DELL HELL!!! What should Dell have done differently???

What is Dell Hell?? This was a new phrase coined by the blogger, Jeff Jarvis when he bought a new Dell computer with a four-year in-home service and received bad customer service from Dell. He blogged in his site, buzzmachine about the poor quality and customer service of Dell and received huge momentum with many similar complaints from other users. In his own words,
"I just got a new Dell laptop and paid a fortune for the four-year, in-home service. The machine is a lemon and the service is a lie. I'm having all kinds of trouble with the hardware: overheats, network doesn't work, maxes out on CPU usage. It's a lemon."

Even after repeated complaints, Dell did not resolve the issue and Jeff Jarvis continued blogging about his experiences. The result was "With Jeff Jarvis' use of a catchy phrase "Dell Hell" in his blog, The Buzz Machine in June 2005, Dell's customer issues were publicized by The New York Times within two days of the blog post, and in discussed in the next issue of Business Week." Source


How could a single blogger get such momentum?? If Dell was providing good service, and this was a random accusation, it would not have received such popularity. The main reason was that Dell was providing poor customer service long before this blog. Many customers were pissed off but did not have a proper channel to talk about it.

" Dwight Silverman, tech guru of the Houston Chronicle, writes about the saga here: For at least the last three years, I've heard a growing number of complaints from consumers about Dell's customer service. The gripes run from the basic -- confusing phone menus, ridiculous hold times, clueless tech support relying too much on scripts, outsourced call centers with poor English-language skills -- to the more complex, including accusations of not honoring the specifics of premium warranties and using loopholes to avoid fixing or replacing defective parts." Source (This was in July 2005)

I think Dell did not think that a single blogger could destroy their reputation so badly that their stock prices would plummet. In the beginning, they should have thought that by ignoring the whole issue, it would settle down on its own. But this was a serious wrong move by them. (Look at the stock price of Dell between Jun 10, 2005 and Jul 21, 2006).

What should Dell have done?

• They should have addressed the issue immediately once they observed the momentum building. By immediate response to Jeff Jarvis' problem, they would maybe have received appreciation from him which would have worked in Dell's favor.
• They being one of the biggest producers of computers should have realized the importance of customer service and PR. Once they resolved this issue with Jeff Jarvis, they should have set up a taskforce which monitors the online image of Dell. Any new customer, buying a new computer would always look online for reviews and recommendations. Having a bad online image is never healthy for any computers selling company. This taskforce could then resolve the new PR issues that propped up. (Read blogs :))
• They should have addressed the issue directly and should have paved way for an open dialogue. They should have addressed any criticism head-on, instead of ignoring it.
• Though every blog need not be taken seriously, some relevant issues are to be dealt with. "Size doesn't matter—relevance does. Just as one journalist can trigger a newscycle, one blogger can do the same."
• They should have improved their customer service platform where all dissatisfied people could complain and Dell could resolve their issues, instead of all their dissatisfied customers blogging and complaining in multiple other sites. Also, an open apology should have worked. Companies should learn to apologize when mistaken which works in their favor. An excerpt from buzzmachine "One of the great lessons of the cluetrain era is that your customers are your best customer support agents and marketers if only you allow them ... and respect them enough to listen to them. Dell does't. As we reported the other day, Dell shut its general customer forums... which should be the place for customers to help each other. Dwight Silverman found Dell's company line:
  

  As for the Customer Care board, many of the non-technical issues posted there can only be addressed by authorized Dell representatives with access to customer information - not by peers as the Forum is designed to facilitate. That said, these questions are best handled through other secure online tools.

  Or, clueless Dell, your customers can just blog their questions and answers without you. Or should I say, former customers."