Social Media Press Releases

re: Social Media Press Releases

Sue — Fri, 11 May 2007 06:48:18 GMT

Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts. It is always great pleasure to read your posts.

re: Social Media Press Releases

Ko-Ko — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 15:36:07 GMT

Unhappy and Leaving-

Comments like yours are typical of folks who like to complain about customer service from big companies. You contacted dells repair service group about a part you want to buy (shouldn't that go to their sales group?) and then you are upset when they are confused by the wrong info that you gave when contacting them: a service tag for a totally different computer.

All of this for a question that you could have answered for yourself in 5 mins. You know that dell keeps all of their manuals online? From the same page you used to get to chat with someone, I just chose manuals, put in your model number and pulled up the first link- a service manual- and lo and behold, what do I find under the specifications link?

Memory
Type	400-MHz and 533-MHz DDR2 unbuffered SDRAM
Memory connectors	four
Memory capacities	256 MB, 512 MB, or 1 GB non-ECC
Maximum memory	4 GB NOTE: See "Addressing Memory With 4-GB Configurations" to verify the amount of memory available to the operating system.
BIOS address	F0000h

How about next time you take a little effort to find out information before you rail on a company for not being able to muddle through your rants?

re: Social Media Press Releases

WhatsUpDell — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 18:14:49 GMT

"Unhappy and Leaving",

From experience with Dell systems, it occasionally happens that the same model system can have different requirements, based on the component selection at time of purchase.

What this means is that a particular model computer from Dell, may require a different type of ram based on revision, processor type and bios version. I've encountered all these issues with Dell, and other systems integrators, at one point or another.

Sometimes the only way they can tell what your particular system build requires, is by looking up the information associated with your service tag.

I realize this doesn't help you now, but perhaps in the future...

Regards,

-WhatsUpDell

re: Social Media Press Releases

Unhappy and Leaving — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 14:22:42 GMT

Dell technicians apparently have their hands tied without a service tag ... inconvenience the working class.

From a discussion this morning:

8:51:35 AM       System   Welcome xxxxx xxxxxxx ...
8:51:35 AM       System   Connecting to server. Please wait...
8:51:35 AM       System   Thank you for using Dell Chat, a representative will be with you soon.
8:51:35 AM       System   You are now being connected to an agent. Thank you for using Dell Chat
8:51:35 AM       System   Connected with RTS Daniel B
8:51:53 AM       RTS Daniel B   Thank you for patiently waiting. You have reached Dell Hardware Warranty Chat Support.
           My name is Daniel and I will be assisting you today. In order for me to help you, can you provide details
           about the issue you’re having?
8:52:08 AM       You   I currently have a Dell Dimension e510 and I'm trying to find out what type of RAM I have because
           I'd like to install more.
8:52:43 AM       RTS Daniel B   I understand you needs specifications of your memory and will be glad to assist you.
8:52:47 AM       You   Thanx
8:52:53 AM       RTS Daniel B   Erich, have you chatted with Dell about upgrading memory?
8:53:17 AM       You   No
8:53:53 AM       You   I'm almost positive the RAM is 184-pin DDR SDRAM, but I wanted to make sure before ordering it.
8:54:53 AM       RTS Daniel B   To ensure we are working with the correct system, are you chatting about the Latitude CPIR400GT
           listed on your account?
8:55:28 AM       You   No, I'm refering to a Dell Dimension e510 or perhaps it's a e5100
8:56:23 AM       RTS Daniel B   The service tag entered was 24C02. Is this the correct tag?
8:57:22 AM       You   No, that's off the computer I'm on now, I don't know the tag off the Dimension desktop.
8:58:17 AM       You   Is the tag required when determining the type of RAM that a computer needs? I wouldn't think so.
8:58:19 AM       RTS Daniel B   I will need the service tag for the system having the issue or the express service code.
8:58:55 AM       You   As previously stated, I have a Dimension e510 desktop computer and I'm not aware of the service tag.
8:59:20 AM       You   If this is really that large of an issue, I'll contact my local PC store and buy from a third-party ... something I'd rather not do.
9:00:59 AM       RTS Daniel B   The issue is that Dell technicians must document all cases under the service tag of the system with the issue.
           If I use the service tag you gave me, this system is not under warranty and we will not be able to replace any parts.
9:01:37 AM       You   The current system I have, the Dell Dimension e510, is currently not under warranty either.
9:01:52 AM       You   I can replace the parts fine, but I need to know which ones to order.
9:03:11 AM       RTS Daniel B   I can give you the number to sales, they will provide you with the correct part numbers and prices
           for each item.
9:03:21 AM       RTS Daniel B   Would you like the number?
9:04:20 AM       You   How will this help me if I'm unsure what type of RAM the system uses?
           For all I know it could be 168-pin sticks that are SDRAM. Will sales know what type of RAM I have in my PC?
9:06:24 AM       RTS Daniel B   Correct.
9:06:54 AM       RTS Daniel B   Sales has all specifications for every system. The just need the service tag for the system.
9:07:54 AM       You   Interesting, sales knows the type of RAM I have in my PC, but a technician doesn't. Now I need to spend more time,
           contacting another person, and re-explaining that I don't have my service tag because I'm at work.
           I guess this is the "Customer Experience" that Dell blogs so much about? This running in circle wasn't what I expected.
9:08:55 AM       RTS Daniel B   I cannot tell you which memory you need without the service tag or express service code.
           You give me one of those and I will tell you everything about your system.
9:09:30 AM       You   So there is absolutely positively no way to look at the specifications of a Dell Dimension e510
           without it's service tag?
9:11:39 AM       RTS Daniel B   From our hardware tech support, no. But sales possibly can do it without the number since they are the dept
           who does all specification information for the systems.
9:12:44 AM       You   Thank you for your time. I'll continue this endless circle called the "Dell Customer Experience" and contact yet
           another person and hope they're qualified to answer my questions.

This is the "Customer Experience" Dell has been so admament in promoting from their blog? I can't get any help without a service tag? I have to be point to another person and asked to contact them in "hope" that they'll be able to help me?

This is a disaster. Why a service tech can't provide the specifications on a system Dell provides is laughable.

Please don't contact me. I'm contacting a third-party for the RAM, because apparently I need to spend quite a bit of my time to purchase the RAM from Dell.

Please post this so other users can view the "Customer Experience" that currently occurs at Dell.

Sincerely,

20 minutes with Dell and still no RAM specs.

re: Social Media Press Releases

StevenD — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 02:56:33 GMT

Blogging is casual conversation.

In my Great-Grandmother's day (long before telephones), the family would write a chain letter, adding the latest tidbit from their life to a letter and sending the letter to another family member. Each family member was free to read the prior comments and add their own. It was fun, exciting, and informative for a large family spread across a rural farming state.

The Blog is just another form of my family's chain letter.

Information is added. People can read the information and add their own comments and thoughts. And the Blog is a great place for customers and the vendor to engage in a running conversation.

That people would confuse a Blog as an official source of information is a terrible thought. That a corporation would view a Blog as a potential sole point of distribution of information is an even more terrible thought.

re: Social Media Press Releases

Toby Getsch — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 00:47:52 GMT

I think we can simplify here.

Dell is a big organization. Change in big organizations takes time and meets lots of resistance. Leveraging blogs is viewed as a huge change. Therefore it meets lots of change resistance.

It's all perspective.

re: Social Media Press Releases

WhatsUpDell — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 22:29:29 GMT

Heya Lionel,

Interesting post. I think blogging is still too early in its development for the majority of the public to rely on it for facts. I would have said "news" but these days, news is a relative term.

Blogging as an industry, and a tool.. needs to provide viewers with a method of determining facts from opinions from PR. There are far too many bloggers, both amateur as well as professional that state their opinions as facts.

With Social Media Press Releases, a certain audience is being targeted. Yet, it's easy to see how general audiences could misconstrue the turn of phrase a PR document/release/post may present, as they're often meant to sell, inform or enlighten with an agenda in mind.

Too often we see bloggers presenting themselves as *reliable* sources of information, wearing a reporters hat, without the fact-checking department performing due diligence research prior to publication. In blog format, it's very easy to create the image of professionalism, just by having a "newsy sounding" website name, and good site design skills.

While Dell is making good use of direct2dell.com, what's to stop other companies from creating websites that "appear" to be unrelated news blogs, complete with PR agenda, in order to disseminate their own press releases with additional spin as news items? We've already seen how far Sony would go with the fake PSP blog, or how tricksy Wal-Mart is willing to be in the blogosphere. It's an easy leap of logic to make, that similar scruples will be applied to Social Media Press Releases. Just look at Infinium Labs history,

Blogs are a great way to hold a conversation and exchange ideas. More companies should employ the use of blogging, just to get back in touch with their consumers.

But, until the blogging "industry" matures and better definitions are applied to what makes a blog (is it a blog if comments are disabled/overly moderated, hence monologue instead of dialogue?), and some form of responsibility for what is posted as fact can be enforced by law when it turns out to be maliciously or promotionally fallacious, I think corporations should tread lightly into the 'sphere as a form of fact dissemination.

-WhatsUpDell

re: Social Media Press Releases

Andrew — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 21:09:15 GMT

This hybrid approach to news releases not only shows that Dell (or at least parts of the company) understand social media implications, but also you have weighed the benefits with the risks. To blindly jump into the social media pool with both feet would be negligent and leave a vast part of your audience (aka, customers) in the dark. I think your approach is wise.

On another note, I would encourage you to add a VoIP category to your blog, it is red hot and I would be very interested in what Dell is doing with respect to Skype and other Social Voice over Internet applications from a software and hardware perspective.