Worst Company In America: Dell VS Chrysler
Dell hell? Or another car company being propped up by the government? Which is worse?
It's #23 Dell VS #10 Chrysler!
This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2009 series. The companies nominated for this honor were chosen by you, the readers, and seeded according to number of nominations. Keep track of all the goings on at consumerist.com/tag/worst-company-in-america. Download the bracket here.
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Comments:
My vote was somewhat a personal vendetta. For all the talk about troubles with Dell, I have three Dells (a server, a workstation, and a laptop) that have all performed fine.
On the other hand, I have a 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan with 25,000 miles that has had three rack-and-pinion units replaced, a new alternator, and now the electric windows are acting up and the engine light keeps coming on (and it's been maintained perfectly). And of course, all this started after the warranty expired. I used to love Dodge, I've had two before this that were great. Never again.
Dell.
Simply because the other 2 American car companies will surely make it to the last tier, so Chrysler gets a pass.
And, Dell's business model seems based on bait-and-switch, shoddy consumer products and backtracking out of any commitments they make to their customers.
And, justifying Dell based on their Business Line, paired with Gold Support, is a cop-out. We're judging Dell as a whole entity here, and most of their business (and problematic "service") derives from their Consumer line.
Chrysler
I gave Dell my money voluntarily and I got a sweet laptop.
The government gave my money to Chrysler without my consent and I'm going to get a tax hike.
@Trai_Dep: The other two? I think there are only two American automakers in the tournament this year.
In reality, I think the company that should be on here (instead of Chrysler) is Cerberus. They have more money than god, made a bad investment, and instead of funding the company to make it better, threw it under the bus and took whatever freebies they could from the government. A great move on their part, but not necessarily Chrysler's fault.
Dell all the way. Every Dell I've owned has had the trackpad go screwy on me after a few months and there was never a fix for it. I've been off the dell for a few years now, but I'm still pissed at that POS.
I don't have much experience with Dell, but I have owned nothing but Chryslers so obviously I like them and they have been reliable for me.
If by "worse company" it is meant a company that produces bad products and has bad customer relations, I have no complaints with Chrysler.
If it means a company that ran itself into the ground because of poor business decisions and difficult union contracts, then I would say that Chrysler is the "worser" of the two.
I'm certainly not happy about Chrysler taking money from the government, but I can't blame them for taking it. Faced with their own destruction, they were grasping for anything.
Who I do blame is the government for bailing them out. Bush, Obama, and Congress. As much as I like driving Dodges, I would rather they have declared bankruptcy (which they may do anyway).
My experiences with Dell XPS systems have been really, really good. I've been surprised with their support and their quick in-home service turnaround. (however, their replacement keyboards are missing a top layer of clear coat, but that's really the only complaint I have)
Chrysler, you get my vote for me being a car guy and you having NO VEHICLES THAT INTEREST ME. AT ALL.
@NICU: Oh, are you one of those lucky 1% making over $250K a year? If so, I'm still not feeling sorry for you.
@humphrmi:
Me too, but the opposite way - I have had 3 Dodge trucks that I bought new, and all were wonderful. I have no plans to ever buy a truck from anyone other than Dodge ever again.
On the other hand, at a previous company where I worked we had Dell laptops, and counting multiple failures on the same machine, we had something like a 150% failure rate within my department every year. Which is absolutely not a made-up number. Every laptop we had suffered at least one major failure requiring major repair work, and at least half of them failed again.
Massive piles of crap, those Dells are.
My dell's battery failed two months out of warranty and it was followed a month later by the cd/dvd burner. And another 6 months later, the strain relief sleeve on the power supply cord gave out.
My '92 plymouth sundance duster kept running pretty strong even with a thorough amount of abuse from 4 college-aged drivers. And my folks' new charger is head-and-shoulders above the competition (G8 is all I can think of in the full size RWD sedan class. Does Ford still make crown vic's?) in comfort and quality of ride. It impressed me so much that I will very likely take the plunge on a 300C this summer.
@HiPwr: Buy a Honda or at least shop around some more next time you buy a vehicle. You'll wonder why you ever bought a Chrysler.
+1
Chrysler by far. Although I'm bummed it's taking me so long to get my new mini 9.
@Super Fighting Robot - JiggaMan: aww, I was about to say the same thing.
Thanks, Chrysler, for adding nothing to the automotive marketplace! If you went out of business tomorrow, the only thing I would notice is an increase in whiny blondes trying to get their PT Cruiser Convertables serviced under warranty!
@Hadoken3: Yeah, maybe read CR drivel and be a lapdog for Honda. Nope, I'm gonna by a Chrysler product because they run. Forever. Before you give that crap about dependability, look at all of the cars with 300k on them. Less Honda, More Mopar. Go back to CU/CR and hide with them.
Plus Dull (as the IT industry calls them) have one of the higher break/fix rates. Sorry even worse than a car company.
@meske:
Dell laptops suck, but at least their crappy workmanship won't kill you. I know 5 people driving less than three years old Dodges or Chryslers whose engines just SHUT OFF going 70 on the highway.
My brother in-law sold it the next day and bought a Ford F250. I think they're the only American brand that's going to make it out of this alive.
@meske: If you're going to say that Cerebrus should funnel money into Chrysler and the company should not get bailouts, you should also argue that GM/Ford shareholders should start paying the bondholders and that there should be no bailouts there, either.
I'm not too familiar with Cerebrus, but if they earned their money lawfully, why should having that money be a strike against them?
Also, if would argue that GM should just be allowed to collapse, you have a very narrow and short view of our economy.
I had to vote Chrysler, my Dell computers have held up alot better then my Town and Country minivan. I have not killed a Dell computer yet, even a defective model that is prone to overheating, yet still works. My minivan (which was a gift, not my minivan of choice) has had all kinds of problems ranging from transmission to A/C to now electrical issues. It has been a money pit for me but I don't have a car payment so I just suck it up and fix the problems as I go.
I voted for Chrysler if only because of Cerberus. Big Bob Nardelli and his cronies at Cerberus personally stood to make BILLIONS by taking the company private. Then when the economy crapped out, they had the nerve to take TARP funds and then tell the White House that they did not want to be responsible for paying the money back if the company went bankrupt.
A good comparison would be for me to borrow money from taxpayers and go to Las Vegas.
If I hit it big I pay back what I borrowed and keep the rest. If I lose then I don't owe anything.
Heads I win, tails I win.
Chrysler. We had one of their minivans and it never worked right. Nothing like breaking down on the Capital Beltway during rush hour. And they're stealing from taxpayers. Dell? I had one of their laptops for 4 years. It was fine. It broke once and they fixed it. Meh.
I have a small form factor Dell optiplex GX520, I find it to be a very reliable computer. Also I am happy with Dell's support website, which was very informative and helpful when I went to purchase my 2gb stick of ram for it. I will defiantly purchase from them again, my next purchase will be for my final 2gb stick and a new graphics card for it.
Although I don't own a Chrysler care per say, I have seen friends having issues with them.
so my vote is for Chrysler....
Mercedes bought Chrysler for their cash reserves and their technology. Mercedes cheaped out Chrysler products and dumped them. Chrysler will recover, but the current economy is really hindering that. We need to stand by American industry and give them a fair chance to succeed again.
@OwenKlient: He may not get a tax hike but the value lost due to inflationary spending on the dollar will make the money he does get to keep worth less. His point is still valid, and Chrysler is a bad company.
@OwenKlient: Jealous? 'Cause I am, but I'm not complaining.
BTW, I think that all taxes will eventually go up to cover the credit the government is using. That is my main concern. Well that and it may be harsh, but there's no such thing as too big to fail.
@cabjf: I voted Chrylser only because it's still not clear what qualifies a company as "worst" - worst products and service or just plain worst at keeping in business. While I'm not a big fan of the current crop of Chryslers, I like the Pacifica a lot (would have been my next vehicle, most likely) and my 2006 Magnum has been nothing but awesome.
Dell has jerked me around for 13 months regarding an XPS computer. The replacement I finally got has problems. I spent more than 50 hours on the phone with more than 100 people and still have a piece of junk. It has been the worst experience of my 55 years.
Chrysler may be royally screwed and is being propped up by the government. But at least they're changing their ways now (whether they want to or not).