Posted on 05/24/2007 8:55:04 AM PDT by Zakeet
Breaking a purely direct-sales model it has used for more than a decade, Dell Inc. said that it would begin to sell desktop personal computers in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. next month.
Dell said it plans to offer two Dimenson desktop models in 3000 Wal-Mart stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico starting June 10th.
In a statement, Dell spokesman Bob Pearson said, "Our customers are asking us for additional ways to purchase our products and we plan on delivering on a global level. Offering Dell Dimensions in Wal-Mart is a great example of this approach."
Today's announcement represents the largest change yet to come under Chief Executive and Founder Michael Dell, since Mr. Dell took back the reins of the company from then-CEO Kevin Rollins in January amid sluggish sales and profit growth. Dell used the direct model of selling PCs over the phone and the internet for years, eventually rising to be the largest PC company in the world.
But the model began to lose steam in 2005, as consumers -- the growth engine in the U.S. market -- began gravitating to retail stores to buy portable notebook computers. Dell had largely focused on selling desktops to commercial customers, a market that has slowed.
Since then, sales and profits for the Round Rock, Texas company have waned, and it lost the No. 1 spot in the global PC industry to Hewlett-Packard Co.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
$1800. Then some of the parts went on sale the week after I received them. Figures.
$1800. If I had purchased a similar machine at Dell, it probably would have cost $4500. I didn't need a new monitor. (Actually, I need dual monitors, but .. another day.)
Or from Office Depot. The clerk will likely not know that they sell them without checking on their puter.
I like the compactness of the desktop models. Dell was the leader in shrouds over CPUs with air beind drawn off the CPU and blown out of the machine. Reverse is also down sometimes with cooler outside air being drawn into shroud and blown onto CPU heat sink. Maxtor had a bad rep for running hot. But 2 out of the last 3 bought in the last 6 months have been much better. Because Seagate bought them I think. The hot one will be used but with an 80mm fan blowing over the hard drive's circuit board
“Based on personal experience, as well as those of several good friends, Dell computers are sheer crap, and the company’s customer service is worse than pathetic.”
I think you need new friends. I have two Dells in my home and they never miss a beat. And the service has been quite good, such as it is. They are certainly not “sheer crap.” That’s nonsense.
I bought them because the software was with them and installed. All I had to do was to plug them in and I was up and running inside of 10 minutes from the time the UPS man arrived. What more can one expect? The software alone would have cost what I paid for everything.
“Don’t forget their proprietary power supplies too, you can’t just pull one out and pop one in, you’ve got to order it from Dell, or from any one of the ‘specialty’ suppliers.
I’ll go back to using a slide rule before I’ll buy another Dell.”
Not true. They use standard power supplies. I’ve checked this out thoroughly. On some of the older Dells this was true. The later Dells use the same power plants anyone can pick up anywhere.
However, I would make sure that the latest technology is available such as SATA hard drives because of better airflow; otherwise anyone with a screwdriver and an IQ higher than a frog can work on one.
NOW they use standard power supplies. When I bought my Dell Dimension XPST700R, that power supply was most definitely proprietary and not interchangable with industry-standard power supplies.
It was a good machine however, and it provided 4 years of solid service.
Even worse the Dell power supply connector was same as the standard ATX one. Lots of motherboards got toasted as standard ATX power supplies got plugged into Dell proprietary motherboards.
Me too. I've had this Dell Inspiron 8200 for about five years. Just put some more new RAM in it, talked with a very helpful man in support for other info. Runs constantly, no heat issues. Dell for me.
I bought an HP desktop early this year, and I don't like that either. Overall I'm happy with it, because with the $150 rebate no one else could touch it, price/performance. The system recovery is annoying for sure, but tolerable.
The first time I tried it (I messed up the boot sector toying around with it), the box then acted as if I was an administrator trying to install single-user programs on a network. Drove me nuts until I finally got one of their phone techs to tell me I must restore my hardware to original configuration, otherwise recovery doesn't work (grrrr, dumb, it ought to be more flexible than that, and the troubleshooting guide doesn't mention hardware configuration).
HP's online chat techs were little help, they got flustered and wanted to send me troubleshooting guides, which is useless since the guides are included in the software. Their phone techs, although stationed in India, spoke good English and were very helpful. I was glad for that, because I've heard that some of these outsourced Customer Support outfits are a nightmare.
Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
Yeah, burned the recovery disks already. It took three single layer DVDs. It would have taken a *bunch* of CDs (14 IIRC).
There's nothing very different about HP's and Dell's components; in point of fact, the components are made by the same manufacturers. The one thing that differentiates one computer company from another is their customer and technical service.
I find many of the complaints that you present to be typical of the kinds of problems inexperienced or impatient computer users report when they speak to tech support. Faulty information exchange, from both sides of the conversation, almost always lead to acrimony from the customer.
Take, for example, this complaint. The customer, a visually impaired person, wrote a hot letter to Dell's board of directors. (His ultimate mistake --- if you don't like something Dell Inc. did, pick up pen and paper and write to Michael Dell.) The customer's first problem would have been easy to fix over the phone, but since the audio jacks are color coded, and the customer is visually impaired, tech support sent an onsite tech to address the issue, rather than compel the customer to use his faulty eyesight. The phone tech had no idea that the customer could see the colors just fine --- "visually impaired" is often interpreted as "blind." The customer was angry that the onsite tech was so diligent as to call on a Saturday to firm up an appointment.
Next, the customer was plagued with what was probably a software issue. The customer fiddled around with the problem until he worked himself into an emotional state before calling tech support.
Once again, the problem could probably have been addressed over the phone --- if Dell still did that sort of thing. By 2005 Dell, like most other companies, was charging for software support --- there are few tasks more labor- and concentration-intensive than walking a customer through fixing a software problem over the phone. By the time the customer called tech support, he is convinced it's a hardware problem. The minute the tech heard that the speakers worked just fine with other sounds, the source was identified as software.
As is often the case, at this point the customer doesn't want to hear "it's a software problem." He knows that Dell is charging for software support, because the chat system and the phone system mentioned it every time he contacted Dell. The aggravated customer snarls at the tech, hangs up the phone, and says, "Dell is the worst company ever!"
You know, for a long time, Dell sold more portable computers than any other company out there. More computers means more users and more potential problems.
I know, I know ... it's more pleasurable to hate Dell. I hope that works well for you.
No, I don’t need new friends. They need new computers, because their Dell’s didn’t work as advertised.
I don’t “hate” Dell, since I’ve never owned one. I’m just reporting the facts about the defective machines and shoddy customer service that my friends received. I was there when they were having their problems, and they were not lying about it. Why would they? They wanted their new investments to work, and they didn’t, and they got nothing but grief from the company. There must be something to it since New York’s AG is suing Dell for its bait and switch tactics and its failure to honor its extended warranties. And, moreover, your post implies that all of these problems are the customers’ faults. I seriously beg to differ, since I’ve had my own battles with both Microsoft and Symantec. Talking to poorly trained service reps from India, who invariably read from scripts, is worse than having teeth pulled.
“No, I don’t need new friends. They need new computers, because their Dell’s didn’t work as advertised.”
What exactly didn’t work as advertised?
However, the on-site warranty service IS better, at least for corporate clients, with HP and IBM. HP and IBM will dispatch a tech to diagnose the problem if the first level tech support by the customer can't deduce the problem. I've seen cases where Dell actually asked end users to reseat processors on system boards, and will only dispatch a tech to replace parts. Many small businesses who thought that they were saving money by buying Dell computers didn't realize that Dell's support for small businesses really isn't that different than home users. The customers get very unhappy when they learn that the dealer that they've been using for support for years on their IBM or HP hardware are NOT able to provide "free" warranty service.
Mark
If you want to buy something, give this a try... It wouldn't be hard at all to make one for yourself...
EzLap for Notebooks from Cyberguys.com
Mark
Supposedly, they're going to start selling workstation PCs (not just servers) with Ubutnu installed.
Supposedly.
How about this?
Dell Dimension E520N Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz Linux Desktop PC + 22" LCD for $659 shipped
Dell Home offers the new Dell Dimension E520N Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz Desktop PC with the Dell E228WFP 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor for $1,009 with free shipping via the directions below. Apply coupon code "$4?HW9L1NB4VTT" to drop it to $659. That's the best deal we could find for this bundle. Sales tax is added where applicable. This PC features an Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 1.8GHz processor, 2GB RAM, 250GB Serial ATA hard drive, CD-RW/DVD combo drive, and the Ubuntu Desktop Edition 7.04 OS. (It doesn't have Windows.) Deal ends May 31 at 7 am ET or after 4,000 redemptions.
Mark
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