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Miscellaneous laptop discussions : Alienware - DO NOT PERFORM YOUR OWN REPAIRS
I had no problems with Dell
by mlampp - 3/4/05 7:57 PM In reply to: Dells Customer Service is Laughable by louis.bAbout a year ago I started to have problems with my Dell's DVD drive. I placed one call to Dell's tech support and an English speaking Texan, I think he was around Austin, helped me resolve the issue by sending a Tech to my house with a new DVD drive and he replaced it in less than 5 minutes. This was at no cost to me and I have not had any problems since.
I agree
by ranata - 3/5/05 4:08 AM In reply to: Dells Customer Service is Laughable by louis.bLet me tell you my friends experience with Dell.
Both her and I brought our daughters laptops for Christmas as both need them for school and university.
Mine so far is going well but her's while her daughter was typing just died, nothing, no power no lights no nothing, computer is about 4 months old still under warranty. She rang Dell got someone that she could not understand.I think it depends on the country that you ring from as to where you end up, in Australia you end up in Asia.
The tech. support told her to open the laptop and try things. That did not work. At this point she asked him if she breaks something they better fix it he told her that she voided the warranty and would be liable for any breaks, she then yelled a lot of bad words at him (not sure if he understood any of them. He then asked her if she knew anyone with a laptop that she might exchange batteries to see if it made her computer work, she said no( she was not going to risk any other computer). He said he would log the call but would not tell her when help was coming he could not even tell who was coming ( which firm was going to fix it, Dell I do not think have any tech. in Australia), also told her if she did not hear by Monday at 4.00PM to ring back, she was ringing at 9.00am thursday. A lot more yelling and bad words, told them that if they did not ring her back with information she would go to our consumer affairs dept. (they handle this type of problems). Dell man with Australian accent rang back and arranger to send someone next day to fix it. He had to replace the motherboard.
IF IT'S UNDER WARRANTY DO NOT TOUCH IT.
Ranata
Dell Customer Service, or Lack thereof
by spindu8 - 3/16/05 8:49 AM In reply to: Dells Customer Service is Laughable by louis.bI was considering a Alienware when I came across this site. Now I am not. I have already had it with extremely poor service on the laptop I purchased about 4 years ago from Dell. The warrenty is over, they would not extend it, they no longer make batteries for it, it's basically a unstable mini desktop paperweight...when it works. I purchased a high end machine on the front end, or so I was told. However please note that when I did have to have a tech come and work on the machine she was very nice. I did not even have to give her directions she had been to my house so many times! Here is a list of problems I had that I can think of:
Keyboard replacement. Twice
Case cracking
Touch Pad replaced. Twice
Instability the entire time
Compenents replaced inside machine twice
System crashed Twice.
I know there is more because the Tech (Contract Tech support I might add) came to my house at least seven times in 2 years. Do not consider a Dell for a Laptop. You WILL regret it.
When I talked to Support I also had the language issue (Indian) and when I talked to a Tech manager stateside I was told basically, "I think thats pretty normal." If it is, never again sir. Never Again.
Thank You!
by culture_of_one - 3/16/05 9:03 PM In reply to: Dell Customer Service, or Lack thereof by spindu8Whenever I try to tell anyone about my friends' horrible experiences with Dell, people just accuse me of having a personal vendetta or working for a competitor. Furthermore, they claim that it's only natural for Dell to have a lot of screw-ups...since they make so many computers. Well, I think it only goes to show that Dell can afford to "replace" defective machines. They can also afford to "refurbish" them on their own time, and then sell them to someone else as a "refurbished" unit. (At a steep discount, of course!)
It's nice to see people who have real experience come forward and explain just how bad it can get.
Thanks again! 
BTW, I can understand why people who have (luckily for them) had good experiences with Dell would be skeptical. My point has always been, "Can you afford to be one of the unlucky ones?"
Well if alienware also use people don't speak well english..
by SCVRusher - 3/22/05 1:41 AM In reply to: Dells Customer Service is Laughable by louis.bI talked with them more than 20 times on the phone and only 2-3 person are native english speakers. Sometimes i don't even understand what the they are talking about on the phone lol. Anyway recently i just bought a system from dell, I told them I had a broken Windows installation CD. Dell quickly solve the problem by sending in a new Windows Installation CD. I mean at least dell would admit their mistake while alienware won't admit their mistake and having me buying a new AC adaptor for a replacement. Not only that, I even purchased their 3 year warranty lol
Well to be honest thier customer support is crap but their techincal support kinda useful solving problems with my DVD-RW. =/
At our office... and my neighbor...
by R. Proffitt
- 3/4/05 4:52 AM
In reply to: Congratulations, you just lost a potential customer. by DrewN
Dell service has been fine. While some will fail them for that foray into another country, they seem to be recovering from that and ...
You are given a choice to put in your own replacement part or have them do it. I've never had them pressure me like in this discussion.
-> There is a flame in another forum about Dell having them install the OS and the owner losing their data files. But that's not a Dell issue. The owner had not learned about backup so they learned it firsthand (the hard way!)
Bob
Owner damaged case
by quackerjack - 3/4/05 1:19 PM In reply to: At our office... and my neighbor... by R. Proffitt
Wouldn't this be the same for this customer.
Becareful with your system, don't break it with a credit card.
When a PC manufacture tells you to re-install your O/S, they tell you that you will lose Data and should back up. Maybe alienware should have told hickmanj to be careful and not break anything on while on the phone or is it obvious just like you need to back up when you re-install your O/S?
Dell Service
by PromptCritical - 3/4/05 5:30 AM In reply to: Congratulations, you just lost a potential customer. by DrewNTrue story. I was working pipeline cross-country (USA). I had a Dell laptop with the top of the line service. One of the trucks ran over my laptop as we were GPSing a location. I was so remote in Arkansas that I had to use a satellite phone to call them.
THE VERY NEXT DAY a Dell tech drove out from Little Rock with the new laptop, pulled my information to the new laptop, and shook my hand. He did this all on the tailgate of a pickup standing in mud. (We gave him some mud boots) Oh, and since they did not have available the same capacity drive, they doubled it with the new laptop. The old laptop went back with him in a bag.
I now manage the IT systems in a hospital and they are all Dells. I have never had the slightest bit of service trouble.
Dell
by Pinda - 3/4/05 6:19 AM In reply to: Congratulations, you just lost a potential customer. by DrewNAbsolutely not. We had some problems with a Dell that was damaged in shipment. They replaced the intire machine and payed for over night both ways. Another company that has terrific service is HP.
As far as Alienware (and I mean no offence to anyone who has one) 90% of thier clients are young people. People that don't know thier rights when it comes to this sort of situation. Looks like they are taking advantage of that 100%
I also, after reading this wouldnt touch one of thier systems with a 10 ft pole
Example of GOOD customer service: I had a run of bad luck with HP monitors. They sent 4 different ones. Overnight to me paid shipping for the overnight and the return of the broken monitor.I figure by the time this was over they paid more for shipping than they made on the monitor. However they did get something that money cant buy, and thats a loyal customer. I recommend them to everyone
Me too!!!
by Bronc - 3/4/05 12:58 PM In reply to: Congratulations, you just lost a potential customer. by DrewNI agree with DrewN...I was seriously considering an Alienware product as well....after reading these threads....man I'm walking, no make that running away from Alienware products....
Word of mouth will make or break you everytime....glad I started reading this today...
Hickmanj thanks for the heads up...good luck getting it settled.
HP Has GREAT customer service!!!
by revans61 - 3/4/05 7:04 PM In reply to: Congratulations, you just lost a potential customer. by DrewNI have an HP 533w and I have had it for 3 years. When it was about a month old my power supply failed. I called HP, they asked me a few questions and after I told them the details, they explained how to send it
to them.. It was so easy, they Fedexed me a custom box for my pc in 1 day. While packing it in the box I accidently broke a hinge on the front USB cover. I just went ahead and sent it like that. I received the PC back in 6 days (Total) with a new power supply and they even replaced the USB cover without even saying a word. I haven't had a bit of trouble with the PC since. THough the warranty is over, I would have no problem calling HP for help. This company gets it done.
Differance between Alienware & Dell Policy on this
by skon - 3/4/05 9:16 PM In reply to: Congratulations, you just lost a potential customer. by DrewNI worked for Dell tech support for a couple of years. Here is how there warrinty reads on this issue. They do require the customer to open the case (desktop's only never on a laptop), however when the customer ask's "what if I break something?" they are told "Don't worry, if you break it while following a Dell tech's directions Dell will fix it in house for free." Obviously a more moral and logical arraingement. I know I will never consider an Alienware product after reading this thread.
Falcon recomendation(sp?)
by roywfw - 3/12/05 9:21 AM In reply to: Congratulations, you just lost a potential customer. by DrewNI strongly suggest you visit "falcon-nw.com". My 1st Falcon had a Pentium 200 and it was top of the line so this gives you some idea how long I've been an enthusiastic customer.
Over the last 10 years or so, I've called their tech support 10-12 times. The vast majority of those calls went directly to one of the techs with no delay and on the few occasions when they were all busy, they called back within the hour. 50% - 60% of those calls occurred when I did the XP upgrade on my 2nd Falcon. I wanted to do a completely fresh install and not just upgrade the ME install but I was leary of wiping the hard drive so I called tech prior to starting (good move). They gave me a verbal walk through and sent me a CD with necessary drivers and step by step instructions. Of course I managed to screw it up, resulting in a few more phone calls which were always answered promptly and all problems resolved.
When it came time to get a new system, I thought that it would be prudent to explore other manufacturers and Alienware was one that I checked out. I found that I could get an AW system for a few $100 dollars less than a similarly equiped Falcon. I was tempted but in the end I decided to go with the folks that I have been so pleased with for many years and this thread confirms that I made the correct choice.
About a month after receiving my latest Falcon, the UPS man showed up with a large box from Falcon-NW. With great curiosity I opened this unsolicited carton and discovered a note thanking me for choosing Falcon-NW, a mouse pad, a T-shirt (in my size!), a coffee mug and a lb. bag of custom blend coffee. Not a huge investment for them but it is an indication of their commitment to their customers and it sure made me feel all warm & fuzzy.
Always remember, "you get what you pay for" and this outfit is the best. Check 'em out at "falcon-nw.com".
Dell good, not great
by tchristoff - 3/14/05 7:42 AM In reply to: Congratulations, you just lost a potential customer. by DrewNI've worked with Dells on an Enterprise level, Small Business level and at the consumer level. Enterprise level support is usually VERY good. Phone support is in the U.S. It went to India for a short while but they brought it back when all the hollering started. They do make you jump through a few hoops (I actually had to hold the phone up to a very noisy fan and a noisy CD drive). But, once they know there is a problem the part is usually there the next day, with a tech if you have on-site support.
Small Business, and Consumer level support isn't quite as good. Support is in India, with the inherent language problems. Hold times are far longer. Too many phone numbers. I helped some small business customers and some consumers buy PCs. I called the consumer line accidentally when I should have called the Small Business line. 30 minutes on hold to be told I should have called the other line, transferred and on hold for another hour. And this was after 10:00 at night. But...once it was decided the MotherBoard was bad a new one was shipped and a tech installed it. This was after I had opened the case on my own. That didn't cause a problem. So, in my estimation Dell is good, but not great. By the way, every computer manufacturer (from Packard Bell many years ago to Compaq, HP and Dell) requires some phone troubleshooting. I even had a customer who knew NOTHING about computers have Dell have her open the PC to reset the BIOS jumper. Talk about a disaster waiting to happen. Sorry this is so long.
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