My colleague Richard is out of the office today but it looks as though we’ll have to agree to disagree. There is no pervasive issue with the 9100. It’s proven to be a very stable system, and most are in service to this day.

First point: I would have to agree with Richard that it is untrue that hundreds of thousands of users are experiencing my problems. What I actually said was “…and he is certainly aware that these problems are being experienced by hundreds or thousands of other customers”

Second point: If it were not a “pervasive issue” it would not be discussed ad naseum to this day on such sites as this, the dell forums, the direct2dell blog and other well respected sites. Just today I found another site with posts as recent as this month from users suffering the same issues as I am, they are in the UK and you can read them at http://www.laptopshowcase.co.uk/reviews.php?id=72

Third point: A careful filtering of topics via keywords on the dell forums will certainly narrow down for RichardatDEll the many discussions and complaints regarding the 9100 and XPS Gen1 motherboard. And let’s be fair, the motherboard issue is not the only issue with this machine.

Fourth point: Motherboards in notebooks don’t fail across the industry if they have a cpu that is meant for a notebook. Dell understood the problems of putting a desktop cpu in there when they designed it.

Fifth point: Show me where I suggested you should manufacture new boards, I am unable to find a statement to that effect anywhere.

I have suggested all along you just replace this piece of junk with a computer you are confident won’t die a premature death.

Sixth point: Your statistics led me to a quote from Mark Twain which I will leave you to find… but here is a link to a BBC article on the topic of statistics. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1091350

Seventh point: In response to your quote “It is not referred to as an Edsel. One customer started a thread with that in the subject line.” I can only say that I’m not an English major but if that isn’t being “referred to” what is? In other words, what you have said makes no sense, it is right there on the forum, customers of dell, me included ARE referring to it as an Edsel.

Eighth point: I agree that many of the things you see in the threads may not be endemic to the 9100 but a few of them are. Anyone who has followed dells woes in the last while knows that a whole bunch of computers are having a whole bunch of problems and the commonality is that they are all in the Inspiron line.

I also agree that the forums (and the dell blog) are wonderful places and there are many helpful folks using them.

Lastly, I am always suspicous when people sign off as RichardatDELL or some such thing, and then sum up by saying “trust me”.

I trusted DELL when I recommended your company to my daughter for her first major purchase in life, that trust no longer exists, for me or her and your response above did it’s bit too to assist in that degeneration, sorry to say.

Thanks for the feedback and your comment.  First, I apologize that we
have not delivered the personal service that you expected. Dick Hunter
wishes he could answer every email he receives, pro and con….but it is
not humanly possible. I know you have chatted with folks in tech
support, as well as at the direct2dell blog.

We are making changes to do a better job of that and while we have a
ways to go, as Dick points out, we are changing.  We have initiated
things like Ideastorm, our direct2dell blog and other activities to
listen and get more involved with our customers.

Im sorry that you feel that we are not doing enough or that only an
executive conversation seems to matter.  Frankly, all of us here are
working to make a difference

In addition, I have personally checked with the product and forums group
on the specific issues you raise.  While true your motherboard on the
Inspiron 9100 required a replacement, it is absolutely false to suggest
that that there is a pervasive issue involving the 9100 or that hundreds
of thousands of customers are experiencing your issues.

Citing the number of issues on a chat forum that can range from software
applications or how to accomplish certain tasks, does not equate to
faulty products.  Lets be fair.

To be clear: motherboards fail.  It happens.  Across the industry.  We
continually work to improve quality and reduce failures to avoid this
kind of issue because it frustrates the customer and is costly to us.

However, motherboards are not perfect ….failure happens.  And, as you
unfortunately experienced, failure is more likely over time and outside
of warranty.

Its why we offered a 10% discount on a board from spares, even outside
of warranty.  I am not aware of everyone in the industry doing that for
its customers.

Just as a bit of information here to make this discussion fair and
informed:

- You suggested we should manufacture new boards for 3-4 year old
products.  I don’t believe that makes business sense for us or for our
customers

-  if we take six sigma quality statistics ( 99.9997% perfect) and apply
that to the Inspiron 9100 which we sold hundreds of thousands of, then 1
in 300 machines might have a fault leading to a couple hundred machines
with some sort of issue.  That is not a faulty product of the kind you
suggest.

- during warranty, hardware that is identified to have a fault is
replaced quickly and expeditiously by our support teams.

Neither the 9100, nor its sister, and XPS Gen 1 Portable is a
problematic system.
It is not referred to as an Edsel.  One customer started a thread with
that in the subject line.  However, the issues I have seen mentioned in
the threads are not endemic to the 9100.  In fact, a good number of the
threads are customers sharing tips with each other on how to get the
most out of technology….while at the same time helping each other with
“problems” or teaching each other how to accomplish things using the
machine.

Finally, to be very clear, the model was not pulled but was replaced by
the newer and upgraded I9200, as the 9100 came to end of its life cycle
in the business.

I hope that clarifies the situation and trust me….we understand that
any product difficulty, especially outside of warranty, is a pain…for
you and for us.  We continually work to improve quality on all fronts
and are sorry you had this experience.

Thanks for your comment.

I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been having trouble with Dell. They are watching the blogosphere (including this blog in particular) and I expect you will hear from them sooner than later.

I believe that your issue will be resolved – it just takes some time and getting in touch with the right person. As Dell improves, getting in touch with that right person should become easier and easier.

All I can say is that Dell does want to make things better – it’s just very hard to do.

Thank you again for your comment. I hope everything is resolved to your satisfaction as soon as possible.

And keep in mind he told the BBB that he wouldn’t call me himself because he wants it all “in writing”. Leaves me wondering why he didn’t email me to tell me that and instead tells the BBB that we are welcome to write him.

Well, I did write to him as he suggested but of course I have never heard from him since… business as usual at Dell and this despite all the rosy paint Mr. Hunter is applying.

I would challenge Dell executives to contact me (link at my website above) and actually HAVE a two way dialogue instead of the lies (yes I said lies and they are documented with times, dates, employee numbers etc)and the stonewalling I have had to date.

Dell has already had one successful class action filed against them for the Inspiron 5150 and others are pending so perhaps they have chosen to ignore me for fear of opening up another can of worms…

WE could solve this today if there was a two way dialogue between dell and I but so far it has all been a one way street.

Dick Hunter has touched on a few points, made a few minor mea culpa’s and although he claims to have turned things around since last September, us poor saps on the ground, who are stuck with a turkey which Dell knows is a turkey, are still experiencing business as usual at Dell.

The Inspiron 9100 is referred to as the “edsel” on the dell forums BTW, but at least Ford had the decency to withdraw it from the market. Too bad there aren’t forced recalls of computers which are faulty, instead of Dell hiding behind the “out of warranty” line. The Edsel’s were out of warranty too….

duffrey sigurdson