Digital Disruption

On September 10, I received a promotional email from Dell introducing their new Inspiron Mini9.  I’d been looking for a small wireless Internet-only device that could provide a full Internet experience, Youtube, Twitter, etc. A small, light-weight computer that had a long battery life and that would be perfect for traveling.  A cloud-computing device. Something more powerful than an iPhone but smaller than my existing laptop.  The Mini9 looked like the perfect solution for my needs – all the features I wanted at an attractive price.  I’d purchased Dell products before for my personal use and within a corporate environment and I had no reservations or fears when I clicked on the “Buy Now” link in the email.

The online ordering experience went smoothly enough and I received a confirmation email that my order was being processed.  On September 17, the online status indicated that the machine was been built and that the estimated ship date was 09/26/08.  On September 27, my credit card was billed and I made the obvious assumption that my new Mini9 had been shipped. I anticipated receiving my new Mini9 via courier within a few days.

That’s when the nightmare began … A week went by and nothing arrived.

I emailed Dell and got an auto-response saying:

I am sorry, your email has reached a mailbox that is used by our automated system for outgoing mail only. If you need assistance, please refer to your email for contact information, or visit http://www.dell.com and click on “Contact Us”.

I called Dell’s 800 number and spoke to someone in their call center who informed me that the product had been shipped. I asked for the Fedex tracking number and was told that they didn’t have it and that I should call Fedex and ask them where my shipment was.  Alarm bells started ringing.  I called the courier company and they told me to call Dell. The blame-game shuffle was now in full swing. Dell => Fedex => Dell => Fedex.  I finally got a supervisor on the line at Dell who informed me that my product had never shipped and that the order had been cancelled by their internal web sales team. I asked why and there was no answer.  I then asked for a refund.  I was told that my credit card had not been charged!  This really got me angry as I had my credit card statement in front of me and there in black and white was the Dell charge.  I was made to feel like a criminal – like I had stolen the Dell and now wanted a refund. Insane!

Today is October 31 -  after a totally disgusting 7 week ordeal, I have finally received a full refund on my credit card.   Thanks to two people: BradatDell and ChrisBatDell.  I contacted these guys via Twitter a week ago. Both of them work at Dell HQ in Austin, TX. Both provided me with a human, caring voice, quick feedback, status updates of my “case” and quick resolution to my problem.  Thank you gentlemen! I wish I had contacted you on September 27 when my credit card was charged and not a month later.  You guys did an amazing job but, unfortunately, it was too late to repair the damage that had already been done.

I will never buy another Dell product, either for my personal use or within my corporate environment.

Lesson to Dell and other corporations out there who have the same broken customer experience:

• Move rapidly away from your outsourced call centers (outsourced to India or Russia or whereever);
• Get rid of your machine-like scripts;
• Fire your non-empathetic employees;
• Destroy your cumbersome, dehuman processes;
• Stop the lies, BS, indifference; arrogance and lack of accountability.

Replace them with real people who care, who assume responsibility, who are accountable, who are empathetic, who are customer-focused and who are solutions-oriented. People like BradatDell and ChrisBatDell. Give them tools like Twitter so they can reach out and engage in meaningful conversations with your customers. That’s the winning strategy of a winning company. You’re selling more than a product – you’re selling a service, you’re selling an experience. Make sure it’s one that is on your customers’ terms and not yours.

Tweet This Post