The Computer Buzz

October 22nd, 2009

Nome and Paul Van Middlesworth - owners - The Computer Factory
 

Why Dell Stinks

In 1981 IBM introduced the first “IBM PC,” the 5140, and the revolution began. Within three years IBM’s share of the market it had created had shrunk to less than 50%. American companies like Dell, Compaq and Gateway came out of nowhere to make America the leader in personal computer manufacturing and technology. Their products, technology and support were the best and America’s love affair with its home grown computer industry flourished.

In the late eighties and early nineties Asian and European based manufacturers began to compete for American consumers PC business. Low cost American producers like “Packard Bell” sprung up to compete with these imports but Dell, Gateway, and Compaq continued to maintain high levels of product quality and customer service. In 1995 another American company, HP, becomes a major player in the home PC business.

In the new millennium America’s PC pioneers come under increasing pressure from foreign competition. Asian companies flooded America with low cost PCs. Multinationals like HP were able to take advantage of lower offshore manufacturing costs but American companies were hard pressed to compete. Packard Bell went belly-up, Gateway was forced to merge with Korean PC maker e-Machine and HP rescued Compaq by buying the company.

Dell remained independent but began a long and tortuous process of getting out of America. Trusting the manufacture and service of consumer products to low cost overseas, third party contractors has allowed Dell to stay alive.

As a group, home and small business PC users are relatively clueless. They’ve been slow to recognize the steady deterioration in the quality and service of Dell PCs. Commercial users however, are keenly aware of product quality and service levels. Two years ago Dell was force to abandon its overseas (India) tech services telephone tech service for business users and provide US based tech service. For commercial PC products Dell had long maintained its own assembly US operations oversee the quality these products. Last year Dell closed its Texas assembly plant and last month Dell announced the closing of its other assembly operation, the four-year-old South Carolina assembly plant. Dell has given up.

Now virtually all American PCs are designed manufactured and serviced by non-American companies. Every day we see the results of Dell, Compaq, HP, Gateway and the other’s lack of concern for quality, reliability and service.

Their puny power supplies, second rate motherboards, low end hard drives, insufficient memory and cheap hardware keep us hopping. Perhaps we should be grateful for all the business they bring us but it is disappointing to see how these once great American manufacturing companies have become nothing but marketing toadies for cheesy Asian garbage.

Perhaps our own lawyers and legislators have made it too costly to manufacture products here in America but is that an excuse for the leaders of what’s left of our industry to feed us crap and smile about it? I guess maybe so. It seems to be happening everywhere.