Thread regarding Dell Inc. layoffs

@b7 I will say this much... It's not as hard to transfer/get a new job after tech support. The VAST majority of IT folks started out in some type of tech support role early in their career. I did tech support for a total of 4 years I believe - 3 at an MSP and 1 at Dell. I had my CCNA, A+, SEC+, and NET+ already so I was way above the curve compared to many others.

After I quit pro support at Dell, I worked as a Net admin at a convention center for a year as a contractor - got let go because I was scheduled to work Thanksgiving day and said F that. Then worked as a L3 net admin at a small company for a year before being let go - I literally had nothing to do lol. The work just wasn't there for me.

THEN, I got a contract job with Dell as a Cyber Engineer. I was a contractor for a solid 3 months before I was turned FTE. I'm now a senior Cyber Security Engineer making more money than I'd ever dreamed of.

My point is that it's not hard to transfer out of tech support as long as you have the credentials to do so. And even at that, tbh...? Knowledge is power in the IT world. There are two things you MUST be able to do to get a good IT job. 1: Know wtf you are talking about during interviews. 2: be able to back that sh-t up and PROVE you know what and how to do xyz.

So far in my career, nobody has ever asked for "proof" of any of my certifications. Which is annoying because I worked hard for them but like, if you know your sh-t then they dgaf about any of that. They only care about if you can do the job.

I feel your pain and can't imagine how it is NOW. I worked Pro Support back in 2016-2017 and it was the same cr-p. I was first shift so there was like 60 of us and we had 2 mins of "off call" time as well. It was ridiculous. I felt like a child.

Everything was "timed" for us. Gotta go take a dump? Better do a power dump because you only have a few minutes, otherwise you get "docked." 99.9% of my calls were from the US and native English speakers but, at some point I began getting sick of how we were being treated and simply didn't care anymore.

Then I found out a way to terminate the "ICE" program they used - which was how they recorded, monitored, and could listen in on our calls, at least in 2017.. - so I'd ki-l that application every morning after taking a few calls. Which made it seem as if it was an issue with the app. It worked for 2 hours then, stopped working!
Which was funny because a solid like 50 days went by without anyone noticing and then during a 1x1, they mentioned something about how they have no records of calls or whatever. I said "idk" and that was the end of it lol.

If the issue was something I didn't want, or know anything about... I'd swiftly transfer to network support and move on. I'd work with them for long enough (10 minutes maybe) then I'd transfer them to network L2's usually because they 100% will help someone.
I'd take note of the name so if I saw that name pop up again that day, I'd let someone else get it. The trick was to either not create a ticket until/unless you wanted/could help them out OR, create a ticket and then make up some bs in it as to why you transferred. I had a whole system worked out and don't remember what/how I did everything now..

If the customer was an A hole and/or a B to work with, I'd start pressing the mute button as fast as possible while talking - to make it sound like a connection issue - and then straight up hang up on them and/or transfer them to a totally random department. I had a few departments that I'd regular transfer people to lol.

Another trick I did if I wanted a break was to call my own cell number and let that "call" go on for 10 minutes or so. As far as I knew, even with the "ICE" program shut off, they could still monitor who was on a call and who wasn't. They just couldn't see anything more than that.

I did the same thing at another call center/MSP that I worked at for 3 or 4 years as well. Ironically, I quit that job to GO to Dell and get involved in the WORST call center I've ever experienced.

I quit in either late 2016 or January of 2017, then got a job as a network admin at another job. Then ironically enough, I ended up back at Dell in my dream job! 6 years later and still love my job - not the company, just my job lol.

Upper management initially aimed to reduce GIST through case creation, which led to some layoffs. However, they soon realized that case creation was a very costly approach due to the platform chosen, and the ongoing maintenance expenses did not justify keeping it long-term. As a result, triage staff are now handling an extremely high caseload.

This isn’t unique to GIST, other departments are experiencing the same pressure. Teams are stretched thin, and this level of workload is unsustainable. You might be able to keep a team running like this for a few weeks or months, but eventually it will lead to burnout. I speak from experience, having been on a queue myself with back-to-back calls for four years straight, until I was reassigned.

Any area that represents Dell’s core services clearly needs more staffing, but I’m not convinced there’s an intention to hire. If Dell expects AI to fully replace people, they are in for a rude awakening, it simply won’t work.

That’s not true. There used to be way fewer calls before — the workload has increased a lot because many people have left, and others were laid off or affected by the previous cuts, and they were never replaced. The company clearly wants AI to take over the job, that’s why they’re not hiring anymore.
On the other hand, it’s not that easy to just “leave the job,” as some people suggest. Many of us have kids to support, and the tech market right now is not exactly great.

2 mins of post call wrap time has been a support policy at Dell since at least 2000. Support's job is to be in the queue taking calls. It su-ks but that's the nature of the job.

30 calls a day seems light. Years ago, in what was enterprise "Gold" support, ~50 calls a day was not uncommon. Breaks/lunches were tracked to the minute. Personal time was also tracked as a metric. It's how Dell runs call centers. They're staffed based on anticipated call volume and number of "in queue" minutes available per FTE. They do this to not overstaff and control costs as much as possible. Support is never going to change. Folks complaining about working in support are never going to understand that.

Move to a professional role and get out of support if you want to be treated like a human being. If you stay in support at Dell, this is what you're going to deal with.

It's easy to say quit. The tech job market is very bad. On top of that, trying to transition from support to another career can be problematic. Then again, I know people in Support that have been their for decades and do not perceive the job to be that bad. If it is unbearable, you need to find something else. What is the job market like in your area?

If it's any consolation, I am in ISG and management on my side has been saying for ~2 years now that "GIST isn't going to be a thing anymore." and "They're getting rid of GIST entirely very soon." and "GIST is just a waste of the customer's time."

We've been getting more and more calls directly from the customer with no GIST involvement whatsoever. So your outlooks are rosy.

You should definitely save up as best you can and look for something better before they finish dropping the boot.

Support does not generate revenue; it costs an organization. They will only stop the cost cutting when there is major customer backlash. Even then, look at dealing with any support organization around the world. It's been bad for decades. Waiting on hold. Talking with someone that has zero idea on how to solve the problem. People are so used to bad support that they just take it. The people that are employed in support positions just get pummeled on a daily basis. My hats off to you people. I wouldn't be able to take the punishment. Make no mistake; that is punishment.

then quit