The council tracks data such as the number of times a system develops problems within the first 30 days of purchase and the amount of time it takes the company to fix those systems via phone or onsite support. Employees' bonuses and profit sharing are based on the results. Last year was the first year of the new bonus system and Dell set very high goals. Dell solicits customers' impressions of new and redesigned products by recording their experiences in a usability lab. During a new product's development cycle, for example, the Personal Systems Group will invite customers to the lab.
Employees film each customer and then conduct an extensive interview.
The company has learned a lot about decidedly low-tech service issues from these exercises. Many customers, for example, recently found it difficult to install certain software. Dell responded by redesigning the software's setup screens. And Dell expects to continue listening and learning from customers.