In a partial victory for consumers, Dell has stopped routing U.S. technical support calls for its OptiPlex desktop and Latitude laptop computers to India. Several research firms announced that Dell customers had complained about language problems and delays in escalating enquiries to senior technicians. Several highly critical messages posted on the Compu-KISS message boards confirmed these complaints. Although Dell did not respond directly to these messages, they did garner the attention of Dell’s upper level management who responded to me directly about the postings.

This is yet another confirmation that companies do act in response to customer complaints. This move by Dell affected mostly corporate customers who are the major owners of OptiPlex and Latitude computers. It is my understanding that most Dell owners of home computers will still be routed through India. So if you want to change that, you will have to continue to complain.

In a recent article entitled, Complaining Made Easy. I outlined the best methods for computer users to employ in their quest to get the attention of large computer manufacturers. Please feel free to use these techniques as we continue in to give both positive and negative feedback regarding the computers, software, and electronic devices that we purchase. We can make a difference.