Comments on: Dell plant closure marks the end of an era

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:07:45 +0000

Dell is DEAD! There are no americans here anymore…dell will die a slow death..Mark my words!

By: Steven Hansen, Park Ridge, IL

Steven Hansen, Park Ridge, IL — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:57:18 +0000

As a follow up, I left a post on April 1 at 12:24am with me experience with Dell. Based on that Debbie from Dell left a post on April 1 at 6:25pm asking to reach out and try to solve any problems. I did contact her and explain my problems. Even after explaining the numerous problems I had with several of their computers, and making it clear that I had given up on Dell because of the difficulty I had with technical support. Debbie's response was that Dell was not going to fix the problem because I did not contact them when I should have. So I can only guess it was all my fault.

PERFECT! I will not ever buy another Dell.

By: John Purple Creek, Louisiana

John Purple Creek, Louisiana — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:06:19 +0000

I'd love to see Dell… or any tech company… buck the bottom-line trends and advertise service centers in North America… what would actually happen. After wrestling for years with poor connections, poorly trained Indian operators, etc, I'd gladly pay a premium to speak with someone who lives and in the USA.

By: Dave, Kellogg Idaho

Dave, Kellogg Idaho — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 01:32:05 +0000

DELL Computers are a piece of Junk. I have owned two of them and I would not own another. Dell has forgotten about Customer Service. Their response to customer problems are lousy and slow. Maybe the consumer will be lucky and DELL will shut all of it's plants.

By: Paul, Dallas, TX

Paul, Dallas, TX — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:30:09 +0000

The writer is uninformed in regards to Dell's domestic production plants, and that is inexcusable for someone who is supposed to be bringing us the news. The plant Dell closed in Austin was an old, ineffiecient facility that was being superceded by newer facilities in Nashville, and more recently the Winston-Salem area. It is not a secret that state and local authorities in NC gave Dell $279 in tax incentives to expand in the state (which recently sparked a lawsuit by a public advocacy group). In the meantime, Dell will make good use of the property the old palnt sits on – Dell has run out of room on their current Round Rock campus. Clearly this shows some smart planning on Dell's part, but when the author of this story writes "It’s how precipitously Dell has fallen", its shows the poor level of journalism Frobes has fallen to.

From Jon Fortt: First of all, you should read the Dell IR statement about the plant closure, which is cited in the article. It talks about the shift from laptops to desktops as a key reason for the plant shutdown. It's also no secret that Dell is pursuing more outsourcing (rather than doing its own manufacturing) to increase efficiencies. Finally, this is Fortune, not "Frobes."

By: Mike D, Huntington Beach, CA

Mike D, Huntington Beach, CA — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 02:46:52 +0000

Dell is responding to a few things:

Acer & HP are winning the notebook

war in the U.S. which is Dell's

key market. Acer is lower cost due to its ODM relationsips and extensive use of the indirect channel.

Consumer spending drove the economy these last few years which is not Dell's core market. They are changing this with their retail entry in U.S. However, consumer may hurt due to ailiing economy.

Dell didn't weaken HP's IPG unit (the bulk of HP profitability with its Lexmark relationship. Now that Dell is hitting the indirect and retail channels, this could eventually hurt HP if Dell builds its install base. Also, watch for Dell to enter the kios printer market that HP is targeting.

Emerging markets are growing faster than developed markets. Dell needs to figure out Asia and Europe. Look for acquisitions in Asia Pacific. Founder would be a good bet for Dell. They currently have a distribution relationship with VST (distributor) in China.

Asus is also coming into the U.S. market. They have incredible designs like Sony and Apple. In addition, they have their eePC that is targeting the sub-$500 notebook market / one laptop per child (OLPC). People tink OLPC is a emerging market phenom, this will also be big in the U.S.. Watch for Dell to penetrate this market as well with Linux and AMD.

Dell will continue investing in SaaS and managed services offerings. Watch for more acquisitions here. Dell will also begin to acquire resellers with competencies in the SMB market like CDW and Insight Direct. Dell is dilligently working on its indirect program. The bulk of HP's IPG unit is the indirect channel, if Dell can figure this out, watch out HP.

Dell may enter the set top box (STB) market in an effort to control the home. Cisco, Microsoft, and others are trying to figure this out. Watch for Dell to hit this market and develop service side relationships.

In the end, Dell is going to have to lower its cost structure to slug it out with HP and the Asian based OEMs.

Just my thoughts.

My best,

Mike

By: yet another steve, San Diego, CA

yet another steve, San Diego, CA — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:20:59 +0000

The analogy with fashion and clothes always seems silly and contrived.

But the analogy that works is: automobiles. An essential, high cost, technological product. Dell ruled the Model T commoditization phase. And like Ford, could not see that it was just a phase.

By: Steve, OKC, OK

Steve, OKC, OK — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:26:48 +0000

I hate laptops. I have one now that automatically selects anything under my mouse if I forget to move it off the side somewhere. I'm a programmer, and a hardware person, but still haven't found a way to shut this off. I hate laptops.

My home computer is a powerhouse, that I need to do the games and programming tasks that I require. I need a graphics card that does 3D, and audio card that does 3D, and a video display that will cause my synapses to fire uncontrollably.

I hate laptops.

By: Dave, San Ramon, CA

Dave, San Ramon, CA — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:45:21 +0000

I have purchased and supported thousands of computers from all the major manufactures over the past 20 years. Dell always has had a second-rate product with little to no R&D and innovation. They are following the same pattern I saw with Gateway & Packard Bell before that. Gone are the short-lived days of Dell having #1 share with their cheap tricks. Now they are back to #2 and it won't be long before they go down to #3 and #4 because HP, Acer and Apple continue to take Dell's market share.

Most of our Dells are in landfills somewhere or in our graveyard warehouse. Meanwhile, we still have many thousands of much older model HP's and Apples still running without a hardware problem. And don't get me started on Dell's lack of support in many other countries. I work for a company that does business in more than 100 countries.

By: Bo San Francisco, CA

Bo San Francisco, CA — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:35:00 +0000

@ John – Madison, WI

"what am I, stupid?"

Yes, it appears that you are stupid.

Remember — Don't ask a question you don't want answered.