A happy customer

Friday 17th of November. After looking for some months, I have decided to buy a laptop. This morning went to PC world to collect one and pay for it. Before getting to the customer service section, tried the same laptop which was exhibited..and did not like it. Did not feel right.

Escaped from there and came back to my office, and went onto the Internet. Had been browsing through the Dell's website (www.dell.co.uk). Wanted a laptop for home which could also bring to the office when needed.

After using their Dell's online shopping system (which allows you to configure some things from your desired laptop), I paid with my debit card. Felt very relieved to be honest, like having made a good purchase. Not that I am selling Dell here, but I felt I had invested the money well.

Nov 17th. I then printed a receipt and got a confirmation by email. The order specifies the type of payment (up front), the items being purchased (with quantities) and the guarantee conditions. Terms and conditions of sale came in a separate electronic file (what we can call the small print).

They also sent and acknowledgement of my order via email, giving a number and inviting me to track the delivery of my laptop. Estimated delivery was seven (7) days. To calm my anxiety, they suggested to look at www.dell.co.uk/orderstatus to see the progress of my order.

On Monday the 20th of November, I went on the Internet again to see how the Dell guys were doing (out of curiosity to trace the status of my order at www.dell.co.uk/orderstatus). To my surprise, they had already pre-produced, produced, prepared and delivered the laptop. Initially they said that it could take up to seven (7) days, but it appeared that they were going to do this quicker. I got excited!

So it happened. Dell's status tracking system had a link to another company (Walsh Western), who also allowed me to see the progress in the delivery.

From the 20th to the 23rd of November, I could see the progress in the delivery (the different stages of arrival and departure of my 5Kg box, it even went to Coventry from Ireland before coming to Hull!). The delivery company had scheduled the delivery for the 23rd. I phoned Dell to re-arrange a new delivery. They said to me:" The delivery company will deliver on the 23rd anyway, we have re-arranged the delivery for the 24th if you are not there". Interesting...

Finally, on the 23rd of November at 8:18am (also verified by Welsh Western's system), I got my delivery. This picture was taken by my wife before we opened the box. I had to phone Dell on the day to check the computer had the right components . In principle, it appeared it did not (disk of 120GB required), but finally I got advise from Dell's technical support in India (it was 120GB). Yes, India! The guys who answered my telephone queries were there.

So a happy ending for a happy customer. Lots of information resources on the way, some of them on the internet (shopping, production and delivery), some others elsewhere (reachable by phone to rearrange delivery or ask technical queries). Perhaps a bit more of care for the customer so we get a more integrated idea of the flow of information, and a friendlier outlook of the information systems can help making customers like me even happier!