Dear Dell: Customer service should be free

I never thought I'd be writing this, but Dell (yes, Dell), is charging customers a monthly fee to have access to its United States-based customer service representatives. The Washington Post reported on Thursday that the PC maker is charging customers with a Dell account $12.95 per month to have access to an American agent or $99 per year for customers who buy a new PC from the company. Those who don't pay the sum will be contacting center agents in India or the Philippines. But before you start your bellyaching, Dell is sweetening the pot: wait times are guaranteed to be 2 or fewer minutes! Great. Thanks, Dell. A Dell representative told the Post that the company has "heard from customers that it's hard to understand a particular accent and that they couldn't understand the instructions they were getting." Because of that, the company has instituted the policy to "illustrate Dell's commitment to customer choice." This mouthpiece (and Dell, for that matter) is kidding, right?  ... (link)