Miscellaneous laptop discussions : Alienware - DO NOT PERFORM YOUR OWN REPAIRS
I must be :)
by quackerjack - 3/4/05 1:35 PM In reply to: Alienware-JuanG and quackerjack by VisitingLeafYeah I must be.
Why am I here? Because I am businessman/IT guy who dislikes when customers think they can just scream and cry about something and some one well eventually fix it.
I own systems from various companies, for personal, business and for my clients. Yes, i own from Alienware. I own dells, toshibas, IBMs (top of my list for business stuff), etc.
I really don't have time to work for Alienware, but hey... it'd be nice to get some freebies working there.
So lets see, anyone else here work for any competitors or such?
quackerjack
by leSir - 3/4/05 1:44 PM In reply to: I must be :) by quackerjacki guess that's why you picked the name "quackerjack"
"Quackerjack: I am a businessman/IT guy"
by hickmanj - 3/4/05 2:46 PM In reply to: I must be :) by quackerjackIf you are telling people over the phone to repair their own systems; and refusing to ship it to depot (for a warranty covered issue) until they attempt something your warranty doesn't cover - then everyone here with commonsense realizes that you are unethical.
The issue isn't that I opened my own case and damaged it - the issue is that they will not authorize shipment for a warranty covered issue (which is what I started with) until you try a solution that is NOT covered by warranty. I.E. they make you risk damage to the product you bought so they can save time/money. THAT is unethical.
That's logic.
Jason
I agreed with your above statement.
by FrenchyHey - 3/5/05 3:53 PM In reply to: "Quackerjack: I am a businessman/IT guy" by hickmanjYou follow the tech instruction you are cover period or he tell you right from the beginning that you won't be cover but in that case he has to give you a Authority number so that you could return your product.
Michel Derome
Do us a favor
by donniebnyc - 3/6/05 5:36 PM In reply to: "Quackerjack: I am a businessman/IT guy" by hickmanjProve you're not a shill. Tell us your company name, so we can avoid you, too.
What if..What if
by Rough - 3/7/05 2:38 AM In reply to: :) by quackerjackThis is cNET damnit!! Quacker,and it has it's equivalent in every major language on this planet!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why wouldn't somebody "check" on it from time to time?
SIGH
I see that the sad case or Mr Juan has been fixed.
by FrenchyHey - 3/22/05 2:58 PM In reply to: hickmanj by Alienware-JuanGThat is sad to see it took all that.
My wife just bought a new Lap Top she wasn't sure what to but but after 15 years outside of the working market she wanted to treat herself in a respectable way.
She was surfin the net and I told her that it was going to be her decision and she opted at the end for a Toshiba at Future Shop in Canada.
It is half the price of Mr Juan and although I am sure Mr Juan got a great Lap Top from your corporation my wife's Lap Top was half that price with the extended warranty that said if you have to replace 3 times the same component during the next 4 years you will received a new Lap Top with the same option or better is older model is not available anymore and it has to be brand new not refurbish free at that time the extended warranty will be offer again if you pay the warranty for another 4 years or for the reminder of the actual warranty.
And of course she saw CNET site and that story I will be honest she wanted to spend at a max 2k maybe a bit more with the tax so she would not have bought from you anyway but the result of this sad story or Mr Juan is that she warn me of not buying from your corporation under the penalty of eternal nagging so Alienware top of the line or my own built and no nagging or Falcon well you get my point.
What goes around come around.
Michel Derome
Yup!
by culture_of_one - 3/22/05 8:28 PM In reply to: I see that the sad case or Mr Juan has been fixed. by FrenchyHeyI can see you with a nice Falcon Northwest extreme gaming machine, Michel! 
Back to reality
by hickmanj - 3/3/05 11:09 AM In reply to: Alienware - DO NOT PERFORM YOUR OWN REPAIRS by hickmanjReality is this:
I had a hardware issue.
I called Alienware - at the time of the phone call I had a perfectly fine machine - my laptop case was not damaged.
I was told to open it by their tech.
I registered my unwillingness.
I was told to do it or they couldn't authorize shipment to depot.
I followed the tech's instructions to use a credit card and it snapped the latch on the F8 key.
I was then told they wouldn't cover the damages.
I ended the "support tech call" with a broken laptop case.
This is all recorded by Alienware (I don't know how long they keep phone records - so someone would need to ask them). So the facts are verifiable by anyone.
Most sane consumers realize the inequity of that situation and the double-standard.
My laptop is 1-year old, I paid $3600 and bought their best "customer support warranty."
That is reality no matter what anyone "thinks or opinions" - notice that there is no judgment language until my final sentence conerning sane consumers.
Feel free (it is a free forum) to define "sane consumer" as: I want to give $3600 to someone and then have them accept no responsiblity or accountability and take my money and run. You are free to do so. I define it differently.
Alienware is currently in communication with me. We will see what the follow-through is - and I plan to post it here (to not do so would be unfair to them). If it is positive I will post it.
Until then, I stand by my right to tell people their business practices so we have aware, alert consumers.
Peace,
Jason
Call up the B.E.A.R.
by R. Proffitt
- 3/3/05 11:50 AM
In reply to: Back to reality by hickmanj
I don't see what state you are in, but in California, the Bereau of Automotive and Electronic Repair sometimes has come to the assistance of such nonsense. If nothing else, you can lodge your complaint they didn't honor the warranty according to you. That is, the refusal to accept the shipment for the repair of the laptop is "the refusal", case closed!
Bob
Good Luck
by fondy - 3/4/05 6:22 AM In reply to: Back to reality by hickmanjI hope your issue gets resolved to your satisfaction. Personally, I wouldn't accept anything less than AW paying the full cost of repair. The reason I say this is because a manufacturer wouldn't hire someone off the street to do what you were instructed to do, without first showing the new employee how to perform the task. It's ridiculous that they would even attempt to hold you to this double standard.
Let us know how it goes.
Too little, way too late.
by donniebnyc - 3/4/05 6:47 AM In reply to: Back to reality by hickmanjI'm glad that they finally decided to try to help, and I hope this works out for you, but as far as I am concerned, Alienware is on my "never buy" list.
Alienware needs to realize that a computer is now a commodity, like a TV or a toaster. The only real added value a company can offer is a lower price and/or superior service. It seems obvious to me that for the price of a case, Alienware could have had a customer for life and a free PR rep. (For now, I'll forget about the outrageous demand that the customer open a laptop case.)
Instead, they have created a bad reputation that will branch out to hundreds (thousands?) of computer enthusiasts. These are the people most likely to pay a premium for a small PC performance increase. And these are the people most often asked for advice by non-enthusiasts.
The only response that might possibly save face for this company is to repair the laptop for free and claim it was all a misunderstanding. However, I doubt this will happen because it certainly would have been mentioned in juang's last post.
Don
alienware loses my buisness
by mayshouse - 3/4/05 1:48 PM In reply to: Back to reality by hickmanjI was torn between alienware and ibuypower for a new computer. ibuypower has a good rep and much better prices, but alienware was such a well known name i thought a little more money so better support and customer care. I was wrong and thank you for helping make my decision a lot easier. Alienware has high prices and very poor customer support and aparently horrible tech support for their own warranty. Again thank you for the warning. 2100 dollars is a lot for me.
Damage done
by cfsnco - 3/5/05 12:24 AM In reply to: alienware loses my buisness by mayshouseWell, after reading some 60 something posts I come to one realization. The AW told the customer to do the required "repairs". AW should have notified the customer of the possible damage that could be caused if the customer opened the laptop. the customer should then have been given the option to open the case knowing the risk(s).
Another question, when Juan G first posted, did management know he was posting? was Juan G acting on his own or with company approval? interesting thought, possible legal question.
In the end, I believe that AW has done irreparable damage to themselves by not doing the right thing, That is, to offer to replace the case. Warranties and contracts may be discussed forever in this forum; however, good customer relations are hard to attain and even more difficult to keep. AW has missed their chance for free advertising and having a loyal customer that will spread the word of AW's "good will" by failing to even attempt to satisfy the customer.
I AGREE
by mhaus7 - 6/6/05 11:06 PM In reply to: Back to reality by hickmanjI would like to point your attention to a post I put in this forum called • COMPUTER SERVICE DOES EXIST AND IT DOESN'T TAKE SNIVELING. I am not in any way accusing you of any wrong doing I think what you have done is proper and right. The sniveling part is a answer to a gent from the UK that had the opinion Americans were cry babies.
I tried to build my own and I ended up with a machine that was insane! It did things that I was told was impossable. Ya right I saw it. It wasnt until I took this guy to tharapy ie: local computer store (refer to post) that I came home with a system I could use and have the knowalge that if there was ANY problem I could talk to someone face to face. Maybe that is the problem in a nut shell we are too cut off from one another to be able to comunicate effectivly. The only choice is to use force to get our voices heard
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