[Leica] Re:Dell Bashing

[reid at mejac.palo-alto.ca.us (Brian Reid)]

I was an employee of Compaq for a while, and one of my assignments was to do 
an evaluation of Dell products and services. One of my staff bought a Dell 
computer for her mother, and we monitored and analyzed every aspect of the 
relationship. We also did what many manufacturers do: bought Dell computers 
and tore them apart and studied what was there.

What I learned is that Dell had way better service than Compaq did at that 
time, and that Dell's manufacturing quality was as good as their price 
points would allow. In consumer price ranges, the reliability of all 
computers involves component quality and the QA process. From time to time 
there will be a design that is inherently unstable or unmanufacturable, and 
part of what QA must do is spot those designs quickly and pull them.

Dell dominated Compaq, in my opinion, because it was so much easier to deal 
with them and their customer service was so much better. (Also, of course, 
because they pioneered direct-to-consumer sales instead of selling through 
retailers.)

The computer market is too competitive for any brand that doesn't make 
quality products to survive. Even a good brand can have an occasional lemon. 
There is nothing wrong with Dell computers, but carefully hand-made 
computers are better. And a lot more expensive.