Dell to Charge for US-based support

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-10121992-17.html?tag=TOCmoreStories.0

I think this only pertains to the Dell Home systems.

Correction: They will provide this option for all Dell Home computers including XPS. If your curious the option is under services and the "Your Tech Team" option.

 

Before everyone starts moaning and this thread gets drowned in "Dell SUX" posts...

What better way is there to do this? Domestic customer support is more expensive than outsourced customer support. Dell has these costs, and they can't make them magically disappear so, unlike what Mr. CNET blogger says, customer support isn't free - you're paying for it one way or another, so here's your options:

1. Pay more for your laptop to cover the more expensive domestic support.

2. Pay less for your laptop, endure foreign support.

However, with this new move, you introduce option 3: Pay less for your laptop, and pay more if you want better support. Is that so wrong? Is Dell the spawn of Satan for introducing this option?

See, I want free support too, and a free laptop to go along with it. How about a free ice cream sundae while we're on subject? Things cost money. You're paying for it - end of story.

 

Hmmmm...The way I see it is if you want that service then pay for it.

If you don't, then that's fine. It your own individual choice.

And, hopefully it's holds true with this new fee...*You get what you pay for*..and it better be great!


Cin

 

I totally agree with Lithus. If you want better support and someone that's American and are willing to back that up by paying a little extra for it, then this is a great option. For those of us that don't care where our support comes from and have some patience to wait if it's cheaper for us, then this is a win because it means Dell can separate out those charges that would have otherwise been put on the laptop purchase itself.

 

Each time I call dells TS I get a foreigner anyways so this doesn't change much.
And even if they didn't offer the foreign support for free I wouldn't pay. They never have helped me before or told me anything I didn't know.
I still like dell btw But dell does sux when it comes to desktop pc's

 

I have always had dell America for my business class laptops when i called between 9 and 5. For the home ones they always went elsewhere.

 

Ala carte is a good way to go like that......especially since I'm one of the pessimists who expected Dell to pass any higher costs along to the consumer.

Personal choice FTW

 

Keep in mind that for Dell Home (Inspiron/Dimension) you have been getting an overseas agent, at least for the most part, for years. Most other computer companies do the exact same thing.

If you don't want to pay and don't want to call, you can always use chat and email. This is, of course, provided that you have a working computer.

 

Yup's ala carte a good thing..and Personal Choice = even better


Cin

 

double thread
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=330367

 

Great. So now you can pay to stay on hold. The XPS line's customer service, as advertised on their website, is supposed to answer your call in less than 5 minutes and I can say, firsthand, that has never happened. I will be calling them shortly because my computer has consistently broken down since one of their wonderful techs came to my apartment.

Dell just saw how Apple can get away doing the same thing so they followed suit. There is no doubt in my mind that this will NOT improve customer service. Also, seeing as this is US based, and our economy is going down the tube at the moment, I really don't see Dell hiring new waves of employees to fill these call centers.

 

If a lot of people that don't know better take the US option, then there will be fewer people calling India, which means shorter hold time to talk to someone that can only read a script, before you can ask to be escalated, which might be a US guy for free?

 

I'm for it if they promise the US techs are competent. You can still have a tech that speaks English fine, but still be an idiot.

 

i think dell should just charge another $100 for each computer, and have us based support.....but this will probably never happen,,,hp will keep their support in india, and under-cut dell..so the added charge is great,,at least you don,t have to get an interpreter to listen to someone, and you are support united states workers.

 

They will probably just use the same setup in the US. So basically your paying for essential the same support, but you will be talking to someone that you can understand easier.

 

Yes but the main thing in all this is that you keep the job in America and that the money comes back into our economy. I mean Joe Schmoe is your technical support in the US. He gets paid and then spends his money on food, services and other goods in the local economy. In the end, it's win - win for us. I don't care what people say but a global economy is one of the reasons for the economic situation we are facing throughout the world.

 

Ah if only the world were so simple...

The thruth is a lot less on your side...

We benefit more from the job going out of the US than staying in the US (as a country and economy)...

A good start would be reading the article here: http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/3015027

I don't feel like retyping it or summarizing as I'm far too sleepy...


On topic...

The addon is good. They offer offshore outsourced support to compete on costs and this allows them to do so without impacting the consumers who just want to have American support people. Options are never a bad thing to have.

 

Just a quick response - I do believe that initially it was a good thing but long term it actually hurts more than it helps. That article was written in '04 and there are plenty of current articles that state the opposite. I know globalization can be a good thing but it benefits the other party moreso. Prime example, people complain about sweatshops in Asia. Well my aunt is an attorney over there and she says it's a blessing. Instead of stealing and selling their bodies and what not to feed the family - a couple of bucks a day will feed the entire family. So although 2-5 bucks isn't much here any more. It's a lot over there.

Globalization in moderation. We really need to bring the jobs back home and with the government lowering rates to 0 - it'll be good for now but usually as the economy recovers, it'll mean skyrocketting inflation rates. Let's home there's a remedy and let's hope they look beyond short term.

 

the bottom line is, corporations keep sending all the jobs overseas,,,their will be not one to buy their products in the united states.....theres got to be some control on this, and i don,t see the government doing a thing about it.

 

The simple fact is that U.S. labor costs a lot more than foreign labor. Companies have to meet the demands of their shareholders and you can only cut costs from so many places before your product quality suffers.

 

People say this all the time... Show me the proof. Offshore outsourcing has been going on for more than 20 years now, at least. So show me the shrinking US GDP and consumer spending over the same period.

Stop spreading F.U.D. and spend some time actually learning about a topic before you let your lips flap.

 

If that be the case... I won't buy a DELL next time!

 

as a consumer, i think this is a joke! As a business owner i can see the point and cost saving aspect of this but in all reality i cannot support this type of change!

 

The economy is sinking and there's complaints about injecting money into a service that will be kept local???

I'm all for it if the service is accurate and efficient. Dell is a great computer company to deal with and I'd like to see them stick around for a long while.