Dells Reputation Tipping Point

All sorts of opinions are flying around about Dell's recall of over four million laptop computer batteries announced Monday. A quick scan of Dell laptops have burst into flames, events that clearly triggered the recall announcement. It's worth mentioning that the Sony may share the costs of Dell's recall. If I had a Dell laptop, I'd think twice about leaving it running unattended whether or not that laptop is on the list of models affected by the battery recall. And if I were in the market for a new laptop, this battery issue would add a big negative for Dell when I compare different brands and models. Anyway, they've announced the recall and have Dell Hell - just Google that and see what you get. Most recently, there is apologizing and offering refunds. Yet all these things leave a bad taste in your mouth. You start to wonder whether this really is a company you want to do business with. Or invest in. What Dell does now, and how it communicates what it's doing, could be a tipping point in salving the company's reputation. It could easily go the other way, too. good report its latest financial results in two days' time. More interesting, perhaps, will be the future earnings guidance they offer and what they say about their marketplace. What will be equally interesting about that earnings announcement will be the people who will write about it and blog it, either live or subsequently, whether they are bloggers or mainstream media journalists. What opinions will people form? What will they say in relation to the cake of reputation woes? And what will those opinions contribute to any reputation tipping point? For the record, I own a Dell desktop PC which I bought last year and with which I am extremely happy. I have had my own NevilleHobson.com blog which focuses on business communication and technology.

Neville is currentlly the VP of New Marketing at NevilleHobson.com