Sometimes, the truth comes to you in a blinding flash of joyous revelation. Other times, it only becomes clear after months of burning, low-grade suffering -- not unlike a diagnosis for hemorrhoids.
It's more in the spirit of No. 2 that I've come to recognize Dell's (NYSE: DELL) No. 1 problem.
It's not the supply chain. It's not the ugly designs, both of which boomerang CEO Michael Dell has promised to fix. As I see it, it's much simpler: Dell sells really lousy computers.
I feel qualified to make that statement, because I suffer through workdays on a thin, plastic, Dell cube-jockey special that's at least three hamsters short on power. This thing makes an abacus look speedy. It grinds, stalls, pauses, falls seconds behind on mouse clicks, and demands at least one daily restart. It is, quite simply, the second-worst computer I've ever owned -- the top spot being claimed by an atrocious, early '90s Compaq laptop.
My experience with the Compaq means I've never purchased another one of its products, and I don't trust anything from Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) either. This crummy Dell, and the terrible service several family members have received on their Dell purchases, seals me as a lifetime non-Dell buyer as well.
How many other mouse jockeys out there, despising the sub-par tools of their daily grind, are also anti-Dell? I don't know, but I doubt I'm alone.
If Michael Dell wants to see what's wrong with his company, he could get a pretty good idea by standing at my elbow for a day and seeing how effectively his product reduces my productivity. My cube is your cube, Mike. How about it?
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At the time of publication, Seth Jayson had no positions in any company mentioned here. See his latest blog commentary here. View his stock holdings and Fool profile here. Fool rules are here.
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