Direct2Dell

Dell has such huge demand in India but the only thing that works in favor of other laptops is their easy over the counter accessability. Please come up with a retail store for Dell Laptops. Eagerly awaiting the launch of one such store in my city Calcutta.

i always appraise this idea of michael's directly reaching to the customers. if this is done in some more strategic way than it could create history and could bring revolutionary change in the retail market...

Wow.  Just wasted an hour or so trying to find a dell store kiosk online.  I just purchased a $2300 Dell m1330 last October, and went back to the store to order another one, or else the m1550.  I was looking forward to comparing the two, in order to make my choice.  But it was no where to be found in the Mall.  I searched fruitlessly on the Dell site for info--no results.

Then I finally found this post.  Huh?  Did you folks lose touch with your customers somehow?  No way I'm buying a two thousand-plus dollar laptop from Walmart!  I can't get Dell support that way and I can't customize the order that way, and I certainly can't find anybody there who can answer my questions. 

Guys, I'm a Dell business customer with a Dell Preferred credit line that I actually use (even though the APR is high).  I have a rack of your servers, and while I might order a nice new 2950 online to replace an aging 2650, I want to physically hold and touch the laptop before I order. 

By all accounts, you handled the closing of those kiosks badly; it's tarnished your reputation, and I expect it will hurt sales of your high end customized systems.  That MacBook Pro at the Apple store is looking better and better.

Why are there so many new Dell systems being sold in the grey market (ebay, craigslist, etc), and yet I can't seem to lay my hands on one in a store.  Sorry, Wal Mart doesn't count; and I don't plan on going to Best Buy either.  Their blueshirts may know more than the average Walmart or Sams Club employee, but I want the laptop customized.  And I can't evaluate a laptop that's been bolted to the counter. 

Even if the kiosk sales weren't enough to be profitable, you have to realize a significant number of folks are going to window-shop there, and then buy at home later, confident in what they want to order because they looked at it and talked to a Dell employee.   

Seems as though Dell is cutting costs everywhere but in turn ruining their good name.  I was extremely disappointed with the sevice I got when purchasing my Dell laptop.  I think the outsourcing to a call center in India was a terrible idea.  I spoke with nurmerous sales reps and there indeed is a language barrier there.  I want to be able to speak with someone who can understand the questions I am asking and in turn have a responce that I understand.  Our family has purchased six Dell computers....my next purchase will not be a Dell.

buying through a re-seller is the kiss of death.  it is dell's way to not support their products.  they're new line is "see the person you bought your system from".  You have to be an idiot to buy any product from dell.  apple and hp or even IBM is a better product that includes english speaking support.  As a business owner, we will never buy a dell product again and encourage others to do the same! 

 I have to agree with comments from Mike.  I recently decided it was time to replace my 600m laptop and went to my local mall to view the latest laptops and consult with a Dell specialist.  Much to my disappointment, the kiosk was no longer there.  I went home and accessed the Dell website for answers to my questions and found Dell.com seriously lacking in product/component information.

I went to a local Staples and Best Buy and, at best, I was underwhelmed.  Staples had 1 laptop on display and BB had 3 (one of each model).  All were pre-configured and unimpressive.  By comparison, they had at least 8 HP models on display along with multiple other brands.  In my experience, people who buy pre-configured computers from retail stores are very often not experienced users and do not know what they need or don't need.  They will buy whatever they are attracted to and/or talked into by the salesperson.

I believe getting rid of the kiosks was a major mistake by Dell.  While they might not have generated the sales expected, I wonder how many people made their decision to purchase a Dell online after visiting a kiosk first?  

I was very upset to learn about how Dell treated all the salespeople who worked at the kiosks.  These people were valuable representatives for Dell products and it appears that Dell chose to disgard them.

I am now having serious doubts about purchasing another Dell.

may i just ask why as a small independent retailer its so hard for me to get dell branded products mainly laptops, monitors and the XPS range to sell to my customers at a similar price to what Tesco's pcworld and sevral uk based  web sites like overclockers and scan offer? i get customers asking for these but either i talk them in buying some thing else thats a similar spec or watch them leave out of the front door. i mean i can get hp, Toshiba etc products just fine but not dell. unless of course the little does not matter much

Dell should consider eliminating rebates.  Aside from the fact that customers are sick and tired of having to apply for rebates on all of the electronic items that they buy (and not just at Dell), it's discouraging to know that companies are shooting for high breakage rates to make money at the expense of loyal customers.

In addition, Dell has a serious problem on their website with rebate advertisements.  I was just burned by Dell on a $100 rebate for an online purchase of a Canon Pixma MX700.  The web page clearly showed a $100 mail-in rebate, but the page did not indicate the additional requirement to purchase either a laptop or desktop computer to receive the rebate.  I saved a copy of the page and can prove it.  Customer service brushed me off and told me to contact Canon.  Why would Canon pay for your mistake?  You falsely advertised the rebate.

 I don't care if you're environmentally friendly.  I want to do business with an honest vendor who treats the customer with respect.

GOOD! Stick to what works. That means American support personnel as well. 

To echo Canadian's thoughts...it also appears the layoffs of around 300 people from the fairly new Oklahoma City campus was done last week. The company which promised some 3500 jobs with thier Oklahoma City operation, is now just barely over 2000. All employees were given no notice, except that they had direct deposits show up in their bank accounts the day before the announcement. They were given 2 months pay and had their badges taken. The employees were all in the consumer sales portion of the facility.

Dell really needs to do a deal with Tesco in the UK. They are the biggest supermarket and sell everything from beans to clothes to HDTVs and of course PCs. 

Sorry to hear about closing of kiosks and Direct Stores.  These were very helpful and always crowded.  Many products were on display and the employees were very knowledgeable and helpful.  There is now noplace to see any of the better Dell models or knowledgeable employees to talk to.  I did go by a Best Buy today.  Only three midrange Dell laptops and three low priced desk tops.  The employee said there were no options and was unable to answer any questions.  She actually recommended a Gateway.  There were many more options with the other manufacturers.  You may pick up a few low cost sales to new computer users at these low level retail stores, but the loss of your direct stores (kiosks) is a real loss to more sophisticated/high-end users and regular Dell customers.  Looks like another cost-cutting measure (like customer service outsoursing to India)that will lose more customers and revenue than projected.  

Dell is a deceitful, backstabbing company.  It treats its employees with little respect.  Think twice before working for this company.

This sounds really great, but what about those of us who ordered through the Kiosks and now how trouble. I felt I at least had a place to go and ask questions. Now I spend hours on line trying to get my computer working properly. Where is customer service for us. No store to go to when we feel like we have a serious problem. My computer from the day I received it with windows vista has had problems. We are talking hours on lline trying to get it fixed.  Still 2 months into owning this computer Dellsupport can't keep my computer running properly. I feel helpless. Who can I talk to that understands my concerns.

After mentioning the closing of the kiosks, any official comments regarding the closure of the Edmonton call centre and laying off of 900 employees?

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/story.html?id=6b890d8b-f0fd-4bf6-903a-e834860ab375&k=47529

Barely a year ago, Michael Dell himself said

"We found that support teams here have a better track record of helping the customer ... There are certainly a number of things this team is doing here that are the best of breed inside the Dell world. That's a factual statement, not an emotional statement".
 

Can't wait until Dell systems start showing up in Canadian stores. I've heard quite a few people lament the fact that they can't see or touch Dell laptops (mostly) before they make a purchase decision.

The relatively small presentation area of the kiosks I've seen around just don't do justice when only a fraction of the products available are displayed. It's often no different than just ordering the product online by yourself.

I think that dell could benifit from fresh preinstalled fully functional applications.  Apple sells notebooks because of these applications.

Just look at any apple store.  People are attracted to things like 'PhotoBooth'

Dell should include Snapstrip.  It shows off Dells webcam enabled products.  It would make their machines stand out at BestBuy.  http://www.snapstrip.com