Dell Works, Spends To Get Back Into Good Graces

It's also acting - with a combination of P.R. moves and massive investments - like it wants to rebound from a nearly year-long slump.

The Round Rock, Texas-based computer maker this morning announced a new donation of computer equipment to help "keep deployed soldiers of a U.S. Army combat unit and their families at Fort Lewis, Wash., connected, any time of the day or night."

And, late last month, Dell tried to show off a greener side by announcing free recycling for all of Dell's branded products globally.

But perhaps the biggest move, beyond press releases and P.R.-friendly announcements, has been its $100 million investment into beefing up its services and customer support. So far there is only anecdotal evidence to show Dell is rebounding from the services badmouthing it took last year and early this year from customers, including several high-profile bloggers. But it's noteworthy anecdotal evidence nonetheless. Glenn Reynolds, who blogs at Instapundit.com, wrote last week that it took less than an hour for a Dell service rep to diagnose and help fix what seemed to be a very ugly issue with his laptop. Reynolds, who many consider an opinion leader in the blogosphere, wrote that his laptop went from "dead as a doornail" to "working fine" after some remote fix-it work.

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Make no mistake: Dell isn't out of the woods from all the ill-will it created last year when, its executives admit, it let services sag. And some of its laptops are getting press of the wrong sort - like the exploding laptop that became an Internet legend within a matter of days last month.

And Dell continues to receive some sub-par customer evaluations for its support.

But, Dell competitors in the channel can take note: $100 million and a few good public relations moves can buy back at least some of the good will it lost. What remains to be seen is whether it can buy back some of that lost business as well. Dell's next earnings report is scheduled for Aug. 17.