I have to agree. There have been significant improvements at Dell, over the past 10 months. I'm looking forward to seeing how service is this time next year.  Keep up the good work.

I can say that, as a new Dell customer, I've been quite pleased with Dell's PowerEdge product line and Linux support.  I was originally rather leary about going with Dell due to some misconceptions I had with regard to product quality and company direction. 

I really get the sense that Dell "gets it" with regard to delivering real value with their offerings.  Dell has embraced Linux in fundamental way that HP (I'm a former HP customer) has not.  Their commitment is apparent in this regard, and this makes me feel that Dell's Interests are in line with that of my business.

Dell is one of the best known case studies in the Social Media industry of a company who has turned completely around.  The efforts are completley commendable, impressive, and it really is exciting.

 Over the past years, I've been watching this program, and have started to chronologically track the journey (see link above).

Great job to the Lionel and the whole team, up to Michael who really gets it.

I don't know what planet you guys are on, but, I just had the worst customer service experience of my life over the past 9 days.  The hard drive on my Dell home computer crashed over a week ago, and I ordered a new hard drive and a memory card from Dell the same day and asked for overnight delivery.  I also purchased an in-home installation from one of their technicians.  Since then, I have had to talk to Dell almost every day to get my order right.  First, I spent over TWO HOURS on the phone with them trying to simply get my billing address changed even though I went over this with them when I placed my order initially - it just didn't get done.  Then Dell simply cancelled my order without my knowledge or approval.  Then, Dell re-instated my order and screwed up the delivery - asking for ground delivery instead of overnight.  Every step of the way, I've had to follow-up with Dell to make sure things were fixed and usually I would uncover another screw-up.  I would constantly get passed from person-to-person, department-to-department, and no one could resolve the issues with my order.  No matter how much their customer service people tried to "apologize for my incovenience", errors were still made.  Then, the installation people called me to set-up an appointment and proceeded to tell me that I would have to pay an additional $50 if I wanted BOTH the hard drive and memory card installed by the technician rather than just one or the other.  You have to be kidding me?  After all of this hassle and stress, they had the nerve to ask me for more money to install a 2nd component when they were going to be inside my computer anyway?  Unbelievable.  I finally got my components yesterday and today.  Quite frankly, I have no confidence at all that they are even the right ones or will work in my Dell computer since they were suggested replacements by the Dell person who took my order.  I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens during my installation next Tuesday.  Because of Dell's screw-ups, I will have been without my home computer for almost two weeks.  Never once did they offer me any kind of discount or other compensation for the hassle they were putting me through.  As a result, I'm going to find it very hard to purchase another Dell home computer.

This is not an isolated incident, either.  I work for the one of the top hospital systems in the county, and just yesterday we had to order two hard drives from Dell.  After a number of calls to Dell to arrange for this, our person just gave up and tried to find another way to get the hard drives we needed.

Dell still has ALOT of work to do in terms of customer service.  They are going to continue to lose customers at a rapid rate if they don't fix things quickly. 

Scott: Sorry to see that you've had to go two weeks without a working machine. I've forwarded your details to our Technical Support team.

You will be hearing from someone soon.

I own three Dell computers and am looking for a new laptop.  It may not be a Dell.  I have heard many stories about Dell service and support and I found out what all those gripes were all about.

My Dimension 8350 was giving me a warning that the battery was low.  No big deal, I have replaced batteries many times in PCs.  I could not find the battery number in any of the manuals or on-line.  I tried on-line service and after a long wait I got a response and he was unable to give me a battery number and suggested I call service. I called the service number and after a long wait I was connected to someone, probably in India, who read his unctuous script and all I could get from him was a Dell part number to order, not a battery number.  I gave up after wasting better than an hour.

I finally disconnected everything, opened the PC and read the battery part number. Having finally opened up the PC and not wanting to repeat the process, I went to Radio Shack, bought the battery and replaced it and put everything back.  I had to do an errand then, rather than at my convenience.

A total waste of time.  If this is what the new Dell is like, then I look elsewhere. Maybe Apple. 

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/10/20/dell-latam-scares-buyers-towards-samsung-acer

Might look at that - Enough things to be repaired! 

Wow Lionel:

 You're certainly making yourself available on this thread.  Where exactly were you to speak to customer complaints/questions on the 'Inspiron Notebook Product Delay' thread?

It seems you're happy to enter into a conversation, as long as it's on your own terms.  It's all just optics, no substance.  Go ahead, keep patting yourselves on the back.  I'll shop somewhere else.

Why don't you answer the questions I posed on the Notebook Product Delay thread???

jervis961: Thanks, glad you liked the interview with Jeff.

Jarvis himself recorded the video with Michael, so it was done with different equipment than we used in the studio.

I have spent years defending Dell as the complaints of poor Customer Service continued. But I can honestly say with the treatment of the last 2 days in particular I will now tell everyone I know NEVER to try to deal with Dell again. I probably have purchased 10 computers over the years from Dell for me, my husband, my son, and 3 of my best friends. I researched and am known as staying on top of latest upgrades - but no more. I have spent a total of 10 hours over the last month on hold with Dell...with them saying "YOU did not this...YOU did not that...You called the wrong...” The only mistake I made is not listening to ever growing complaints concerning Dell's service. I repeat NEVER again. My husband oversees several large banks and I will make it my new goal to make sure no one I know EVER purchases a Dell computer again. I have 2 new ones- one less then 2 weeks old and 1 purchased in April- XPS Laptop and a Vostro....as soon as I can I will be rid of them. I have only been trying to purchase more RAM for my XPS 1210 with Vista and trying to use a Gift card that Dell sent me with my system for $75.00 - Since April I have been trying to use the Gift Card- Blue hard card printed with my name..a number and big $75 dollars printed on it but I seriously spent one day from 7:00 am until 10:00 PM off and on "on hold" with Dell as they repeatedly had me re-order my one tiny order over, over and over. Always saying I promise Miss __­­_ let me put you on hold just two more minutes...oh Miss____you have called the wrong Customer Service here is the Correct #....I would call that number and they would try for hours to get the order through...but of course "I" once again had made a mistake...they eventually gave me a case # ...what a joke...I still spent hours repeating the information over and over. They eventually blamed American Express because that is who prints the card and said "I" of course needed to call American Express. They take no responsibility for their lies, deceits and wrong information.

I wish I could throw away every computer in my house (all Dell's  unfortunately) and all the Dell's at the business's I work with but I WILL become the new, well-versed, outspoken "NEVER purchase anything from Dell again" spokeswomen. Thank goodness I have many outlets available to me. Several times my husband asked as I sat hours and hours on hold why I was fooling with them and I responded because I can—I am a business woman with deep pockets and large expense accounts. Unfortunately, there are people who cannot fight this horrible, HORRIBLE situation and I do not want them in this situation. If I could get on Oprah and have her do an entire show on how people are treated by this company I would and I will try. I hope that this grows into a world-wide ban of all that Dell sells.

My son-in-laws have tried for years to get me to switch to Apple.  I can say with complete authority and sincerity that I am sorry I have ever given Dell one dollar of my money and will try to help others to never give them another dollar.

I am strong Dell supporter, buying nothing but Dell computers for over 10 years in all my businesses and for home use. Anyone that I come across who is considering a computer, I tell them "Got to get a Dell Dude". As a result none of friends, family or close business associates run anything except a Dell.

Most of my "old"  Dell Latitude laptops have been handed down to my kids. After 6 years the batteries in those systems are still going strong.

Every time I had a problem Dell responded quickly and replaced the failing component in no time at all. 

However, recently the network card in a 6 month old XPS410 failed and it took several calls and almost 2 weeks to get the issue resolved. 

Now I am shocked to find out that the battery in my Inspiron E7105 that died just after a year is a very common problem being reported by many other owners. For a hardly used battery such longevity is unacceptable. Clearly these batteries are being designed to last only a year, regardless of use.

It is with great sadness that I see the great Dell computer go the way of the cheap PC's. Hopefully Dell sees where it is headed and actually listens to what it's customers are now experiencing.

Ouch....I guess listening starts here.

Is anyone listening?? 

I have just been reading some of the sorry experiences customers have had with Dell and I have to report that I also did not have a very good experience.

I had ordered a 1520 laptop through a Dell kiosk at a local shopping mall.  The young saleman did not inform me that with a glossy LED panel there could be a problem with reflections and that there was an option for a anti-glare screen.  Well!! There sure is a lot of glare.  It was like a mirror - I don't like looking at myself while working on a computer.  I called customer service and got the Center in India.  I had a very difficult time understanding the two people I had to talk to over there.  At one point it sounded like a fight was going on in the background.  Was he working from home?  I finally got an authorized return number but it took 30 minutes which should have taken only 5 minutes.

Both the experience at the kiosk and with foreign customer service leaves a sour taste in my mouth regarding Dell.  Customer service would be much more efficent if it were done in this country and there would be greater satisfaction.  Dell, are you LISTENING?

Lee

Ok, I'm perplexed.  My computer finally died, and I find myself in the need of buying a new computer.  I was/am? considering purchasing a dell, complete with extended service 24/7 in home, etc...

Then last night on 60 minutes, there was a segment on the Geek Squad and how much better they are then the other "repair/customer service" folks from other companies are.  So today I been searching the web and seem to find an overwhelming amount of negative blogs, etc regarding the service for Dell's, and this has me greatly conserned. 

 Ok Dell... how are YOU going to assure me that purchasing YOUR computer (with extended 24/7 in-home service) is the best thing to do?  How are YOU going to assure me I do not become one of the statistics for crappy service. 

 See, I've delt with Geek Squad for years, and have only great things to say about them, so how are you going to convince me to become a Dell customer?

 Thank you, Teelee

Dell has some of the worst customer service I have ever seen. Honestly, they should go to LL Bean and try to learn something about how to treat customers.

I have been trying to order a new Dell for WEEKS. I am actually a RETURN customer: the new Dell would replace my several-years-old Dell at home, and I work on a Dell at work. But they have treated me miserably.

Customer care reps who say they are response for my “case” don’t return calls. Dell makes it all but impossible to submit a problem on their “unresolved” issues page. NO ONE will give you the info to get in touch with Dell HQ; when I asked for contact info for Ronald Garriques, the woman simply hung up on me. Impressive approach to accountability, eh? (if anyone does have Mr. Garriques email, I’d love to have it — send it to me at john.beckman@nyu.edu)

I think these guys have turned me into a Mac user. I am planning to go buy one today and then sort out the compatibility issues

Don’t buy from Dell — they do not deserve anyone’s business

John: I'm sorry that we've put you in that situation. I've sent you an e-mail seeking more details from you so that we can try to get to the bottom of this.

I can't publish other Dell employee's e-mail addresses here, but you are welcome to contact me directly at lionel_menchaca@dell.com.

 I opened a Dell Preferred Account in January 2004 and purchased 2 Dell computers with it, one in 2004 and one in 2005. I was purchasing a 3rd computer today and found out that the account had been closed for "inactivity" and the closure reported to the credit rating agencies. No notice was ever received by me. As anyone with a bit of knowledge about credit reporting will tell you, a credit card closing by an issuer negatively impacts your credit rating. Your "preferred accounts" department told me it is company policy to close accounts that are inactive for a year. My question is why would Dell treat its most loyal customers in this manner by negatively impacting their credit ratings. Surely Dell does not believe that customers should be purchasing new computers once a year. I wish someone could explain to me what benefit there is to Dell with a credit policy that downgrades the ratings of your best customers. Had I known this in advance, I would never have opened the account in the first place and simply used another card.

Richard: Thanks for your comment... I apologize for the frustration.

I'm not clear on the details behind Dell Financial Services and its policies. I'll ask someone from that team to follow up with you directly.

I have never had a postive experience with Dell. The language problems alone is enough to make me pull my hair out. I take that back, the person who took my order spoke English as a FIRST language. It was all down hill from there.

When I bought and paid for this computer, I spoke English, and English only, still do.  SInce my initial purchace, I have never spoken with a person who had  working knowledge of the English language.  Then, when they speak garbled English at a rate only the Marahani would understand, it becomes YOUR fault that you can't understand them.

Problems can't be resolved because of the language barrier, and there ARE problems, oh MY are their problems. 

And the loaded programs are only trials. Oh my HP I got full programs, Oh I probably paid for them, but the price I paid was for what I needed.

There is literally NO CHANCE that I will ever buy a Dell again.

STAY AWAY, RUN, HIDE.

I'm also on the never-again bandwagon.  I bought my 4th Dell a month ago but never again.

 I ordered my own laptop a year ago and asked for XP instead of Vista to be installed.  Nope, they couldn't do that (even though they in fact reversed that policy a few months later).  I spent almost 25 hours total on the phone with Dell's support line just setting up my laptop and a wireless router, because none of the support people had sufficient knowledge or training to help me do even the most basic things in Vista.  Two of the call takers could not speak English clearly enough for me to understand them, and all but 2 stuck doggedly to their help script regardless of the fact that their script did not anticipate my problems (which they really should have, since it was pretty basic setup).  I was told things that were outright false (Vista does not allow home-networking an additional computer as a 'security' measure and my wireless was perfectly secure even though the only way they could get my router to work was to set it on its 'No Security' setting).  I won't even go into all the horrors Vista has cost me in the last year.

Now, I'm not blaming Dell for the piece of crap that is Vista, but I am blaming them for going to an all-Vista policy without training their support people how to do basic setup.  Or the making sure their support has sufficient language and customer service skills to admit they don't know how to help rather than lie to a customer about their security.

Last week I ordered gps from Dell.  Unbeknownst to me, my mother (same last name, different first name, different address and different everything else) ordered a hard drive for herself.  When I logged on to see when my order shipped, I found her orders on my account.  When I called, they repeatedly told me it was impossible for them to correct their error and insisted it must be my fault for ordering my mother's items on my account or her fault for ordering them and putting them on my account.  No apologies, no "oops, we'll look into it" just a big fat "it must be your fault and we can't change it".  This is also the second time they've done that -- a few years ago something I ordered ended up on her account.

The bad customer service is one thing, but screwing with my account info is a different magnitude altogether.  Since it IS my mother I'm not worried about the money -- if I get charged she'll just pay me back.  But it's pretty alarming that they confused our accounts just because we have the same last name, and even more alarming that they just didn't care.  Even if the mixup was on our end (which it really couldn't be, since neither of us knows each other's passwords, Social or customer ids), it still needs to be fixed. What do they do if your last name is Smith?  Just spin the roulette wheel of all the Smiths in the US and add an order to whichever lands first? 

They also refused to put me through to a supervisor when I asked, and when I persisted told me the only thing they could was transfer me to Sales to straighten things out.  When I asked (quite reasonably, I thought) whether Sales would actually be able to help me, there was a long pause then a 'yeeeesss'.  It was obviously a lie, the rep just wanted to get me off the phone.

For all I know, everyone else selling computers out there has even WORSE customer service, but I don't care.  I'd rather be abused, lied to, and have my account screwed up by someone new.  Never again, Dell.

The laptop I just got was for my mother.  Since she is about averagely tech-savvy, I also purchased the 30-day Dell on Call for her. I was especially concerned about