Dell complaints

[BeatenDownDellEmployee]

Hello everyone, being this is my first post, I realize the drill and the ranking system here where I will be labeled a spammer. Anyway, I have finally decided to join this site after following it since October when the XPS layoffs happened in October. I work in Nashville and since then, everybody is nervous, and constantly asking each other if they have"heard anything". The rumors that are continually circualting are: they are going to be putting people in GTS on Action Plans and PIP's, and that Nashville will be all Sales as of a February - March time frame. Everybody has been dreading the end of the quarter. Yet all managers, when directly confronted say we are safe and they are ramping up tech support in Nashville. So far it seems they are pursuing ProSupport and TotalSolutions for GTS as planned, and it doesn't seem like they are going to get rid of them, but this may be the greatest illusion ever! I have even heard that they are beginning direct hire training for GTS in Nashville in February!!!! This is after firing XPS! Everything is soooo contradictory. Then, I read all the rumors and information on here regarding some of the other sites, yet nobody at the Nashville site, even in upper levels have confirmed any of these events either. Everything is so secretive. They say Nashville is an expensive site to run, yet it seems to not be going anywhere.... The hell and uncertainty we are experiencing in Nashville is causing people to get sick, call out, take vacations, and interview. In fact all of January's PBA and Vacation time slots were exhausted because of this. A lot of people are trapped because they cannot give up their salary or benefits compared to what is currently on the market in the Nashville area. Can anyone shed some light on Nashville?

[nashdell]

In another post I mentioned that in the last round of layoffs that the rules were changing minute by minute.
There was no master plan as Dell management is not piloted by intelligence and any form of ethics.
So last time around like always plans changed from hour to hour.
They call this "dealing with ambiguity".
You can see what their ambiguity is getting them as far as business is concerned.
You are also dealing with a large number of stressed people.
That in itself creates a number of problems that will manifest itself in all manner of problems including acute illness.
If we had a crystal ball and could look into the future I think you would just see more of the same.
No one wants to go through a crisis but with Dell it is not a matter of "IF" it becomes a matter of "WHEN"?
If you get past this crisis there will be another in a few months that will be just as bad or greater.
That is all part of working for Dell.
Even if someone has heard something today Dell management could call on the "soul of Dell" the demon otherwise known as "Ambiguity" and everything could change by nightfall!
This would be a change not based on business, logic, reason or ethics!
You could spend a lifetime attempting to figure out the move.
This could be a change that would cost the company millions of dollars!
It would still happen with a total lack of reason because it is happening at Dell!

In this day and time changing jobs is not an easy task for many.
Staying at Dell however is far more difficult and painful than dealing with the stresses of forced change.
I say this with respect for you and out of compassion; If they lay you off or fire you, you will be far better off without them.
You may have some lean times and some financial setbacks for a while until you recover. Once you recover you will be so much better off.
One thing is for sure you will be far wiser in this world and you will be able to spot the Dell's and the Enron type "vampire companies" before they drain the life out of you.
The Nashville tech market has been flooded and jobs have been hard for some folks to find.
You may have to take something temporary out of your line of work.
You may not find something in tech support but there are jobs out there that need your skill set!
Do not let your tech skills go! Study and upgrade certs and keep learning something new!
Keep and expand on what you have learned and what you know!
If you do this you will find a far better job with a great company!
Dell is not worth the stress you and your co-workers are going through.
Your peace of mind and family comes first.
Put them first and get out of Dell as soon as you can.
Regardless of what anyone says these are the only things that you are going to know for sure.
_________________
The E in Dell and the E in Enron point the same way!

http://bitsnbites.org/dellenron.htm

Michael Dell: "I think that you’ve got to look at the reputations of the people that you’re going to go work for and work with. And say, ‘Do I believe these people, do I trust them?"

[nashdell]

One more final thought.
If tech support people are needed for GTS, a reputable company would be calling back the XPS employees.
Many of them had certs and what about all their training and experience?
The majority of the XPS support folks were really good!
Dell will not call them back and here is why!
Dell gets local government money for each new hire!
Dell feels that a new employee costs them less than a seasoned one who may be earning a little more money!
Rather than work with trained seasoned people that provide the best customer experience, they want the short term money!
They do not have a clue as to how much this will cost them over the next few years as customers give up in disgust and go to a competitor.
A seasoned experienced tech support person is Dells only insurance policy for customers to return to them for more product.
Dell only sees the quick money and cares little about the customer or the former employee.
I believe Michael Dell feels he is above ethics and the law.
I believe Michael Dell has a very false sense of security and thinks he can get away with violating common sense.
I think Dell management thinks that the general public have a low mentality and will just put up with substandard support and products.
They feel that because they are Dell that the public will tolerate being lied to by sales and marketing personnel about the products.
They feel that the public will tolerate being sucked into high interest loans without realizing what they agreed to!

Think about this..

A seasoned experienced tech support person is Dells only insurance policy for customers to return to them for more product.

These are the last people that the customer deals with after being cheated and lied to.
If I were pulling off all this mess I would want my best on the back end of the deal!
Dell will continue to loose footing in the market place and their stock will continue to tank over the long haul!


Even if they don't lay off in February, If they are bringing in new hires for GTS does this only confirm all that has been said?
This should be a wake up call to the Governor of Tennessee and for the local folks in Nashville!
Dell is taking advantage of your community and hurting you people!
_________________
The E in Dell and the E in Enron point the same way!

http://bitsnbites.org/dellenron.htm

Michael Dell: "I think that you’ve got to look at the reputations of the people that you’re going to go work for and work with. And say, ‘Do I believe these people, do I trust them?"

[Tat2grl]

Well said nashdell! When I heard that the nashville site was hiring for GTS...Pro Support...or whatever the hell they want to call it now...my ire for the company rose to an all time high. Less than 6 months after giving excellant techs the boot, they turn around and hire for the same department that they cut into! And what's worse is that everyone (cue Darth Vader sounding voice) is new and unexperienced in the ways of Dell. (thank you Darth.) Techs are placed on PIP for various bogus and trumped up reasons and then shown the door because they couldn't cut the mustard. While its easy to say to drop your pants and run the hell out of there, its not so easy to do. There are mortgages and bills to pay and children to feed. I've considered my employment at Dell as a paycheck while I look for a better place to be. So for those still there, believe nothing management tells you, take your personal items home so you don't waste time packing them in a box, and have resumes already "out there".
_________________
"Senator! One more thing. LOVE your suit." - Hannibel Lecter

[OSRI]

[Painfully_Optimistic]

Sounds like Nashville and Ottawa have a lot in common. Also in regards to the XPS guys being laid off and them hiring new, I know Canada has laws stating that if the job reopens they have to legally call those people back. I guess because it's GTS and not XPS that would be their loophole (assuming Americans have a similar law).

As for them looking for reasons to throw people on PIPs, we just had a manager meeting and the info got passed down to us. Their making all the goals harder than they did last year, and Total Solutions is a metric. For the love of all that is holy, beware Total Solutions. They're telling us if we can't make 4 sales a week we're on a PIP.

Am I the only one who think it's completely unfair to ask Tech people with no sales training to get to many sales in a week or they lose their jobs?

[nashdell]

All of the problems that Dell has is quite primal. One of the reasons that the sales people fail and that Dell has lost so much ground to competitors is due to their lack of true marketing skills.
Years ago there was a very successful car salesman by the name of Joe Gerard. He broke world sales records working out of a Detroit dealership.
He wrote books and became world famous and made a lot of money.
People would stand in line to buy a car from Joe Gerard.
He did things drastically different than Dell in that all he sold was cars.
He had a man he passed the customer to for financing.
He had another guy that would sell extra undercoating but Joe stuck to cars.
He knew that if he were to be successful at car sales he could not be an expert in finance or warrantee sales as well.
Michael Dell started off with good ideas but when you get right down to it Dell is no longer his company and he knows it.
Dell became successful and outgrew common sense and any sense of business ethics chasing after greed and a quick buck!

Thomas Edison had hundreds of inventions that led us to electric lighting and from disk to now CD's and DVD's.
It took thousands of attempts for Edison to come up with the right material to make a light bulb filament.
But his secret was focus.
One thing at a time and do that one thing well and conquer it!

How the hell can someone train in sales and learn the art of selling if they are bogged down with an endless line of machines, printers, financing, leasing, software and peripherals, extended warrantees?

The answer is obvious to anyone with common sense and that is they can't.

To add insult to injury they are now expecting tech people who are problem solvers and troubleshooters (analytical thinkers) to enter into the area of sales.

Is is not clear why Dell is failing and is going to fall behind the competition and eventually fold?

Who are the morons who are coming up with this crap?
These are non professional people who have NEVER been successful with sales.

If a customer purchases Gold Tech Support he is expecting a certified tech not a Dell trained used car salesman!
Customers by the thousands are being stung purchasing parts that are not needed and it's just a matter of time!

One thing that "Rocket T" said and it is so true the general public are getting on to Dells story. There are still many out there that will make Dell purchases through ignorance but the tide is turning and it is a STRONG tide.

The folks who are pissed are REALLY pissed.
Folks who have been screwed over by a DFS deal are beyond vengeful.
Dell has set his company up to get run out of the neighborhood.
The moving van is parked in front of the house and the back door is open the dolly is on the ground.

If Dell would have specialized and had specific people trained to be experts in what they are doing they could have grown and had a good customer experience but the people at the top are unqualified to run the company so chaos and grab ass is the method of management.

There is no successful proven methods being implemented anywhere at Dell.

The idea that tech support people are now engaged in learning all the things that are needed to make sales instead of working with a sales counterpart as a team only shows the stupidity and ignorance on the part of Dell management and ownership.

It clearly demonstrates Dell's contempt for the customer.

With Dell it is the love of money and the customer is just the contemptuous bastard that they must fleece the money from.

Eventually Michael Dell will more than likely do prison time as there is no stopping his mindless greed machine.
He is breaking the law and in areas where is can he is staying inside the law but circumventing the intent of the law.
Dell will go down within the next five years and will be another computer name worse than Packard Bell.
_________________
The E in Dell and the E in Enron point the same way!

http://bitsnbites.org/dellenron.htm

Michael Dell: "I think that you’ve got to look at the reputations of the people that you’re going to go work for and work with. And say, ‘Do I believe these people, do I trust them?"

[thanks_for_all_the_fish]

[OSRI]

[incident_man]

It does seem to be the modus operandi lately: Raise the goals to ridiculous levels so that most can't meet the goal, put the "offenders" on a PIP to make them look incompetent, and then fire them. Voila! Layoffs without unemployment or "severance." Disposal of employees as easy as "1-2-3."
_________________
Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.

[keptman]

if disposal of an employee is easy, then tell me why Jerry Callis is still employed. and Tim Looney. it can't be that easy to get rid of employees. perhaps you need to be part of a special group, in this case, religious freak group. then they get scared to fire you. who am i to say. but as long as these two pieces of dead wood are still employed, something is wrong, something stinks.
_________________
former dell scapegoat

[incident_man]

Perhaps they have some "dirt" on someone higher-up there. DHell certainly has no shortage of scandals.
_________________
Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.

[Rocke_T_Sinetist]

When our layoffs happened (2001), the people they kept were the biggest hosebags, liars, bullshitters, brownnosers, do-nothings. You know, the ones who most closely match management philosophy.
_________________
Rocke T Sinetist
as in, 'it doesn't take a...'