Over at Jane Galt’s blog, is a detailed account of attempting to purchase a new computer from Dell.

As one who has specified or purchased over a million dollars of Dell gear over the years, this is not a happy development.

I think it is interesting, that these problems are not just on the back end of the sale, now, (after purchase) but it is actually right at the point of sale. I described a similar experience last March.

I will never understand organizations that make it difficult for me to give them my money. Whether it is non-profits who make it hard to donate, or commercial firms who make you jump through a dozen hoops before you are allowed to give them your credit card information, it just doesn’t make a lot of sense.

In a VarBusiness article about Dell this week, there are similar complaints:

[P]erhaps most pressing for Dell are concerns that its vaunted customer service and support has declined in quality. While (CFO Jim) Schneider said Dell is “working on some issues,” he brushed off analysts and surveys that suggest customer satisfaction has dropped significantly this year.

The biggest mistake for any company to make is to give loyal customers a reason to look elsewhere.