Since I blogged about some of what’s coming from a customer service perspective, I’ve received inquiries and questions from folks. And last week, I saw Ben Worthen’s post questioning the strategy behind our forthcoming premium services for home users. In a nutshell, I agree with the comment that Dell's Harjit Kaur left on Ben’s post.
It’s not about where folks are located. The point of the forthcoming service is that it’s a dedicated team of people who will provide support to all family members and the Dell products they own which are still under warranty. For families that call in for support more than average, having a centralized support team that can handle a variety of issues generally means less explanation of the issue and less transfers to other departments. The fact is that it is a different (and more expensive) service model than we’ve ever offered to all customers. That’s one of the reasons why we piloted it in New York first. It’s a new way of providing support that has proven to be effective. For many customers though, this service may be overkill. That’s why we’re making it an optional one.
In the future, we'll also have some new retail integration services for consumers. Those services will cover both Dell and other-branded components and devices. It will encompass things like TV installation, home theater setup, technology integration and more. In other words, making Dell systems work with all kinds of digital home devices. Maybe that means I won't have to program my Dad's all-in-one remote after all.
It's also worth noting that any customer worldwide can reach out to us on our sites like the Dell Community Forum, Direct2Dell and IdeaStorm, or they can also reach out to us in their own blogs, or other social media tools they use. In terms of social media, we make an effort to support customers based on where they are located. Lots more to talk about there soon.
Bottom line, as all of these services (and new service models) evolve, I'll make sure we share more information here and on other Dell blogs in the growing Direct2Dell family.