It is no secret that Dell is in a struggle to reclaim part of its market share in computer sales. To that end, Dell is expanding its Linux options for the buyer:

“BOSTON (Reuters) - Dell Inc will soon offer more personal computers that use the Linux operating system instead of Microsoft Corp’s Windows, said the founder of a company that offers Linux support services.

Mark Shuttleworth, who created a version of Linux software named Ubuntu, said Dell is happy with the demand it has seen for Linux PCs that were introduced in May.”

link: Dell to expand Linux PC offerings, partner says

For the general consumer, Linux is still venturing outside the comfort zone. Microsoft is an established brand name and the average consumer still will favor a Microsoft machine. There are, however, two points that I would tell Michael Dell, if I had the chance.

I had the opportunity to help out with a new Dell machine. It was fresh out of the box. The first glaring issue is that Dell works against itself. This new machine had a Microsoft operating system but it was loaded with so much ‘junk’ that the machine really was not optimized for performance. I realize that Dell gains revenue by putting these ‘extras’ onto their product. However, it detracts from their product and foists programs onto the consumer. This is not added value. Really, it is not and the consumer does not see it as such. Let the consumer select what goes on the machine. I understand that it may mean less revenue and, perhaps, an increase in the costs of the machine. The benefit to the consumer is that the initial experience with the Dell product is not frustration and buyer’s remorse. The word of mouth frustration does not help the sales figures. And believe me, people will tell their friends and family how frustrated (or how pleased) they were with their computer purchase.

The second issue is customer service. It is horrid. To develop customer loyalty and to stand out in the marketplace, have an efficient, knowledgeable customer service division. Even in the technological age, it still comes down to basics - keep the customer happy. It is not keeping the customer on hold and see what script to read off for this problem.

Go back to basics. Good value and excellent customer service still works.

Catherine Forsythe

[tags]dell, linux, microsoft, market share, performance, customer service, sales[/tags]