Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<I don't have a problem with Disney making money but WDW just keeps cutting to see how far they can get away with it before people start complaining.>> In one very simple sentence you nailed the exact methodology to how WDW execs (and the very wealthy consultants they are in bed with) run the place.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "But when you say 'DL's is better' you just come off like a whiney fanboy and they dismiss you quickly." Which, if you knew anythng about me, and you don't, I'm not. We gave our opinions on IASW in response to a survey when stopped near the gates.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>In one very simple sentence you nailed the exact methodology to how WDW execs (and the very wealthy consultants they are in bed with) run the place.<< This is how corporate America works (unfortunately) in general. Commitment to excellence is almost dead. Its much easier to de-content products and services until customers complain (this is why Dell is quickly losing marketshare to its competition)
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Which, if you knew anythng about me, and you don't, I'm not.>> Take a deep breath SPP, I wasn't accusing you of anything. I was saying what Disney thought of that type of feeback ... and it is what they think. <<We gave our opinions on IASW in response to a survey when stopped near the gates.>> You didn't say that. It appeared as if you had said that when you wrote to Disney. But still, I stand by what I wrote. Disney doesn't care that you like DL's better. I do ... and DLP's too. But if you complain about the way the attraction is maintained or how clean it is, those things Disney will take more seriously.
Originally Posted By Labuda "Its much easier to de-content products and services until customers complain (this is why Dell is quickly losing marketshare to its competition)" Yeah, that's why we've jut recently committed $100 MILLION to improving the customer experience. And why we're moving more tech support for US customers to techs who are native speakers of the language. Yep, yep. Also, I'd HARDLY say we're "quickly losing marketshare."
Originally Posted By fkurucz From what I hear HP, Apple et al have taken a pretty decent bite out of of Dell's market share. Dell isn't even #1 anymore. BTW, my daughter's Dell laptop caught fire 2 weeks after the warranty expired (meaning she's up the creek without a paddle). You guys have some serious quality issues.
Originally Posted By Labuda Regardless of warranty state, your daughter should be able to get the machine replaced if it caught fire since that is a safety issue. Escalate if you get a person on the phone with no clue, but don't complain here instead of calling Dell about it. Also, I'd supect your daughter should have paid attention to the recent (sometime in the last year or so) recall if her laptop if it has since caught fire. And, we do NOT have "serious quality issues" - if and when we find out about issues, we do either proactive field replacmenets or recalls, depending on what the situation warrants. Unlike some other companies, we've not been the subject of a class action suit due to quality issues. And, if you happen to read a press release of Dell's that is posted at <a href="http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/pressoffice/en/2006/2006_11_21_rr_001?c=us&l=en&s=corp" target="_blank">http://www.dell.com/content/to pics/global.aspx/corp/pressoffice/en/2006/2006_11_21_rr_001?c=us&l=en&s=corp</a>, you'll find this information: Summary of Third Quarter Results In the quarter, the company achieved a better balance of liquidity, profitability and growth, which was driven by an improved mix of products worldwide. In addition, the company continued to focus its actions to strengthen product lines, particularly in the enterprise, improve customer experience, and accelerate growth outside the U.S. Desktop to Data Center; Broadest Product Portfolio in Dell’s History Dell began shipping two new PowerEdge servers featuring AMD Opteron processors, providing customers an additional choice for high-performance two-socket and four-socket systems. The company also launched the industry’s first standards-based Quad-Core processors for two-socket blade, rack and tower servers. Combined with the 9G servers launched last quarter with Intel Xeon 5100 series processors, Dell now provides the broadest selection of industry-standard servers in its history. In the quarter, server revenue was $1.5 billion on 12 percent unit growth. In storage, revenue was $577 million and the company announced a five-year extension to its partnership with EMC. In client systems, the company launched quad core processors on its XPS 710 Extreme desktop as well as on Dell Precision workstations. In addition, the company launched its 64-bit dual core Dimension and Optiplex systems, and Dell Latitude and Inspiron notebooks featuring AMD processors. Mobility revenue was $3.9 billion on 17 percent unit growth. Desktop revenue was $4.7 billion on negative 5 percent unit growth. In both cases, growth was impacted by the company’s decision to focus on more profitable products. In software and peripherals, revenue was $2.3 billion. Enhanced services revenue was $1.4 billion. The company’s new Platinum Plus offering drove an increase in premium service contracts year-over-year and the company now has more than 300 Platinum Plus customers. Strong Unit Growth in APJ and Emerging Markets In the Asia-Pacific and Japan region, revenue was $1.9 billion on unit growth of 23 percent, as the company gained 1.4 share points year-over-year. Led by 33 percent unit growth in China, Dell was also the fastest growing among the top five vendors in the region, growing at nearly three times the growth rate of the industry. In India, units were up 93 percent and to more efficiently serve the growth in this market, Dell plans to open manufacturing operations there early next year. In Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), where the company took a more balanced approach to pricing, revenue was $3.3 billion with unit growth of 9 percent. Dell also recently announced its second manufacturing location for EMEA to be located in Lodz, Poland, to provide more timely delivery to customers in Central and Eastern Europe. In the Americas, revenue was $9.2 billion on unit growth of negative 4 percent. Unit growth was 37 percent in Brazil and 19 percent in Canada. Customer Experience Improvement Led by "Resolve in One" As previously announced the company is investing an incremental $150 million this year on its Customer Experience initiatives and is seeing signs of improvement in key external and internal indicators. By increasing the number of agents, average hold times for U.S. customers have been reduced from nine minutes to three minutes in the past year. In addition, the company has reduced call transfers by over 30 percent and has improved first contact resolution rates by 20 percent. “Resolve in One†reflects Dell’s goal to resolve issues to a customer’s satisfaction on initial contact. Hardly the makings of a company that is floundering and has "serious issues", esopecially with the follwing bit of information at the top of that press release, discussing Dell's monetary situation: Dell reported preliminary results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2007, with revenue of $14.4 billion, operating income of $824 million, and earnings per share of $0.30. Dell ended the quarter with $11.6 billion in cash and investments. Commercial paper outstanding at the end of the quarter totaled $236 million. The company suspended its share repurchase program in mid-September and, therefore, only spent $335 million to repurchase 15 million shares.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>Regardless of warranty state, your daughter should be able to get the machine replaced if it caught fire since that is a safety issue. Escalate if you get a person on the phone with no clue, but don't complain here instead of calling Dell about it.<< If you could provide a phone # to call I would appreciate it. I tried the Dell website and it directed me to the pay for support line (since the warranty was expired).
Originally Posted By danyoung >And why we're moving more tech support for US customers to techs who are native speakers of the language.< Labuda, you couldn't have said anything that would make me more happy than this. I'm a longtime Dell customer, and even though my opinion is probably politically incorrect, it's really really frustrating to try to communicate with Sanjeep the tech who has very basic tech skills and even less English skills. I just don't think it's too much to ask that a tech support person speak the same language as me!
Originally Posted By vbdad55 ^^^^^^^^^^^ All I can say is don't assume all high tech companies are doing this...they're not trust me. Ann, if Dell is really doing this I applaud them... In the meantime more and more companies are moving their order departments / contract departments and accounts receivables off shore ....in droves. And you have to trust me on this one too as I have first hand knowledge...so Dan if you get a tech that speaks English as a first language - be very happy, and even happier if the person you talk to regarding your service contract or paying your bill also speaks English first....it will be getting rarer. 10 million white collar jobs in 8 years adds up
Originally Posted By jazzfan4 Well I know the Dell tech's are US folks because my son Robert is now working for Teleperformance on the Dell account out of Clearfield Utah, he has had quite a few people comment that he is in the US, of course if you want to talk to an Indian (EAST) he'll be glad to fake it.
Originally Posted By jazzfan4 And now back to the DL/WDW Christmas topic, I put my grades in my trip report and it agrees with the notion that you don't pay extra for the far better Christmas at DL. I gave the travelers the option of park hopping or the Christmas Party. We chose the party and for us the party could have been much better. Crowds and weather where the major detractions, and no trains for me!!!
Originally Posted By Socrates I've just finished reading this thread, and I must say I'm getting quite a disconnect: - Many of us (including me; I've been to two of these in my lifetime) agree that these special parties don't provide a good value, but - The party bayrr326 went to was too crowded! Did I get this right? Socrates "The unexamined life is not worth living."
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Most every party is crowded. Disney milks this event for all they got and made the situation more unbearable by selling more tickets per night, when compared to previous years.
Originally Posted By Socrates Then I guess we're going to have these for quite a while. Socrates "The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."
Originally Posted By Labuda 800-822-8965 is a good # to use, fkurucz. And if anyone denies her, escalate, escalate, escalate! If all else fails, my email is in my profile. Email me her service tag and a phone # she can be reached at and I can open an escalation.
Originally Posted By fkurucz ^^^Great news! Dell is replacing my daughter's laptop! I take back all the negative things I said about Dell.
