Dell Hell: The end?
My column reporting on my visit to Dell headquarters and my interview with Michael Dell just went up on Business Week. It’ll be in this week’s issue. Hell, it’s even the lead online.
After giving Dell hell two years ago, I may well be accused of throwing them a wet kiss now. It’s a positive piece. But it’s hard not to praise them when they ended up doing everything I was pushing in my open letter to Michael Dell. I’m not saying that I caused that, just that we ended up agreeing and they ended up seeing the value in listening to and ceding control to customers. They reached out to bloggers; they blogged; they found ways to listen to and follow the advice of their customers. They joined the conversation. That’s all we asked.
The column — and Dell’s executives — acknowledge the company’s ongoing problems — the complaints I still hear in comments and emails to this day. But still, I come away concluding that it’s a big deal that a company that was vilified as the worst at blogs, social media, and customer relations in the broad sense is now, one could argue, the best at this. The company’s executives wouldn’t acknowledge this, but I wonder whether falling so far is just what set them up to be so bold in the blogosphere.
In my first draft of the piece, I wondered whether Dell had even become a Cluetrain company. I had to abbreviate that to being “bloggish” because it just took up too much space to explain the Cluetrain. But as you read the column, note Dell’s compliance with the manifesto’s first three theses:
1. Markets are conversations.
2. Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors.
3. Conversations among human beings sound human. They are conducted in a human voice.
I don’t know whether this is the end of my saga of Dell Hell: the story come full circle. As I say in the column, I thought that end came three months after this began, when I returned my Dell. But it turns out that was the start of the real story.
I found another story here, a media story, which I come to at the end of the column:
Dell and its customers are collaborating on new forms of content and marketing, but note that they are doing this without the help of media and marketing companies.
Dell realized that engaging in the conversation wasn’t just a way to stop blogging customers like me from harming the brand. We, the customers, bring them great value besides our money: We alert them to problem. We will tell them what products we want. We share our knowledge about their products. We help fellow customers solve problems. We will sell their products. But this happens only if you have a decent product and service and only if you listen to us.
Once that relationship is established, it replaces the less-efficient, the shallower relationship bought through media. Bob Garfield wrote about this in his second chaos scenario piece: Marketers’ overall spending on advertising and media may actually decrease. So I believe this is a cautionary tale for the media industry.
Here’s video of my interview with Michael Dell. I’ll warn you: It’s not exactly scintillating. Dell is cautious — not surprising because he’s a CEO and also not surprising, I assume, because he was talking to me. I’ll say that I didn’t do a great job in the interview; I couldn’t figure out how to engage him on blogs.
Something else that didn’t make the story — because it’s of more interest to us bloggers than to a Business Week audience, I decided — was the question of Michael Dell’s relationship with blogs. Does he read them? Every one of his executives insist that he not only reads them but that he will send them links to posts at all hours of the day and night. Their insistence was so consistent that I wondered whether this wasn’t on the Jarvis interview briefing sheet I saw on one employee’s Dell screen.
So will Dell blog? Not likely. He has been known to submit a comment in response to an idea on IdeaStorm, where customers tell him what to do. But blog? The execs fairly shuddered at the idea. I’m not sure why. I guess Dell just isn’t a bloggy kind of guy.
I spent a very full day at Dell’s headquarters near Austin and also got a tour of their factory. I got lots of fascinating business intelligence and crammed as much of that into the column as I possibly could. I’ll probably blog more of it later. The execs I met at the company — heads of customer service, marketing, ecommerce, PR, and blogging outreach — were gracious and generous sharing their experiences and views with me. In other words: They didn’t seem to hold a grudge.
: LATER: This report about me collaborating on a Dell book is utterly untrue. I have no idea where it came from and have asked that it be corrected. I find it particularly damaging that this should be ‘reported’ on the eve of my column’s publication. I may well write about Dell in a book but not in collaboration with Dell.
: LATER STILL: Steve Baker of Business Week suggested I post the original draft. Here it is. The story was submitted at 1,600 words. It ran at about 1,100 words. Some trims always help. A few hurt. It’s still not what Jay Rosen asks for but I have more in my notebook and will be using that later.
Tags: bestof, customerism, Dell, newarchitecture
October 18th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
My only suggestion for the video interview would be “clean the lens.”
October 18th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
amazing! now I know that’s been around two years I’ve been away from your blog, don’t ask why. just finally added the Buzz Machine to my reader a couple of weeks ago.
I have to say that if you were a mass media journalist doing this piece, I would probably frown at it. but I think you’ve built enough respect to be just read as a honest, trustable person. and thus being, Dell Hell it’s another case for the blogosphere.
cheers!
October 18th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
I definitely echo your sentiments about all the Dell team seeming to be on board and on message with social media changing their culture and business.
I didn’t talk with the execs, but just three days ago I interviewed five members of their social media/digital communications team for my podcast - the people ‘at the coalface’ so to speak.
The conversation was insightful, and while it was a pretty soft interview (I’m impressed by what they’ve achieved) I couldn’t help but notice how much they were believers in what they are trying to do.
If anybody wants to have a listen it’s a 40 minute podcast titled ‘Social Media in Action at Dell’ and you can get it from this link:
http://www.forward-moving.com/blog/2007/10/15/forward-podcast-33-social-media-in-action-at-dell/
October 18th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
I forsee more and more companies reaching out to th blogosphere as blogging continues to receive more media attention and validity.
October 18th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Jeff,
As I told you way back in your Dell screeds, Michael Dell has been a CUSTOMER SERVICE PIONEER since the get-go.
Hey Mr. Dell,
Will you send me a computer already? I buy your products, I recommend your products, I own your stock, I read your book, and I defended you (your record) against these buffoons!
October 18th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
[...] It is Dell Hell. [...]
October 18th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
I’ve talked to Dell before, a few people on the top and even the man himself. But I walk away with a totally different impression that you got :p
October 18th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
I thought your piece was going to be about 5-6 pages. You know, like a cover story.
I guess Business Week readers are too busy. Anyway, it was interesting but I wanted much more depth.
October 19th, 2007 at 3:36 am
Wow Jeff, this story has come a long way. You’ve certainly exercised your right as a consumer, and should be recognized for being responsible in thanking a company who finally listened to you and others and made a differences.
I’ve been tracking the Dell Hell to Swell saga on my blog, it deserves to be remembered!
http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2007/02/25/social-media-saga-continues-as-company-advances-towards-dell-swell/
October 19th, 2007 at 6:08 am
I see a clear and powerful advertising message: Del is the company bloggers (as represented by Jeff Jarvis, himself) used to hate, but now love. Dell Wins.
(The Business Week article completely reminds me of one of those articles with the light gray label “Advertisment” hidden at the top of the page.)
I can’t believe there isn’t a flood of protest from the “blogosphere” that your whole experience with Dell has culminated in an ad for Dell.
October 19th, 2007 at 7:52 am
Eric,
I’m being honest. What, you expect me to hold the grudge? I’m telling you what I see. If they actually start to listen to what the blogopshere advises, you’re saying the blogosphere should still spit on them because the blogosphere is permanently spiteful (and childish)?
October 19th, 2007 at 9:17 am
[...] Jeff Jarvis gave Dell hell two years ago, his new BusinessWeek piece is interestingly call, “Dell Hell: The end?” - Worth [...]
October 19th, 2007 at 10:01 am
Follow up with Dell and find out how the blog conversation is working. Dell is producing Linux desktops after getting thousands of requests to do so on their blog. But far more people asked for the option then bought them. What should Dell make of that?
I don’t like manifestos. They try to make things too neat and assume results can be engineered. They can’t and your package of concepts haven’t proved themselves out.
October 19th, 2007 at 10:01 am
[...] Dell Hell: The end? — Jeff Jarvis declares “Mission Accomplished.” Also see his BusinessWeek [...]
October 19th, 2007 at 10:11 am
I am soooo disappointed in this company that I will not stop until I either receive satisfaction or turn this company into mush. No wonder Apple and others pasted you by. It has been a nightmare! We were promised satisfaction if we had problems only to led down the perverbial stupid path of belief in a company that is supposed to be top rate. Well, not so fast. The so called ’support’ sucks. From Matt to Claudia, to rude Brian, (at the store where we bought it) to Mr. Alverado…who ever that is, and countless other phone calls no satisfaction! I will be blogging every person who will listen including any and all media that will go for it. I will stop until the one of the two afore mentioned conditions are met. Gee, such a good company in the past is now defunct. By the way, have a sufficiently great day!
October 19th, 2007 at 10:28 am
Dell gave me a new computer last spring when I complained about my computer problems on my blog (and I don’t think I really said anything that bad about Dell themselves). This was a four-year-old machine that had had its motherboard, hard drive, screen, case, and pretty much every other part you could think of replaced several times each. I kept renewing the complete care warranty because it was cheaper than buying a new computer, and then I finally reached their limit, and it was about to expire within a few months. But when I blogged about the problems, even though my contract was about up, they simply gave me a new computer. I was shocked.
You can see the story here.
I suppose you might have played a role in bringing to the point of doing things like that, so thanks.
October 19th, 2007 at 10:33 am
Hi Jeff:
You mention in your article that Dell is having ‘conversations’ with their customers. I beg to differ. One need only take a look through the ‘Inspiron Notebook Delay’ thread at Direct2Dell to see how poorly they’re still communicating with customers. The intent may be there, but the execution still has a long way to go. People ask them questions, valid respectfully asked questions, and get nothing but dead air in response. Perhaps they’d have better results if they all wrote articles for Business Week.
October 19th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Jeff, Nice story. But I find this sentence just a bit disingenous:
“In June, 2005, I unwittingly unleashed a blog storm around the computer company.”
I would say that when a blogger like you (or any other blogger for that matter) posts a heading that such and such a company sucks, you’re fully aware that it could unleash a blog storm. It might not. It might turn out bigger than you hoped or expected. But I would guess that of many things you were in June ‘05, unwitting was not one of them.
October 19th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Steve,
Fair to say today, knowing what we know now about blogstorms. But two years ago, I had no idea what would or could happen. Keep in mind that I didn’t write about computers and gadgets. I wrote about media and politics. We also saw no evidence that Dell was listening. So I was just blowing off steam to my friends and maybe warning a few of them. There was no thought that this would become a cause celebre. As I told the people at Round Rock, if I had known it would become so notorious, I might have been a little more selective in my language.
October 19th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
Dell should promote Ubuntu computers more in Germany.
October 20th, 2007 at 3:29 am
How a scathing blog post helped turn Dell around…
OK, it was actually a whole series of posts. On June 21, 2005, media blogger Jeff Jarvis of Buzzmachine vented his frustration (censorship added):
I’m having all kinds of trouble with the hardwa…
October 20th, 2007 at 6:22 am
[...] BuzzMachine » Blog Archive » Dell Hell: The end? (tags: Dell Jarvis) No Comments so far Leave a comment RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI Leave a comment Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> [...]
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:55 am
[...] Firma besucht und u.a. auch Michael Dell persönlich gesprochen. Anbei seine Eindrücke: Dell Hell: The end? Artikelzusatzinfos 1. Tags: dell, dell hell, jeff jarvis 2. Related [...]
October 22nd, 2007 at 5:25 pm
[...] version is complete with a 25-minute video of an interview with Michael Dell (also available on Jeff’s blog: BuzzMachine).  He also posted the un-edited version, which notes a very measurable impact of Dell’s [...]
October 23rd, 2007 at 6:12 am
[...] to change the way they operate and the product and service offering based on this input. On his blog, Jarvis goes as far as to [...]
October 23rd, 2007 at 9:42 am
[...] BuzzMachine » Blog Archive » Dell Hell: The end? More comment from Jarvis on his Business Week story… It’s a well known fact that Michael Dell is a voracious reader of online news and information. My clients tell me they often have multiple e-mails from him before their first cup of coffee. (tags: dell) [...]
October 23rd, 2007 at 6:30 pm
[...] BuzzMachine » Blog Archive » Dell Hell: The end? Jeff Jarvis has taken on the role of Dell commentator ever since he got poor service. He’s documented the change in the company, the things they put in place to change their world. Here’s his latest wrap up, with a conversation with Michael Dell and a (tags: casestudy Dell corporateblogging) [...]
October 23rd, 2007 at 7:04 pm
Hav you ever stopped to think that maybe Dell is responding to bloggers but everyone else is still getting the same old crap? Dell responds as needed in the most cost effective way for any problem, and when you blog, it costs them money. Therefore, they spend some face time to hush jarvis. Why don’t you order another machine under another name and then try to return it. Bet you will have something to blog about then. PS, did they buy your ticket to Austin?
October 23rd, 2007 at 7:16 pm
How dare you? Business Week bought my ticket to Austin. My story says the problems continue. Have the balls to stand behind your name when you make accusations like this. Coward.
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:22 pm
That was a question, not accusation….. Also, you did not respond to the first question. Do you think there is any possibility that that Dell PR may be focusing on appeasing those that make the most noise? Think about it, they have a team dedicated to track down and resolve problems that people complain about on the internet. They have folks trolling the blogs, but nobody seems to be able to return calls. They spend valuable executive time on you. But the complaints still fill the internet, SEC inquiry is still under way, BBBs get flooded with complaints, NY lawsuit still out there, DFS is apparently still scamming people.. no correction from Dell on many fronts. They fire an entire site in Oregon because they won a lawsuit about getting scammed on their pay, sending them home in their PJs for good measure just to add insult to injury. Trust me, this was no accident. They are not making a real effort to change, only to accommodate. Dell reacts, that is what they are best at. I cannot post my name because I am a coward, its true. I know first hand what Dell can and will do to people that make waves. I was sad that you did not ask about these things.
October 24th, 2007 at 6:49 am
Yes. It’s a huge win for Dell even though not much has really changed. I’m sure the marketing/communications department at Dell poured a glass of Champaign when the Business Week article came out. It’s clearly excellent PR if not an outright advertisement.
The problem I have with this is that Jeff Jarvis has built his reputation as a fierce advocate for the consumer, yet he can’t see how that reputation is now being used by Dell.
One of the comments above is from a PR firm (GCI), which apparently had some part in this PR for Dell:
“Over the past week, Dell has been the topic of many conversations in the blogosphere, spurred by a Forrester Groundswell Award and BusinessWeek article discussing the company’s transformation from digital bystander to leader. In reading these posts, I am incredibly proud of the GCI team that helped make this happen. (NOTE: Dell is a GCI client)”
October 24th, 2007 at 6:23 pm
I’m going through my own Dell customer service hell now. After purchasing a wireless PDA on Dell on-line and not receiving it by the DHL service that Dell uses to ship, I asked for full refund over the phone. Dell customer representative acknowledged the issue and told me that it will take 7-10 business days to apply the credit back to my credit card. At present, it’s been over 35 days since I initially asked for the refund. I call or e-mail Dell every week and every time the representative asks me to wait for 5-7 business days to see the refund. It’s a classic, but I’m running out of patience on this one.
October 26th, 2007 at 9:57 am
[...] Dell Computer Learns to Listen (aka, “Dell Hell: The end?) - an informative article by Jeff Jarvis for Businessweek [...]
October 27th, 2007 at 10:15 am
[...] Why? There is substance there - taking online conversation from 50% negative to 23% in one year is no small task. A year ago who could have anticipated Jeff Jarvis writing “Dell Hell: The End?” [...]
November 12th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
I know this conversation has been going on for a while and it’s a bit late to join but i just wanted to add my two cents. I am a college student and not a professional.
I had a dell, it’s dead now.
Their customer service is crap. I suffered every time i tried to call them. I can appreciate the time and effort they are putting into joining the conversation but i can’t help but think it’s all useless, they do not pay any more attention to me now than they did before.
I put up a comment on their direct2dell blog, stating my pain, and they never put it up and till date, they still haven’t acknowledged it. Do they not know the power of the blog???? Actually they do, cause they responded to Jarvis. I am angry enough to put that post up to make it the first thing that shows up on technorati when you search dell. It seems they only respond when you scream loud enough, maybe i will, after finals.
Dell may be joining the conversation but they aren’t listening to me.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:46 am
[...] Jarvis updates the Dell story for Business Week. See also his original draft of the [...]
December 4th, 2007 at 12:33 am
My experience with Dell has been mixed, leaning toward the side of unsatisfactory more often than not - especially when dealing with sales and support. Recently I experienced what appears to be a bait-and-switch tactic when i ordered a scratch and dent laptop on their outlet side… i received an email acknowledging the order and six days later pat of the order arrived, but no laptop. When I called, they could not find my order, yet they delivered part of it. They switched me to Dell sales and tried to sell me a new laptop for a few hundred more, playing the used car salesman game of “Hold while i talk to my manager.” When I responded to their email and posted my experience on their website, they deleted my post on a technicality (I put my support ticket number in it so they could actually help me if they wanted to), but responded to me in email with an apology and a promise to call. After two weeks, Dell is still no call no show for me.
I’d rather deal with being ignored than being played with apologies and promises that they forget they made, just like they forget where they put the laptops they advertise on their outlet site, but can remember the peripherals (though they got the address wrong).
They seem disorganized at best and demonstrate poor communications skills. Possibly even use tactics that cross the line into fraud, or at least misleading sales tactics. After purchasing many dozens of Dell business systems and machines over the years for the hospital where I am performance improvement director, Dell has a long way to go if they want my trust back.
December 4th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
I have to respectfully disagree. From misleading sales practices to costly tech support to an inflexible approach to dealing with problems, Dell is still the same old company.
After swearing to swear off Dell when I bought my second Dimension desktop, I recently caved and bought a monitor from them because I needed a flat panel that I knew would be compatible with my two-year-old Dell PC. I picked a model and called Dell customer service, who promptly convinced me to upgrade for just ten bucks more. I asked them if this upgraded model would be compatible with my current system, and they said yes…Turns out it’s not.
Because I was moving shortly, I kept the monitor in its original packaging, thinking that I could always return it during the 90-day warranty period if something came up. To my surprise, when I unpacked the monitor and realized that it was indeed NOT compatible with my system, I was told that they had a 21-day return limit, which had now passed about two weeks ago, and I would have to return the product at my own considerable expense and wait for a refund. They were unwilling to do a simple exchange in which they would send me a different product in return for the current mistake. Since I work from home and am on the computer all day, the lag between returning the monitor and receiving a new one would be detrimental to my business. Given that I bought the monitor on DELL’s recommendation for satisfactory compatibility, I thought this was quite unfair and told them so, but they wouldn’t budge.
I’m going to sell this monitor and buy another (non-Dell) from Amazon. Dell has lost me as a customer, and judging from other posts, mine isn’t even the worst example of the stuff they’ve pulled on people. I would urge anyone to consider other manufacturers instead of Dell, and if you MUST buy from them, beware of misleading customer service reps who just want to make a sale and strict short return periods (not even a third as long as the already short warranty). In other words, never order one early for Christmas or a birthday, in preparation for a move, or any other such circumstance because if they send you the wrong product, too bad for you.
December 5th, 2007 at 8:24 am
Dell, two words: “Silicon Graphics”
http://aarone.org/2007/05/29/michael-dell-in-2001/
“Time to close the company, liquidate the assets and return the money to the shareholders”:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/16/technology/16apple.html
How ya like them Apples there Jeff and by extension Dell.
December 5th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
[...] achieved a coup of this sort in the wake of the Dell Hell firestorm launched by Jeff Jarvis in June 2005. Dell [...]
December 18th, 2007 at 12:24 am
[...] example, I am still sceptical as to whether Dell really has overcome the impact of Jeff Jarvis and Dell Hell. And I believe that too often conversational marketing examples are born of desperation rather than [...]
December 19th, 2007 at 9:58 am
[...] I follow Jeff Jarvis‘ Dell Hell from beginning to end. [...]
December 28th, 2007 at 12:41 am
[...] Jarvis begins to say nice things about [...]
December 31st, 2007 at 2:47 pm
[...] Jarvis begins to say nice things about [...]
January 2nd, 2008 at 5:08 pm
The originally purchased laptop broke; on 11/29/07 tech-support call was made and it was resolved to sending a replacement.
10 days I waited patiently. On 12/10/07 I logged into my Dell’s account and discovered that replacement laptop about to be send is quite different from original, e.g.:
1. Processor is Intel T7250 instead of T7300 originally (2 MB Level 2 Cache instead of 4 MB)
2. RAM is 2GB instead of 4GB originally
I spend approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes on the phone with different levels of tech-support and customer care representatives kicking me back and forth. Instead of trying to resolve the issue they have been trying to convince me that it’s ok to get inferior laptop as a replacement. After much arguing I was promised the issue will be looked into and I will be contacted in 24 hours.
After waiting over 24 hours and seeing on the website that nothing is being changed, I contacted customer care again. Another hour or so on the phone.
Chain of representatives I’ve spoken to: Ryan, Sherwin, Mervin, Shane; some of them claim to be ‘managers’; each time I had to explain again and again that 2 GB is less than 4, and that the difference in performance between 7300 and 7250 processors is significant.
Finally, I gave up explaining/arguing and asked to escalate the issue. Case # was assigned and I was promised that someone will contact me within 48 hours.
On 12/15/07 some lady called. She obviously did not bother getting familiar with the case before calling me, and was technically quite inept; I had to explain again the difference in the original laptop and the replacement. I asked to escalate the case to the next level.
On December 16th I left for a weeklong vacation. To my bewilderment when I returned back nothing has been done.
On December 26, 2007 I had the online chat, and was promised that the proper replacement will be processed.
Today is January 2nd, and no one in Dell bothered to provide me with any information whatsoever on the status of my case. No new order on my Dell’s account online.
I was a loyal Dell’s customer for about 10 years. I bought numerous Dell’s desktops and laptops not only for myself, my family and my relatives, but also for friends, buddies and acquaintances. Being a tech-support person myself I am always being asked what computer to buy, and over these years I was always advising to buy Dell.
Not anymore
January 4th, 2008 at 10:10 am
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
January 15th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
[...] Jarvis sure got a rise out of Dell in 2005, when he posted his story on his Buzzmachine blog. He paid his time in Dell Hell and now he thinks the company has come a long way in learning [...]
January 16th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Just heard about this website after weeks of problems with Dell. Here is my letter of today to Michael Dell. Suggestions anyone as to how to get some service from Dell?
Case # 182899333
Dear Michael Dell:
My Inspiron 6000 is a mess and the support I receive from half-way around the world is worse.
I returned home from an extended trip and had received no return phone messages or e-mails to resolve a severe problem I have been dealing with for weeks.
I have a “Next Day†warranty for my laptop computer that your company is not honoring.
I reported the persistent problem described in the above Case # and asked for someone to come to my home; after several unsuccessful sessions on the phone to resolve the problem.
Briefly stated, the system freezes frequently and has to be restarted. I have not added hardware or software. All the diagnosis shows no problem with the hard drive.
While the so-called “Technical Support†has stopped responding, they have repeatedly sent me promotionals to buy another Dell computer, while this one is still under warranty.
Please arrange for someone to come to my home and either fix my Inspiron 6000, replace it with one that works, or refund the purchase price, since Dell is not able to honor your contract.
Sincerely,
Don Ward
January 23rd, 2008 at 12:10 pm
[...] (0) The dance between consumer tech companies and bloggers is fraught with grand entrances, missteps and even broken toes, but the story Allen Tsai is telling over at Mobiledia essentially involves [...]
January 31st, 2008 at 10:18 am
[...] Jarvis later praised Dell for changing the way it interacts with customers. [...]
February 11th, 2008 at 9:57 am
I have an Inspiron 1705 with the UXGA 17″ widescreen that, about after a year and a half, developed 4 verticle lines of differing colors on the screen. A call to Dell customer service and 70 minutes on hold resolved nothing but to tell me my warranty expired. I emailed Dell support on 12/2 with my problem. Much back and forth ensued, all fairly polite but little progress was made. On 12/26, Dell agreed to replace the screen on my laptop, and I was told to expect a box from DHL in 2 - 3 days. After three more emails the box arrived on 1/21. I called for pickup on Thursday, 1/24, and it was returned, repaired, on Monday, 1/28. Cost = $O. During the time Dell had my laptop, I received automated phone calls keeping me informed of the status of my laptop, and email updates to boot. While it took 2 months of back and forth (all by email), Dell stood behind their product and took care of my problem, when they could have blown me off. Perfect? No, but I will now consider them when replacing my warhorse HP desktop. Like anything else, experiences vary. Sure, 2 months is a long time to debate a problem, but I was polite and persistent, and my laptop looks great again.
February 14th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
’we didn’t have the capability inside the company to get the products to market on time, much less designed correctly.†Direct From Dell page 50 Ibid. exhibit 99
“We can’t deny that the defect occurred in the production process of the batteries, “ said Tokyo-based Sony’s spokesman Yoshikaza Ochiai. “But the defect was somehow affected by Dell’s system environment.†docket 101 exhibit 108 “Sony has since claimed that a combination of design and production flaws account for the problem.†The Great Battery Recall of 2006, by David Garrett, October 30, 2006 exhibit 8
“And even though the people at Sony kept coming back with the right answers to our questions, no one really knew how lithium would hold up.“ page 55 Ibid. Direct From Dell (emphasis added) exhibit 99
February 14th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
I’ve had numerous friends over the years who owned Dell computers and had excellent experiences with the products and the customer service. Theirs was such a unanimous perception of Dell that I took to recommending Dell to friends.
Last month I came to the point of needing a new desktop and I didn’t really shop around much. I built my Dell online and ordered it. It arrived about a week later and I set it up.
The first disappointing failure was that my Netgear wireless router didn’t work properly. I spent my entire evening on the phone (mostly on HOLD) with Dell over that and finally with Netgear, who said there was nothing wrong with my wireless router. I hard-wired my broadband connection and began working with other features of my new computer, conceding that I’d deal with the router later. I decided to test the DVD burner next. It didn’t work and I couldn’t bring myself to call again that night.
I spent my entire evening the following night on the phone with Dell to sort out the DVD issue. The tech took control of my machine and after 3 hours he had managed to make the problem more complicated. At that point I asked to speak with someone who could arrange for a return authorization. I was given a “direct phone number” in case my call was lost and they transferred me. I sat on hold for almost an hour before a voice announced that I should call later and disconnected me. The “direct phone number” took me to an automated phonebot that wouldn’t give me any choices remotely similar to my issue.
My third evening on the phone began with the mandatory 30-45 minute hold period. When a live voice finally answered, he told me to call the number I had been given the night before. When I explained that it didn’t get me through to a customer care person he promised to transfer me to someone who could help. I was disconnected again after about 25 minutes. I called the main number back and again sat on hold. When that call was finally answered I was told that I’d have to call back the following day to talk with a customer service rep who could offer a return auth. The rep then suggested that I let them send me a new computer that he promised would work right. He also assured me that I would receive an email and a follow-up call to confirm that I was being taken care of. None of these things happened.
Ten days after that phone call I braved the elements again and called Dell. Following the hold drill, my rep reported that the promised replacement computer had not been approved. I asked why no one had seen fit to deliver that news to me via email or phone call and I was answered with an eerie silence. On that call I finally got through to someone who could authorize my return. That person emailed me shipping labels and proudly announced that I’d be issued a credit for my purchase 30 days AFTER they received the broken computer.
I got up on Saturday and was about to pack up my computer but the more I thought about it the more mad I got. Finally I sat down and began uninstalling everything I could. Then I reinstalled the operating system. I began putting the other applications back on and when the DVD burning software (provided by Dell) began booting I found a problem. When asked to select my operating system, Vista wasn’t on the list of choices. I tried selecting XP. That didn’t work. I went through each choice with the same results. I went to the store and purchased new software and installed that. I can now burn a DVD. I’ve since exercised all of the other features the computer offers and all seems to be working properly.
I made the potentially disadvantageous decision at that point to just keep the beast and hope for the best. I simply couldn’t bring myself to (1) start over with my hunt for a system, (2) tollerate another phone call to Dell Hell and (3) I honestly have strong doubts (based on my experiences) that Dell would honor their promise to give me my refund without at least a few marathon sessions on hold with their phone system.
I’ve sold my Dell stocks now and I sincerely apologize to everyone who’s been a victim of their practices while I benefitted from the company’s stock values.
March 15th, 2008 at 3:34 am
[...] sich dies nicht nur in der Theorie gut anhört, sondern auch in der Praxis funktioniert, zeigt das Beispiel der Firma DELL. Der Computer-Spezialist sah die Welle von Kritik, die vor einiger Zeit durch die [...]
March 17th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Well, your story states that it looks like a wet kiss going to Dell. Wonder what they slipped you in return.
I loved Dell for a year. Then 11 days ago, my touch pad quit responding.
No problem, I’m a small in home business covered under a current warranty.
Well, in house business warranty got me 11 days of tech talk on the phone with 19 different people and still no working machine.
So far they have managed to wipe out my drivers, my files, and finally shut down my DVD.
When to the internet to find answers and instead found all these same issues from many other people as well as the NY AG fraud case.
Going out tonight to buy a replacement for this trash and it won’t be a Dell.
I can’t even repeat what I hope happens to Dell and the the people that pitch it as a “good” company.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Lee,
How should I put this?
Fuck you.
How dare you question my integrity? You who don’t have the balls to give your name. Go suck on your Dell powercord.
March 19th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Lee is my name. And my address was clearly available.
Please explain why Dell won’t repair anything.
Do you really expect me to sit by and listen to you expound the glories of a company that is screwing its customers by the thousands?
When a company is in the sights of attorney Generals for fraud regarding its treatment of customers, something is seriously wrong. Dell, the darling of the computer industry is now rated as one of the worse; something is seriously wrong. You smoose it up with the pres. of Dell and the rest of us can’t even get a phone number for an office within the USA for and English speaking service tech., there is something seriously wrong.
Help me out here.
March 19th, 2008 at 9:00 am
I should hlep you after you insult me? I should say fuck you again. But I’ll help you: Got o the Dell blog and contact Lionel Menchaca.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:00 am
We got off on the wrong foot, Jeff.
I have dealt with too many people that tell me such and such is the latest, greatest of an item and later find they have complete collection courtesy of the home office.
I have been burnt so bad this time by Dell that frankly NOTHING will ever make me recommend the company to anyone.
Even the computer tech that finally got my Dell running, yesterday, won’t recommend Dell.
Dell is a major employer in my city and isn’t even listed in the local phone book except for the same toll free numbers that go to India.
But thank you for the reference. I will contact this Menchaca person.
Lee
March 20th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Lee,
Thank you for that. Too often, people assume a tone in comments and when it comes to questioning my ethics and motives, I will respond as I did. Thanks for saying this.
March 27th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
[...] are lots of success stories. Big companies like Dell and Mariott have generated good will and good press through their forays into Web 2.0, and this has [...]
April 21st, 2008 at 2:06 am
[...] los blogs ya contribuÃan a formar redes virtuales alrededor de intereses comunes. AsÃ, cuando un bloguero denunció los problemas recurrentes que tenÃa con su computador, provocó una reacción en cadena [...]
May 16th, 2008 at 1:00 am
[...] around, but the series of proactive changes that Dell put in place afterward, Jeff Jarvis ended up pretty happy. So tell the lawyers to step down. Tell your own employees to step up and to connect. You never [...]
May 18th, 2008 at 11:34 am
[...] sociala medier är ju hur Dell hanterade massiv kritik mot dem på nätet via etablerade bloggaren Jeff Jarvis (som skapade begreppet Hell Dell för två år sen som missnöjd kund). Ett strukturerat arbete av [...]
May 28th, 2008 at 7:50 am
[...] two examples in the class, Kryptonite lock and Dell Hell, are really old, almost to the point of being hackneyed. Despite that, they remain highly relevant [...]
May 29th, 2008 at 6:39 am
Who Says You Should Blog to Protect Your Good Name? A Case Study…
In recent weeks, I’ve noticed a new theme amongst the social media digerati that goes something like “how do we get the rest of the world to understand the promise of social media? How do we get all those laggard……
June 1st, 2008 at 7:27 am
Heck, I can’t get past the financing group at Dell to even buy a computer because I have a security alert on my credit bureau. Apparently that is reason for an immediate decline for financing. Dell Financial Services has some of the worst customer service I’ve ever experienced. I’m wondering if I should re-think my decision to by Dell products at all. Does anyone out there have the name & address of the person in charge of the Dell Financial Group?
July 5th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
[...] online and elsewhere. In the absolute worst case, an entire grassroots movement (see Jeff Jarvis Dell Hell) may spring up around an [...]
July 7th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
[...] Jarvis begins to say nice things about [...]
July 14th, 2008 at 8:59 am
[...] company faces media backlash > company wakes up to social media, turns around > eventually Jarvis praises them as a Cluetrain [...]
July 15th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Maybe Michael Dell is secretly working for Steve Jobs and shorting his own Dell stock?
Today is July 15, 2008 and the iPhone 3G came out over the weekend. Since the lines were crazy on Friday, I waited until Monday to go to the Mac store to get a cable connection for the my Dell monitor so I can use it with my MacBook. Why? because last Monday, July 7, 2008, I packed up my brand new, quad-core Dell computer and sent it UPS to Austin overnight.
I won’t bother detailing my Dell-Hell for 4 days because it’s all been said before. The wait times, the run-around, the non-working phone numbers, the . . . OH, the hell with it. I’ve already lost 1 month of work product. How are they going to reimburse me for that?
Maybe I’m the only one to see the end of the Dell computer line here . . . PEOPLE WERE WAITING HOURS IN LINE TO BUY A PRODUCT . . . the iPhone 3G.
. . . as opposed to waiting on line, on hold, until the 21 day MYSTERY window comes and goes.
July 16th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
[...] to embrace social computing, social media, Web 2.0, whatever you want to call it. (By the way, Dell learned from their mistakes, engaged their community, took the hits and came out better for [...]
August 15th, 2008 at 5:11 am
[...] Nach einem Online-PR-Desaster, ausgelöst durch einen einzelnen Blog, krempelt IT-Riese Dell seine [...]