What is Digg?187 Comments
- mvanhorn, on 10/11/2007, -4/+430Just wanted to say that Consumerist is AWESOME for not giving in at first sight of a legal threat
- prisoner24601, on 10/11/2007, -5/+311What makes me really mad is now that I've viewed the page, some judge in LA is going to want to subpoena my RAM...
- zyl0x, on 10/11/2007, -5/+194It really takes a lot of balls to stand up to all the legal threats the corporate giants are tossing around these days. Props to Consumerist.
- bven, on 10/11/2007, -50/+198***** dell
- RUGUNIT, on 10/11/2007, -4/+122Dell gets owned in this one...and hell yeah to consumerist for the "trust me, you dont want to do this" kind of talk...
- RedHeadedFreak, on 10/11/2007, -3/+103I read the 22 confessions and I really didn't see anything on there that shocked me or made me more or less inclined to buy a Dell. I don't know why they're getting their panties in a bunch.
- Winters, on 10/11/2007, -0/+89You know what's funny. I saw that headline before but was not really all that interested. Now I HAVE to read it.
- SaxxonPike, on 10/11/2007, -6/+85Dell wouldn't send a letter unless what was posted was true. This is how you tell...
- minicruzer, on 10/11/2007, -8/+81I bet the public relations guy at Dell is having a heart attack.
- mythandros, on 10/11/2007, -2/+67Dell is cranky because someone revealed that they don't have uniform pricing for identical systems across the board.
- bIuebonics, on 10/11/2007, -3/+47FTA "Thank you. Note, though, it has been almost nine hours since we made the request, yet the posting is still up, with the number of hits growing logarithmically."
methinks she meant the inverse... exponentially. otherwise i either wouldn't be concerned at the minuscule amount of growth, or the number of hits are actually shrinking so fast it's breathtaking. - djphatjive, on 10/11/2007, -4/+47
1. Small business is better than home and home office - Small business typically runs a few dollars more than the home office, but you stand a better chance of getting domestic tech support rather than non-native English speakers. As an added perk, small business promotions are occasionally better than home.
2. Play with the web site - There are many different pricing packages for the same product throughout the various sections, typically three or more per segment. If you're buying a Dell soon, configure a unit from a link off the main page, from the product listing on the drop down and from the "As Advertised-Newspaper" drop down. Configure the same system each way at the home, small business and the Direct (kiosk) site (http://www.dell.com/directstore). It is very likely you will end up with nine different prices.
3. Extended warranty for laptops - Do it for as long as you feasibly see using your laptop, and include accidental. Two years is typically the lifecycle from "new product" to "no longer produced/no more refurbs" though YMMV. Once your model is off the refurb site, drop it. Voila! New laptop. The standard warranty will not cover any screen defects.
UPDATE: Current Dell rep says: If a system is no longer shipping a used/refurbished is always sent, though the refurb should be equal or better as far as hardware is concerned. As of this writing if a system is exchanged, via either Complete Care warranty or concession, and the system is still a currently shipping model a new system is to be sent.
4. Extended warranty for desktops - There is nothing in a low end desktop (non XPS) that is worth the price of the warranty should you have to replace it. Only pick it up if you have absolutely no clue what you're doing once the case is open.
5. Tech support phone - If you do go with the home/home office/direct route, tech support is outsourced (duh!). The tech support instant messenger typically provides a calmer, more understandable conversation due to the fact that accents are taken out of the equation. Think back to high school Spanish. It was always easier to translate the foreign language you were reading than if you heard it. Same concept applies here.
6. Tech support web site - If you're having a common problem, hit the product forums (however crippled they may be now). It is very likely your question/problem has been resolved before, and usually a domestic tech rep posted a solution there.
7. Warranty Repairs - On all but the two lowest warranties (90 day and 1 year limited), warranty repairs will be done in the home. The repair techs are only required to replace the broken part. They are not required to do anything else. If they replace your hard drive, they are not required to reinstall your OS or drivers. Most will do it if you're nice, but don't expect it. If you're clueless, there are tutorials all over http://support.dell.com that tell you how to do it yourself.
UPDATE: Current Dell rep says: Also with desktop machines at home service is the only option. Notebooks on the other hand may have a return to depot or an at home service contract.
8. OS Backup Disk - For over a year now, Dell has required you to purchase your Backup/Reinstall Disk. Order this with your machine. Once your Dell is delivered, it is a pain to get the disk at all, much less at a sensible price. If you do not have this disk and your hard drive dies, at home warranty repair will not be able to get your PC running once the drive is swapped without selling you a new copy of your OS.
UPDATE: Current Dell rep says: Dell no longer requires the purchase of the backup disk. They are included with every computer that ships with a Windows OS. On the subject of hard drives, if your drive fails within the first year of purchase you should be sent an imaged drive that will contain everything except for your royalty applications (Office etc). If for some reason you lose the media, you can request the OS, Resource/Drivers disk, and the applications disk at no cost to you. (Even if you are no longer under warranty Dell will send you an OS disk) Note that the Resource/Drivers and Applications disk is only available for currently shipping systems. Should you need to reinstall you'll need to download the drivers from support.dell.com from another computer and copy them over. Last, within the first year of purchase, if you need to reinstall the OS and you can't access the recovery image, or if it was deleted for some reason, you can request an System Recovery CD that does pretty much the same thing. (Not available on notebooks due to the Media Direct partition.)
9. DPA/Dell Preferred - This is the Dell credit card, like a Sears, Macy's or Radio Shack credit card. Typically a high rate, low limit card. The lowest APR is still around 18-20%, and that comes with a $5,000 limit. The $4,000, $3,000 and $2,000 limits have rates in the mid to high 20s. The lowest limt, $1,500, has an APR of 29.99%. NEVER USE THIS UNLESS THERE IS A KILLER NO INTEREST PROMOTION.
a. Interesting Note: In the Back-To-School season of 2005, DFS (Dell Financial Service) was issuing cards to 18 year olds with a $7,000 limit and a 29.99% interest rate.
Stuff you may not know:
1. Promotion cycle dates - Thursday is the first day of new promotions. If you go to the web site at 11:45 p.m. on Wednesday night and again on 1 a.m. on Thursday morning, the promotions are different. The catalog promotions run from the start of the month to the end. Additionally, on holiday weekends (Memorial Day, 4th of July, etc.) there may be special sales/coupons for the three-day weekend.
2. Promotion styles - Typically, one week will be cash off while the next will be percentage off. If you liked cash off but the current promotion is percentage off, check the "As Advertised-Newspaper" section. These typically have a remnant of the prior week's promotion as well as better versions of the current week's promotions. Cash off helps for cheap systems, percentage off helps with high-end.
3. Dell Customer Care can price match within 24 hours from the time of order. Combining #1 and #2 from this section, if you are unsure of the value of the week's promotion but need to order something, order it Wednesday night. Check the promotions for the new week on Thursday. If its better, call and price match. If its not, sit back and feel smug for no reason
4. Dell corporate email - As of December 2006, everybody (save Michael Dell) working for Dell U.S. has the same form of email address: firstname_lastname@dell.com. Michael Dell's does not follow this pattern and is changed immediately whenever the current one is discovered by lower-level employees or the public.
5. Dell's internal fiscal calendar is different from other corporations. As their fiscal year ends in January or February (I honestly don't remember), the best deals will typically be found in late January and all of February. Also, buying during the last week of any quarter typically means free or deeply-discounted 2nd day or overnight shipping, and the quickest order turnaround. There are no steep discounts for the holidays, though they will run a few weeks of consecutive percentage off promotions during the back to school season in August.
6. The DFS servers are notoriously flimsy. If you apply for DPA (why would you?) and it is unable to complete, it means the server is overloaded but your credit rating has already been pinged. Reapplying will not fix the issue but it will repeatedly ping your credit. The system is unable to verify cell phone numbers and will automatically reject based on the use of one.
Fun facts about the Kiosks:
1. Why should I shop at a kiosk? I can order from home. - A very valid point, but the majority of kiosk customers are morons who think computers are magic boxes that let you see pictures of cats in funny poses while someone steals your AOL password. There's a few reasons why an educated person aka Consumerist reader should hit the kiosk up:
a. Discounts - There are several ways the Dell Direct kiosks can attempt to match or beat an online deal.
i. Closing tools - Dollar off coupons that depend on how much you spend. Spend $600=$25 off; $1200=$50 off; $1,600=$75 off; $2,000=$100 off.
ii. Refuse to Lose - 10% coupons meant to allow a sales rep to seal a large deal. These can only be used when the computer price alone is $1,600 or more. It can not be used on accessories, TVs or multiple computers whose aggregate value is above $1,600. This must be requested from the Manager on Duty (MOD) through an email request, and will generally be credited before the computer is shipped.
iii. DPA coupon - Dell will already give you 2% off your order if, at the payment screen you click the link that offers 2% off when you pay with DPA. The kiosks have a 3% DPA closing tool that can be used also, giving a discount of slightly over 5%. This works for all DPA purchases including TV's, monitors and cameras.
iv. The closing tools are nothing but individual-use coupons entered at the shopping cart. They are invalid on the home and small business site. Reps are supposed to use them as a last-ditch effort, but as long as you're not buying a sub-$600 system, they should offer them without your having to ask.
b. Printer cartridges - No you can't buy them there...officially. They are non-inventoried items that many kiosks have a heady supply of due to inexplicably random deliveries from corporate. If you're in a pinch and need one that day, go (don't call), get a feel for the employees, and if you think they're cool with it, offer cash.
2. There are two levels of kiosk employees. There are those hired by Spherion, creatively known as "Spherion reps," and then there are Dell Branded Reps, or DBRs. DBRs are effectively the management of the individual kiosk, and are the only ones able to work uncompensated overtime. Deal with them if possible, because they are very likely to be there the next time if you have a question. They've also been there much longer than any other kiosk staff, so they likely have a much better skill set for finding bargains.
3. If you have a problem with DPA, the kiosk has a specific email contact for Dell Financial. Problems can be resolved much much faster.
4. The Dell Direct kiosk website is configured differently than the others. There are "bundles" (linked from the main page under the "start shopping" graphics) and there are "non-bundles". Bundles, so called because...you guessed it...accessories and service are already bundled in, have a higher profit margin. They are also the most customizable system on the website. Non-bundles carry lower profit margins but may be limited. The salesman will always start from a bundle. Let them finish, then make them search the non-bundles for an equal system with a better price.
5. Kiosk reps are judged on the following:
a. Unit price: The average sale price of each reps transactions. $1,200 was the goal as of March, 2007 but $1,600 was preferred.
b. Bundle percentage: Dell varies on what percentage of all sales it wants to be from the "bundle" page depending on the month and who you're talking to. It is typically between 40% and 60%.
c. Service: Each PC/Notebook sale is expected to have a 3 year warranty attached. Typically, the number is between $160 and $200.
d. E&A: This is the percentage of the sale that was spent on accessories. Each transaction should have between 5% and 10%, or one printer and cable per PC or one bag, lock and travel mouse per Notebook.
e. DPA: Dell Preferred Account purchases. The expected percentage of DPA sales has climbed in the past years. It currently hovers between 40% and 60%, and they want a 1 to 1 customer to submitted application ratio.
6. Secret shoppers - The kiosks are secret shopped constantly, and they're playing of a 20-question scorecard. Don't be surprised if the salesman asks really base/borderline-insulting questions if you act interested. They think you're a secret shopper.
7. Communication - Complaints made about Dell to the kiosk reps go unheard. There is no place for the rep to turn around and report the complaint to. Communication between reps and even district management is limited, and reps are discouraged from calling the regional management. Store, district and regional management are all run from email and cell phones. It is not uncommon for the kiosks to receive three answers from three departments, with the end result being all three statements retracted without a solution in place. - soccerman90, on 10/11/2007, -2/+43Every time a company tries to silence something it always blows up in their faces. The HDDVD code is probably the best example
- rmxz, on 10/11/2007, -1/+37Let Dell know that their Legal department's gone too far.
An idea's been posted on their IdeaStorm (the Dell feedback site that brought you Ubuntu Dells) that they should restrain their out of contol Legal team.
http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/68390
These votes really do matter - supposedly their Execs read highly voted Ideas regularly; and many of their Linux ideas posted there (like bringing dedicated graphics to their Ubuntu offerings; and restoring warranties on Linux machines) happened primarily because of votes there. - kazersoza, on 10/11/2007, -3/+35Dugg .. Consumerist is awesome for posting all communication and a link to the original article.
Funny part is .. I may have never read it if it never was brought to light. Thanks Dell for showing me the way to that article. - trer, on 10/11/2007, -1/+30Calculus I is not a required course in law school.
Still funny though to see that high and mighty lawyers flaunting their law degrees fall flat on their face when it comes to math and REAL logic (as opposed to psuedo law logic). - tech42er, on 10/11/2007, -0/+26Thanks Dell. I never would've seen this if it wasn't for the publicity surrounding your takedown notice. Now, I'm going to go read it and commit it to memory. So, once again, thanks Dell!
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -22/+48All 22 of those confessions were common ***** sense.
- JML1387, on 10/11/2007, -4/+29I read consumerist daily and must say that I love the difference in sound between the legal counsel of Dell and consumerist -Dell is all big scary legalese and consumerist is like bring it! Rock on consumerist!
- obliviousfool, on 10/11/2007, -6/+28I've never bought a Dell, and I don't intend to buy a Dell, but I had to read that just because Dell told him to take it down!
- SilkSteel, on 10/11/2007, -0/+18Once its on the internet, there's no turning back. I don't know what Dell was thinking by sending that email or even acknowledging the article. Goddamn corporations need to be put back in their place.
- zweben, on 10/11/2007, -2/+20It made me MORE likely to get a Dell.
I looked at the "Advertised Online" and saw they had two towers for $309! - dakilla91, on 10/11/2007, -0/+17This should be posted in blogs across the world, then Dell will really ***** themselves.
- dynamik, on 10/11/2007, -1/+17Is it just me, or was the content of the original article pretty tame? I was really expecting some juicy "confidential" information after reading those take-down emails.
- mythandros, on 10/11/2007, -2/+18Law IS based on logic. It's just that the premises are flawed. So utterly, thoroughly, irreparably flawed.
- sacherjj, on 10/11/2007, -0/+15The only way they can satisfy their legal loss is with the person who both signed a non-disclosure and then disclosed the information. The Consumerist had no such agreement with Dell and they obtained this information legally for them. They have no legal liability and Dell has no legal grounds against them. They might be required to provide the source of said information by a judge, but I'm not totally up to speed on the legal shielding capabilities of the press.
- swoopdog, on 10/11/2007, -1/+14
http://consumerist.com/consumer/insiders/22-confessions-of-a-former-dell-sales-manager-268831.php
*yawn* - delb, on 10/11/2007, -0/+13Considering the fact that it's already out and been out for hours it's not going to make an ounce of difference. Take the Blue Ray code for example. Nice waste of time and effort Dell...maybe put that effort into making your products worth buying
- bilbravo, on 10/11/2007, -3/+15Just a couple of weeks ago Dell was Digg's favorite company, because they were releasing PCs with Ubuntu.
Now everyone hates them?
Digg, why so fickle? - lokier, on 10/11/2007, -0/+12Dell just blew up an article that would have been read by a couple hundred people into possible meme.
- TyphoidTimmy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+12
@archer
A lot of it was...the kiosk savings parts are very true to form. Go ahead and go up to one at your local mall and ask them point blank "Why would I buy through you when I can just do at at home? 9 outta 10 the first thing they say is 'we can save you an additional etc.etc.etc.'
Go Consumerist....stick to your guns! - wattznext, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12Uhhh...possibly because digg is a community of 1 million+. Have you considered that the couple thousand who loved Dell last week may not be the couple thousand who hate them this week?
- JimV, on 10/11/2007, -0/+10Because some dude violated his NDA. That'd piss me off pretty good. Not the Consumerists problem though. Too bad for that guy if Dell finds out who he is.
- skillfull, on 10/11/2007, -5/+14Dell ***** up on this one
- cquilliam, on 10/11/2007, -0/+9I don't know why companies do things like this. Who actually seen this blog post before this story hit? Anyone? I'm willing to guess not many people did until Dell decided to kick up a stink over it. They end up impeding their own efforts. So idiotic.
- zackz, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9Totally agree! What a well written response by the consumerist! Wasn't rude, didn't lose his temper, didn't screw the little guy. I'm saving this letter, never know when it might be useful!
- bIuebonics, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9@profOblivion
until you look at her wording and realize she said that the number is *increasing* logarithmically. i'll refine my first post. from her words, you can only conclude that it is a positive log of x and not a negative log of x or log of -x or even a negative log of -x, as anything else does not give you an increase as x increases of any sort in the first quadrant of the graph (the only logical place you could fit the real world situation of hits increasing as time increases). you can then presumably negate everything before x=1, as, again, i'm pretty sure there's no such thing as a negative hit, never mind negative infinite hits. therefore, you can only conclude (using log base 10 merely for the sake of argument) that at an hour you had zero hits and it wasn't until 10 hours later that you got your first hit and another 100 hours later you got your second hit...
moral of my story: lawyers aren't as smart as they'd have you believe. - Mudcrutch, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9Streisand Effect
- profOblivion, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8I wouldn't be surprised if the number of hits actually was logarithmic before that letter was posted: a whole bunch of views at first, when the post was at the top of the front page, and then the hit rate gradually tapering off as people move on to other stories (i.e. the number of hits continuing to increase, but at a decreasing rate). Same way digg works. The number of hits doesn't shrink - it can't, you can't "un-view" a web-page.
- bIuebonics, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7oh, and before anyone else chimes in on my assessment. we're not talking about hits/second or hits/second/second... just number of hits :)
- pissflaps, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8Algebraic!
- dustbowl, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7Too bad for Dell, the content is already out there and I've saved a copy of it. Power to the consumer!
- Erectile, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8Maybe because they sent a takedown notice over what seems like nothing? As different events occur over time, opinions on certain groups or individuals can actually change.
- spritom, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7"Tracy's such a nice lawyer."
Yeah, but she doesn't sleep much. - SnuKs, on 10/11/2007, -4/+11Leave it to digg to spread the news.
- trer, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6@profOblivion
Your observation is interesting. Nevertheless, it's at the very least an odd word to use and when placed in the context of the lawyer's previous statement, it doesn't seem to make sense (if Dell noted that the number of hits was tapering off, why the big legal hullabaloo...unless of course they feared that the number of hits would increase exponentially, which is the word that the original poster postulated was what she really meant) - jabesque, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6I tried to email the lawyer, we'll see if it's a functional address:
Tracy -
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your email exchange with
Consumerist.com; I had not seen the post "22 confessions of a former dell sales
manager" previously, but, due to your over-the-top and completely unnecessary
emails regarding taking the post down, I have now seen and digested the
information provided in the article.
As an owner of a Dell (I'm writing to you on one right now) I feel obligated to
inform you that such matters, and the strong-arm tactics used by the Dell
corporation, do not shine positively on the company you represent. I'll be
needing to buy a new computer in the coming year, and I'll be sure to think of
this event as I pursue a computer model that will be agreeable for my needs.
Best,
(my name) - cawpin, on 10/11/2007, -5/+10@mazerstar - Here, here. They responded quickly, professionally and courteously. You can't ask for much more than that.
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