Unless you have been living under a rock, you, like so many others, must be aware of just how lame retail computer manufacturer support has become over the years. Assuming you are able to find someone that understands the question at hand when a problem arises, you are still forced to dance around a jungle of irrelevant questions only to find out that they still are not able to fix their initial problem - hence the need for better support. Well, it looks as if Dell has finally heard the customers’ cries. Well, that was the idea, anyway…

Personally, I am very apprehensive about the very idea of allowing Dell reps to move around my PC via some unknown remote agent. It’s a nice idea for those who are comfortable in allowing a company with what I feel to be a disgusting record in the realm of tech support, rummaging around their PC.

Think about it. We are supposed to believe that people will be excited about turning over control of their PCs to complete strangers, trust that the “remote switch is off” once the repair has been made and then hope like mad that something else did not get screwed with because of a lack of tech support training? Give me a break!

Dell can blow sunshine up my backside with knee jerk offers of “cool new products” and other frivolous crap all it likes. A company is only as good as its repair shop, in my opinion. Back in my repair days, this certainly held true. And as far as I am concerned, I’d rather buy my PC from someone who can offer me service without reading mindless drivel off of some random queue card. As a customer, I would rather pay for someone with a clue. Yes, most people would rather pinch those pennies, but this is my rant, so bear with me here.

So there you have it. My take on Dell’s latest concept of remote help. Here’s a thought - care about your community? Maybe you’d like to see one less IT professional working for Burger King? Then buy local damn it, and own a superior computing appliance! Best of all, when you call for help, chances are you will be speaking to someone who actually cares since they are interested in maintaining your business. The indie PC repair guy may not be able to compete with Dell’s prices, but they can sure beat the living crap out of Dell’s offered “support.”

Have comments? Want to share feedback? Email me at matt@lockergnome.com. Note that, by clicking on that link, the subject defaults to “feedback.” Changing this subject will cause POPFile to quarantine your message and I will never see it - so please don’t!