A few weeks ago, I wrote about my need for a new laptop and why I was steering
away from Dell and HP due to previous bad experiences. Dell, which has been stung by bad blog buzz before, saw my post and reached out with the following nice email:
I’m at Dell Headquarters in Austin, Texas and I just came across one of our posts entitles "Laptop Shopping and User Experience" and wanted to offer my help in trying to get the Dell one up and running. I'm not entirely sure if the Inspiron 700M you bought in September of 2005 is the one you're referring to in the article but it appears that one was not bought with a repair contract so I wouldn't be able to dispatch a tech out or replace parts but could try and find another way to get it fixed. If it's a software issue of some sort I can definitely help with that and if it does need a part, many of them can be purchased out of warranty. If it's cheap enough to get it up and running that may be a good idea even of you do purchase a new one so you'll have a backup. Either way feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
I'm glad that they're watching and responding to the blogosphere. This note is good start but I'm left somewhat unsatisfied. Here's why.
I like that they want to try and help me but basically what they're saying is: "You didn't pay for the super-duper extra service package and because our product (which you paid $1,000+ for) is breaking (only) 18 months after you bought it you're basically out of luck."
Now, ignoring for the moment my frustration with the durability of my old dell laptop, let's talk about what could have made this message better.
Empathy.
Imagine if the message started with:
"That sucks. I'm sure you're disappointed and frustrated."
And went one to explain how it might be a software problem and, if so, they could help me. And ended with a discount coupon to entice me to buy a replacement from them if chose to go that route.
Now that would be a sweet email to receive.
Eric:
I apologize if I came across as sounding unsympathetic to the fact that your laptop broke that quickly. That is early and I would be annoyed as well. I just mentioned the fact that it didn't have a contract on it because I didn't want to set the expectation that I would repair the unit only to find that the coverage had been declined when it was purchased. That said, I'd like to see whether the issue is software or hardware related and if it's the latter, what sort of part it might need. If it turns out that either the motherboard or LCD, the two most expensive parts, is the culprit then we could definitely discuss a discount of some sort on a new one because that may be way to go if that’s the case.
Neil
Dell, Inc.
neil@dell.com
Posted by: Anonymous | February 22, 2007 2:38 PM | Permalink to Comment