Seems that the last couple of posts have been about my victories over technology, and this one won’t be much different.
A couple of weeks ago, I started having problems with the Dell XPS 630i I bought in December 2008. It’s a great machine and I really love this box. The problem was that the darn thing wouldn’t come on. That is, it wouldn’t POST and when it did finally come on, after multiple attempts to turn it on, it would think it was January 1, 2007 requiring me to change the date in the BIOS. I called Dell and because the system is under warranty (with next day service), they sent a technician, Sean (who was about to become my new best friend), out the following day to change the motherboard. A few days later, I started having the same problem again, which caused me to think that perhaps the problem was related to the computer’s power supply. So I called Dell, said that I thought the problem was related to the power supply, but the customer service rep in India wouldn’t listen and the next day he sent a technician (Sean) out to replace the motherboard. Again, the system operated okay for about two days and then the problem returned.
I was more convinced than ever that the problem wasn’t the motherboard and while I hadn’t been able to convince the previous customer service rep that that was the problem, the person I spoke to this time agreed it probably was the power supply. So the next day, Sean showed up with a new motherboard, power supply and new processor. In essence, Dell was going to give me a new computer. Sean, did his magic and at this point, I was a happy customer. But now this sad tale gets funny.
When you buy a Dell computer, the serial number and express service code are imprinted in the BIOS. The user cannot change it. In theory, a Dell technician can change those numbers, but as Sean and I soon discovered that wasn’t the case. The reason those numbers are so important, is because your warranty is tied to those numbers. So innocently, I asked Sean to change the numbers in the motherboard to reflect the numbers for the system that I had originally bought. For three consecutive days, Sean and Dell tried to change the numbers on the motherboard, using different software and BIOS access tools, in an effort to reflect the computer (and warranty) that I’d bought six months ago. Bottom line – they were unsuccessful.
On Thursday, May 14, I got a phone call from Dell saying they were shipping me a new computer. On Friday, May 15, the computer arrived. I swapped out the hard drives and added my second DVD drive to the system and booted up. My new system spun up flawlessly with Windows and Office each telling me to reboot after initial access so they could reflect the new faster processor (a gift from Dell in compensation, perhaps) and activate. Most importantly, Dell transferred all my warranty information to the new box seamlessly. I’ve already boxed up the old unit and will send it back to Dell on Tuesday. I am a very happy man.
~~~~
Speaking of Dell, they have come under some criticism for launching a site called Della. The site is designed to be a purchasing site for non- IT women. The site features young women laughing and smiling as they use brightly colored decorated net books and laptops. Apparently some have considered this site to be condescending. I, for one don’t. I consider to be good marketing and here’s why:
If you made a notebook or laptop or desktop computer that was purple or orange in color, ask yourself: who is most likely to buy that computer, a 18 year old man or 18 year old woman? You don’t have to be a marketing expert to know the answer to that question. You also don’t have to be a marketing expert to know that you must sell to your demographic and that includes getting your product as much exposure in as many mediums as you possibly can. In the case of our purple or orange computer, it gets advertised on Dell’s home and office site, employee purchase site, educational site and Della. It does not get advertised on Dell’s state, local and federal government purchase sites, Dell’s large business sites or its health and science site. Why? Because the chance of making a sale on those sites in any color other than black, silver or tan (sand) are very slim.
So from my perspective, Della is good marketing, just like Dell’s lounge and gaming sites because it targets specific markets with specific products in an attempt to gain market share. Dell will probably never be the number one computer maker in the world. That title will probably remain with Hewlett Packard for a long time. But Dell is number two and as we all know number – number two has to try harder. Until the next time,
Bill