Just my thoughts on Dell Computers...

I REALLY thought that Dell had something going a few years ago with their computers! Well... after working on several from my friends over the past year or so... YUCK! You could not pay me to have one! The most recent is an older friend who ordered from Dell a $700.00 media center. From the FIRST day he started logging b.s.o.d.'s, freezes, and crashes. He logged more than 145 b.s.o.d.'s in 6 weeks! Not to mention the other problems mentioned! He had bad memory too! I sent him several memory test files, Failed ALL of them! Dell's answer (from India of course!) was to restore, try this, try that, but NOTHING fixed it! He did some searching around on the hard drive, found that it was a "Media Center Software Upgrade" from about 5 months earlier! Also the "media center" picture reader hardware that goes where the floppy disk is normally installed... isn't even there! Nowhere to be found in or on the machine! He does have a black floppy drive there instead!!! They finally admitted after nearly 6 weeks of this that he has a re-furbished machine! He found a different person's account and music and other personal files on the hard drive! Dell did not EVEN format the machine before selling it to him! They wanted to REPAIR NOT REPLACE it!
Now, from my own personal experience, several friends have the dell dimension 4400. The dell's will NOT accept windows xp service pack 2! Any possible way of doing this simply will not work! A clean install of xp sp2 just loops and reboots the machines! They all will take either pro or home any combination of xp, both non service pack and service pack 1 and 1a! But ALL of them crash and loop, (reboot eternally) EVERY single time sp2 is put on them! Dell does not address this at all on their website anywhere that I can find! Two other friends with dell dimension 4400's have the exact same 2 problems! Wav files and mp3's and music, sound, etc... is a hyper speed! It sounds like a tape or record being played at high speed! Anyway, I guess you get the point! I needed to vent!

stanton, ke4pkb

Stanton,

In the 90's, I recommended Dell because of their superior tech support and their superior Dell engineering. In 2002, I bought a top of the line desktop and laptop spending just under $8,000. Both purchase prices includes $500 for their premium "Next Business Day" support.

Six months after buying my OptiPlex GX400 workstation, I started to get BSODs, where my computer would randomly reboot itself. I spent 2 months trouble-shooting it myself before I called Dell. Boy, was that a shock, when I learned that "Next Business Day" does not mean next business day. Dell said that my W2K OS was corrupt and probably needed to be re-installed. I was hesitant to do that because I didn't want to lose all of my data files on the C:\ partition. Dell would not provide any assistance.

I went to the Microsoft website and it said that the cause of the error code generated (95% of the time) by my BSOD was probably malfunctioning hardware. After 6 months, I finally paid a technical support person to trouble shooot the problem and he determined that it was caused by a software application. However, because a BSOD can be caused by hardware, drivers, OS or software applications, my tech support person started by checking and double-checking the hardware components.

I was particularly concerned since this was a new computer, which was still under warranty.

Stanton, Dell obviously abuses their individual customers no matter how much they pay for a computer. I don't know how they treat their big corporate clients, who can demand that no junkware be put on their computers and they have the muscle to negotiate components, price, etc. They may get a better deal. I know some companies that are building all of their own computers with the same configuration for consistency and trouble-shooting efficiency.

Not only do I not recommend Dell computers any more, I would not buy one. In June 2003, a non-profit that I am associated with wanted me to get quotes for a new server, which I did but it turned out that this server was priced at $3,500 and it only had a workstation motherboard, not a server motherboard. We bought a top of the line server for $1,500 with 2 SATA 72 GB hard drives. The Dell price also did NOT include SATA hard drives.

When you add to this all of the junkware that they are paid to put on their customer's computer and their non-existent support, I do not know why anyone would buy a Dell. Dell is becoming the new Gateway.

If you want to read about more Dell misdeeds, go to http://blogs.chron.com/techblog/ and click on Dell in the right hand column.

Cheers,

Linda

I have to agree. I bought one 9 yrs ago and they were great, in fact the machine lasted 8yrs with no problems at all. And they had great tech support. The 2nd one I bought, 8yrs later, was a nightmare to purchase. I never got ANYONE who spoke english as a 1st language, and no 2 people gave me the same information. They won't be seeing me again.

I wouldn't buy a ready made PC from any manufacturer. They are all as bad as each other when it comes to customer service IMO. Build your own, then you know exactly what components have gone into it, you know exactly how it was put together, and you only install the software that you want.

And then with the knowledge you gain from building your own and Virtual Dr, you never have to worry about their so-called tech support ever again.

I've used dozens upon dozens of Dells and have never had a problem;) I'll be buying four for the office soon.

One of the hidden benefits of building your own with the identical same components is that the consumer (user) saves money. If it is a top of the line, then it may be as much as $1,000 plus.

When I get ready to purchase new computers, I am planning to build my own. Dwight Silverman of the Houston Chronicle maintains excellent up-to-date specs on the Houston Chronicle Technology page at http://www.chron.com/.

Cheers,

Linda

I have had the pleasure of building a few systems for unhappy X Dell owners. One died right out of the box, it was the psu. The Dell folks showed up 3 days later and replaced the psu. Then a week later the HD ***** the bed, a few days later the Dell folks showed up to replace the 80 gig drive with a 40 gig drive because he did not have an 80 gig drive with him. Not to mention the MS office they purchased with the system for some rediculous price that they never got. It went back to Dell post haste. And I built them a 64bit AMD based system with a Cannon printer that smoked that Dell for 250.00 less. I wouldn't buy a Dell for my 6 year old, I care for him to much to do that to him. I built him a 2800 Barton core based system with an Antec case&psu a gig of Kinston ram, My old TI4200, Liteon DVDRW, floppy, and a Gigabyte mainboard for him. I built all the systems in this house a 1700+ up to my 3700+ and a bunch in between. I have not had any problems with any of them!

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and you only install the software that you want.

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I agree I don't want nor do need a 30 day trial of this and that. In the end if it does come with any decent software your going to end up buying it if you want to continue using it.

Build your own....I repeat (this will not be repeated).....build your own. Why go through a company whose tech support is obviously outsourced and half the time cannot give you a straight answer?

Dell Laptop Bursts into Flames

*Rinnnnnng!*

"Hello...this is the Support line....my name is Sudhish.....er....Steve....yes...Steve...how may I help you today?"

"My *&^%* LAPTOP JUST EXPLODED AND CAUGHT FIRE! WHAT THE *&^%$ iS THIS??"

"That is very interesting, kind Sir....I am sorry to hear of your troubles and..."

"YOU'RE *&^&*(% RIGHT I HAVE TROUBLES!....somebody get the *&^&* fire extinguisher!....WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD MY LAPTOP EXPLODE?? IT'S BRAND NEW AND..."

"If you would be please to calm down sir, I will attempt to help you. (shuffling index que cards). Now....you will please look on the bottom of the laptop and give me the model and serial number...."

"HOW IN THE &^%$* CAN I GIVE YOU THAT?? THE BOTTOM IS FUSED TO THE TABLE!!"

"Ahhhh....that does present a problem for us...does it not, sir? (more shuffling of index cue cards) I am afraid we will have to wait for it to stop melting then, for I cannot help you without knowing the model or serial number. If you wish I could redirect your call to our customer service headquarters in the city of TriIgushelahdufopooperahjah....uh....er...."Seattle"....yes....."Seattle", then I'm sure they can help....hold please!"

"NO!! WAIT!! I NEED HELP NOW!! CAN'T YOU.....?"

"*click!*....Hello! Welcome to Customer Service! My name is Bhavya...uh....er....Sally....yes....that's it...."Sally"...."

Dell's deal is that they have become a great marketing company and a poor computer manufacturer. Everywhere you look, it's Dell Dell Dell. Almost all Gov't contracts, especially education, are infused with Dell products. Commercials every minute on TV (who can forget that pothead kid saying "Dude, you're gettin' a Dell"), and a mailbox full of their flyers each week. They've got the marketing scheme down...ask any Joe off the street this question - "Name the first computer manufacturer that comes to mind"...I'll bet next years pay they don't blink before saying "Dell".
They've also let their marketing department run their manufacturing too...remember when they would sell computers (and maybe still do) with XP and 128MB ram for $300-400? Useless. Name any one of us here who builds computers that would allow themself to sell that kind of setup to anyone. Businesses and homes I went into that had fallen into that trap immediately either replaced those or bought a stick of 512MB, and amazingly it solved 95% of what I was called to fix.

*Whew* OK, done with the "rant". And no, I don't believe that every Dell computer is garbage, I've seen many that work fine...but this explains a lot of the headaches.

Yeah, back in the day Dell was great and I would recommend ... still have one of the first 1000mhz machines from them still running. Although I still have a Gateway 200mhz Pentium Pro, overdriven to 333mhz, that continues to breeze along too..... Just good with making machines run I guess!
Back to Dell though ... I build machines for a very "select" clientele.... and for the rest I recommend Dell, some folks just need a Dell if you know what I mean.

Hi, gee that Jones boy gets around, using dozens and dozens of Dells must spend a lot of time in internet Cafe's. Only a fool would believe you can build and support quality for the price Dell sell at, worst thing to happen to consumer confidence in this industry for some time, you can be lucky and your Dell will be OK, problem is if it isn't then you have a real problem.

They used Dells at my place of work just before my current one and those suckers were breaking down faster than a speeding megabit....especially the motherboards....capacitors popping so much I thought I was running a theater concession stand.
Sorry....just don't trust them or the company. Here they were running that "We support you 24/7" ad (with the "interns"), depicting a home-based support staff, while all the while it was outsourced to some other country. Downright deceptive as far as I'm concerned and not worthy of my confidence.

Ok, ya'll can beat me later, but I'll state my experience with Dell. I worked for a company that had upwards 0f 450+ users, all on Dells. The next company I worked for had about the same amount of users, the one I work for now has around 350+. All on Dells, I was deskide support at all the previous companies & at my current position ( where I have ALOT more other duties :rolleyes: )
Overall, I really can't bitch about their products, yes I've seen problems, but none that really stick out in my mind other than right now, where there are a over average amount of power supply failures in the GX260-270 models. Now I'm talking all models of laptops & desktops. The first company I worked at for about 5 years, the second one a year & have been at my current position for about 4 months. Currently I am the one that specs out the systems we order from them. So I feel from THAT standpoint, they ain't that bad with that kind of usage involved. As far as the Tech support, I already know what they're gonna ask so it's a breeze for me :) Do i prefer homemade? YES. But in real world usuage, there is a reason they're #1. Just my 02 cents :cool:

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As far as the Tech support, I already know what they're gonna ask so it's a breeze for me :) Do i prefer homemade? YES. But in real world usuage, there is a reason they're #1. Just my 02 cents :cool:

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Yes but that is corperate support. they are in the US. Try the home support system and see how good they are.

A little while back Dell also outsourced their corporate support. There was so much screaming about their "techs" who either obviously knew little to nothing on how to help, or else could not understand the caller (and vice-versa), that Dell pushed their corporate support back to being U.S. based VERY quickly.
I believe it is an Internet myth, but I heard that Dell would play John Wayne movies for their outsource customer support personnel to help them hone their English skills. Anybody else hear something to that effect?

Riiiinnnnng!

"Well Hiya....my name is 'Tex' Ryijjana...How can I help you today, Pilgrim?"

Uh.....er.....five of my office workstations will not boot up properly....I'm not sure what the problem is....

"Wellllll....I'll tell ya' what....Quick! Round up all the other Dell's in a circle, hide the women and children and..."

I personally have no recourse with Dell but I couldnt resist adding a note I read from a computer tech on another site.He basically rang to tell them the CD-Rom had failed and if they posted one out he would replace it himself being in the trade and all.The level one tech on the end of the line kept insisting he try using the recovery CD to cure the problem :D

On the brite side, people don't exactly have to call for support every day...If you do need support, I recommend doing it via email when possible...

Its pretty nice to exchange a couple of emails on a Monday morning and have someone show and replace a lappy mobo before lunch the next day...Then theres the pleasant surprised when a replacement hard drive comes preloaded just like from the factory and it only takes three minutes to get backup and running.

I would venture to guess that the majority of support issue for the big pc makers are similar to the type of issues sites like VirtualDr gets -> User Errors:)

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Originally Posted by Steve R Jones

I would venture to guess that the majority of support issue for the big pc makers are similar to the type of issues sites like VirtualDr gets -> User Errors:)

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I agree. The problem often lies between the front of the monitor and the back of the chair. :)

What type of errors are you calling user errors? I don't think that most errors fall into this category. So many of Microsoft's error messages do not provide factual information as to the type of problem or its possible cause. Their website is also not very helpful for a user trying to figure out what is really going on.

But this is also how Dell built the company by providing both top quality hardware and tech support. Home users and small business customers have chosen Dell because of its past reputation for high quality tech support and the reliability of its hardware. However, if Dell does not provide the quality tech support, then Dell's customer base is going to shrink.

If a user gets a BSOD and goes to the event log. The event log says that the error is occurring with the network adapter. You call Dell and Dell says to run the short version of their diagnostics. The user runs both the short version and the long version and everything comes up clean.

If Dell were really hiring or outsourcing to very knowledgeable tech support people, then the correct answer to the user would be to check all of the software, which has been installed prior to the start of the BSOD problem. It seems to be fairly common knowledge among tech support experts that most (95%) of BSODs are caused by software applications.

The problem here is not user error but the quality of the tech support being provided.

Based on the scripts that are used by the Indian outsourced tech support, if you have a problem that does not generate an error via the NIC or other diagnostics, then Dell tells the customer that their OS must be corrupted and they need to re-install. Never mind, that they don't have any supporting evidence to indicate that this is the problem.

If I spend $500 extra per computer for premium "next business day" support, then I expect to get "next business day support". When you are purchasing the computer, Dell does not provide any information as to how they have redefined what "next business day" support means.

So it is no wonder that customers get outraged, when their warranty support is non-existent.

Is it an user error in Outlook Express, when there is a popup message that says that you are running out of hard drive space or memory. If the user says but I have 32 GB of free hard disk space and 1 GB RAM, so they ignore the message. The problem here is a less than helpful popup message.

VDR is such a good tech support forum because we have lots of experts here, who can quickly spot the problem, which is frequently outside the box from the user's point of view.

In the 90's, Dell used to provide a very high-quality tech support, which was based in Round Rock, Texas. But if Dell is hiring warm bodies to read from a script and with no reall technical knowledge, then Dell is being very deceptive in advertising that they provide technical support.

For the last 4 years, Dell has posted unbelievable gains in their net profits, which were always in the range of 25 - 30% increase over the same quarter the previous year. IMO, Dell was able to post these absurdly high increases in their profits by cheating their customers.

Now, they are feeling the heat in the marketplace because their customers have gotten wise to Dell's games and have sworn off ever buying another Dell computer. No one likes to be cheated, so these irate customers have blogged about their problems with Dell and Dell still doesn't have a clue.

Cheers,

Linda

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Originally Posted by LindaHewitt

If Dell were really hiring or outsourcing to very knowledgeable tech support people, then the correct answer to the user would be to check all of the software, which has been installed prior to the start of the BSOD problem. It seems to be fairly common knowledge among tech support experts that most (95%) of BSODs are caused by software applications.

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"To check all of the software which has been stalled......."

That's an example of a user error per se. The pc hardware and or pc maker software didn't cause the problem. Some other software from God knows where did...In theory, the user should call "that" company, don't ya think :confused:

A BSOD error is not a user error.

A BSOD is generated by the operating system. A BSOD can be caused by malfuncting hardware, dlls, operating system or application software. When an error is generated by the operating system, then I think part of the function of tech support is to point the user in the right direction. For instance, if the problem started on May 1, then tech support should advise the user to look at all of the software that they installed 60 days prior to the first occurrence of the problem.

I would advise the user to do a Google search on each of these programs with the format, "program name version no problem" and see if there are any reported BSOD problems.

However, if nothing shows up here, then I would advise that all freeware programs be uninstalled, if they were installed in the 60 days window, prior to the first occurrence of the problem. Then see if the problem continues.

When a user buys a computer the vendor also covers the OS as part of the warranty.

Linda

I understand what BSOD are. The point was, if the user had NOT installed the application that started the problem, they wouldn't need support. Course that isn't real world.

I'd be more inclined to say that the OS "reports" the error message and isn't caused by it..

The OS reports the error message but causes the BSOD to occur.

Using your logic, why would anyone ever buy a computer from a vendor with this level of support. This is especially true, if you are talking about home users. How is a home user supposed to know whether the hardware on their computer is malfunctioning, it is a dll issue or the operating system? All of those items are definitely covered by the vendor's warranty's program. It only makes sense to me that if the hardware passes all of the diagnostic tests, then the tech support should advise the user where to look next.

If a home user needs to hire tech support company every time that they encounter a problem that they cannot solve, then Dell is going to lose a lot more customers. After all, users can build their own systems and save at least $1,000 - $1,500 on a top of the line system. If they don't feel up to building their own, then they can get a family member or friend, who is an expert to build it for them.

Linda

If it keeps going on the track it's on now,,Dell will be down the crapper shortly anyhow(and good riddance imo :rolleyes: )

http://www.computergripes.com/Dell.html

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Originally Posted by Steve R Jones

I understand what BSOD are. The point was, if the user had NOT installed the application that started the problem, they wouldn't need support. Course that isn't real world.

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So the user should no install any new software Yhat makes sense that way we could all use a 30 day trial of everthing that Dell loads on their machines. What happens after the 30 days are up just buy a new computer.

Ridgerunr,

I agree with you. I don't think Dell has any real intention of changing how they are doing things. If they had any real intention of making major improvements, then they wouldn't put a PR - Marketing person in charge of their new blog. Their new $100 million customer service upgrade is all smoke and mirrors. They may make a few changes around the edges but they aren't really going to make the changes that need to be made that would result in substantial improvement.

It would upset the bonus system that the top executives are receiving. To make substantive changes, they have to change their business model and their business practices, many of which are very deceptive and misleading.

Yep, this is a company that is going down the drain.

Linda

Let me start off by making it known, I am no computer wizard. I am an office manager of a small business, 4 employees about to buy 2 computers for our office. I had a computer "expert" come in to recommend a computer for our office, nothing fancy, they just need to interact with one another with a small client scheduler for appts and be able to be hooked up to the fax and printer.
I thought I was all set to purchase these computers and then I saw this posting about Dell. You see, the computer guy we had come to the office to recommend equipment to us recommended the Dell Optiplex or Dimension Series Desktop... Im a little hesitant now knowing all of this that Ive read on this site. I do not want to buy a bunch of crap that needs repairing all of the time...

Based on our need, he recommended we get one of these Dell computers with
2.8 Mhz P4 Processor
1Gb 533 Mhz Ram
80Gb HD
Windows XP Professional
DVD-RW
Floppy Drive
and a HP Office Jet 7210 xi w/ethernet port for our printer...

Does anybody know of a good alternative besides going with Dell? We have a client scheduler program on the system and other than that, we need to be able to use the internet and need to be able to type a few documents here and there.

Any Help would be highly appreciated!

Hi pamela1b, welcome to Virtual Dr :)

We should be clear about one thing, the vast majority of Dell PCs are going to work perfectly well throughout their lives without breaking down or requiring service. It would be wrong to say that they are a load of crap hardware-wise, they are as well made as any of the big name brands. The real cause of complaint seems to be the customer service that you'll get if things do go wrong, and on that only you can decide if you want to take the chance.

My biggest complaint about Dell PCs is that the power supplies that they fit are the absolute barest minimum rating that they can get away with, and that they come with vast amounts of junk software pre-installed.

Other brands that you could look at are HP-Compaq, and Fujitsu-Siemens, both are popular in corporate or office settings.

FWIW, our company has roughly 30-40 Dells. About a year ago the oldest one, (a 3-4 year old Dell Dimension 1.4GHz w/512MB ECC RAM running Windows XP Pro), was the last one to have a hardware problem. Dell was there the next day to install a new hard drive. (Had a full backup, which is done every weekend).

Another one, maybe 1.5-2 years old, had the CD-RW drive up and quit. Once again, Dell was there the next day to swap out the drive.

Now that I think about it, there was another one ... maybe 5 years ago? It was found dead on a Friday morning. No beep, no noise, no nothing. Dell was there Monday and replaced the power supply and motherboard.

(Fairly easy repairs too. Most everything is simply snapped/clipped together).

Pamela,

I think that if you purchase one of Dell's high-end workstations, such as the Optiplex, you are less likely to have hardware problems. I have a Optiplex GX400, which I purchased in 2002 and I have not had a problem with the hardware. The benefit of getting the Optiplex is that it comes with 2 hard drives, so you can do better planning for disaster recovery.

Here are some questions that you might find helpful in deciding on Dell or continuing with your current consultant. Has your consultant talked to you about any of the following topics? These questions may or may not be pertinent to you in terms of how your business operates. But at the very least, you need to be able to evaluate whether this is a pertinent issue or not.

1. backup solutions -- per workstation and/or server
2. the need for a XP Pro OS CD instead of a restore CD
3. Security issues -- Do your employees send or receive email messages?
4. Alternatives to Dell
5. Hardware - OS Configuration
6. Server alternatives such as Microsoft Small Business Server 2003

1. Backup Solutions:

If you were to lose a hard drive on one of your workstations, what would be your losses in terms of time, data, hiring consultants, etc.? Does your company have a backup strategy for your office and for each workstation?

2. Microsoft no longer requires OEMs to provide their customer with a CD copy of the operating system. If you or one of your employees has problems, where you need to reinstall XP Pro, you will not be able to do so with just a restoral CD. There is another thread here on VDR about this issue, see

http://discussions.virtualdr.com/sho...hlight=restore

Dell send all of their computers with a bunch of junkware apps, which are really crippled trialware. I would recommend that you have the consultant re-install XP Pro, so that when the computer is delivered, it only contains the software that you want to have on the computer.

3. Security Information:

There are lots of security issues, which the VDR conference below identifies the issues and recommended practices. Are all of your computers set up to automatically download the Windows updated at a scheduled time like 2 AM? If not, have you gone to the current computers to see if your employees have been downloading the updates on a regular basis?

http://discussions.virtualdr.com/forumdisplay.php?f=72

4. Alternatives to Dell:

In my business environment, I have some high-quality local OEMs that I can call on to build computers for my clients. Typically, the cost is also lower. However, this may not be a viable option for you, if you do not have a long-term working relationship with your consultant. If that is the situation, then I would probably go with Dell or another hardware vendor.

5. Hardware - OS Configuration:

If you purchase a computer with two hard drives, then the C: hard drive (first hard drive) can contain the OS and backup copies of your 2nd hard drive. The 2nd hard drive can contain a partition for data and another for programs. The 2nd hard drive can also contain backups for the OS.

IMO, Acronis True Image is an excellent backup software solution. http://www.acronis.com/.

6. Small Business Server 2003:

Either now or sometime in the future, you may want to evaluate this as a viable option. The server would provide a backup for all of your documents.

Virtual DR (VDR) is the top tech support forum IMO. It also has excellent search capabilities. If you want to do a search, go to starts with "User CP" without the quotes of quotes of course. Then go down the tool bar until you get to the search menu item. Click on Search, then select advanced search.

Please post back and let us know what you decide to do?

Cheers,

Linda

SpywareDr,

Please explain how you have been able to get such good support from Dell as a small business. I also run a small business from my home and my tech support calls were routed to India, with long wait times and in the end, the issues were never resolved by Dell nor did Dell ever send a tech support person to my office.

Does your company have a Dell account representative, which takes you out of the normal tech support telephone aggravation?

Or is there a special telephone number that you call?

I think it would be very instructive for the other posters to more fully understand how Dell works.

Thanks,

Linda

Since we usually purchase several at a time (in order to get a discount) the sale itself is handled by a Dell Sales Rep. (Prior to contacting them voice though, we've already selected the needed components via their web site).

We purchase the "3 Year On-site Business Standard Plan (enhanced protection)" which includes "Next Business Day On-Site Service" and "Advanced Technical Support". (I believe this is the default "Dell Service & Support Plan" for their Dimension series).

Before we call in or visit their support sites, we simply gather up the original order's paperwork as well as whatever came with the PC, (Model/Serial/COA numbers etc.).

The Dell mailing address, telephone numbers and web sites we use are the standard ones:

Dell Inc. - (800) WWW-DELL
11550 Stonehollow Drive
Austin, TX 78758

Sales: (800) 915-3355
Customer Care: (800) 624-9897
Technical Support: (800) 624-9896

Main: http://www.dell.com
Customer care: http://www.dellcustomercare.com
Technical Support: http://www.support.dell.com

And FWIW, Dell has once again been named a 2006 winner in the ninth annual "Ten Best Web Support Sites" competition, which showcases excellence in online service and support. The annual competition is sponsored by The Association of Support Professionals (ASP). The win is the fifth for Dell, which ties them with Cognos for most wins to date. Dell’s previous win placed them in ASP’s “Hall of Fame”, which is reserved for companies with at least four wins.

The Ten Best Web Support Sites of 2006
http://www.asponline.com/awards.html

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The Association of Support Professionals (ASP) has announced the winners of its ninth annual "Ten Best Web Support Sites" competition, a prestigious award that showcases excellence in online service and support.

The 2006 winners include (in alphabetical order) eight Open Division entries—Dell, Hewlett-Packard Customer Care, Juniper Networks, Lucent Technologies, McAfee, Microsoft, Reuters, and RM. In addition, two companies—Made2Manage and think3—were named winners in the Small Company Division.

Microsoft and think3 were also named to the ASP's Web Support Hall of Fame, which honors sites that have been named among the "Ten Best" for at least four years. Other Hall of Fame sites include Cisco, Cognos, Dell Computer, Hewlett-Packard ITRC, and Symantec.

The award winners were selected by a panel of judges with expertise in Web support design and implementation, using a s coring system based on 25 separate performance criteria. The evaluation process covers the following areas:

• Overall usability, design, and navigation
• Knowledgebase and search implementation
• Interactive features
• Personalization
• The major site development challenge

The ten winning sites will be profiled in a book called "The Ten Best Web Support Sites of 2006," to be published by the ASP in June.

"The diversity of this year's winners is a striking indication of how widely the Web support model has spread," says ASP executive director Jeffrey Tarter. "We have winners whose customers range from relatively inexperienced consumers to high-end enterprise systems managers, and whose products cost anywhere from a few dollars to millions of dollars. Yet in all these market segments, technology companies have found that high-quality online support appeals to users and generates real customer loyalty. It's getting hard to imagine a customer segment where the Web isn't becoming the preferred way to deliver support."

The Association of Support Professionals is an international membership organization for customer support managers and professionals. In addition to its annual "Ten Best" awards, the ASP publishes research reports on a wide range of support topics, including support compensation, services marketing, and fee-based support.

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SpywareDr,

I also purchased my computers with the 3 year premium "Next Business Day" warranty. I followed all of the same steps that you did but I was always routed to India and I never got the "next business day" support that I had paid for.

During the 90's Dell had excellent documentation and when STC (Society for Technical Communicators) would have their annual competitions, Dell would always win multiple awards. This was one of the things that impressed me at the time about Dell. The documentation was so thorough and easy to understand that anyone could use it. The diagrams were so good that it made hardware simple. At the time, I was a newbie hardware wise, since I had always been on the IT development side of the house.

In the 90's Dell was a well run company, which provided a high quality product and support to its customers. Everyone that I recommended Dell to in the 90s were happy and satisfied. I guess when we had the .COM crash, Dell executives went over the edge and became totally focused on maximizing their net profits for Wall Street and themselves. Commitments to their customers just did not fit into their plans.

Cheers,

Linda

Don't know what to say. We too get 'routed to India' (or wherever it is) first of course. But after convincing them that it is indeed a hardware failure, they concede and schedule a tech, (or in some cases they'll send just the part if preferred).

That's the part I have no patience with. I am involved in the business world and so I understand the need to make and conserve money, but that really is a pet peeve of mine. If you want to give me someone from India or wherever to answer phones, then market your products there, not here. I don't patronize companies who use this practice. I want a primary anglophone to speak to.

And then you back this conversation down to what it's all about. Not "commercial" and "business" concerns so much as the average 'Joe' that just wants to buy a PC off-the-shelf and get decent warranty satisfaction for the money he has spent. Do you think he will get this from Dell??

I don't think this will happen in the 'near' future,,or,,for that matter,, a forseeable lifetime!! :rolleyes:

I think that Dell tends to make good quality laptops. At my job, I rerely see Dell brand laptops coming in for service. Dell desktops are a whole other story. Like all brand name PC's they tend to come with sub-par hardware that breaks easily, and comes with pre-loaded software that fouls up the entire computer's operation. i'm glad that I know how to service computers myself, after all the horror stories i've heard about Dell's tech support. That's why I like to just build my own machines. Just my 2 cents. :)

Just thought Id mention that this tool was posted on another forum if its of interest to anybody: Dell De-Crapifier…

Quote:

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The PC De-Crapifier is designed to remove a specific list unwanted software in an unattended fashion. Before running, the user may select exactly what software should be removed. Currently, it is targeted for use on most Dell machines; however it will theoretically run on anything that has the software listed below

Currently Uninstalls
The user can select exactly what is uninstalled from the list below

QuickBooks Trial
NetZero Installers
Earthlink Setup Files
Tiscali Internet Files
Wanadoo Europe Installer
Corel Photo Album 6
McAffee Personal Firewall
McAffee SpamKiller
McAffee VirusScan Online
McAffee Security Center
Google Desktop
Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer
America Online 9.0 US Version
America Online 9.0 UK Version
Musicmatch Jukebox
Musicmatch Music Services
Get High Speed Internet!
Internet Service Offers Launcher
Norton Ghost 10.0
Search Assistant
MS Plus! Photo Story 2 LE
MS Plus! Digital Media Edition Installer
Corel Word Perfect
Roxio RecordNow
Sonic DLA
Sonic Update Manager
Sonic RecordNow Audio
Sonic RecordNow Copy
Roxio MyDVD LE
Run Registry Keys:
“BuildBU” - Part of Dell Alerts which provides customers with an update on latest updates. Can be run manually as needed
“DVDLauncher” - Belongs to the Cyberlink PowerCinema video viewing software which allows you to play DVDs on insertation. This program is a non-essential process, and is installed for ease of use.
“ISUSPM Startup” and “ISUSScheduler” - InstallShield Update Service Scheduler. Automatically searches for and performs any updates to the software. Can be run manually.
“msci” - Used for McAffee Security Center
“MSKDetectorExe” - Part of McAfee Spamkiller
“QBReminderFlash” - QuickBooks
“QuickTime Task” - Tray icon that you can use for quick access to the QuickTime application and additional settings. Can be run manually.
“RealTray” - Tray icon that you can use for quick access to the Real Player application and additional settings. Can be run manually.
“SunJavaUpdateSched” - Updater for the Java Runtime Envronment. Can be run manually
“DellSupport” - Agent that offers additional support and update features for your Dell computer or laptop. Can be run manually.

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"De-Crapifier"....:D :D: ....I like that..... :D

Does anybody know if Gateway outsources their support? Wouldn't be surprised if people are getting routed to Nepal or New Guinea....

I know BT [British Telecom] does.Boy did I get fed up going through the same hoops every time I had connection issues and waiting several minuites whilst they read my file :(