Dell Needs To Explain Why It Will Never Happen Again

[Ted] If you ask me, Dell has done a great job in handling the burning battery problem. Just as Johnson & Johnson did with Tylenol, Dell chose to step up and accept responsibility. Sure, we could argue whether they should have done it sooner or how it could have gone on for so long, but the fact that they did it all -- AT THIS SCALE -- is responsible behavior. The payoff for Dell's mea culpa will be stronger brand trust (which is already among the highest of any tech brand -- Dell's trust score of 4.3 falls behind only Bose, Apple, and ironically, Sony's).

HOWEVER . . .

Dell has not yet completed its responsibility to consumers and enterprises. It has not yet asked a senior executive like Michael Dell or Kevin Rollins to stand up and explain why this happened and what steps Dell is taking to ensure that IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN. Consumers and CIOs alike must be able to answer the question: Will I trust Dell for my next PC? And without a clear communication of what caused the problem and what concrete actions Dell is taking to prevent it happening in the future, potential buyers will be left to decide for themselves whether Dell products are too risky to bet on.

If I were Michael Dell, here is what I would do:

1. Explain how -- exactly how -- this happened. Was it poor engineering? A lack of understanding of the typical notebook operating environment? Poor communication with Sony?
2. Bring in Sony CEO Howard Stringer to explain Sony's role -- and remediation -- in this fiasco.
3. Explain what -- exactly what -- Dell will do differently to ensure that this doesn't happen in the future: process changes, quality control changes, supplier management changes, testing changes, etc.
4. Provide regular updates to customers on the progress towards those changes.

Disagree? Lemme know.

[signed] Ted

Technorati Tags: Forrester, Dell, Sony

Comments

[Peter Kim]

Dell has taken some strong steps forward in its corporate blog (http://www.direct2dell.com/) to address the issue. But you're right - when you have the biggest electronics recall in history, more communication needs to focus on assuring customers that the issues are fixed going forward.

[Ken Kasman]

As a Dell employee, I can assure you that Dell has gone to great lengths to proactively provide information to customers, using Dell.com and the Dell blog to accelerate speed and reach. More information on how Dell has been working with customers on this recall is available at the Dell blog: http://www.direct2dell.com/.

The safety of our customers is our #1 priority. This is why we decided to take the lead and work with U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to do the recall. We’ve been applauded by our customers, third-parties and industry organizations - including the National Association of State Fire Marshals (see http://www.firemarshals.org/docs/Dean_to_WSJ_8.15.06pdf.pdf) - for taking this action.

However it is unrealistic to expect a company to say that it will never recall a product again – would you ask the same of auto manufacturers or other industries? What we can do is extend our commitment to providing the highest quality products to our customers.