Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2002 01:55:38 -0500
From: Seth Finkelstein <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Matthew Gaylor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: Brian McWilliams <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Michael Dell's statement about suspicious orders
Thanks for the opportunity to respond to the customer issue. Please
note (and post if you will), this note from Michael Dell to Dell
customers, which we hope adequately explains the situation and Dell's
response. Please let us know if you have additional questions.
Thanks very much, [Dell PR person]
To Our Valued Customers and Friends:
U.S. export laws restrict the sale of technology to terrorists and to
people in countries that support terrorism. These laws also prohibit
computer sales to people who will use the technology in developing
biological or nuclear weapons. Dell strictly complies with our
country's export laws in order to ensure the safety of our customers
and citizens around the world. When there is reasonable cause for
concern, we carefully review customer orders for prohibited
destinations and activities.
When additional follow-up on an order is required, our sales
representatives ask our customers four basic questions:
1. Who is the end-user?
2. Where will the product be used?
3. What will the product be used for?
4. What type of business or industry is involved?
The answers to these questions, like all customer information we
gather, are confidential and are not shared outside of Dell.
We recently received an order from a customer whose company name
included the word "combat." We cancelled the order to give us enough
time to follow up with the customer and be assured that the sale would
be in compliance with U.S. export law. However, we failed to contact
the customer, and as a result, we did not deliver the order as
promised, and the customer did not know why. Once we discovered our
error, we apologized to the customer for this misunderstanding, as
well as the inconvenience caused by the delay. This is not the service
standard that we hold ourselves to at Dell, and if I were a customer
who'd received similar treatment, I would be very disappointed.
We at Dell feel a strong obligation to uphold our federal law, but we
have just as strong an obligation to be responsive to the needs of all
our customers. I want to assure you that Dell does not discriminate
against any business, regardless of the products or services they
sell, nor do we discriminate against individual consumers. We do,
however, sometimes make mistakes - as we did in this case.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Michael Dell
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