Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : Computer Learning -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hope Praytochange who wrote (47492)	8/27/2005 12:15:37 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110626

PC PATROL Dell Finds Itself In Blog Hell PC industry circles have been buzzing for months about slipping customer support at Dell (DELL ), a claim bolstered on Aug. 16 by a University of Michigan study that showed a hefty drop in customer satisfaction from a year ago. So the last thing Dell needed was for someone to turn the issue into a cause célèbre. Enter Jeff Jarvis. Over the summer the media critic and popular blogger began writing on his personal blog, BuzzMachine, about his lengthy quest to fix a $1,600 computer, an ordeal that, according to him, included countless e-mails, some unanswered, and phone calls to Dell's service line. Jarvis wrote that he bought a service package that included in-home repairs, but when the PC overheated and malfunctioned, he was told to send it in. He did -- and wrote that it still wasn't working upon return. Jarvis launched a series of attacks, including an Aug. 17 open letter to CEO Michael Dell: "The bottom line is that a low-price coupon may have gotten me to buy a Dell, but your product was a lemon, and your customer service was appalling." On Aug. 22, Jarvis finally got a refund. A day later he blogged that Dell's new policy of tracking down unhappy bloggers "is a start." Jarvis' rants struck a chord with other Dell customers. Daily visits to BuzzMachine have doubled, to over 10,000, estimates research firm Intelliseek. Among the responses: "Dude, get an Apple (AAPL )." Dell is adding more call centers and improving training for phone reps, says consumer chief John Hamlin. As of Aug. 24, Dell had not replied to Jarvis' open letter but says it is "happy to talk with him as a customer." That might yield a happy ending -- if he doesn't get put on hold. By Louise Lee businessweek.com@@OEOEM2cQnIg4fBsA/premium/content/05_36/c3949013_mz003.htm