You may know Dell® as the company that delivered your computer you ordered online to your door in less than one week. As many will argue, and rightly so, Dell delivers computers on-time, at low cost, and with great sales support. Better yet, the computers from the company are excellent! Custom made, high quality, and you can't beat the price.
Given all you know about Dell, don't you think it would make sense for Dell to have a great web site? I mean, they have automated the entire process of making computers. Partners, vendors, and world-wide offices seems to be in sync. Why would you expect anything less from their web site?
Well, I did expect a good user experience when I first visited Dell... Boy, was I dissapointed! Dell's web site is one of the worst web sites I've ever used by a multinational company. At times, it is as if no single person was ever in charge of user experience.
Here's a few examples of login and/or error handling...
Copyright 1999-2004 Dell Inc.
What does this mean? What's not working? Is it my fault?
Copyright 1999-2004 Dell Inc.
What's wrong? Did I enter the wrong password? Wrong e-mail? Is it really a good idea to have me create another account?
First, when will large companies stop having their systems and technology dictate the user experience? One of the worst problems with Dell's site is that "it" - or Dell - never seems to know who you are - no matter how much information you provide. If you are trying to do something simple like contact Dell, the site may ask you for your invoice number, account number, pass word, user name, member ID, or any number of other items. Then, when you manage to "login," it's not at all unlikely that you'll get forwarded to a different site (different URL) and you'll have to provide the same information all over again.
Check out the web site from Dell Financial Services
Copyright 1999-2004 Dell Inc.
PS It may be worth noting that I'm already authenticated (logged in) to the web site, so the site should have a pretty good idea of who I am. Amazingly, the system now asks me to guess what information is not matching and fill in everything again. This could of course easily be fixed by highlighting the information that was incorrect.
Dell's web sites doesn't care about you or your time. If Dell cared, they would never ask users to log in 2 or 3 times. They would not ask you to identify yourself every time you want to contact someone. If they cared, Dell would never ask you to fill in a long form to send a simple message. These are the mistakes of a company that don't take user experience seriously.
I've talked to many people about Dell's web site and many have experienced the same problems. In the end, of course, you stop using the site. You may try the good old phone... big mistake!
Unfortunately, it seems as if the same team that designed Dell's web site designed the company's phone system. One can easily spend 1 hour on the phone with Dell - mostly with someone named "Jack" or "Kevin" in Banglore, India, constantly being put on hold, dropped, or forwarded to another division or department or group or - if you're really lucky: Dell Financial Services - which seems to be totally disconnected from anything Dell (expect from the name of course.)
During one recent call, I gave my customer number, account number, name, address, phone number, and my social security number three (3) times to three different people. In the end, no one could help me with my simple request and asked me to call a different number.
What's your experience with Dell?
Dell® is a registred trademark of the Dell Corporation.
