Wal-Mart unveils in-store tech support, provided by... Dell?

Brian White — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:58:00 EST

Filed under: Products and Services, Dell (DELL), Wal-Mart (WMT)

With Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) already having inked a solid relationship last year, it should be no surprise that the PC company would be partnering with the world's largest retailer to test out in-store technical support services.

The experiment involves 15 stores in the Dallas, Texas region. These "Solution Stations by Dell" will focus on home theater installations, PC repair, and wireless network setup assistance. It's hard to see how in-store kiosks can assist customers who then have to take all that equipment home, but for a Dell brand builder alone, the partnership is quite unique.

I'm a bit puzzled how Dell will be able to assist with home theater questions and installations, but that's besides the point. If Wal-Mart really intends to compete with the in-store technical support concept, it needs to attack Best Buy Co., Inc.'s (NYSE: BBY) Geek Squad model and really add some value to that consumer experience. Consumer electronics are more confusing than ever for most U.S. consumers, and having some properly seasoned experts in many Wal-Mart stores to help with all those questions would be of enormous benefit.

Not only would Dell's image be polished if this experiment is successful and the Solution Station kiosk concept goes into more Wal-Mart store locations, but the retailer has a real chance to keep it on top of world in terms of consumer electronics purchases. Circuit City, Inc.'s (NYSE: CC) Firedog concept has been left behind as that retailer continues swirling down the drain, so Wal-Mart and Best Buy may be the only ones that could give technical support on a national stage in all locations. Best Buy, though, is already positioned well ahead of Wal-Mart here. It's Wal-Mart's game to lose.

Wal-Mart unveils in-store tech support, provided by... Dell? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Jul 2008 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell sees class-action lawsuit that could involve 5,000 employees

Brian White — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:03:00 EST

Filed under: Dell (DELL), Employees

Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) is in hot water with about 5,000 of its call center employees. The class is suing the world's second-largest computer maker, alleging it underpaid them. Any Dell call center employee in the U.S. who worked for the company from February 8, 2004 to the present can join the class.

The lawsuit stems from claims of not being paid for overtime or training for two employees who originally brought the case almost 18 months ago. Since that time, more than 80 employees have joined the suit and a federal judge gave it class action this week to cover all Dell's call center employees in the U.S. It's hard to gauge what material effect this case will have to Dell's bottom line, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it mentioned on upcoming financial documents since it's now a federal class action.

This is not good news for Dell, which was already under the gun in another suit for alleged deceptive sales practices and fraud. The company, which has seen good sales figures lately and seems to be on the right track to not losing more market share to larger competitor Hewlett-Packard Corp. (NYSE: HPQ), will have a rough time with this suit, I suspect. If the current and former employees have documented, unpaid (or underpaid) hours that were witnessed by others and have paychecks to back up those claims, Dell may need to be ready to pay out.

Dell sees class-action lawsuit that could involve 5,000 employees originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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