In anticipation of the long awaited resolution to the XPS 700/710 concerns that have been shared here on the Dell Community Forum, I have asked ChrisM to allow us to begin a new thread that has a NEW emphasis. ChrisM once again, has demonstrated a genuine care and respect for Dell’s customers by allowing the previous thread to reach the 1,500 threshold, and by sticking this new thread at the top for all to see. No one can deny, that Dell has not tried to “hide” the concerns and complaints of its customers, but instead has provided a forum for them to share and be heard.

Sometimes change can be a difficult process, and the cost to all can be significant. There are many here that have been posting since the beginning, when the first thread was stuck at the top last July 3rd, 2006. Eight months and nearly 14,000 posts later, we are beginning to see a light shining on the horizon of Dell’s renewed effort to give customers a much improved experience.

In many ways, what we as customers have been a part of, is potentially a trend that other corporations are going to have to take seriously. What Dell is doing for its customers is seldom, if ever, seen amongst large corporations. Truly listening to its customers and then responding in a humble and meaningful way, is something that most customers have only ‘wished’ for. It has taken some time, but in the end, Michael Dell, the newly announced CEO of Dell, took the initiative and responded directly to our ‘cry’ for an upgrade path for the XPS 700/710 computers.

Because so many Dell customers have had positive experiences in the past, the belief has always been kept alive that Dell would find a way to ensure that Dell’s foundational emphasis on a positive and personal customer experience would find renewed support corporate wide. As Dell works to provide future computer systems that the enthusiast and gamer can be proud to own, it is the hope of all that have shared here on the forum, that Dell’s willingness to turn their failures into a success, will be met with customer excitement.

A corporation’s success, in an ever increasingly competitive market, in the end will be tied to the corporation’s willingness to open its doors to customer input and involvement. From here we made a difference and had an impact that may very well be an important ingredient in a strong and influential corporation’s customer care revitalization. As Jim Collins writes in Good To Great, “All good-to-great companies began the process of finding a path to greatness by confronting the brutal facts of their current reality. It is impossible to make good decisions without infusing the entire process with an honest confrontation of the brutal facts. As a result, they emerged from adversity even stronger.”

May this thread be the beginning of a new chapter for Dell and the XPS 700/710 customers with Dell listening to the voice of its customers, and confronting those realities, so that each of us may experience Dell at its best; turning each reality into success, one by one. Thank you to each and every person that gave so much to make ours and future customers experience a richer one.

Let the posting begin!