Dell Is Indeed Turning Around

Last Thursday, I wrote an article called What The Dell (DELL) Is Wrong In Round Rock? referring to the city where Dell is headquartered. The article is here.

I was surprised to receive two friendly notes in response: one from Dawn Lacallade at Dell's IdeaStorm.com site which was created for the express purpose of gathering ideas from customers, and one from Richard at the Direct2Dell.com public relations blog.

Dawn agreed that the pace of innovation has been too slow, but said the company is hard at work changing that. She then pointed me to two exciting products that prove what Dell can do:

• The Dell Crystal Monitor: A 22-inch widescreen flat panel display made of ultra-clear tempered glass, with a 1680 x 1050 high-definition resolution and a 98% color gamut to reveal more shades and tones. It won the highest design honor at the Consumer Electronics Show, the CES Best of Innovations 2008. See it here.
• The XPS One: An all-in-one computer similar to the iMac, but Windows-based. It features an elegant display with built-in 2-megapixel webcam, integrated Hi-Def sound system, wireless keyboard and mouse, a smoked glass display base, a finished back, and a clean one-cord wire consolidation. See it here.

Richard wrote that Dell is "a work in progress" and pointed out, "This is not a short-term fix and we are not in a short-term game."

He clarified that the Vostro line of notebooks is not supposed to compete with the MacBook Air, but is a gutsy alternative for small businesses that want power and speed in a little package.

He referred me to a review at Laptop Magazine that awarded the Dell XPS M1330 its Editors' Choice designation and said it's "a remarkable notebook for a very reasonable price."

The review concludes: "So let's review: top-notch screen, keyboard, performance, design, portability, and features, all for under $2,000. Sure, it's not as thin as the MacBook Air or ThinkPad X300, but the XPS M1330 has more features than the former and a much lower price than the latter. This is the ultimate sweet-spot notebook for consumers."

See the full review here.

This experience impressed me in two ways.

First, that two Dell employees took the time to compose thoughtful, polite replies to what was a fairly pointed critique from me. Both Dawn and Richard seemed proud of their company's accomplishments. Such dedication to company success and attention to customer satisfaction is important.

Second, that the products they showcased in Dell's defense are worthy. I particularly love the Crystal Monitor and would enjoy seeing it on my desk. That qualifies as a kind of product lust, I suppose.

This experience, combined with my recent experience of finding Dell to be the best choice for a family member's new notebook, makes me think that however slowly it's happening, Dell is indeed turning around.

Thanks to Dawn and Richard for taking the time to write!

Disclosure: The Kelly Letter owns shares of Dell.

Comments

[User 126618:]

Good to see they are turning it around..altho worrisome to see that they seem to be using Apple's successful products as their design model. I guess it's a start....

2008 May 12 10:40 AM

[RichardatDELL:]

Hi Jason

Thanks for keeping an open mind and for sharing "the other side of the story" :-). We are hard at work and getting better all the time...not perfect, but listening, engaging and moving ahead. As you know, no company follows a perfectly linear path of growth, so we are growing and improving as we work around the curves in the road. We appreciate your feedback and perspective too.

2008 May 12 11:13 AM

[Stesser:]

That doesn't change anything, The products are a commodity and the margins are razor thin. That will not add anything substantial to the bottom line which is what really counts. Dell has no real advantage in the enterprise market reselling EMC and Quantum products and relying on them for innovations. Services is where the growth is (look at IBM) and although Dell has seen some growth in this area, HP and IBM still have enormous advantages over them. Dell has also lost its number one advantage which was their top selling point to all customers, eliminating the middle man, the direct advantage. All that with an exodus of key personnel due to internal discontent puts the company at a disadvantage.

2008 May 12 11:22 AM

[Archman Inv...:]

I just happened upon this article today.

To think that anyone even wants to own Dell stock is comical.

The share price is exactly where it was 10 years ago.

I am sorry guys but this is a stock from the previous 2 decade bull market. It is a stock that was reflective of a time when the general public did not have a computer, then starting in the very late 80's, through the 1990's and ending in the 90's, everyone had one. Replacement cycle is not longer a reason to own this stock. The stock had it's time and there is not rationalizing it.

The company itself may be a good company, but as an investment, the stock is, and has been finished, for years now.

2008 May 12 05:47 PM

[jchryss:]

they are too little and too late. Don't try and catch Apple. Leapfrog Apple or go home

2008 May 12 09:05 PM

[Dell Customer:]

I have seen great improvement in Dell Support over the last couple of years. They are way ahead of HP when it comes to Server support. I agree that hardware is becoming a comodity and that Services and Support are the main criteria for chosing IT vendor - That is why I am a Dell Pro Support customer and I am not about to change that!

Apple is a great product but not really applicable for my organization (we're not ready to pay the high premium for a product, just because it's compatible with our iPod) :)

2008 May 13 02:07 PM

[njineer:]

Dell sealed their own fate. I read all about the horror stories of Dell support and the problems people had. Service is the differentiator. I chose HP because of my previous pleasant experience with their customer service / technical support team. With Dell, after the sale, it's "goodbye charlie". The products are all manufactured at the same Taiwanese subcontractors using similar, if not the same components - again, the only differentiator for your average user is the after sales service.

2008 May 13 02:42 PM

[Dell Customer:]

The problem for Dell right now is that people keep bringing up old examples of support concerns... Yes, Dell had problems about 5 years ago, but much has happened since... Dell Support has been completely revamped and has really impressed me the last couple of years!!

2008 May 13 04:23 PM