Dell has done a great job in both sales and service to north american corporate customers, and CPQ has dropped the ball on several occasions. The CPQ laptop line has shown spotty quality - some products are good, others are a joke. The DEC laptop line, by comparison, is first rate in both quality and performance. DEC's laptop people are now running the show and I expect a much stronger laptop story in '99. CPQ's corporate desktops are consistently high quality but here again, the north american service story was not good in '98. As DEC's service comes on line, that story should improve - after all, it was DEC service which earned Dell their high marks. Look for a major turnaround in 1H99 on these issues.
BTW, Dell will have to work hard to keep their service satisfaction high as they break in their new service partners, |
