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Letter to Michael Dell about vertical lines in Dell LCD panels (see Jan. 22, 2007 resolution update) To: Dec. 4, 2006 Dear Mr. Dell, I am writing to you about what is rapidly becoming a serious problem for many Dell customers who purchased laptops incorporating LG Phillips LCD panels. My laptop is an Inspiron 9300, though the problem affects other models using the same or similar LCD panel. A large number of these LCD panels recently began developing permanent vertical lines. The first line appears at approximately 18 months, followed shortly by additional lines. I believe the consistency of the onset and progression of the symptoms indicates a significant defect in the materials or manufacturing process of one or more batches (if not all) of these displays. I do know a little about such matters – I am a renegade physicist who worked as a microprocessor applications engineer designing energy management systems and industrial controllers from the middle 70’s through the early 90’s, when I quit rather than help design a rotary bomb launcher. I currently offer computer services in the outback of WV (i.e., I handle the purchase, maintenance and repair of computers for several local environmental organizations, plus I operate a repair shop, which is how I know many Dell laptop displays besides my own are suddenly failing in this manner). You may read reports of the failures on internet forums such as this long thread as well as many reports on Dell’s own forums. Someone has even started a website: dellverticalline.com (even though this site is only a couple days old quite a few people have posted failure reports). Considering that relatively few people take time to search tech forums and even fewer bother to post, I would suggest that Dell has a significant problem affecting many hundreds if not thousands of customers. I believe Dell should take responsibility for having sold defective laptop displays – indeed, one of Dell’s own customer relations managers reputedly wrote: "The Sale of Goods Act states that goods must not have inherent faults (those present at the time of purchase and design faults that cause problems later in the product's life). Durability, or the reasonable life expectancy of a product, is harder to define, but a judge would be influenced by factors such as the item's cost and how it had been used." If the problem is a manufacturing problem isolated to only a few batches of the display panels, Dell should replace any that fail. If the problem is a result of bad design, then Dell should offer to replace the LCD panels on all affected laptops with re-engineered panels even before they fail (one hopes Dell would have recalled bad batteries even if they simply failed unreasonably early rather than only because they were a fire hazard for which Dell could be sued). At the very minimum, even if Dell’s principle value is profit above all else (like so many corporations these days), Dell should consider making replacement panels available at cost rather than at ~500% of Dell’s cost, if only to avoid losing customers. But from what I read online, my customer service experience was all too typical. I spent 5 hours two weeks ago on the Dell phone carousel being routed in divergent circles, never to the right place, and was disconnected so often while waiting on transfer I finally had to resort to asking Dell reps to stay on the line until they could personally pass me to the next real person (that can’t be efficient for Dell any more than it was for me). I was eventually offered what sounded like a bribe to just buy a new laptop (a $100 “concession for a bad customer experience” which I declined since it does not even begin to address the problem with my defective display). The 14th person I talked to on Nov. 21 (no kidding, I kept a log) promised to call me back the next day. She actually did call back, but only to tell me she would call me again after Thanksgiving. That was the last I heard from Dell. A few people have reportedly managed to convince Dell to replace defective displays even after warranty, but in most cases Dell is denying awareness of the display problem and is telling customers they are out of luck unless they purchased an extended warranty. The price Dell quoted to me for a replacement panel seems especially outrageous in light of the fact the panels obviously suffer from manufacturing defects or design flaws. Dell quoted $498 if I send in my laptop, or $500 if I do the work myself. I note that I can buy a comparable brand new laptop for not much more. No one at Dell could even tell me whether replacement LCD panels have been re-engineered or if they would be guaranteed (note that online reports from several people for whom Dell replaced displays say the new displays failed very soon after replacement, another indication of defective design (i.e., the time to failure does not depend much on whether the panel is in use or being stored in a warehouse)). Please advise me about how Dell plans to resolve problems related to defective LG Phillips LCD panels. Don Alexander
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