Simplify IT Ideas
Stop transfering or hanging up on tech support callers
Service and Support, Simplify IT submitted by jervis961
Aug 9
It seems that more and more people are having problems with Dell tech support transferring them all over the world or simply hanging up. Sure we have all read some post by a frustrated customer and thought they were exaggerating but this case is different. KETV in Omaha recently did a piece about a woman who tried to contact Dell tech support for a sticky keyboard during her warranty period. She was transferred overseas several times, hung up on and eventually had to take the computer to a repair shop.
http://www.ketv.com/news/17127523/detail.html?rss=oma&psp=news#
The repair shop tech contacted Dell as well and got the same treatment and during the process the screen died as well. Eventually (several days and hours on the phone later) Dell asked them to send in the computer for repair. When the computer was returned to the owner as "fixed" it was discovered that Dell had not fixed any of the issues.
Not only should Dell fix its support system but they need to help this lady out.
420
Dell should create a new tool for the next twebinar
Advertising and Marketing, Software, Simplify IT submitted by jervis961
Aug 14
Dell recently held a twebinar when they announced the new Latitude and Precision line up. People were able to view the event live via a video feed and ask questions on twitter simultaneously. While the new experience was great there is room for improvement. Post users had Twitter open in one window, the video stream in another and then the slides from the presentation would pop up in a third window. Dell should develop a new tool to bring it all together. The tool would have the video in one corner, your twitter account on the side and small versions of the slides than can be opened into a larger version if needed. I think this would help expand the experience for the next such event.
90
Automatic Power On/Off For Displays
Environment, Monitors and Displays, Simplify IT submitted by aikiwolfie
Aug 13
Back in the olden days when we all had 386/486 PCs we used to be able to run the display off of the PCs power supply. A nice benefit to this was automatic power on/off for the display when booting up and shutting down. Since PCs got hungry for more and more power this hasn't been possible because displays have been forced to run off a separate power supply.
As we all know, leaving a display switched on while it's not being used waists a lot of power. Even when it goes into standby mode. What I would like is a return to powering displays from the PCs PSU and better power saving features that can switch the display on or off rather than just going to standby mode.
90
Commenting
IdeaStorm, Simplify IT submitted by comprevolution
Aug 11
so this maybe more of just an inconvience for me. but when i'm looking threw ideas and i see one that i want to comment on, i find that there are two ways to get to the comments.
1. By clicking the name of the post
ex "no more plastic wrap"
2. By clicking the comments link
ex "27 comments"
But, when i click on option 1. it opens up in a new tab or _blank
when i click on option2, it opens up on the same tab or _self
now if i go with option 1, i can comment then close out the tab and be right were i was when i left off from the old tab, but if i choose option 2 after commenting i have to navigate back to new posts or popular posts and start all over. Can you please set it up so that both the title and the comments go to _blank.
thanks.
90
Optional detailed system manuals for a "plant a tree" fee.
Environment, Simplify IT submitted by kld3
Aug 17
This seems like a no brainer, I mean my DVD player includes a better paper manual than my Dell, but it would be really useful to have a detailed system manual to refer to when you have the machine open while upgrading components. Yes, I can always download and print parts of the manual online but I end up with a lot of loose pages I'm always losing (and having to reprint). Why not offer the option of including a detailed manual for the specific system? Use recycled materials and environmentally friendly ink. Also add a "plant a tree" fee to the cost of the manual. That way for every manual requested a whole tree is planted. Also give people the option of planting more than one tree.
50
Unattended drivers' installation
Simplify IT submitted by ccamacho
Aug 4
When an unattended full installation is done, using a RIS server, or a cd image created by nlite, a post installation process require the installation of drivers. Unfortunatelly drivers in the CD require user interaction and they cannot be installed silently.
It would be helpfull if we had an option of installing drivers on silent mode,
100
Low profile, solid state servers
Servers and Storage, Small Business, Simplify IT submitted by arbitraryconstant
Jul 6
We've had great success with lower profile servers internally and with clients. Some examples of OEMs that sell these machines:
http://www.soekris.com/
http://www.portwell.com/
There's a few key attributes that define these sorts of machines, and give them their advantages over more conventional entry servers, if an entry server doesn't cost much more:
-Cheap SSDs as the default storage (typically compact flash). If there's not much I/O, these are less of a maintenance headache than RAID. Hard drives are handy if they're optional.
-Lower overall system power. These machines use embedded or mobile CPUs for the most part, and this also leads to fewer fans (or none). This makes the system quiet, allows it to be deployed in poorly ventilated areas, reduces power usage in a rack, etc.
-Serial console in addition to VGA, since a display and keyboard aren't always convenient if the machine is in a closet somewhere (Linux can handle this). Many organizations are used to dealing with serial consoles on their switches, so this isn't that big a deal.
We've used systems like this as file servers, various things that don't virtualize well like busy DNS servers, firewalls, etc. The power available in lower power platforms has even expanded to the point where Windows servers aren't even a problem.
The big problem with Soekris and Portwell and OEMs like them are that they really leave you to your own resources in a lot of ways. The documentation is highly technical but doesn't cover OS support, and they don't offer fast turnaround support contracts or supported OSes and software. Ultimately this is worthwhile if you're using more than a few of the machines, but an OEM like Dell would be welcome because the support would be much better for shops too small to do the homework necessary to do support in-house.
180
Ubuntu Dells for Premier
Simplify IT submitted by erimar77
06/17/07
Please give the users of Dell Premier the option to purchase Ubuntu Dells.
As a buyer for an academic environment, I have the opportunity to purchase Ubuntu Dells only if they are available through the Premier site.
1500
Make it easier BUYING a system
Advertising and Marketing, Service and Support, Small Business, Simplify IT submitted by felix.schwarz
Jan 3
IMHO Dell looses sales every day due to an over-complicated order process (at least in the small business area). In the small business section you get an offer directly from Dell by phone and have "special" contact person who you should call directly. After you get the offer by email, you can't just order the offered configuration on the web but you have to call your contact person and confirm the order.
The problem is that your contact person may be not available (vacations, calls with other customers), business sales is not available 24/7 and you can not order by calling other Dell call center agents. At least this is the current situation in Germany.
A recent experience should illustrate the issue:
I administer some networks for small businesses (up to 20 employees) which do not employ a dedicated network admin. In December a client needed a new notebook so I asked Dell for a quote on a Latitude laptop (Friday, 28.12.) and got a quite interesting offer. I needed to check back with my client to talk about some minor equipment details. So I could not order on Friday, I called Dell again on Monday (31.12.) but my contact person was not available (vacation). The mailbox named another agent as temporary delegation. This one was not available too any more - at 12am on a normal work day.
I called the phone central but the agent told me - even after I insisted, that I just want to order and already have an offer from Dell - that no agent can accept the offer now and that I have to call again on Wednesday (2.1.). I stumbled as this is something that I expected in a small shop with 1 or 2 employees but not in a global corporation with thousands call center agents world wide...
The delay was especially problematic as the new notebook was needed ASAP (as always), in mid-January at the latest and my sales person told me, they could probably manage to ship it by the 15th of January if I order in December.
2. January: My sales person was still not available. The alternative one was busy, I spoke on her mailbox but got no call back on Wednesday.
Finally, I got a call back today (3.1.) by my sales contact but now Dell just needs too long to ship the product to the customer so I had to choose another supplier which costs about 20% more but ships in a few days! Dell lost a sale due to poor internal organization despite superior technical quality AND a lower price.
I suspect that no other call center agent was available to accept my order because Dell has an internal reward system on the basis of customer orders and they have an internal codex that no-one may take customers away from another Dell agent.
I suggest:
1. If a small business customer has an offer, make it possible to place the order 24/7 (at least in Germany, you can not do this right now). Sometimes I need to work on Saturdays or late in the night. Just provide a web page where I enter the offer number and the payment option.
2. Do support established payment options even if these are unknown in the US. In Germany, "Lastschrifteinzug" is widely used (works like a Credit Card but you give the seller your bank account number and the permission to get the money directly from your bank account) but is not offered by Dell.
3. Improve your shipping times (may apply only to Germany). I know, that Dell is built on the "Built-to-order" principle but customers really expect that *I* ship computers "just in time" for them, too. And they don't announce this a month in advance but only a few days, 2-3 weeks at the most. Mostly, they just need ordinary business computers, nothing special, just "Windows ready". Why does Dell not provide some computers which are pre-assembled, can't be configured in any way (maybe choose the monitor you like) but are shipped to the customer within 24/48/72 hours?
130
Dell Premier? Business
Simplify IT submitted by tleavit
06/11/07
What’s going on with Dell Premier?
My rep is pushing me to use it. She sent a few emails on it with login and such and told us that our discount is applied to our log in.
So I did a few tests. I bought a Latitude D630 last week from our rep for:
$1554.99
I logged into my "premier" account with our "discounts included" and the exact same laptop with all the exact same parts and services was:
$1967.00
This simply continues the extremely weird dell pricing that we get. My pricing with my specific rep seems like it is always pretty normalized. Odd some times and other times not. But pretty standard. If she’s on vacation and some other dude sends me a quote, its crazy like this price. Pretty much full web pricing that anyone can order at (as if we hadn’t spent $500,000 with Dell in the past 2 years).
Why would I use a web page to order my PC's and get charged $300 for doing the work myself???
100
Make complete hardware docs freely available
Simplify IT submitted by amesbury
07/04/07
One of the historical problems with Dell hardware is that hardware documentation isn't freely available. While the Linux crowd has made significant inroads into addressing this problem by incorporating binary, vendor-supplied drivers into their OS, this approach doesn't work universally for all distributions or, more importantly, for operating systems not recognized by vendors. In particular, I have a strong business need for systems which can run smoothly under FreeBSD, as it fits its role better than Linux (for our purposes; not interested in a "my OS is better than yours" war). The Dell PowerEdge 750 and PE1850 were the last PowerEdge systems I know of which worked flawlessly. In particular, they had Intel NICs and Adaptec RAID hardware, both of which were heavily documented and supported in the Open Source community. The PE860 and PE2950, unfortunately, have Broadcom NICs (in my experience not nearly as well supported and openly documented) and LSI RAID (a.k.a., the PERC 5/i, also not as well supported and openly documented).
Dell: *PLEASE* use your weight to encourage your suppliers to release documentation on their hardware products into the community! This would benefit *ALL* open source operating systems, and make your hardware products that much more attractive to those of us who frequently buy bare-metal systems from you.
410
Software readable power-meter in Dell computers.
Environment, New Product Ideas, Simplify IT submitted by jmxz
12/21/07
I'd really like a software readable power sensor inside Dell computers that could tell me things like "now drawing 350 Watts".
This would be useful for a number of things. - Environmental benefits - It can let me see how much benefit there is by telling my disks to spin down when idle; or by disabling 3D effects in my GUI. Based on those results I can decide whether or not they're worth using. Heck - even just seeing how much power it draws might make me want to power it down more.
- More reliable upgrades - It can show me if I have the power capacity to upgrade to some of the new graphics cards that consume very high power; or to add another hard drive to the 5 i already have.
- Reduced customer support costs - If someone does try to suck a bit more power from their power supply than it supports, it results in hard to diagnose intermittent failures.
It seems laptops have such sensors (in their batteries?). But so far I can't find similar for desktops. Extra points if the power sensors can isolate where the power's used (i.e. 100W for CPU, 300W for hard drives, 100W for graphics card, etc).
520
Create a customizable all in one network peripheral system.
Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), New Product Ideas, Simplify IT submitted by jervis961
Mar 31
Dell has made a fortune selling customizable computer systems, perhaps now is the time for them to revolutionize the peripheral market as well. Here's how they can do it.
Make a customizable product that has the ability to include all the network peripheral devices that people use in their homes.
options would include: cable or DSL modem, router (wired, wireless or both), VOIP, network storage, printer server and just about anything else they can think of. This would allow the customer to have 1 unit handle all these functions, eliminate wasted space and allow for easy upgrading with new modules when newer technology is released.
My closet is a mess of wires and equipment, Dell can you help me simplifyIT for my home? It could even be used to help your business customers.
80
Network Boot Over WAN and Software On-Demand
Servers and Storage, Software, Simplify IT submitted by hsuanyeh
Feb 28
++ Choose and subscribe your favorite OS (Linux/Windows).
++ Boot your PC (diskless) under the subscribed OS over WAN (wired/wirelss), the OS being installed in a Server on the Internet.
++ Subscribe Software Applications based on your demands, the Software Applications being installed in a Server on the Internet.
++ Run a subscribed Software Application on your PC under the booted OS, NOT on the Server, NOR over a browser.
++ Hibernate when powering off your PC.
++ Reboot only when OS is unrecoverably crashed.
++ Unsubscribe Software Applications when no longer in use.
++ Pay Software License fees only for actual usage or subscription.
++ Integrate the billing of Internet Service Provider with the billing of Software Licenses.
50
Provide a master network driver resource kit that can be loaded onto a USB drive
Simplify IT submitted by djtansey
May 20
The number one headache I have with reinstalling windows on Dell machines is that almost 100% of the time I have no network access until I reinstall the network driver from the resource CD. Since I am often working on multiple machines, it's hard to keep the CDs straight.
if there could be a resource kit made available with the drivers (or with some default driver) for networking, it would make IT jobs much easier. Once the network is up, the rest of the drivers can be done easy.
240
 feed for this view
|
|
