://www.techthoughts.com/
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