here's the straight dope (Score 1)

here's the deal. i cannot claim that there was any intention or malcontent involved, more likely incompetence or most likely, apathy. the truth is: dell puts way more emphasis on it's "business" customer support than it's "consumer". if you purchased a "consumer" grade product, but were registered as a business user, guess what? you're going to get better support. this is why you'll hear (mostly) accolades about dell support from business/enterprise customers. The lawsuit was started because of lack of "consumer" support, and rightfully so. granted, the enterprise support was good, but it was a headache even to get that support sometimes. the consumer support was not nearly as importatant to dell as it's enterprise support, and rightfully so. the consumer division has little room for extra revenues (service contracts, etc.) and even lower profit margins. the lawsuit brought by the state of new york was regarding deceptive business practices regarding consumers. *(if)* i worked for dell for about 7 months, and knowing what i know, i would definitely say that they have a case. i'm not going to cite any specific examples, but i'm sure they'll win their case.