Direct2Dell

 Dell, like Shell, Ntl, all have a similar ring to their name and it seems to their level of customer satisfaction, perhaps they are competing for the worst company of the year award...anyway asides my obvious dissatisfaction so far, i am trying to purchase a new pc from them , having paid by credit card yesterday, i received a call from my bank to say Dell or someone at dell had tried to claim a second amount on my credit card later that evenin !!!

i am beginning to realise using Dell for my pc purchase was a big mistake,,it seems they have a criminal element involved within their ranks who try to extort extra monies from peoples accounts. i have so far been unsuccessful in receiving any help, all the managers are in meetings etc....

i wonder if Dell will ever respond reading previous comments above, or will i be completely ripped off like others..!?

Posted this comment at http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2007/05/18/15194.aspx#comments but this is probably as good a place to reiterate the importance of fixing core tech support competencies.

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I think if Dell really wants to regain any credibility in the customer-care domain, it needs to look at grass-roots level. This means, apart from optimizing number of tech-transfers etc, it needs to address the level of competency of the tech support agents themselves.

 My own experience in this matter has been far from satisfactory. I have chronicled them at http://replays.blogspot.com/ and at http://www.epinions.com/content_5003124868

Some quick googling throws up many other similar experiences. In my case, what frustrated me most was not the number of tech transfers I had to go through... but that the lack of comprehension of simple technical aspects was *so* lacking even at the highest level of customer resolution team.

I think most people would happily spend 2 hours on the phone if at the end they go back with the feeling that the person on the other side had the capacity to solve the problem *and* did all he/she could to solve it, whether or not the problem actually got solved. What is frustrating is to have to spend unreasonable amounts of time (order of months) to fix a problem and come away with the knowledge that we have been talking to a brick wall all the while.

Bottomline: yes, tech support *process* needs to be streamlined. BUT, a bigger priority should be what kind of people you recruit to work that process.

I posted a comment on here earlier today regarding my nightmare of an experience exchanging a monitor, but hours later it is still not on here?

Sorry if I am being impatient but I was really hoping for some help.

Steve

Bob Collins said:

A blog with a >24 hour delay, that's clever.  Kind of like a e-commerce Web site with an ordering system that doesn't work...

You guys might want to think about hiring some new Web people... 

Lionel,

I sincerely hope that at least one of the new Dell customer care efforts is a truly remarkable "bold goal."

So many organizations that re-engineer their business processes settle for mere tweaks and adjustments, which usually result just in bringing the organization back to parity with the recognized leaders who already set the bar of expectations in the marketplace.

BTW, I attempted to think beyond the ordinary with my "Dell Customer Corps" suggestion that I submitted on IdeaStorm. Granted, it's not at all what you'll find on a competitor's website -- but isn't that the preferable?

Meaning, at some point, you have to let go of damage-control reactions and allow yourself to think much bigger and better than the norm.

I currently am the owner of a Dell XPS m1710 with 2GB RAM and a 7950GTX card in it.  I have called several times inquiring about why my Norton Utilities did not come with the XPS while it was on the invoice.  I called XPS service and was sent out to inspiron service, where they did not know that an m1710 notebook existed.  Finally I was sent to XPS service, which was located out in India (I think Bangalore, i'm not sure).  It amazed me that Dell's best computer line would be sent to India while an e1405 user would be entitled to USA service.

After the requisite questions, I was told i have XP home on the system when it came with XP Pro and said so on the invoice.  First big mistake; the lack of networking between what a computer has and what people see on the screen.  This slows customer service and shows a lack of networking on Dell's part between its USA and India centers.  Going on, I inquired about receiving a Norton Internet Security Disk as was stated on the invoice.  3 Days later i received one, that was in 2 pieces.  I promptly called back XPS support and was asked "what do you mean by the disk is in 2 pieces, can you put the disk in the CD drive?".  How can one put a broken disk in the CD drive, that's the most absurd concept i ever heard.  A replacement was sent out on May 4, 2007 and on May 7, 2007 I received a Norton Internet Security for Vista disk (which is a foulup as i'm running XP).

I called up promptly again, and was told repeatedly that "oh, the Vista Disk is fine", even after i had repeatedly told (and shown through DellConnect) that the Vista-based Norton was incompatible with my XP system.  It was only after contacting supervisors and executive support that a 2nd replacement Norton for XP was placed, and i'm awating and hoping that it is the correct disk.  The fact that tech support cannot differentiate between Vista and XP, and are willing to lie through their teeth that the two OSs are compatible even after being shown a Vista Norton won't work on XP Pro is not only absurd, but rude to the customer trying to protect his system.

Dell is really pushing the limits of what can pass as customer service to consumers who spend $3,000+ on their gaming machines.  They are in a zone occupied by high-end custom makers such as Falcon-Northwest, VoodooPC, WidowPC, etc., that not only can make a system just as fast as (if not faster than) Dell, but their customer representatives and tech support are trained to CATER to these people through abstract thought, not pre-composed scripts.  Subjectively, this may be the last Dell I buy unless drastic changes are made and noticed.

I am an international student in the US from INDIA. Believe it or not, I hate it too when my calls are transferred to India. I know I might be totally wrong on this one, but I think I have figured out the way it works. The people on the line are probably given bonuses or something if they can solve a problem for a customer without having to repair or replace a part. That explains why the technicians on the line are always willing to troubleshoot (I hate tht word!)

 There are 3 laptops in my family and all of them are DELLs. However, the bad experiences I have had with DELL over the last year have made them lose our entire family as customers. I would have to spend an hour if i even started writing down all the horrible experiences of the last year. The problem as i see it, is a clear lack of oversight over the CRM (which as most IS people can tell u, is the most important thing). Unless there's a real effort to make improvements, I see a very bleak future for DELL (I have a bad feeling DELL is gonna start charging more for calls to be connected within the US or something like tht)

I ordered a computer some time ago via the Dell Web site while I was without a cellphone (blackberry + washing machine = bad idea) and so I entered my phone number as 415-555-0000 or something of the like, because the site offered no "do not contact me by phone option".  I figured that if Dell needed to get in touch with me to confirm my order, they would use the email I provided (you know, since it's 2007 and I am, after all, ordering via a Web site, not the telephone).  I was somewhat unsurprised that Dell did not ship the computer, but I was shocked that I never ever heard another peep from Dell about the order.  Email isn't good enough for you guys?  What's up with requiring telephones?  I was left with the feeling that Dell just didn't want to sell a computer at the deep discount that they had promised.  I bet if I had called on a day when there wasn't a huge discount, you would have tried a lot harder to email me to discuss my order!

Against my better judgement, on May 4 I again tried to order a discounted computer.  This time I received an order acknowledgement which stated that in a few days I would receive an order confirmation.  Since I now know that if I don't supply a phone number, you'll just ignore me forever, I was diligent to provide all of the information requested, but again, 10 days passed with nary a whisper from Dell, either by phone of email.  I called "customer service" (seriously, that's pretty clever and ironic calling that group "customer service", since I've tried as hard as I can just to become a Dell customer, and yet I've never received any service from Dell, except to be told that no, my computer was not purchased correctly) and was told that "the Web site pretty often doesn't work" and "if you want a computer, you should call instead of using the Web site."

This service agent informed me that after I ordered a computer on the site, an email was sent to me and to a sales rep, who types the order into an ordering system.  He was unable to tell me why my order had not been entered into the system.  He did, however sound: a. very patient and explanatory, like a good service person should; and b. exasperated that he was having to explain this broken Web site for the 44000th time.  Poor guy, trapped in the morass of a broken company.  I couldn't find it in my heart to berate a level-1 support dude for something that is obviously the fault of some CTO or Web director, so I came over here.

Since I do this stuff for a living, I feel compelled to tell you that yours is a horrendous workflow and it's no wonder that since June 2006, you've dropped ~$2500 worth of my orders on the floor.  Last time that Dell refused to sell me a computer in a simple and timely manner, I got a handbuilt clone from a local builder who came within $25 of Dell's price on roughly the same quality equipment.  He was able to build and deliver the computer <b>that day</b> via a Web site that he created <i>himself</i>  He's fifteen years old.  How much do you guys think you got charged for your Web site?

Trick question!  Because no matter what you paid, you got straight up ripped off.

I notice that Dell's stock used to be $35 and now it's $25.  I wonder if this is because investors are figuring out that <b>a company that direct-sells computers over the Internet actually has to have a functioning Web ordering workflow.</b>

A suggestion: scrap your Web ordering system; start over.  The undertaking at which you have failed has been successfully implemented for many other Web stores.  Your ordering system is the basis of your company!  Shouldn't you ensure that it works properly?  Isn't "selling computers" job #1 at Dell?  How come I've ordered 2 computers and received zero?

I just thought I would give you some helpful suggestions from an attempted customer, but I suppose if you don't want my money, you won't be too interested in my opinion.  I'm certainly not interested in any more of your Web experience.

I have heard similar posts to this several times before.  I have yet to see any real improvement.  Dell should remember that customer service doesn't just happen after the system is sold.  The sales staff and account managers should be doing a lot of the customer service work and doing random customer satisfaction follow ups with customers regarding recent purchases.  If my sales rep just checked up on us with an e-mail or phone call once a quarter that would be a huge improvement. 

Keeping my fingers crossed... 

 -Craig

I'm in Montreal (Canada), and recently suffered a failed motherboard while working at a large enterprise. Rather than simply sending the machine to the IT department and waiting months to get it back, I decided to call Dell's enterprise support myself to arrange a replacement motherboard to be shipped out to me.

I ended up having to dedicate HALF of my work day just to get through the automated phone system to speak with a tech. Once I got through, it was a matter of minutes to arrange the replacement shipment.

The nightmare was dealing with a phone system that kept sending me to random departments (but never the right one), hanging up on me (several times I spoke with a human that said they'd transfer me to workstation support, but then after waiting on hold for a while a voice said something like "We're sorry, but we're unable to process your call. Goodbye. *CLICK*"

One time, Dell even transferred me to an outside number, where a very confused lady told me "You're calling about what? Dell? Uh, I think you've got the wrong number."

I was even once told by a Dell employee that a bug in their phone system meant that if I ever entered my service tag, then I was going to get sent to the wrong department, because the bug caused all calls that entered a service tag to go to a specific department, which was probably unrelated to the product!

The only way I got through was to eventually circumvent the ENTIRE automated phone system, call Dell Customer Service directly, and ask for the lady to get me a technician in the right department ON THE LINE for me and transfer me to him personally.

That (finally) worked. After half a day of Dell hanging up on me, misdirecting me, and manhandling me, I finally got to speak to a real human in the right department.

I pray that I never have any trouble with my Inspiron 9400 notebook. If that is how Dell treats big customers that buy hundreds of computers from them, I can only imaging that it'll be pretty much impossible for me to get a problem with my notebook resolved as an individual consumer!

I present a suggestion to Dell. Drop your automated phone system entirely. When I call Dell, the phone should ring a few times, and a REAL HUMAN should answer. I should describe my situation briefly to them, and they should directly place me into the CORRECT call queue.

It shouldn't take me 4 hours to speak to a human. It should take me at MOST five minutes. Especially as an enterprise customer!

I wonder if, while the efforts at damage control online are focused on bloggers, the other segments of the market are being missed. For example, I am an author and my last book was a collection of letters, emails and blogs from military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, BUT I am not a regular reader of any blog nor do I write one on a regular basis.

On the other hand, I use other social networking sites with a much broader reach than most blogs... the videos, discussion groups and online postings are just as anti-dell as ever and this is creating an impression (negative at the moment) on the entire generation of purchasers dell needs to win over. Dell needs to watch carefully what is going on in those areas of the internet as well.

Me? If I am unhappy with dell and shop elsewhere, Dell will miss selling me probably 5 more computers in my lifetime, add in 5 for my wife too... (we won't calculate friends who learn of our nightmares and also choose not to shop Dell, the figures are too hard to quantify here), so no big deal in the grand scheme of things, BUT if they also lose (for example) my daughter, her friends, their friends, etc. they stand to lose a further 12 sales (for each person based on a purchase of one computer every 5 years) in their lifetime! On Facebook alone she has 162 friends! This should be setting off alarm bells across the board.

A popular video on youtube at the moment which is a parody of a well known pop song and is aimed at Dell has attracted 225,000 viewers. The video is also available at a number of other sites for which I don't have figures but it is easy to see the damage being done to Dell's reputation just from this one video. Ouch.

I have dealt with outsourced tech support folks in Bangalore and have to say that most times I did NOT face any language issues at all - they were reasonably clear to understand.

 The gripes about language problems with outsourced tech support mostly don't seem to reflect the facts. That is not to say there aren't other problems with out sourced tech support (like the annoying habit of going by the book even if that may be irrelevant in the current context of the problem) but that doesn't seem to be something which can't be cured or it isn't unique to outsourced tech support for that matter.

May be Dell should give users and higher priced local tech support option (for all countries) and continue providing the current support from current prices and see how many people opt to pay more for the higher priced local tech support and for how long.

A step in the right direction. The thought does come to mind if this is a sincere effort or just window dressing to deal with Dell's #1 challenge. That would be how they deal with their most valuable asset, their customer base. Simply put, this is who signs their paychecks and customer service should be job 1. I hope you succeed, but big challenges lay on the road ahead.

Mis-information or no information is a big problem. Product representation is another. Let us make an informed decision on what we're buying instead of later finding out it's not what we thought instead of finding that information buried in the product footnotes. The Vista Upgrade Program and how it was and is being handled is the biggest example of what regard the customer base is held. That must change or you can not succeed. Another idea would be to bring back some on-shore support staff that we can understand and don't read from the company script.

Good luck in your efforts and I hope your successful.

I often hear/read complaints re; outsourced customer service at Dell and it seems language difficulties often play a part in the perceived problem, but as a Canadian, seeking to speak with someone in management at Dell HQ in Texas the other day, I can assure you I found it as difficult to understand a Texan as it is to understand someone from Bangalore.... and I say that with a grin, no offense to the people of the great State of Texas or the City of Bangalore!

I got great tech support from RH Bagavindrah (sorry if I spelled it wrong) on my problem, but the wheels fell off when I hit Customer Service in North America and the wreckage is appalling!

 As discussed elsewhere in the blog, Dell has a long hard road ahead. It is our role as consumers and advocates to utilize venues such as this blog to reach the Corporate heads at Dell to let them know their progress or lack thereof.

I am an admirer of the tactics used by Mr. Jarvis and now that I too am locked in battle with customer service I use his example to sustain me. One consumer can make an impact, even with Dell.

Keep the discussion going! 

Lionel

Nice to hear improvements are coming.

Lets hope that Dell don't decide to do any more large lay offs of staff.

This has lead to only one thing in the past - a decline in customer service and support.

We watch with anticipation!
 

Yet another example of how US centric Dell has become.

Quote:

Jeff’s situation was an indicator that our customer service for home users in the United States needed to improve drastically.

End Quote

 Dell is supposed to be a multinational company; you certainly want to sell to other countries in the world.

Customer Service has become equally bad for people in the UK, Sweden, Italy, Germany etc (in fact the whole EMEA).

I look forward to improvements in Customer Service everywhere: not just the USA.

Please try and remember this in future.

Sorry for such a negative post, but it needs to be said.