Dell (not Michael) responds

When the Dell customer's problem covered in my previous posting came to my attention, I contacted Dell (the company) directly with some specific questions about this particular case and related Dell policies. Within a few hours, I received a reply from Anne Camden of Dell Corporate Communications. Here are her responses to my questions:

Q: Why wasn't this customer informed about the policy to take care of the problem within 3 years of purchase? Where was the disconnect?

A: Because of the direct model, Dell is able to identify the systems that might be impacted by this issue, which we did. We attempted to contact all customers who purchased systems that might be impacted via letters sent out around May 2007. We will investigate why this customer did not receive one.

Q: If these Dell customer service people didn't even know about the defect and the policy, is it fair to say customers were not adequately made aware of it?

A: We attempted to contact the customers who were potentially impacted via letter starting around May 2007, and information regarding the issue and how to identify potentially impacted systems was distributed in out tech support materials.  Based on this customer's experience we are going to "refresh" the information about this issue in our tech support materials, to ensure that reps are aware.  

Q: How many laptops has Dell had to fix or replace because of this issue?

A: Cannot comment on specific numbers, but do want to clarify that this issue is limited in scope. It could possibly impact a small number of Inspiron 9300s sold between Nov 2004 and Oct 2006, NOT every Inspiron 9300 sold during that time. When the issue does manifest, it tends to occur after 12 months of use. This problem was caused by a manufacturing issue that was corrected by an LCD supplier.

Q: Does Dell have a policy that governs how to address a customer service complaint when a problem arises within just a few days of the expiration of the warranty?

A: These are handled on a case by case basis. Ultimately we strive to deliver the best customer experience possible, which obviously did not occur in this case.

Q: When customers write directly to Michael Dell, can they expect him to see it and respond, or should they expect a response from someone else instead?

A: We have an executive escalations team that will follow up [with] customers who have contacted Dell executives directly. Their goal is to work with the customers to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

Q: Is this customer being contacted and helped?

A: Yes - we have contacted the customer and are replacing the LCD.