August 10th, 2006
Inside Dell’s Product-Less, Nothing-For-Sale-Here “Stores”
By Alice Hill
RealTechNews
A few months ago we did a detailed piece on why Dell’s plans to open stores with no actual products would be a disaster. (Go ahead and read up, we’ll wait.) But the proof is always in the pudding.
A guy named Doug Berger who writes for Gadgetell, snuck his Treo into the first Dallas-based store and took these snaps. As you can see, there is not a whole lot going on. But to make matters worse: where was the signage? I mean, if you can buy a Dell PC from a kiosk in the store and there are actual things on display (what they were we could not tell you), wouldn’t you want to stick up a few signs or something?
Worst of all had to be all the clueless, lazy-looking salespeople standing around.
We Say: Dude?!
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Mumblix Grumph says:
No signage?
Take a look at the guy in the Hal Gurnee costume…no, not that one…the OTHER one with the bald head and prominent love handles. If you look closely behind his macrencephalic, gleaming dome you will see a glowing 12 foot wide DELL sign.
I know it’s hard to spot these subtle details, but I have a gift for this kind of thing.
I still wouldn’t go Dell on a dare. I’m quite happy with my Toshiba.
August 10th, 2006 at 12:43 am
Alex says:
Oh come on! There looks to be as much going on here as there was in the last “Apple” store I went to. And how could you have missed the big F-O sign that glows “Dell”. As for the merchandising of speakers on a pedestal, maybe a “sign” wasn’t the best way to convey the purpose of the product? Doug Berger should have super-ed the time/date across the photo. Did the doors open 30 seconds ago? These remarks just snort of someone having a bad-experience-with-Dell day (and we’ve all had those!).
August 10th, 2006 at 1:45 am
ed3 says:
I think he’s referring to the fact that there is product on a table, but no information about the product. This forces a person to speak to a salesperson for more information.
Some people like this. I for one hate speaking to sales people.
August 10th, 2006 at 6:57 am
ed3 says:
Oh, now I see the tiny little placard… Nice…
August 10th, 2006 at 6:59 am
Alice says:
By sineage, I meant something that might tell you what was on display or get you excited about HDTVs or whatever was handing on the wall. The big logo is fine but stores need signs - you can be tasteful and not do WalMart signs, but for pete’s sake, how about something???
August 10th, 2006 at 8:22 am
preston says:
this looks surprisingly simple to the Samsung Experience at the Shops at Columbus Circle in New York. They too have small placards and force you to speak with sales people for additional information. NOT a fan of this approach.
August 10th, 2006 at 8:27 am
Doug says:
Gateway is just as bad.
Thank you, Staples! At least there you can…dare I say it…*touch* the product you’re buying, and actually *carry* it out to your car.
Screw Dell
August 10th, 2006 at 8:29 am
Jason says:
Sigh…This is worse than a car dealership showroom! At least at one of those you can buy what you’re there for and take it home with you! Now, I understand that Dell allows for some pretty hardcore customizations which would of course keep them from having every possible combination of hardware in stock at these stores!(PLEASE read with EXREME SARCASM in mind) But surely Dell, the Walmart of home computing, could have come up with more than just a traveling one manufacturer auto show for computers?
Next time Dell…don’t waste our time and money (this flop will undoubtably be a waste of advertisement dollars which will have to be rolled back into the price of a pc at some point)with unpopular investor (not consumer) targeted …hrm…trying to think of a civil word to use here…crap! Sorry it’s the nicest word for it that I could come up with at the moment.
Jason
August 10th, 2006 at 8:48 am
Aaron says:
The best part is this Dell “store” is located across the hall (and upstairs from) an Apple store… where you can buy a computer and (gasp!) walk out of the store with it!
C’mon Dell… What is the motivation your employees have to sell computers if there is nothing to sell?
Northpark Mall, where the Dell “store” is located, is an upscale mall. It’s not unusual to see Ferraris and Maseratis in the parking lot. These people want INSTANT GRATIFICATION. What does your store NOT provide?
August 10th, 2006 at 8:52 am
Michael says:
Gateway tried something similar in the St Louis Metro, the stores lasted about 2 months!
August 10th, 2006 at 8:57 am
Adam says:
Just above your left question mark box there’s a sign describing what’s on display. It seems the sineage is there to me.
August 10th, 2006 at 9:08 am
DJ says:
“There looks to be as much going on here as there was in the last “Apple” store I went to.”
Um yeah right troll, EVERY Apple store I have ever been to has a line up in the morning of people waiting to get in, and a steady flow of customers all day long. And they have to kicke people out at night. They are also wifi hotspots and places where people can get on line and check or send email.
The retail sales and attendance figures back me up, so sorry as much as you want to poo poo Apples retail stores you are wrong. Other major retailers are scrambling to figure out how they can be as succesful in retail as Apple has been and copying every aspect of the opertaions.
August 10th, 2006 at 10:16 am
James says:
You do realize these are just the pilots and a few kinks have to be worked out to fill the stores with some product and signage right?
August 10th, 2006 at 10:21 am
John says:
Maybe they can show a hologram of vaporware products.
I’ll wait until they sell AMD powered desktops/laptops before I’d consider buying from Dell.
August 10th, 2006 at 10:34 am
Jason says:
What exactly is the point of having TWENTY-FIVE links to bookmarking services, identified only by their icons, beneath the article?
I will answer my rhetorical question by coining a neologism that is a portmanteau: blegotism.
August 10th, 2006 at 12:39 pm
Tyeron says:
I’ve been to the Apple stores in houston, austin, dallas, san antonio… and I was never able to walk out with a laptop. I remember going into the store in austin and thinking hey this OS is great I love the screen and I get a free IPOD when i buy one of these things.. GREAT!!.. but then I found out that I still had to wait for them to send the thing to me. It seems that apple is in the same boat as Dell. The only thing apple has on its side, is that they do have some things you can purchase and take home, like peripherals and software. Other than that, its all just the same exeperience that you get at this dell store, from the looks of it. Also I will say that anyone who is buying a mac, usually doesn’t have any idea what they truly want the computer for. They just know they want something easy to work with, so that’s the big draw for the mac. Most people who come in looking at PCs, know how to look in the properties of my computer to see specs of the system, which is about all you really get from the placards around the apple store.
I believe these Dell stores are getting geared up to take on Apple and the Geek Squad. I think you guys might be selling it short before you actually walk in the place.
Yes, I do own a Dell and an Ipod.. I’m one of those Digital Mulatos.
August 10th, 2006 at 12:53 pm
Sales person says:
This is to ed3. I am a sales person and I hate speaking to customers too. Trust me, the hatred is mutual. All I ask is that customers come in, get what they want, and get out of there. I’ll ask if you need help because I have to but I really don’t care if you do. Usually, customers like you have bad attitudes to start with and make for foul discourse. I enjoy helping customers that are courteous and they compliment me all the time to my managers. But people like you should just shop online.
August 10th, 2006 at 3:01 pm
I Have no Life says:
I agree be courtious to sales people, this is something I learned from working in resturants where the sales people were waiters and waitresses (never mess with someone who is handling your food).
Yeah and Apples kick ass, have you used one of the new IMacs? they are amazing….I guess I shouldnt talk because I own a used DELL Inspiron 2500 right now, but WTF I’m only making $26,000 a year I got bills to pay!!!
August 10th, 2006 at 4:00 pm
ed3 says:
This is to “Sales person” (sorry Alice… Delete if you want)
> Usually, customers like you have bad attitudes to start with and make for
> foul discourse. I enjoy helping customers that are courteous and they
> compliment me all the time to my managers.
> But people like you should just shop online.
All I said was I hate speaking to sales people. No offense to the sales profession. I’m sure you are a nice bunch of people, but I for one do not like being hounded everytime I show interest in a product on the shelf. I try to be nice and have no problem with the occasional “can I help you”. Continuing to try to engage me after I politely state “Not right now, thank you” is a bit much. Believe it not, not every sales person is as “relaxed” as you apparently seem to be. You are a rare gem.
I’m sorry you have such rotten customers. Perhaps you should consider moving to a more courteous region. If you’re looking to relocate, I can highly recommend E. Tennessee. Courtesy and manners are practically a cultural requirement…
Oh, and I tip 20% if a server keeps my drink filled.
August 11th, 2006 at 5:22 am
Steve says:
I just bought an XPS 200 from the Dell kiosk in a nearby Atlanta-area mall. The salesman was absolutely clueless, but that was ok, because I knew exactly what I wanted and what it was supposed to cost. Ironically, when I bought the computer, the salesman simply configured it on the Dell website, just like I would at home, but with the kiosk promotion, I saved $20 over what I would have paid online. I even filled in the shipping information and payment information myself! I’d have to wait a few days for delivery either way and since I was prepared to order online, it was not a big deal. I’d say having the kiosk was a benefit for me, seeing the PC in person confirmed it was the product I wanted in the 2D web world. Given that, however, I believe that like the doomed Gateway stores with a similar model, these Dell stores are doomed to failure.
August 11th, 2006 at 5:48 am
Tarzan says:
Tarzan smash your computer. Tarzan no like computers. Computers bad!
August 11th, 2006 at 9:39 am
Me Real Tarzan says:
Previous Tarzan impostor! Real Tarzan not say “Computers bad”! Real Tarzan not use plural! Real Tarzan not know perfect grammar or how type! Wait– maybe me not real Tarzan either! Maybe me better look on intranets, find naked picture Jane!
August 11th, 2006 at 7:31 pm
7million says:
funny. i like the fact that i dont have to look at a monitor anymore, i can actually touch and feel the product PLUS behind that dell wall is a service counter!!! No more india yeah we all know that you still have to order it but i guess thats how they build it for you. actually been not bad a little echoy at times but i got a free t-shirt!
August 19th, 2006 at 6:15 pm