1.0 PURPOSE
Since the very first Dell PC was introduced in 1986, Dell has continued to shape the industry, breaking new ground and pioneering critical developments in home, small business and enterprise computing.
The aims for Dell's innovation approach is to deliver new and better solutions that directly address customer needs.
1) Listen.
Dell gathers requirements directly through tens of thousands of customer interactions daily, organized events, and customer panels.
Partnerships with a wide variety of key industry software, hardware and component suppliers give a uniquely broad perspective on the computing landscape.
2) Solve.
Many innovations begin in-house, led by a global team of top engineers, product designers and technical experts. Others begin as a team effort with Dell's strategic partners.
The mission is to deliver innovative and cost-effective solutions that meet today's real-life customer challenges and work seamlessly in existing environments and with other products.
3) Impact.
Dell is uniquely positioned to impact industry trends. It maintains strong internal development capabilities.
Dell partner, rather than compete, with top industry technology suppliers and original development manufacturers.
Dell steer enabling industry standards and technologies through industry groups and strategic partners. In this way, Dell spurs innovation and delivers value to customers.
With a long track record of pioneering work and a wide network of strong industry alliances, Dell can drive adoption of open standards that give customers:
- Increased choice
- Decreased cost and complexity
- Product and process interoperability
2.0 FEATURES
Dell is a form of B2C or C2C e-commerce business where it consists of the direct sales of services or products to the end user.
Not only saving costs, the user-friendly system makes online shopping more enjoyable and hassle free.
When clueless about products, Dell provides material for potential customers to "learn more" on what they can buy.
After deciding the counterparts for assembly, buyer can begin customizing the system.
One of the delightful features is that the website prompts buyer to change part of the ‘CPU’ when incompatible for system.
Finalizing choices made, the webpage updates latest cost of system then leaving room for consumers to decide the final budget.
The homepage captures buyer’s final decision to buy, processes the order request then dispatches the product within a week.
The feature of equipping step-by-step instructions also gives Dell a competitive edge over their competitors.
3.0 DESIGN
Dell is one of the fastest and most hyper efficient organization and a straightforward company that sells custom-configured PCs to consumers and businesses.
It is also well known for eliminating finished goods inventory by eliminating an extra step of resellers and connecting directly to customers.
Dell started as a mail-order company that advertised at the back of magazines and sold their computers over the phone.
Dell's e-commerce presence is widely publicized these days because it is able to sell so much built-to-order merchandise over the Web and has done it for more than a decade.
They gain a competitive advantage by luring customers from other vendors who do not offer such a service.
Moreover, Dell’s early and wise decision by implementing an online purchase system builds up brand loyalty and attracts current buyers.
With Dell’s decision to sell PCs on the web, it has generated many sales and lowers cost.
Transaction costs are lowered when less sales representatives being employed or by simplifying administrative duties.
When people purchase PCs over the web, they may be enticed by accompanying merchandise due to its presentation, then encouraging them to buy more.
The main idea at Dell is to help customers help themselves by making them feel at home.
All customers need to do is to Click on http://www.dell.com/, be spoilt for choices to the extensive range of information obtained to configure the one and only PC for yourself, at the comfort of your own room.
At the information highway, Dell is not afraid that potential customers purchasing rivals’ products. Buyers can shop around, compare prices then decide to place order.
4.0 CRITICISMS/PROBLEMS CAUSED AND EVALUATION
4.1 RIGID TECHNICAL SUPPORT PROTOCOLS
Currently Dell offers four levels of customer support and encourages customers to educate themselves on the differences between these service types.
Dell Inc brands its service-agreements at four levels:
1. Bronze
2. Silver
3. Gold
4. Platinum Plus
Regardless of the level of service-agreement, Dell's agents rigorously follow a specific troubleshooting procedure.
Controversy has developed around this area when knowledgeable computer users have already troubleshot the equipment and know the source of the problem.
Since Dell policy requires the technicians to always follow this strict procedure, resolution-time can take longer than expected.
Some IT departments have even calculated times to place Dell agents on hold when callers are required to perform tests that customer-staff have already carried out prior to calling.
Dell's hardware-warranty contract says that customers must troubleshoot over the phone — including possibly opening the computer — before Dell will send a technical service provider to replace a part.
EVALUATION:
This will waste a lot of time for Dell’s troubleshooting department at the expense of the customer’s patience.
This might also affect Dell’s reputation in providing quality service and reliability.
Dell’s agents should be trained to troubleshoot efficiently and be more flexible, instead of following a rigid troubleshooting procedure.
Dell’s agents should know how to act according to the customer’s troubleshooting needs.
For example, if the customer already know the source of the problem, Dell’s agents should be flexible enough to also troubleshoot from the source of the problem and guide the customer from there (instead of following a rigid troubleshooting model).
This could save a lot of costs with regards to time, quality service and customer’s confidence in the company.
4.2 LEVEL-OF-SERVICE-CONCERNS
In 2005, according to the Better Business Bureau, complaints about Dell more than doubled, to 1,533.
Consumer complaints about the quality of customer-service mounted, and in 2006. Issues included call transfers of more than 45% of calls and long wait-times.
To reduce costs, Dell began moving technical support to outside the United States, however this has resulted in quality of service concerns.
With the offshoring of call-center type applications, debate has also surfaced that this practice does serious damage to the quality of customer service and technical support that customers receive from companies who do it.
Call centers have sprung up in South Africa, India, Pakistan, Canada and the Caribbean. This decision has caused many criticisms, mostly because of the apparent language barrier that it creates.
This has thus been alleged reported that quality of service has decreased tremendously.
"Part of the suit claims that though Dell gave the impression of an "award-winning service" available to consumers "24 hours a day, seven days a week," consumers faced "nightmarish obstacles" to get help and technical service for their computers. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said that New York had received 700 complaints about Dell — more than the number of complaints for any other related subject.”
EVALUATION:
Provide better training for customer service agents, to decrease the number of complaints and in turn, complains relating costs i.e lawsuits about the services provide from Dell.
Provide a better customer service/technical support program/procedure so as to better facilitate troubleshooting and decrease call waiting time for customers.
Due to its direct-sales model via the internet and telephone network, Dell’s customers might lack confidence in the company in providing the so called “quality services and reliability”.
To overcome this lack of confidence by customers, Dell could set “troubleshooting kiosks” in shopping malls to help notebook customers to troubleshoot their notebooks.
This could indirectly increase the customer’s confidence since they now do not have to wait very long to have their calls/questions answered, and could bring their notebooks directly to a service centre.
