Did Dell move to Russia?

This really has nothing to do with ministry in Russia, except for the fact, that what I've been through with Dell is way too reminiscent of what I have to deal with here all the time.

I'd like to do what I can to help Dell get the message that they are going to die if they don't get serious about customer service. Here is what I wrote them about our last set of interchanges over a keyboard issue Diana was having:

Although getting service from Dell has never been quick or easy, it has usually been do-able. This time has been a virtual nightmare.

1. First was a series of calls that kept being lost, and no one called back.
2. Then, I found out that because I am abroad, I was talking to the wrong person. She was very kind, but she told me that I needed to call Russian Support. She never sent the info to do this, though.
3. I eventually called back and got a phone number - 512-728-7424, not for Russian support but for International support.
4. I called this number and was told that it was a different department altogether. She gave me another number,
5. which I called: 800-456-3355x7241969. I did not get International Support, but was told this time that, not only was this, yet again, the wrong number, but that my warranty had expired on Sept. 30. She checked around and found no other number for me to call but the 512 number. I ignored her claim that I had to call the 512 number and her claim I had no warranty,
6. and I called the 800 number with the extension again. This time I got someone who picked where I had left off and assured me my warranty was good. This time, however, he told me that I could not get my service in Russia since my warranty is in the US; I had to either have the part sent to a US address and have a friend or family send it here or call Customer Care and get the warranty transferred and THEN call Russian support.
7. I called Customer Care, who told me it wasn't for them to handle but rather Technical Support, but she transferred me over to TS.
8. TS told me that they DO NOT transfer warranties. That would have
to be Customer Care. So he transferred me back.
9. Customer Care once again told me that they could not do the transfer. So they gave me a number for Warranty support - the same 512 number as I had called above!
10. I then gave up on getting this process accomplished and called back the regular number to just have it sent to a domestic address.

The only frustration here was that I had to go through many of the same steps of testing again to get the new keyboard approved, even though it had already been approved several calls ago.

Let me emphasize that the individuals I spoke with were generally very kind and helpful to the extent they knew how. This is a SYSTEMIC problem!

Thank you for taking the time to read this and figure out what to do to fix the system. At this point, I have no desire to be a Dell customer in the future.

Lyle Thomas

But then to top it all off, they wrote the next day, apologizing, and asked me to confirm that the part, already shipped out, was going to the right address. It was being sent to the address in GA they have on file, rather than the one I asked for in OR.

Blessedly, they supposedly intervened in time, though we will see if it makes it.

Biblical Problem Solving

My motto over the last year or more has been "walking by faith." My tendency has been to plan and think things through and analyze them to death, even to the point of questioning God is leading - the infamous "analysis paralysis." It's been amazing how much less trouble and stressful life is now that I walk this way. God just seems to show me the way all the time - will, not all the time.

Other than our work at the Harbor, I came here with only a general idea of what our calling was, based on the interface between my gifts, passions, experience (and Diana's), and what I knew of where God was already moving in St. Petersburg. Now I look for relational connectivity to complete the picture of direction for ministry. One early connection that was too obvious to miss was with Pastor Igor Sokolov. We have much in common, philosophically, strategically, and in terms of ministry orientation, and - most importantly - we both believe we are in relationship with each other for a purpose. We met through training we were both getting to become Christan life coaches over a year ago, before I even knew we were bound for St. Petersburg. Since September we have been coaching each other into greater effectiveness in our respective callings, but those must needs overlap.

So a couple of weeks ago, Igor asked me what were some of the things I could offer their church, since we are also attending his fellowship as a family. I mentioned a class called Biblical Problem Solving and a parenting class. He asked me to present the concepts to his leadership team the next evening, and the response blew me away. They were most enthusiastic, and by the next meeting a couple of weeks later they were ready to put in on the books - for the following week!

I had taken the class from the Christian Counseling and Training Center in Richmond about ten years ago, and it had radically impacted my life, my marriage, and my counseling ministry ever since then. It had been a class I wanted to introduce to the city since before I arrived, but I did not expect it to happen so soon. My aim is to find a core leadership team that can take this class to a citywide level and reproduce leadership to expose the teachings to thousands of people within the next 10 years. The church has embraced even this goal. Now it just remains to implement it and watch God do the rest!

So when the offer came to teach the class, everything fell into place. We found a good time; we have about 15 people signed up (with less than a week's notice); the CCTC agreed to underwrite the translation of the materials; and our apartment ended up being the best place for the class, since God has given us such a great corridor at the top of our stairway.