Attempting to address nagging consumer complaints with its customer service and sagging sales, Dell Computer has announced a deal to market its computer products through Wal-Mart stores. Wal-Mart also carries Hewlett-Packard computers, a principal rival to Dell.
The Wal-Mart pact may be aimed to dealing with complaints like the one ConsumerAffairs.com received from Heather, of Cadet, Missouri, earlier this month:
Dell's customer services is awful, rude, and just plain unhelpful. I will never purchase another Dell computer, she told us.
Also this month, Dell drew the wrath of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who filed consumer fraud charges against the computer giant.
At Dell, customer service means no service at all," Cuomo charged. Dells consumers were intentionally misled, and they had to pay for that privilege. I hope this lawsuit sends a message to companies large and small that delivering a product is simply not enough the promises they make must be delivered as well.
In fact, in 2005 Dell ranked at the top of consumer complaints among computer manufacturers in a ConsumerAffairs.com survey. With 17.9 percent of the computer market share, Dell logged 58 percent of the consumer complaints.
Wal-Mart isnt without its share of customer gripes, but industry analysts say HP has benefited from its relationship with the retail giant. They say customers are more likely to feel comfortable talking with a Wal-Mart sales clerk than some disembodied voice in a far away call center.
The move to retail sales changes Dells business model in another way as well.
Since its beginning as a direct marketed supplier, with telephone and Internet sales, the company has set itself apart by selling made to order computers. With the move to Wal-Mart, it will begin producing more standard, off-the-shelf models while maintaining its original made to order service.
