Dell shuttering mall kiosks?
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Jan 30th 2008 3:06AM
posted Jan 30th 2008 3:06AM
Read -- Dell Ottawa closures
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The kiosks are completely redundant. Theres one in my mall thats totally empty, and a Best Buy across the street that does more Dell business in a week then they do in a year. Nobody wants to shop at a Kiosk because they don't even carry stock, they just order online like you already could from home.
I totally agree. The only purpose my local Dell kiosks have is to give Dell an excuse to charge me tax for ordering their 24" LCD from across the country.
Okay, so I was able to get the kiosk guy to knock $25 bucks off an order of $500 or more, but it's still basically just ordering online in a public place.
Oh great. This frees up a kiosk for another phone service, hand cream, toy helicopter sales person.
unfortunatly you don't have a clue what the kiosk do as far as business. I was a manager at a kiosk and although I am not thrilled about their decision I do know what kind of dollars they do and that they were extremely helpful to the consumer. In closing for the geeks of the world that know exactly what they want in a computer the kiosks weren't as important, but for the people who needed a good computer with more power than the ones offered at the retail locations the kiosk was a highly useful tool.
It's not a wonder. Looking at some big electronics at a kiosk, doesn't feel as satisfying as going to a real store. Usually any kiosk with electronics brings up thoughts of "junk". Usually little gadgets and doodads. And it's not like the Dell kiosks were that interesting.
If they open a store, and have interesting items and a crowd pleaser, then I might be interested.
dude, you're getting laid off.
Dang, if they close their kiosks, where will people submit there subpeonas for small claims court to?
michael scott's special filing cabinet?
all your call center jobs are belong to us
-India
I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.
Darn, where will the Dell employees go now? File for unemployment?
They will be forced to get a real job that they won't be embarrassed to tell people about.
Uh, I work at a kiosk in the mall selling computers that people can't even take home with them. (inside head - and I don't even work for Dell. I work for a nine month hiring agency called Spherion only got a few months left. Dang! Maybe I can work for Apple! (That would be an even worse mistake!)
Does this mean that they can stop charging tax again? Personally, there were many times that I didn't purchase things from Dell.com because they started charging tax due to the fact that they had those stupid kiosks in my state.
Very good point! Down with tax!
ok lets think about this...i go to the apple store, crammed full of people, it has a nice atmosphere and good service and lots of toys to play with. 20 feet away is a dell cart with 2 employees and 5 computers. it looks pathetic and its physical placement make it something everyone will pass by and never visit. bravo dell.
At Halloween, he morons in the local Dell kiosk, about 200 feet from a 45' Apple Store actually had obnoxiously-orange T-shirts on that read 'no one wants an Apple for Halloween.' They also made a point of loudly verbally harassing anyone who walked by with an Apple bag or wearing an Apple shirt.
You'd think that they would have noticed that every time they made an obnoxious comment, people who were actually browsing their kiosk would, literally, turn and walk away.
You know what? They did this to us overnight. Some of us are having our worst fears confirmed by Engadget before they even tell their employees. Yesterday we had jobs, and now we have a conference call in an hour with no details as to what is going on. I understand that we were not super busy but for a small cart in the mall we did a decent amount of business, despite out overhead. This is the nature of lay-offs I suppose, but we got f***ing screwed. The people they have on the kiosks are not some 16 year old in Best Buy that can't find the space bar, we are the only face in Dell sales you will EVER see and as much as I understand that Best Buy/Staples can sell and demonstrate our product they aren't capable(atleast currently) to do what we did. Alot of us are the enthusiasts, the people that get excited and buy computers every year, or more frequently, and Michael Dell(a former system builder) just said let me save a penny a share and C**K slapped us in the face. The best part about it is that we were not a cost to the company, despite what you think we were atleast in our Region very profitable.
So go apply for a job at the Apple store now.
Like I've said all along - Dell sucks.
Ha ha, sucks to be you. Now go get a real job and get a MAC! I worked there until last week. Never been happier now that I quit that stupid job. Dell treated me terrible. Gave me very few hours, terrible commission (.5%), and location had almost no traffic.
Hey Jeff glad you timed out so nicely, Even Spherion employees got a decent severance package you moron. Enjoy working at Apple(Mac is the product line) I'm sure they will welcome you.
I agree it sucks. I was with them for almost 4 years!! When Best Buy started carrying Dell, I had people coming to me saying how they(Best Buy) employees didn't know what they were talking about and they weren't helpful at all. They rather wait for the computer they really wanted instead getting something some punk kid points out. FYI most Spherion hires got hired on as Dell, if they were good enough. I know my paycheck said Dell and not Spherion. Sucks I won't be getting any more of those anymore.
You don't want people generalizing Dell kiosk employees? Then don't do it to BBY employees. Most PCHO departments have some of the most knowledgable employees in the store, and that's saying something, because HT has some pretty smart people too.
The kiosks weren't completely redundant - they would often have higher-end PCs for people to test run before buying online, and that was really pretty much their sole purpose. Sure, I can go look at one of these $700 Inspirons at the local Best Buy or Staples, but only the kiosk would have that new dual-8800M GTX XPS system.
I used to work for the Dell kiosk and they weren't ment for the people who could order online. We were acting as consultants in the buying process.
At the Apple store you get a big inventory and lots of friendly faces. They don't need to consult you on anything cause you have like 4 things to choose from and seriously the normal consumer doesn't need to "upgrade" anything on a standard Apple.
Pc's are different and some people really enjoyed meeting face to face to discuss what they needed in thier computer.
It's sad they are getting rid of these as i know many were profitable. The kiosk i worked at made anywhere between 30k-60k a week depending on the time of the year.
Is the 30-60k a week what was made in profit or how much product you sold, because those are two different things. I find it hard to believe that a Dell kiosk made 30-60k in profits per week. If they did they would not be closing them
OH no no def not profit!!! That is revenue. However, we were very margin rich in what we sold. It was a case of 2-3 kiosks in an area doing great and 2-3 doing reeeaally bad. I guess Dell figured instead of consolidating the kiosks again to just axe it and focus on Best Buy etc.
I work for dell, and I am currently on hold awaiting a conference call on this subject. I work at a kiosk and we were not notified on anything until about 10pm last night when we where made aware our kiosk in the mall was being taken apart. The security guards called us to make sure we knew what was happening. Ill update if I can after our conference call. It was supposed to start at 8:15am EST, but its 8:40 now and I was just told it would be about 5 more minutes.
Classy. Very classy. "Don't come to work tomorrow -- it no longer exists. Have a good night."
So, is Michael Dell giving this money back to the stockholders?
Yeah! No more sales tax!
Dell has been asleep at the wheel for awhile. Retail is very simple. It calls for something called inventory on the shelf.
I can confirm that the kiosks are shut down. As of last night I am out of a job, severance information should arrive today or tomorrow to us through the mail. They have arraigned partnerships with Staples and Best Buy for us kiosk employees to possibly work for them.
...You're still going to have to pay tax
I find it absolutely ridiculous how a company as rich as Dell *desperately* needs to cut costs. Maybe if they put more emphasis on customer satisfaction rather than cutting costs, they would gain more money from new customers and they wouldn't need to cut our jobs.
Seriously, do the executives of Dell actually use their computers? How about their tech support? Indian tech support is the *worst* thing that could have ever happened to the technology industry. It's not like the major corporations don't know about the absolutely terrible service from India...They just don't care. Instead, they give them fake ass American names as if they are really fooling anyone.
The more these technology companies "cut costs" the more we the consumers get fucked.
Fuck you Dell!
Don't buy a Pontiac and expect to be treated like you're at a Mercedes dealership.
2 months severance and options to go to best buy or stapels.
It happened this morning...all US based Kiosks are official closed...
The cost cutting at Dell has spread to tech support too. Now when you call with a system problem they ask you if you live close to a Best Buy and suggest that you take your computer to Geeksquad. Obviously the deal between BB and Dell included making Geeksquad the defacto tech support department for Michael Dell.
Sorry to the former kiosk employee(s) posting here, but I've found every Dell kiosk worker to be absolutely useless. You have a finite product line (handful of desktops, handful of laptops, maybe a printer and a tv), cant you take 20 minutes out of your time standing there to maybe, oh I dont know, learn the specs? Most recently I was inquiring about the thinnest laptops Dell had. I asked if they were offering solid state drives, and the kiosk employee had to look it up. I could've done that myself. When I inquired about the Sony tv, and what happened to the Dell-branded TVs, the employee had no clue. What happened to customer service? Salesmanship?
Some Kiosk employees were not actual Dell Employees and may have been new. My kiosk, there were 2 dell employees and 3 non Dell employees hired through a company called Spherion. Our spherion employees where very knowledgable, but I can't say that for others. The non dell employees were hired worked no longer than 9 months before they were laid off.
You had one bad experience but an finite amount of product "we" could sell virtually anything off the site and at better prices and Im certain that most of us knew a heck of alot more about the product more than what you know. You had one bad experience, dont bundle us all in that
Never said it was my only experience, just using it as an example of why I'm not surprised they're being closed down. Did I say anything about your kiosk, or all kiosks other than the ones I have been to? No. This is a case study. Fact is, on more than one occasion I've approached a kiosk with the intention to buy, but the salesmen turned me off from it. They couldn't tell me one thing about the products sitting right in front of me without reading directly off the tag. Thanks, but I'm not an idiot, I can read. So I'm sorry I didn't go to your kiosk, or maybe I'd be typing this on a shiny new Dell, but sadly my experience was such that I am not the least bit surprised this sales approach has not panned out and Dell is eliminating it.
There's a Dell kiosk (I guess it's still there for now...) at a local mall around my way and the attention it gets from folks ranks just below a car accident. Barely any "rubbernecking" as you pass on towards the food court.
Its not there now. All 155 were dismantled last night.
To the person who said 2 months pay, where did you get that from? I didn't hear that during the conference call. I did get some money deposited in my account this morning, but they said it was current pay and 100% of commissions to date. I am wondering about spiffs, holiday pay, personal time, etc...
Im on hold too for that same conference call. One thing that bothers me almost as much as this unnecesary layoff is the ignorance that most of the ppl on here. You obvioiusly dont know what your talking about. We "were" the face of Dell, just because you ignorant A-holes can scrap a pc and put it back together in a matter of minutes doesnt mean that the other 98% of ppl can. Most ppl that came to our stores had no idea what kind of computer to get and they didnt want to be treated like cattle in a herd just being dished out the same kind of Best Buy "here's a box" BS that they now are forced to deal with. We were a 500 million dollar business for Dell and on average brought in more than 5%-10% more margin than online and phone sales. Which means lower prices for you idiots since Dell was making more money. Not only that but our prices were better than any of you could EVER get online even with your coupon codes.
So instead of b*tching and talking out your @ss about things you obviously have no idea about, how about a little bit of sympathy for the hard working Dell employees that just lost their jobs.
Plus, whoever this apple guy who keeps bitching about the kiosk near his beloved apple store, get a life and get over your h@rd drive envy. Apple computers will NEVER be as good as Dell computers. period, end of sentence.
A little bitter, are we?
Look, sucker. You sold boxes. Commodities. Little separates your boxes and the competitor's boxes other than price.
Pastry Chef, get a life you loser
Uh, look dude, the company you WORKED for sucks and it Sucks to be you and I'm happy your laid off. I know because I just was laid off last week because my 9 month contract was up and they wouldn't extend it. Guess I know why now. Fact is, the company didn't pay their employees much. $10/hr base, crappy commissions(.5% and 1% for orders that were on Dell preferred accounts(crappy)) How stupid is that? I couldn't get more hours toward the last months I worked there. Only getting about 12 hrs week, they would never give employee discounts, kiosk was in shambles, tarp, doors falling off hinges. etc, etc. If i ever needed to make changed to orders, manager would delay order 3 days. Even if we had to change customers address, 3 days!
There was a time when I had to threaten legal action to get the pay that they owed me. I could go on and on but why? I'm just so happy that they closed these kiosks. Our kiosk wouldn't get the products until months later after they were introduced. I received almost no training whatsoever through the nine months I was there. Not talking about product training. Talking about sales training. You get the picture. I don't feel sorry for anyone of you Dell employees that is without a job. For nine months, they dangled the carrot in front your face that was a Dell position at the kiosk. That meant that you would get paid a whopping .3% more commission. Whoooaaa! Their quotas were almost impossible to meet over a period of time and almost no one ever obtained the "coveted" Dell employee status. Why, because the customers suck and so does the company. I worked my butt off for nine months and came super close to meeting the quota to be a Dell employee. But nope. Thanks for nothing Dell.
You should be grateful that Dell is forcing you to get a real job that you won't be ashamed to tell people about. "Umm, I work for Dell"(you work for Spherion, not Dell) at a, uhh, mall kiosk.
Jeff I think you are confused. You worked for a temp agency Spherion NOT Dell. They wouldn't extend your 9 month contract period because weren't good at enough at your job to get promoted, like many of us did.
We got 17% off new systems if you stuck around long enough.
Also, another perk of being a full timer at Dell was that your commission was doubled and buddy that adds up.
Don't take your failures out the rest of us because you didn't work hard enough to get a full time gig. Employees just like yourself are a contributory factor to a mass lay off like this.
If your Dell Badged Reps were doing their jobs the kiosk would not be in shambles.
Jeff I think you are confused. You worked for a temp agency Spherion NOT Dell. They wouldn't extend your 9 month contract period because weren't good at enough at your job to get promoted, like many of us did.
Uh, I know I worked for Spherion, you freak. That's why I'm even more happy my job ended. I was very good at my kiosk. I came super close to to the numbers they wanted me to be at. But I wasn't quite there so "no soup for you". Thats a great way to run a business. Get rid of the employees that spent all the time training and learning the ropes and then if their numbers are barely off, then dump em for a new guy that really doesn't know anything and now where going to go through the process of training the guy all over again which takes away resources and time from those who know what their doing!
Um, your wrong, there was not that many employees that made it to Dell status. There was only one at my kiosk and we were consistently one of the highest revenue earners in the nation. And who really cares anyway. You still worked at a pathetic kiosk and still made pathetic money. I know what your commissions where and it was not that impressive.
We got 17% off new systems if you stuck around long enough.
Wow. I'm happy that you got your piece of crap system a little cheaper so you can save money you'll shell out pretty soon for a new power supply.
Also, another perk of being a full timer at Dell was that your commission was doubled and buddy that adds up.
Wow. 1% commission on computers without a Dell preferred account. Everyone reading this, I want you to join me in laughing at this comment right here. Whoa 1% and maybe 2% if you can actually get someone approved for Dell Preferred Account. Whooa, watch out people. I make 2% on a computer. I'm rolling in it now. Do me a favor and stop deceiving yourself. You got screwed over on commissions but just won't admit it. Everyone of my friends laughs when I tell them how much I make in commissions and even the 2%, they still laugh.
Don't take your failures out the rest of us because you didn't work hard enough to get a full time gig. Employees just like yourself are a contributory factor to a mass lay off like this.
I worked harder than anybody at my kiosk so shut the f up. I did the best I could with the people I talked to and the hours I had. I was number 3 in the nation last year in revenue. My lead was number one. He did 100k during one month in the summer. I did 95k one month and consistently brought in 60-85k/month in revenue the entire time I worked there. Did you ever bring in 95k in a month? Didn't think so.
No, employees like YOU are the contributory factor because you then sit on your butt after your crowned Dell employee, surf the internet trying to figure out how to get past the filters and get into youtube and laugh inside at the other employees that are only making .5% - 1% like your doing now. Well, who's laughing now?
If your Dell Badged Reps were doing their jobs the kiosk would not be in shambles.
Our kiosk wasn't quite in shambles as you think but was lacking supplies and proper maintenance on doors and the tarp that could only come from corporate. I was always the one that had to dust and clean up after everyone else including the Dell badged "lead". Dell really didn't motivate the employees enough to do their job giving them the pathetic pay they did and I don't blame them. The fact is, I don't have to be "dell badged" to know I'm a good worker. I blame the pathetic company that I worked for not realizing that if I'm barely off on my drums report, yet I bring in some of the highest revenue for the store and the highest revenue per hour out of anybody working there, then that should be good enough for them to consider giving me, drum roll please, 1/2% more in commissions. Whooaaaaaaa!
And guess what buddy, you still didn't even get a freakin business card with your name on it! How does that make you feel.
Uh, Sdeezee, Dell employee or not, you don't have any job anymore and that makes me very happy. They would have extended my contract but they were planning on closing the stores so thats why. I was told that by my manager. So now get out there and find a real job that pays more than 2% commissions. Don't even start me on the spifs. Only with Vista Ultimate! Stupid.
Lastly, Let me send some spittle in your direction.
Your lucky I dont know who you are and where you live cuz Id be at your door kicking your sorry loser ass right now. BTW I was making over 60k a year working at that job, sounds like your kiosk was a real craphole and even for you not to get hired along with them says allot about you. Its like not being able to get hired at mcdonalds. "Coming very close to the numbers" you couldnt hit your goals you loser, my whole team doubled their goals every week. And as far as your manager telling you that they were going to close the kiosks, the sales managers didn't know until last night. Nice attempt at an obvious lie.
@Darrell They said we get 60 days (8.5 weeks pay) severance and all our commissions/spiffs/bonuses should have been on that check this morning. We should also according to our SM receive our holiday hours on top of that if you have not taken your vacation. We didn't get boned too hard...atleast not financially.
@Was on call. Then my check isnt right. I got a deposit of $1173.05 this morning. That is nowhere near the 40hours of pay for 8.5 weeks, nor commissions, spiffs, etc. So if that is the case, (I did get a call during the conference call and missed about 1 minute of it) we must be getting another check or something. The other dell employee at my kiosk got about $1400.
In Ginza station here in Tokyo, there was a Dell center of some kind. I wouldn't call it a kiosk as you could walk through it. More like a room with only two walls and a roof.
Anyway, that disappeared a few months ago and that same space is now occupied by HP!
That said, last Wednesday I ordered a 2407WFP-HC from a "Dell Real Site" and the salesperson (Japanese) helped me order it from the Dell site, very useful as I can't write Japanese.
Incidentally they told me 2 weeks for delivery, which made me feel ill, but in fact it was delivered in 2 days. Don't know how their inventory system could be that off.
As I understand, the pay we received today was essentially our next paycheck, and a commission payout. The severance package that they were talking about is going to be delivered via DHL in the next couple of days. In this package there is also some information relating job placement assistance with an external company, and probably some other information as well.
While I am really understanding of many of the cynical comments from other posters on this topic, let me be among those that say that I really enjoyed working for Dell, and was a true believer in what we had set out to do at the kiosks. There are always going to be bad experiences when you are dealing with 150+ locations, and Dell being as large of a corporation as it is, there is always a distant removal between those who make these kinds of decisions, and those of us who are impacted by them.
While I can only speak for my own territory, our customer base LOVED us, and were exceedingly appreciate of our presence. Not everyone needs that. I am removing the personal impact that reading negative comments, and I guess what I really have to say is, I am so sorry there are people out there who would jest someones career path without knowing the first thing about it.
Working for Dell Direct Stores was a very rewarding position, and was always a challenge. While I would have done many things differently, those of us who were successful become quite skilled at adjusting to change, and these next few weeks and months will surely be the true test of that. I wish all of you well. If I had any advice to give you, it would be to take some time and focus on yourself. Remember what you enjoyed about working for Dell, remember what effort and determination you put into it, remember your successes, and use those to position yourself for the next chapter in your life. In today's world, this won't be the last time something like this happen to you.
Exactly right. I wish I had said it.
If they no longer have a retail presence in my state, why the hell are they still going to charge me tax??? Nice way to turn more buyers away.
Hmmm.. so, if you buy a Dell in a BestBuy or Staples, yeah, you'll have to pay state/local tax. Does this give Dell the f*king right to say they still have a "presence" in these states (if you order online)? Damn scam!
Pastry chef needs to get a life. Your an anti-Dell A-Hole that has no idea what the hell he's talking about (which is obvious to everyone but himself)
I was on the conference call today and I had been part of the Dell Direct store since launch back in '05. My kiosk was one of the highest money makers in the country and we did really well. But Dell Direct goes a lot further than just the mall workers. There is marketing, territory leads, and regional managers that got screwed by this also. I would put a number of employees that were layed off today in the high 2,000+
"Pastry Chef
@ Jan 30th 2008 12:01PM
A little bitter, are we?
Look, sucker. You sold boxes. Commodities. Little separates your boxes and the competitor's boxes other than price"
And Apple is different how? Oh i know cause thier "box" can't be changed. Want linux? Want RAID? Want a better graphics card? How about a different processor? Hmm lets build a pc "box" 8,000 different ways and compare each to an apple box that has 20 different ways to configure it.
The reason there is such a difference in Apple is because they refuse to allow anyother company touch thier product.
HP, Dell, Gateway they all sell PC's which are genaric and make your own-able. Apple HAS to be bought from apple. A PC doesn't HAVE to be bought from any one company.
Yet it has taking apple THIS LONG to even get a chance to bite into the market share. Can't wait till the apple fad dies out.
Why are you talking to me about Apple? I didn't mention them.
I was just replying to Sdeezeee for calling all of us "ignorant A-holes."
I agree with Andrew D and the rest of Dell Crew.... You Tech nerds on this blog will never understand the effect of Dell Direct Stores. We were a Multi Million Dollar business. And honestly our customer base was satisfied 110%.
As for the guy who speaks about the reps not knowing anything, dude go to best buy and you will know who doesn't know anything.
And APPLE good luck...The Fad is running out....
Because you stated that there was no difference in the box than the price. When there is a huge differnce from PC to PC and from PC to Apple.
I would build 1 Brand of Dell computers the same way using 5 different specials and deals and links form the main website and get 5 different prices.
So not only is there a difference in the "boxes" the PRICE is a HUGE difference!
I had met with a wonderful, very knowledgeable sales rep this week at a kiosk in Bridgewater, NJ. We worked up some systems for me and i went home and thought about it. I had an appointment with him tonight to place the 3 dell systems. He called me this morning and told me he got a conference call from dell this very morning and he was told all kiosk were now closed - that he was out of work. He was nice enough to call me. I spent alot of time with him figuring out systems and now hes gone. I cant believe dell would do that. No Notice to him in turn to me. He said he had no idea. That they came in the middle of the night to take all the kiosk stuff out of the mall. He was so knowledgeable!! I need to pick his brain some more before I place the orders! And he was going to give me a great price! How can dell do this!!!
I am that sales rep you are talking about Debbie, Thanks for the kind words.
You really were exceptional! I guess everything does happen for a reason.... last night we made the switch, we walked into the Apple store and told them to convince us and they did! We walked out with 3 computers - the 2 desktops and a laptop. I think we are going to be very happy.
Matt, I have no doubt you will do well in business. I saw the passion you had for the computer world. Hopefully, you will take this experience with you in life and NEVER treat your employees and customers the way Dell did this week. Its just wrong. If you ever want to do the switch - I'm sure Apple would gobble you up in a sec!
Good luck to you - the world needs passionate people like you!
Thanks again for sharing your wonderful knowledge with us and making that phone call to me letting me know you were gone... debbie
As time goes on, our jobs are less safer each day. Is the only guaranteed job these days a government job?
What gets me, is that even during our conference call it was stated that this is not being done because we aren't making money. Dell Direct stores have met goal all but 9 months out of the 6 years they were in operations. I understand we are in Staples/WalMart/Sams/Best Buy, but can you go there and talk to a dell certified employee who can custom build your computer the way you want it? No, you have to get it as is from the box. I loved my job, and even turned down jobs with AT&T making more money just Friday. ( I am now calling them back looking to basically put my tail between my legs and beg for the job.) The kiosks were very good for the consumer as we offered lower prices than normal online orders. Dell was $2million from corporate goal for the fiscal year and what did they do? They asked the kiosks to make up the difference in the last 4 weeks. The kiosks did so, and with only a few days left in the fiscal year, they can us? WTF. Our region (Pittsburgh/Charleston, WV) was always near the top in our drums and metrics. The people here loved us. Many times we had customers asking if we were still going to be here, and of course we responded yes because we had no clue. I had about 4 customers coming back to me in the next day or two. These kiosks make money, and its a personal outreach to the consumer and employee (now former) or not, I think this is a horrible business decision on Dell's part. Apparently they want us to sign this severance package and return it asap. I think there are some legal ramifications that could be approached here, and any now former employee should look into them.
Rich-
Thanks for the words. We ARE Dell enthusiasts. We have been the face of Dell in the marketplace for 6 years in some cases. I am saddened by my kiosk's closure, but more than that, the customers whom I developed a relationship with as repeat customers... those people who came back TO ME, for my assistance, my "Raving Fans", who now, will start to look for someone like me, Rich, Ray, and the rest of us (You know who you are), and find the 16 year old Best Buy Drones with a stepladder.
We are all going to end up landing on our feet. I have faith in the fact that when we take the experiences that we had as DDS and apply them to the next stop on the path, we will be just as, if not more, successful.
One last note, the checks deposited today are a final week paycheck. The 60 day severence package comes (approx.) 30 days after you submit your severence agreement back to Corporate.
DT
OMG. I got the severance package, and it sucks ass. 9 weeks of pay (base and most of us know our base sucks), no vacation, no holiday, no personal hours. Cobra Insurance (at a huge price increase) for 2 months.
Dave, glad to see you on here. If you can, hit me up on here. We always had good talks when I was with ops, and while David was running both of us. Good luck to you. You'll get far with your positive attitude.
Dan (Eastview Mall former lead)
Hey to you all, (David, Dan, etc)
I'll miss working with you and stopping by the kiosks to see you guys.
It was an amazing two years I spent with Dell, and the way that they ended our employment with the company is quite unfortunate. Especially after opening the Dell Gift Store in NYC...we were all thinking and hoping we would eventually be moving to real stores.
Good luck to you all...I'd love to know what you are planning to do now! Let me know!
Kat
Kat, David, and any other former employees that wanna talk about this, here's my email. kayfabe1204@yahoo.com
Feel free to reach out so we can talk, and discuss where we are heading. It's been a fun ride so far.
Dan
does anyone have a recording of the call mark grace held today? i meant to record it and forgot...i'd love to hear how glib he was all over again.
Imissmyjob - you wouldnt by any chance have Mark Grace's email you mentioned in your blog. I am trying to track down an old college friend and I knew he worked for Dell.
Sorry you lost your job in today's market.
Thanks for your help
I worked at various DDS locations throughout my tenure with Dell, and I have to echo one important thing mentioned here that people are not getting:
The kiosks were not designed for the tech guru. They were designed for the average home customer that didn't know what to click on when they went into the configurator. And in that regard they were EXTREMELY helpful to customers.
At the locations I was the Lead of and the others I worked at, most of the staff were knowledgeable and engaging. However, of course there were always exceptions to the rule. Spherion, the temp agency Dell worked with, was often notorious for hiring bad reps who were there because the pay was much better and the work was much easier than working a Best Buy.
Many of the Dell employees, especially the Dell-badged reps, deeply cared about their jobs and their kiosks they worked at. They did not scream "Apple sucks!" and thought the "No one wants an Apple for Halloween" was funny but not necessarily the direction Dell should have went (even though Apple's whole campaign is bashing companies like Dell, but that's neither here nor there). In fact, if you were a GOOD sales rep you'd know that you'd get a lot more sales if you didn't outright bash the competition, but complimented in addition to giving them a downside, as well as recommending your own product. Yes it sounds strange but it did work and we were all proud to wear the "Dell" logo on our chests.
When they announced Walmart, we shivered. When they announced Staples, we were startled. When they announced Best Buy, we shit our pants. Yet through this, management echoed that there would always be a need for our type of sales, and even if the kiosk did "change" in format that the good ones would be brought forward. So we strove to be the "good ones" if something did go down, and we were reassured and went about our job. In the end though, EVERYONE was let go, up to high-level management, marketing, ops, and training. No one was brought forward - not the good ones, the bad ones, or the ones in between.
Apple is is less pay, for a comparable job position anyway. And more work of course, anything was more work than the good ol' kiosk.
Ouch!!!
8.5 weeks plus comm, etc. $1400 ???
I get $1550.46 every two weeks(salary) and I thought I was underpaid!. How can you live on that??
The $1400 you refer to is not the severance package. It was given to every Dell Badged Rep. The severance package works much in the same way that other companies do. They send them the kit, the former employee reviews and signs it, and they receive a payout.
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DELL = BOOM!
It's called progress unemployed people.
If you are in sales, you are replaceable, immediately.
Your tech knowledge at the kiosk makes it harder for BestBuy & CircuitCity to sell stuff, so they told DELL, and now you're out of a job.
Jeff M.... disgruntled idiot..haha..go ahead flame some more to futher show everyone that your an idiot..lol
I just got my package and it sucks!!! What a slap in the face!!
Although I only worked at my kiosk for 2 1/2 months, it was a pretty good job. I am a Spherion peon so I wasn't too reliant on this job as it was just temporary anyways while I finish school. But I know a lot of Dell badges depended on this job for income. Just goes to show you that when a corporation needs to make itself look good on the market, the little guys are the ones that get shafted. The kiosk people were the face of Dell to the public. I'm sure Michael Dell and his board of directors are happy now that their shareholder value went up. I hope he and his big wigs enjoy their extra millions they'll get as a bonus now.
@Howlinrob......I guess now Roy is going to get his chance to work at that old folks home now.
Sorry to hear that all the DDS's are closing. I opened one a year ago in August and they closed ours this last August. I loved my job there and the pay was some of the best in the electronics industry. It's kind of weird timing with the lay-off happening and me working for CompUSA now and them going out of business as well. It seems like the economy is in the sh*tter and the rich keep getting richer. Good luck to all the Dell employees out there looking for a job as I will be joining you.....for the second time in a year(maybe I should go put Walmart out of business next). :D
Oh ya btw. Don't complain about getting 2 months pay... CompUSA boned us 10 times harder. If you worked there under a year you get nothing and anything over a year and you get a whopping one week of pay...how generous...and Mr. Slim didn't even give us that...the liquidation company did...what an Ahole Carlos Slim is and may he rott in hell.
Funny you guys would say that dell sucks well hp/compaq is in the same lvl as dell.
This gets better and better. The Dell Feb 5th catalog has a whole page dedicated to all the "mall" kiosks in the United States. Going to the link for this on the dell site now shows icons for staples, best buy, walmart, and sam's club. Obviously no more kiosks as outlined above. They now have no retail presence in my state, but the online site still adds $103 and change tax to my order. MMMMMMMmmmmm. Ill-gotten gains.