Customer Service and Technical Support Service became a feature of Dells strategy in 1986 when the company began

providing a years free on-site service with most of its PCs after users complained about having to ship their PCs back to Austin for repairs. Dell contracted with local service providers to handle customer requests for repairs. Dell also provided its customers with technical support via a toll-free phone number, fax, or e-mail. Bundled service policies were a major selling point for winning corporate accounts. Value-Added Services Selling direct allowed Dell to keep close track of the purchases of its large global customers. And its close customer relationships resulted in Dell being quite knowledgeable about what each customer needed and how its PC network functioned. Aside from using this information to help customers plan their PC needs and configure their PC networks, Dell used it to add to the value it delivered to its customers. For example, Dell could load a customers software at the factory, thereby eliminating the need for the customers PC personnel to unpack the PC, deliver it to an employees desk, hook it up, place asset tags on the PC, then load the needed software from an assortment of CD-ROMs and diskettesa process that could take several hours and cost $200 to $300.18 Dell charged customers only $15 or $20 for the software-loading and asset-tagging servicesthe savings to customers were thus considerable In late 1997, in another effort to add value for its customers, Dell, following Compaqs lead, created a financial services group to assist customers with financing their PC networks. Premier Pages Dell had developed customized, password-protected Web sites (called Premier Pages) for 40,000 corporate, governmental, and institutional customers worldwide. Premier Page sites gave customer personnel online access to information about all Dell products and configurations the company had purchased or that were currently authorized for purchase. Employees of Dells large customers could use Premier Pages to (1) obtain customer-specific pricing for whatever machines and options they wanted to consider, (2) place an order online that would be electronically routed to higher-level managers for approval and then on to Dell for assembly and delivery, and (3) seek advanced help desk support. Customers could also search

and sort all invoices and obtain purchase histories. These features eliminated paper invoices, cut ordering time, and reduced the internal labor customers needed to staff corporate purchasing and accounting functions. A customers Premier Pages also contained all of the elements of its relationship with Dell, including who the Dell sales and support contacts were in every country where the customer had operations, what software Dell loaded on each of the various types of PCs the customer purchased, and service and warranty records for each machine. www.dell.com At the companys Web site, which underwent a global redesign in late 1999 and had 50 country-specific sites in local languages and currencies, prospective buyers could review Dells entire product line in detail, configure and price customized PCs, place orders, and track those orders from manufacturing through shipping. The company was adding Web-based customer service and support tools to make a customers online experience pleasant and satisfying. Already the company had implemented a series of online technical support tools: Support.Dell.com This Web-based feature allowed customers to create a customized support home page; review technical specifications for Dell systems; obtain information and answers from an extensive database collected by Dell technicians, service providers, and customers; click on online links to Dells primary suppliers; and take three online courses on PC usage at no charge. The site enabled customers to select how they received online help, based on their comfort and experience with PC technology. The information available at this part of Dells Web site was particularly helpful to the internal help-desk groups at large companies. In late 1999, customer visits to support.Dell.com were running at a rate of 19 million per year. E-Support Dell had developed advanced technology called "E-SupportDirect from Dell" that helped Dell systems detect, diagnose, and resolve most of their own problems without the need for users to interact with Dells support personnel. The goal of Dells ESupport technology was to create computing environments where a PC would be able to maintain itself, thus moving support from a reactive process to a preventive one. Michael Dell saw E-Support as "the beginning of what we call self-healing systems that we think will be the future of online support."20 Dell expected that by the end of 2000 more than 50 percent of the customers needing technical help would use E-SupportDirect from

Dell. Management believed the service would shorten the time it took to fix glitches and problems, reduce the need for service calls, cut customer downtimes, and lower Dells tech-support costs. Dell Talk An online discussion group with 100,000 registered users, Dell Talk brought users and information technology (IT) professionals together to discuss common IT problems and issues. Ask Dudley The Ask Dudley tool gave customers instant answers to technical service and support questions. Customers typed in the question in their native language and clicked on "ask." The enhancements made to www.dell.com made it easier and faster for customers to do business with Dell by shrinking transaction and order fulfillment times, increasing accuracy, and providing more personalized content. On-Site Service Corporate customers paid Dell fees to provide support and on-site service. Dell generally contracted with third-party providers to make the necessary on-site service calls. Customers notified Dell when they had PC problems; such notices triggered two electronic dispatchesone to ship replacement parts from Dells factory to the customer sites and one to notify the contract service provider to prepare to make the needed repairs as soon as the parts arrived.21 Bad parts were returned to Dell for diagnosis of what went wrong and what could be done to see that the problems wouldnt happen again. Problems relating to faulty components or flawed components design were promptly passed along to the relevant supplier, who was expected to improve quality control procedures or redesign the component. Dells strategy was to manage the flow of information gleaned from customer service activities to improve product quality and reliability. On-Site Dell Support A number of Dells corporate accounts were large enough to justify dedicated on-site teams of Dell employees. Customers usually welcomed such teams, preferring to focus their time and energy on the core business rather than being distracted by PC purchasing and servicing issues. For example, Boeing, which had 100,000 Dell PCs, was served by a staff of 30 Dell employees who resided on-site at Boeing facilities and were intimately involved in

planning Boeings PC needs and configuring Boeings network. While Boeing had its own people working on what the companys best answers for using PCs were, there was close collaboration between Dell and Boeing personnel to understand Boeings needs in depth and to figure out the best solutions. Migration to New Technology Dell had opened facilities in both Europe and North America to assist its customers and independent software providers in migrating their systems and applications to Windows 2000, Intels new 64-bit Itanium computer chip technology, and other next-generation computing and Internet technologies. Dell was partnering with Intel, Microsoft, Computer Associates, and other prominent PC technology providers to help customers make more effective use of the Internet and the latest computing technologies. Dell, which used Intel microprocessors exclusively in its computers, had been a consistent proponent of standardized Intel-based platforms because it believed those platforms provided customers with the best total value and performance. Dell management considered both Intel and Microsoft as long-term strategic partners in mapping out its future. Customer Forums In addition to using its sales and support mechanisms to stay close to customers, Dell held regional forums to stimulate the flow of information back and forth with customers. The company formed "Platinum Councils," composed of its largest customers in the United States, Europe, Japan, and the Asia-Pacific area; regional meetings were held every six to nine months.22 In the larger regions, there were two meetingsone for chief information officers and one for technical personnel. As many as 100 customers and 100 Dell executives and representatives, including Michael Dell, attended the three-day meetings. At the meetings, Dells senior technologists shared their views on the direction of the latest technological developments, what the flow of technology really meant for customers, and Dells plans for introducing new and upgraded products over the next two years. There were also breakout sessions on such topics as how to manage the transition to Windows NT, how to manage the use of notebooks by people out in the field, and whether leasing was better than buying. Customers were provided opportunities to share information and learn from one another (many had similar problems) as well as exchange ideas with Dell personnel.o Dell found that the information gleaned from customers at these meetings assisted in forecasting demand for the companys products.

Questionnaire

Name : Age : Sex : Email : Contact : Education : Profession : Family Income : 1.In your most recent customer service experience, how did you contact the representative? o By Telephone o Through Internet/ Website o Through Dealers How did u make your last Dell purchase? o By Telephone o Through Internet/ Website o Through Dealers Would you purchase another product through the same means? o Yes o No If No, will you please like to share the reason? ............................................................................................................................................................ 2.About how long did it take to get this problem resolved?

o Immediate Resolution o Less than a day o Between 2 and 3 days o Between 3 and 5 days o More than a week o The problem is still not resolved 3.In thinking about your most recent experience with DELL, was the quality of customer service you received o Very Poor o Somewhat Unsatisfactory o About Average o Very Satisfactory o Superior

1.How long did you have to wait on call before a customer service representative began to help you? o Extremely long o Very long o Moderately long o Slightly long o Not at all long

2. How well did the customer service representatives listen to you? o Extremely well o Very well o Moderately well o Slightly well o Not at all well

Now please think about the features and benefits of the [DELL PRODUCT] itself. How satisfied are you with the [DELL PRODUCT]: o Very Poor o Somewhat Unsatisfactory o About Average o Very Satisfactory o Superior

How satisfied are you with [PRODUCT] regarding the following items?

Very Unsatisfied Overall quality Value Purchase experience Installation or first use experience Usage experience After purchase service (warranty, repair, customer service etc)

Unsatisfied

Neutral

Satisfied

Very Satisfied

Not Applicable

Will you use/purchase Dell PRODUCT again?

o Definitely will o Probably will o Might or might not o Probably will not o Definitely will not

How likely are you to recommend Dell PRODUCT to others? o Definitely will recommend o Probably will recommend o Not sure o Probably will not recommend o Definitely will not recommend o Never Used Based on your experience with Dell PRODUCT, how likely are you to buy Dell product again? o Very Unlikely o Unlikely o Somewhat Unlikely o Very Likely o Extremely Likely Over the next 12 months, how likely are you to replace your Dell product with another brand? o Certain o High chance o Equal chance o Low chance o Never

Why was the product purchased? o Purchased for self o Bought by someone else at my request

o Gift from someone else o Family purchase o Business purchase o Other How did the product's price compare to your expectations? o Poor o Fair o Good o Very Good o Excellent