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Letter to Michael Dell on Purchasing a New M17x

Nov 14, 2009 12:03AM PST

Michael S. Dell, CEO & Chairman of the Board
Dell Inc.
One Dell Way
Round Rock, Texas 78682


Dear Mr. Dell:

On July 18, 2006, I purchased an Aurora M9700 computer from Alienware. Fortunately for me, this was just four months after Dell had acquired Alienware and at that time I guess they were still operating pretty much autonomously, so I had an excellent experience in terms of both the purchase of the computer and the final product as it was delivered. Unfortunately, that was over three years ago and several things have obviously changed.

First of all, the M9700 has started to show its age in terms of periodic lockups, intermittent issues with wireless connectivity and other more minor issues, so I again contacted Alienware with the intention of purchasing a replacement computer. After looking through their current product line, I finally settled on their M17x model with some significant upgrades in terms of processor, display, graphics and hard drive. Although this resulted in a fairly hefty price tag, I was still looking forward to having the new system based upon my previous experience with Alienware. Sadly, this did not turn out to be the case.

I finalized the requirements and placed the order for the M17x on October 21, 2009 and received an email (Attachment 1) confirming the order with an estimated delivery date of November 11, 2009. After waiting patiently for fifteen days, on November 6th I received an email from Dell (Attachment 2) telling me that there had been an unspecified problem with my order and that my estimated delivery date was now delayed until November 18, 2009. I was not happy with this delay or the late date at which they had chosen to notify me of the problem, and this is when I was first introduced to Dell?s ?customer service? organization.

First of all, it quickly became apparent to me that whether you call one of their 800 area code numbers or one of the local 512 area codes for their Round Rock, Texas headquarters, you are quickly and efficiently routed to a call desk in India. That?s where the speed and efficiency of their ?customer service? come abruptly to an end. Once connected to the Indian call desk, you will immediately become aware that dealing with a customer service representative who has English as a second language is not the most efficient way to communicate when you are already just a little bit irate about a lack of service. Furthermore, it also quickly becomes apparent that they have a canned repertoire of responses and if you ask questions or raise issues that don?t match one of their canned responses, they simply don?t have an answer for you. Then, when you ask to speak to a supervisor, they will tell you that they all operate under the same rules and that their manager can?t do anything for you that they?re not already doing. Now that?s something that I really didn?t want to hear. At this point I?m talking to someone in India who doesn?t know anything about my specific problem, tells me that his manager won?t be able to help me either, and then tells me that they?re very sorry but my only recourse is to accept the revised delivery date with no explanation as to what caused the delay in the first place. I persevered and after being disconnected twice, I finally managed to talk to a manager who told me that there had been a part on backorder that caused the delay but that there were no more backordered parts and that my new computer should be delivered on the revised date. She was not, however, willing to offer any guarantees that this would be the case and I finally hung up after telling her how disappointed I was with their production processing system and that if the order was delayed again, I would cancel it and look elsewhere for another provider.

I waited with some trepidation for another six days and then on November 12th, imagine my lack of surprise when I received yet another email from Dell (Attachment 3) telling me that ??a backend issue was identified?? with my order and that they were ?required? to cancel my original order and replace it with a new order so that they could ??build and ship without further delay.? Of course, their new estimated shipping date was now delayed until December 4, 2009. Please note that this was not an estimated delivery date, but an estimated shipping date which would then require an additional 3-5 days to be delivered to me.

I again tried to get some clarification and understanding of the problem by calling Dell, but my previous experience with their ?customer service? organization was simply repeated with no assistance being rendered whatsoever. I have to say that Dell?s ?customer service? reminds me of that old saying, ?If what a bull does to a cow is ?service?, then I?ve been well serviced? by Dell.

It has been said that Michael Dell originally started his company in the belief that by selling personal computer systems directly to customers, he could better understand their needs and provide the most effective computing solutions to meet those needs. It?s pretty obvious that however well he did that in the beginning, he?s somehow lost the formula along the way and Dell has become nothing more than just another ?cookie cutter? manufacturer who?s much more focused on the bottom line than anything as nebulous as customer satisfaction. If this is how a customer is treated before their system is even delivered, I can only imagine what it would be like if I was having a problem with delivered system. I really can?t overstate how disappointed I am with Dell given my previous excellent experience with Alienware.

With the foregoing in mind, please cancel my order number xxxxx6811 (Attachment 4; now shown as Order Processing) as I neither need nor desire to have any further relationship with Dell or its ?customer service? organization. If you have any questions or comments, or require more information, I can be reached at the above address, email xxxxxxx@att.net or by telephone at (817) xxx-xxxx.

Respectfully,

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