Why I’m Not Buying Dell In Asia… Yet
May 31, 2008 – 3:57 pm | by Daryl TayMy laptop died on me recently, so I was searching for a new one online. The review sites gave a Dell model pretty good reviews, and knowing how Dell is active in the social media space with their blogs at Direct2Dell, I thought I’d take the plunge and get one.
However, once I announced my intentions online, I got a few people telling me not to get a Dell because of their poor after-sales service (what’s new). So although I told them I felt that Dell had changed, I decided to give it a little test.
One thing I like on websites that I’m buying from, is a “chat” function where a customer service representative is on hand to answer any questions you might have. Bluehost did this really well and I purchased a hosting plan with them within minutes. However when I tried it out on the Dell website, it wasn’t convincing.
The gist of it was I said I liked the Dell model, and know they have great initiatives in North America, but was worried about it in Singapore. I then asked if after-sales was reliable and quick.
I was met with 6 minutes of silence (maybe the representative was flipping through a manual?) and got replied to me with “It’s reliable”. Not going to address my concern about it being quick?
I still think Dell is making good moves, but perhaps for a company as big as theirs it’s hard to train everyone internationally. However the bottom line is: if you’re communicating a change, you gotta make sure everyone the customer comes into contact with is living that change. I didn’t feel convinced, and ended up not getting the Dell.
Perhaps when I need to get a new laptop in three years I might try again, but right now… I’m just not feeling comfortable enough…. yet.
Tags: buying a new laptop, customer chat, customer service, dell, direct2dell, social media space
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