Customer Experience

• Accepted Solutions: 10,000 and Counting

  Mon. Aug. 25, 2008
  by Natalie Davis, Manager—Global Ops Community Team

  I blogged about Accepted Solutions a while back—it is a feature that we introduced in our community forums in February. For those that may not remember, Accepted Solutions allows a customer who originates a discussion thread to highlight a post within it that answered or solved their question. Here’s an example of what it looks like:

  Original Post/Question:

  

  Original Poster selects the post within the thread that answered their question and that post becomes the Accepted Solution:

  

  Back when I blogged about it in April, we had just crossed the 5,000 mark. Things are still humming along over the last four months—last week we crossed the 10,000 mark for Accepted Solutions. So, why does this matter for the community? Two reasons: 1) our customers who use our products every day are the ones in best position to say what fixes their problem and 2) Connecting new customers with information that helps them with their product is one of the most important things we need to get better at across our community sites.

  Taking a deeper dive into the 10,000, have a guess as to what the most viewed accepted solution is addressing? It’s instructions on how to downgrade from Vista to XP, with over 7,000 views and solved by community member mfinnan101. Choices in operating systems, whether it’s more systems available with XP or Linux, has been a hot topic and discssion for our community and one of the most popular topics on IdeaStorm.

  The forum board with the most Accepted Solutions is XPS Desktops with 939, followed by XPS Laptops with 564. Both boards have a wide range of questions and answers about support, how-to’s, and what to buy. As for the community members who have contributed and created the most accepted solutions, the honor goes to ejn63 with a total of 683 and has posted over 57,000 times on our forum, followed by SR45 with 319 and has posted over 25,000 times.

  If you are familiar with forum threads, you can probably attest . That finding an answer is not always easy. Accepted Solutions give other users an easier way to find the post within the thread that holds the answer, without having to read through the entire thread. Case in point, the average views of an Accepted Solution is increasing—right now, the average is about250 views per accepted solution, and 2.5 million views totalMoving forward, with some of the integration that Lionel hinted at is still being worked on. We hope to facilitate this process so that more customers who need answers can find them.
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• Dell and Radian6: It All Starts with Listening

  Tue. Aug. 19, 2008
  by Sean McDonald, Director—Community | Conversations

  Last June, when I took part in the 2008 Social Commerce Summit, I blogged about the impact of customers talking about businesses they either like or don’t like. That trend continues to increase, and the only way to have a good sense for those conversations is to learn how to monitor them in social media realms.

  Everyone says they listen to customers. But what does that mean from a social media standpoint? While the concept of listening is rather simple to describe, the actual execution is anything but. The challenge is similar to entering a large sports arena with 100,000 fans. And tens of thousands of conversations are occurring simultaneously. Now increase the number of conversations to millions across every language – that equals the daily web activity.

  Dell first started to tackle this challenge back in April 2006 when we started looking for conversations about Dell in blogs. It’s something that I know Lionel has blogged about several times and he’s said we started from pretty humble beginnings. In those early days, I know we started tracking things with a customized Technorati search string and an Excel spreadsheet.

  Fast forward to today and it’s even more complex, primarily because there are many more places where conversations are occurring. It’s not just blogs—they’re also happening on sites like Friendfeed, YouTube and Twitter. As an example, the Vostro keyboard issue started in a Flickr discussion thread.

  Over the last couple of years, we looked at a lot of services to help monitor this growing amount of activity. Many of those services do specific pieces pretty well. But until recently, we’ve hadn’t found a good way to monitor all of them collectively—to get a good feel for both the individual voices and the bigger picture of what those voices are saying.

  These days we’re using a web-based tool called Radian6, and it’s a big leap forward compared to our early days in monitoring. We’ve been working with the team at Radian6 and are pretty excited to be part of what’s happening next.  Radian6 and Dell share the same approach to social media.

  • Listen to your customers
  • Join your customers online wherever their conversations are taking place
  • Help your customer tell their stories

  In this video, their CEO Marcel LeBrun discusses how Radian6 sees brands participating online in new ways.
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• NVIDIA GPU Update: Dell to Offer Limited Warranty Enhancement to All Affected Customers Worldwide

  Mon. Aug. 18, 2008
  by Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger

  I've said in my past two posts (here's post #1 and here's post #2) and in the comment threads on this topic that I would share more details when I had them. Here's the deal:

  Dell will offer a 12-month limited warranty enhancement specific to this issue. For all customers worldwide, we plan to add 12 months of coverage for this issue to the existing limited warranty up to 60 months from the date of purchase for the following systems:

  Dell Product Name
  Dell Precision M2300	Latitude D630	Vostro Notebook 1400
  Dell Precision M4300	Latitude D630c	Vostro Notebook 1510
  Dell Precision M65	Latitude D820	Vostro Notebook 1710
  Inspiron 1420	Latitude D830	XPS M1330
  Latitude D620	Vostro Notebook 1310	XPS M1530

   

  Update: Over the last few days, customers like Steve Johnson, John and Robert have asked if their systems are affected. Throughout this process, Dell has undertaken a detailed assessment of this issue.  If your system is not listed in the table above, you do not need to do anything. If you have one of the systems listed above with an NVIDIA graphics card and are experiencing video-related issues I described in the bullet point section of my first post about NVIDIA GPUs, please contact Dell Technical Support.

  Details of the service plan will be available in the next few weeks. When I have more details to share, I will do so.

  In the meantime, thanks to all of our customers for your patience through this process. We appreciate your business and are committed to serving all of you who are impacted.  
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• Stereo Mix Record Functionality and Dell

  Fri. Aug. 15, 2008
  by Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger

  Stereo mix record capability in sound cards and audio chips is the source of many discussions and much confusion in the blogosphere. A post from Chad Lakkis over at ripten.com a while back sparked some conversations on other sites like Gizmodo and Techdirt.

  Truth is that there’s a lot of confusion about this issue. Part of the confusion is that stereo mix is also referred to as different things. People also call it things like "record what you hear" or "waveout mix." Desktop and notebooks equipped with sound cards (or with integrated sound components) generally have a few different ways to record audio:

  • through a microphone
  • from the line-in port
  • stereo mix/ WAVE out

  Before I get into the broader discussion about what’s going on, I want to be clear: Dell did not disable stereo mix functionality due to pressure from the Recording Industry Association of America. That speculation is simply not true.

  Here’s what happened: there are two ways for stereo mix functionality can be enabled: at the hardware or software level. Long before Vista was here, we supported stereo mix at the hardware level for integrated audio and in desktops. Back during Vista's development, Dell made decisions to remove stereo mix functionality at the hardware level based on Microsoft's initial Vista software requirements. Those requirements were later changed by Microsoft, but too late for Dell to add that functionality back at a hardware level in products nearing launch.

  Due to customer feedback, we’ve re-assessed things and have made the decision to enable stereo mix functionality in hardware on new notebooks starting with the Studio 15 and Studio 17 laptops. There will be many other notebooks coming in the future that will support stereo mix at the hardware level. Devices that support stereo mix functionality at hardware level will work with Vista and Windows XP. 

  If you want to dig a litte depper into this topic, take a look at these threads on our community forums for more information.
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• Latest on the NVIDIA GPU Issue for Dell Laptop Customers

  Fri. Aug. 08, 2008
  by Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger

  Back in July, I blogged about BIOS updates for systems that could experience graphics card problems caused by weak die/packaging material set from some NVIDIA mobile GPUs. Since then, lots of customers have commented on our blogs and have asked questions.

  Though the actual number of affected laptops is limited, many of you expressed concern for potential problems in the future, and we can understand that. We are committed to serving our customers.  We do intend to offer modified service terms to specifically support all customers worldwide who are affected by this issue. Right now, our teams are working through details. When I have specifics to share about service terms, I will do that here.

  Beyond questions about support, lots of Direct2Dell readers like Majortom1981, Carsten and Guiyo have asked if their systems are potentially affected.  

   See table below for clarification on this front:

  Dell Product Name
  Dell Precision M2300	Latitude D630	Vostro Notebook 1400
  Dell Precision M4300	Latitude D630c	Vostro Notebook 1510
  Dell Precision M65	Latitude D820	Vostro Notebook 1710
  Inspiron 1420	Latitude D830	XPS M1330
  Latitude D620	Vostro Notebook 1310	XPS M1530

  The laptops with hyperlinks in the table above are the ones with updated BIOS versions that modify the fan profile in the system. The above links will take you directly to the BIOS download for that system.  If you own one of the hyperlinked systems in the table, Dell strongly encourages you to update the system BIOS. Please refer to my first post for more information regarding BIOS updates.

  Like I mentioned in my earlier post, if you are already experiencing symptoms like multiple images, random characters on the screen, lines on the screen or you have no video signal, updating your system BIOS will not correct them. Please contact Dell Technical Support—here’s how to do that:

  • Go to support.dell.com
  • Choose your country or region from the drop-down list
  • Choose Contact Us
  • Choose Technical Support
  • Choose Call Technical Support

  I know there are many other questions out there. When there are more details to share, I will blog about them here. Until then, thanks for your continued patience. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
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• Tweeting with the Computer Repair Industry

  Tue. Jul. 29, 2008
  by Katie MacDonald, Program Manager

  ABC Nightly News Tuesday reported on the fast growing popularity of Twitter and its use for, among all things, getting better customer service.   Dell was mentioned in this piece as being one of the few major companies today taking a proactive approach by getting involved on Twitter as a way to help customers and learn more about what the community out there is saying.  And Jeremiah Owyang mentioned us in his post where I'm glad to see him asking the Twitter community to go easy on Exxon Mobil (@ExxonMobilCorp) as they get things going there.

  I know Lionel and others on the team are pretty passionate about Twitter. I've been on Twitter for a few months now myself, as just an average person, trying to understand it's appeal.  I follow my friends, coworkers, even Andy Lark (which of course leads me to his blog) and sometimes these folks follow me.  At first, I thought it was a bit absurd to see updates from others that held no true revelance to me, but sometimes made me chuckle.

  After seeing ABC's report, however, I got to thinking.  "I wonder if I search on Twitter by 'computer repair' if I could find a community of computer technicians talking about their needs or just talking about what they find interesting?" I wasn't even sure until two days ago if Twitter could make it possible....but, indeed, the Captains of Tweet came through. 

  You can find me on Twitter as @KatieFromDell.  The majority of computer technicians I follow, and who follow me, are very small businesses.  But they have needs, too, and are really engaged in what KatieFromDell wants to learn from them or what Dell has to offer. 

  In one of my first jobs out of grad school, a sales consultant named Jeffrey Fox (who wrote, How to Become A Rainmaker) came to my company and gave us some insight on how to close a sale.  The biggest lesson I learned from Fox, "always ask your customer questions.  Never assume you know what they want."

  So far, Twitter has been a great way for our group to learn more about computer repair needs.  And, it's only been a few days for us.
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• NVIDIA GPU Update for Dell Laptop Owners

  Fri. Jul. 25, 2008
  by Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger

  Earlier this month, sites like Ars Technica and ZDNet blogged about NVIDIA’s statement regarding a potential issue with some of NVIDIA's Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) used in notebooks. According to NVIDIA, these affected GPUs are experiencing higher than expected failure rates causing video problems. Though this issue is not unique to Dell, some of these affected GPUs are used in certain Dell laptops. That's why I wanted to take a few minutes here to explain the issue and to let customers know what to do next.

  The issue is a weak die/packaging material set, which may fail with GPU temperature fluctuations. If your GPU fails, you may see intermittent symptoms during early stages of failure that include:

  • Multiple images
  • Random characters on the screen
  • Lines on the screen
  • No video

  Dell recommends that you flash your system BIOS (see links in the table below). Each of these BIOS updates listed in the table below modifies the fan profile to help regulate GPU temperature fluctuations. Note: if you are already experiencing video-related issues like the bullet points above, updating the BIOS will not correct them. Dell will provide support for customers who have experienced GPU failure according to the terms of the system warranty.

  These BIOS updates will help reduce the likelihood of GPU issues. New systems are being shipped with the updated BIOS revisions. Here's the list of the latest BIOS versions. Click on the links below to download them.

  Dell Product Name	BIOS Revision	Date	Update File Name
  Inspiron 1420	A09	7/14/08	1420_A09.EXE
  Latitude D630	A12	6/22/08	D630_A12.EXE
  Latitude D630c	A06	7/11/08	D630CA06.EXE
  Dell Precision M2300	A07	7/11/08	M2300A07.EXE
  Vostro Notebook 1310	A10	7/10/08	V1310-A10.EXE
  Vostro Notebook 1400	A09	7/10/08	1400_A09.EXE
  Vostro Notebook 1510	A10	7/10/08	V1510A10.EXE
  Vostro Notebook 1710	A07	7/10/08	V1710A07.EXE
  XPS M1330	A12	7/9/08	M1330A12.EXE
  XPS M1530	A09	7/25/08	1530_A09.EXE

  Update: As Direct2Dell reader foduekid noted, the A09 BIOS update for the XPS M1530 was made available yesterday after I published this blog post. I've updated the table above with the link.

  Update 2: I'm getting e-mails and comments that are similar to those of Direct2Dell readers like Customer, fr and barryd. Like I mentioned in one of my responses, this will not be the only blog post on this topic. When I have new details to share, I will share them here. Several of you have expressed concern over potential battery life issues. The reality is that these BIOS updates will not have any noticeable effect on battery life or overall system performance. These updates do not make the cooling fan run all the time. The fan may cycle on more frequently, but when it does, it will run at half or quarter speed.

  Update 3: Since Kara Krautter unveiled the Vostro 2510 on the Small Business blog yesterday, we've gotten some questions about it since it uses an NVIDIA GPU. Take a look at some of the comments in the Vostro 2510 Engadget post to see what I'm talking about. The Vostro 2510 will ship with the latest BIOS updates.

  If you need help flashing your system BIOS or experience any of the video-related issues listed above, please contact Dell Technical Support. Our teams are committed to working with affected customers to resolve issues on a case-by-case basis.
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• Update on Laptop Battery Availability

  Thu. Jul. 24, 2008
  by Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger

  About four months ago, I blogged about a fire at LG Chem battery plant. Back then, we discussed its potential impact on the constrained global supply of Li-ion cells used in laptop battery packs.

  Recently, I've been getting direct e-mails and comments from Direct2Dell readers like jonlijoo about delays with their notebook orders. There are also discussion threads in like this one in our community forum on the same topic. The issue? Battery availability. It is affecting our customers in the US, Latin America, Europe and Asia.

  While limited Li-ion cell availability is an industry-wide issue that affects most major PC makers, I want to apologize to our customers whose orders have been affected. Since the fire occurred in March, our procurement team has been working with existing suppliers to develop additional capacity and qualifying new suppliers to add to the supply.

  Our team is also looking at alternative technologies such as Lithium Polymer (Li-Poly) batteries. Li-Poly is a derivative of the standard Li-Ion technology and is well proven in many uses. We have already been using Li-Poly batteries on some of our systems and continue to explore the possibility of using it more widely in the future.

  Lots of folks at Dell understand the inconvenience the battery availability issue has caused and appreciate your patience. Please check with the sales rep on the shipping date before you make your order. We will continue to do everything we can to minimize the impact and keep you posted as the situation improves.

  This availability issue was also the reason we increased our prices for spare laptop (or secondary) batteries. That means more customers are opting for a single battery. For those customers, conserving battery power is important. There are some easy ways to do it—check out this video where Tony Salinas from our notebook performance team shares some good information on how to maximize battery power.
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• Wal-Mart to Test Solution Station Concept with Support from Dell

  Mon. Jul. 14, 2008
  by Downs Deering, Director—Retail Services

  You may recall that in April, Lionel blogged about our intent to develop premium services and services in retail. Well, today we have a little more information to share—specifically a concept Wal-Mart will begin testing in select stores called Solution Station by Dell.

  These services are designed to make it easier and more affordable for people to set up and use digital lifestyle technology. Beginning this month, Wal-Mart will be testing Solution Station by Dell services in about a dozen Dallas-area Wal-Mart stores.

  These services will be available on Dell and other branded systems and include things like home television installation, PC set-up, wireless network set-up, computer upgrades, services designed to protect computers and in-home training. Wal-Mart customers in the test locations can also sign up for basic computer support and repair for their laptops and desktops.

  We'll keep you posted as we explore different ways to support our retail partners in the marketplace.
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• Making Technology More Accessible

  Thu. Jul. 03, 2008
  by Chris Vein, CIO—City and County of San Francisco

   Note from Lionel: The power of technology grows as more users have access to it. Dell is helping the city of San Francisco provide some of its residents a connection to the digital world.

  It's an example of one of Dell's key goals behind the concept of the Connected Era—ensuring that the benefits of IT can be accessed in every part of the world. Connecting is one of four priorities—along with regenerating, simplifying and listening—that Dell believes will define the next stage of technology.

  City of San Francisco officials recently announced the launch of the TechConnect PC Purchase Program for Working Families.

  Here is a guest post from Chris Vein, Chief Information Officer, City and County of San Francisco:

  The TechConnect PC Purchase Program is a partnership that offers low-income working families in San Francisco the opportunity to buy a discounted Dell computer for a low monthly cost. This program is sponsored by Dell, Intel Corporation and Patelco Credit Union.

  The City is committed to working with its corporate partners such as Dell to address San Francisco’s digital divide. Computer and Internet access have become essential to education, employment and civic participation. Mayor Gavin Newsom and I announced this program as part of a comprehensive citywide Digital Inclusion initiative to bring technology access to the City’s most disadvantaged residents.

  The TechConnect program enables low-income families to more easily afford a computer and to use this access to improve their lives. In order to qualify, families must have received the Working Families Credit, a tax credit available to San Francisco households who earn less than $39,000 and have at least one child. The City provides free computer training at its public libraries and recreation centers.
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