This whole Dell thing is just getting rather dull. Dwight takes a good swing at the issue. I also agree that the thinking on what Dell should do when confronted by bloggers and it's little crisis are lame - these are PR tactics reframed for the blogosphere. Same old same old.
Who would have thought the echo from a blogger would be so loud? Well, me for one. The problem is that the thinking on how to deal with this as an issue is to treat the blogger like some new breed of journalist. Wrong. The way to deal with this is to fix the very problem that created a pissed off customer. Dell is listening. Like HP is listening and IBM is listening. The issue is, who is doing... One old PR pro once gave me some wise counsel... all business problems are communications problems, but you can't fix communications problems without first addressing the business issue.
Dell built an incredible business on the back of incredible customer service. I worked as a consultant to Dell for many years. It was the customer service that pulled Dell through many a battle. Growth clearly comes with challenges. And if there is one thing I am certain of, within Dell, customer service will be undergoing scrutiny like never before. They understand that it all starts with the business, not the blogger...