Dell pushing hard for customer satisfaction

Posted Jun 24th 2007 5:10PM by Gary Sattler
Filed under: Products and Services, Management, Competitive Strategy, Dell (DELL), Wal-Mart (WMT), Marketing and Advertising

With the one possible exception of the move into Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT), I'm getting very strong messages of positive change from Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL). What I'm seeing is a company that is pushing hard in multiple directions to find the strategies that will return it to good standing. If Dell can untangle some sluggish bookkeeping and get its corporate interior straightened out, it can then forge straight ahead, unrestrained by its attempts to heal its marketing weaknesses. There's a lot of upheaval going on at Dell right now, but it's certainly not all bad.

Dell's move into Wal-Mart has met with mixed response. At first I myself didn't like the move but that's probably mostly because I wanted Dell to align with Radio Shack Corp. (NYSE: RSH). Given the fact that computer prices have reached the level where a discount retail chain can sell them for profit, I guess there's no reason why Wal-Mart shouldn't be the one to do it. As long as Dell keeps its consumer direct options open so that folks like me can "custom" build one, I'll concede that the Dell/Wal-Mart alliance may become a good one.

A definite positive move that Dell has recently undertaken is its decision to preinstall the Ubuntu Linux operating system. Linux seems to be a preferred operating system in circles of web "professionals." I have the distinct pleasure to rub elbows with some of the internet's best writers, and the more I do that, the more I find that the busiest ones seem to prefer Linux. The Linux change and other customer focused moves seem to be driven by input that Dell receives via its own community forums. "We are responding directly to feedback from customers," Dell spokesperson Anne Camden said.

Latest in a series of moves by Dell to become more deeply consumer responsive is their decision to allow consumers to "opt out" of preinstalled programming, sort of like an operating system line-item veto. Based on the success of a "no software preinstalled" option that Dell promoted with its XPS systems a year ago, Dell has determined to take the favorable response to that scenario a step further and will extend it to Dell Inspiron and Dimension lines. Analysts are speculating that there's a remote possibility that this change will mean a revenue drop for Dell, but there's little credence to that assertion. Besides, the focus here is a realignment of Dell with the consumer, and if done successfully, that's where all the gold is hidden.

Tags: Anne Camden, AnneCamden, customer forums, Dell, dimension, Inspiron, linux, preinstalled, RadioShack, RSH, software, Ubuntu, Ubuntu Linux, UbuntuLinux, Wal-Mart, WalMart, WMT, XPS

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

6-25-2007 @ 10:03AM

Larry said...

Have been buying Dell computers, but will go to another brand on next purchase because of alliance with Walmart and Sam's stores, just doing so gives the product a lower standard of quality.

6-25-2007 @ 10:09AM

rcholbert said...

@#1: That is the stupidest comment I have ever read, ever. Thank you sir for being a complete idiot.

Dell has lost its market share in the desktop sector to HP... who has been doing business with Wal-Mart all along and is always featured on their black friday promotions.

Also, Dell computers have always been pretty cheap on the inside - no name parts, weak power supplies, etc. It's more like a match made in heaven.

6-25-2007 @ 10:10AM

John said...

I bought a Dell Inspiron laptop and hate it. Dell's credit department will call you non-stop the day you are behind on your $18 minimum monthly payment, but they have no one working customer support.

I have had power cords fail and it has taken weeks to get another one. My battery can't hold a charge for longer than 10 minutes. And my basic software that they sold me at a premium costs is so flawed that two seperate Geek Squad employees have thrown their hands in the air and told be to scrap the entire soft ware, start from scratch, and hope that it is not a flaw in the hardware that prevents it from working.

Do not buy Dell. Unless you shop at Walmart.

6-25-2007 @ 10:20AM

irving kay said...

I will NEVER buy a dell product again I spent over $2000. for a dell desk top That the dell service people in addition to coming to the appt 3 hrs late could not get the computer running after losing all my data dell india told me they had a problem that would be fixed in 3 months and to send the computer back . which I did they continued to bug me for the money for months
They finally after much aggravation got it taken care of never again dell

6-27-2007 @ 12:56AM

Don said...

After seeing Dell ads in the Sunday paper each week, I ordered a laptop, but the $599 come-on price went to almost $1400. to get a decent one. When the printer black ink cartridge ran out, I found out one can only be bought from Dell. I ordered a pack of 3 black ink, but they sent a trio pack of 1 black and 2 colored. I did send the 2 colored ones back, and did get a credit, but I was charged $7.00 more for the black one I kept than I should have been charged. Guess what! Dell resent me the 2 colored ones I had sent back. Can you believe it? I have spent over 2 hours on the phone trying to get this problem solved. I will never ever again buy from Dell. Their customer service is non-existent. I have never had a problem with my HPs that I bought locally, and that is what I will buy in the future.