Did Dell missstep in marketing it's new tech support service? Dell, the nation's leading retailer of computers, annouced this week that they will offer tech support by "American" based technicians, if you're willing to pay $13 a month for the service or $99 per year if you purchase a new Dell computer. If you're willing to talk to someone from India, the Phillipines or somewhere else overseas, tech support is free.
Responses to Dell's new policy that I've heard or read have not been good. They've either been along the "l should never have to pay for good tech support" to "they're catering to racism and fears." I personally would never pay for tech support. I have talked to Dell tech support that I'm pretty sure was from India and my service was fine. But, I think if Dell was going to do this, they could have handled it better.
Maybe it's because I live in Detroit where the "buy American" sentiment is probably about the strongest in the country - due to the big three automakers being such a big part of our economy. But, it seems that instead of just putting it out there as an alternative for those who are put off by foriegn accents, they could have played off the whole "buy American" idea. Afterall, our economy is hurting and so many jobs are going overseas. The trouble of the car makers is national news. I think if Dell had marketed this as a way to help the economy and keep Americans working, more people would have looked at this as a more positive thing. I might consider paying extra to keep Americans employeed rather than as a way to not have to listen to an accent. What about you? How do you feel about Dell's new policy? Would a buy American message have been more positive to you?
Mike McClure, ECD
Mike, I agree with your "buy American" marketing suggestion, however any way you slice it it sounds like they're implying that the American-based tech support is better than what you'll get overseas - or why else would you have to pay for it. Better yet, why would they offer or imply inferior service for free. American or otherwise, or paid, free, they should be promoting class-leading tech support and service across the board. Instead they've drawn negative attention that could hurt the brand. I say misstep!
Posted by: Russ Tate | December 31, 2008 at 12:23 AM
Yes, Russ, I think it was a misstep all the way around.
Posted by: Mike McClure | January 02, 2009 at 09:45 AM
What they should of done is just started doing a "DellCare" (like AppleCare) to position it as a premium, enhanced service with extra features - and oh, by the way, the support is American. The "Buy American" sentiment works great as a sidenote/sideline but poorly to the majority as a the front-and-center lead outside of Detroit as the rest of the country does not care anywhere near as much.
Posted by: twitter.com/digitalvision | September 16, 2009 at 04:11 PM
Thanks Jeremiah. I do think positioning it as a premium would be a better way to go.
Posted by: Mike McClure | September 17, 2009 at 11:43 AM