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Incredibly Tormenting and Amusing Computer Problem
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View this Thread in Original format
| Devbert |
My brand new $3500 computer has been out of commission for the past 6 weeks. Check out these posts made on the Alienware Customer Service Forums (Long, but amusing):
Original Post:
Here is a tidbit of what I've gone through in the past weeks (this is all from a post I made over a month ago and continued to edit. Edits are included, and have not been changed from the original times they were made):
I'd just like to give you a little heads-up about how things are being run.
I'll just summarize, as the details are trivial to the point of this message.
I had a problem at the start of May (the 6th), I called tech support, and was told new parts were on the way. Ten days later, no parts have arrived, so I posted on the forums, and found out, thanks to you Blaine, that my credit card was rejected, and that they needed a new one. So I called back and gave another credit card number, and they said the parts were out.
I recieved the parts yesterday, the 20th, so it had been a little over 2 weeks. I was supposed to recieve a motherboard and CPU. Alas, there was no CPU attached to the motherboard. I called in, and the guy said he had to investigate and he'd call me back tomorrow. We decided on a one-hour time slot for him to call back.
Next day comes around, no call. I call AW to find out what this guy found out. Oh, the investigation is still going on. This is how it's done. I guess I must be the a$$---- for wanting to get my computer fixed after 3 weeks with an incredibly important paper due which is on there. I gave them my number to call back the next day, and leave a message if I'm not there.
In addition to this, I was never told, until I recieved the parts (the ones with the missing CPU) and called in, that I could have just have had my comp picked up, sent to you, and had the new parts installed. Because if I was told that, I would have just done that.
For some reason I have a feeling I'm not gonna get a call.
Edit: It's the next day, and I have not recieved a call or a message as was promised. I guess I should just be grateful you guys allowed me to give you massive amounts of money for a computer, huh?
Edited by - Devbert on 05/22/2002 6:58:24 PM
Edit #2: Another day has gone by. No CPU recieved, no phone call given or message recieved. This is embarassing.
Edited by - Devbert on 05/23/2002 6:08:23 PM
Edit #3: It only gets worse and worse, and my torment only greater and greater. I called to arrange a depot pick up, because I was through trying to deal with the issue myself. I assuemd, give the motherboard back so the card gets refunded, and let the technicians install it. So I call, and after being put on hold about 10 times over various points of the conversation, I'm finally given a number for the motherboard. But he can't give me a pick-up number for the computer, because the system is down. The guy confirms my phone number, and promises to call back in an hour. One hour later, no call. When two hours have gone by, and the customer support time frame is running out, I have to call back and re-explain everything. This guy then has the audacity to tell me that he can't give me a pick-up number, and that a technician has to, when two hours ago another customer support guy was ready to give me a number (Though not ready to call me obviously). So I had tell the problem (again) to a tech guy, and finally I got my needed Fed-Ex info.
I really had high hopes from Alienware. Anything else would have been better. This is humiliating, sad, annoying, frustrating, and just plain dumb how matters are dealt with. I called in on May 6th to get this taken care of. It's now the 24th, and once the package gets picked up, it will still be another 2 weeks before I get it back. That's a 30 day turnaround rate.
You should be ashamed, really. If I knew before what I know now, I would never have bought Alienware.
Edited by - Devbert on 05/24/2002 7:30:04 PM
Edit #4: Still no response. I appreciate it.
Edited by - Devbert on 05/28/2002 8:30:01 PM
Edit #5: Might as well vent a little, even though I get no response.
I sent my computer to AW's depot to be repaired on May 25th (My birthday. A great day to get to deal with this type of stuff). I had it picked up by FedEx, and sent Priority so it would be recieved on Tuesday (Monday was a holiday). I get a call on June 4th. Apparently you got my computer on June 2nd, even though according to FedEx, it was delivered on May 28th. That's a 5 day difference we have right there. To not go into it too deep, I was basically accused of intentionally damaging my own system, then lying about it. Also the parts that I weren't sent (the CPU that never came with the motherboard), I was reaccused of making a contribution to that dissapearance. In the end, I said fine, I'll pay for the parts, a new CPU and MB. So I'm expecting my computer back in the standard Five to Seven day return rate I was told. I get a call yesterday (Wednesday, June 12th), but I get the message too late to deal with it that day (You see, I luckily live on the West Coast, a 3 hour time difference from the East Coast. So when I get a message at 2 in the afternoon, if I'm not home by 4, I can't return the call, because AW Customer Service closes at 7 PM EST). So I get woken up this morning (Thursday, June 13th) to be asked to confirm the parts before they can be placed in. IT TOOK 10 DAYS TO CALL ME TO CONFIRM THE PARTS. Well, I was literally grinding my teeth, when I was told that my Video Card had to be replaced to, they just forgot to tell me about it 10 days ago. So now I'm going to have to drop $650. Then the incredibly competent and resourceful (yes, it's sarcasm) customer support person responds to my inquiry about the huge cost of this replacement (for a couple hundred more, I could go to Fry's and buy a system about 80% as good as the one I got from AW. And this is for 3 Parts!), that I don't have to buy the parts, there just offering them to me. I deftly returned with the assertation that "I SPENT OVER THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS ON THIS P.O.S. LESS THEN 6 MONTHS AGO, AND YOUR TELLING ME I DON'T HAVE TO REPLACE THE PARTS???!!!" Was it idiocy or lunacy, perhaps we'll never no. So now, I can expect to have my machine back in about a week, hopefully June 20th. Original call made to Alienware on May 6th. 45 Days. If only swearing were allowed on this forum, I would make a Nun's ears hemmorage.
Even though I will never get a response, I just felt it was important to document this wonderful event. I will never buy Alienware again, I will badmouth the quality of service the company provides. everyone I know, and I will save this entire post so that if it is not replied to, I can repost it again later.
Thank you again, and God Bless!
Edited by - Devbert on 06/13/2002 3:19:46 PM
Edit #6: Who knew I'd get to make 2 edits in one day! Sheer luck I tell you!
I wanted to get my Video Card replacement covered by FedEx insurance because during shipping, the heatsink detached and fell, damaging the video card. Also, AW claims that when they recieved the system, it was loosely packed, even though I spent $35 watching a guy at Mailboxes Etc. neatly and safely package the comp. I spent over 45 minutes on the phone with an AW representative debating about how to get this covered by FedEx. All I wanted was that on the invoice for the new parts, under Video Card they list damaged from shipment, which is a fact. However the guy had the mistaken idea that I was trying to get Alienware to pay for the part. I repeated myself many times that I would pay for it, then contact FedEx about the insurance. Finally, after 2 minute conversations and then 10 minute periods on hold, the guy told me he would talk to his manager about giving me documentation on the damaged part, but he would have to call me back, because she was on the phone. I told him that I had been promised callbacks 2 times before, and never recieved one. He promised he would call back in minutes, and he confirmed my phone number. This was at 3PM PST, 6PM EST. HE NEVER ****ing called me. I was debating whether to take a mallet to my head or the phone. THAT IS THE THIRD STRAIGHT TIME AN ALIENWARE CUSTOMER SERVICE REP HAS PROMISED TO CALL ME BACK AND HAS NOT. NOW I HAVE TO CALL BACK TOMORROW (AGAIN), DEAL WITH THE SAME INCOMPETENCE, THEN PROBABLY GET TOLD "WE'LL CALL YOU BACK."
Tomorrow I plan on contacting Alienware's Customer Service department, and asking to speak to the manager, and then his/her manager, then his/her manager, and so on and so on until I can't get any higher. Then I will read off this incredibly annoying list of complaints to them, and see what they have to say about it. Whoever it is, be it just a middle manager or the VP, I'm sure they'll ask if they can "Call me back."
Edited by - Devbert on 06/14/2002 02:45:52 AM
So I guess I will now make Edit #7. I was called back on the 15th, only to be told that they can't provide me with documentation. It takes almost 20 minutes to try and add on an order for the "Alien Autopsy" to the system. I have to call back to place it, cause the system is going so slow. Now I get a call today, the 17th. They need a credit card again. The other I gave was declined. This is the the third time in 2 weeks I've been asked for a credit card number for these parts. THEY STILL HAVE NOT BEEN INSTALLED. YOU'VE HAD THE SYSTEM FOR OVER 2 WEEKS, AND NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO IT. AND TO TOP IT ALL OFF, IN "MY HIVE", THERE ISN'T AN ORDER FOR 3 PARTS (THE REPLACEMENT ONES I'M TYRING TO PURCHASE) FOR $700, BUT RATHER ANOTHER $3,500 CHARGE FOR ANOTHER COMPUTER ALTOGETHER. IF THAT SHOWS UP ON MY CREDIT CARD STATEMENT, I'M GOING TO GO NUTS.
If I could buy my 2 hard drives (which have all my MP3's and files on them), and return the rest of the entire computer I would. Hell, I'd return it for 85% of what I paid just so I wouldn't have to deal with the incompetent, idiotic, un-articulated telemarketers you've employed and call "Customer Service Representatives."
Blaine, please forward this email to your manager, the CEO, just someone important who gives two sh**'s about me, so I can get my computer fixed or my computer returned.
I will never make the same mistake twice. From now on I will only purcahse from well-known and respected companies such as Dell, that way I don't have to take it up the A$$ from completely moronic companies such as Alienware.
Alienware Moderator's Response:
Devbert,
These are some very serious issues. They were ones that required a little bit of investigation.
First I must say that I can’t particularly answer for what other agents have told you or what you were promised but I can answer for Alienware and the industry wide policies that we have had in our warranty since the beginning of Alienware. The polices stated as follows can be found within your Alienware warranty:
Excluded from this warranty is any damage caused during shipment (except the shipment to the original purchaser)…unauthorized modifications, attachments or peripherals, improper use, environment, installation or electrical supply; improper maintenance; any other misuse, abuse, or mishandling.
This includes the modifications that you had done to your machine. You had in fact installed a very large, cooper non-AMD certified heat sink and fan combo (HSF) of which can be seen in this picture Cooper is very heavy and an AMD core can’t take the weight of that HSF and it probably cracked when you installed it. Most HSF’s come with a shim that goes in between the HSF and the CPU which helps distibute the weigh of the HSF, it was not there and it needed to be. You also notice in this picture that there is very little paste as well as a lack of a shim.
You had called and setup the depot for the machine because it was no longer operational (probably a cracked die on the CPU) but when you shipped it back you didn’t take of the extremely large and heavy HSF off thee cpu. As we both know FedEx can sometimes be a bit rough with their packages and the HSF came off. It bounced around inside the case and did quite a bit of damage. You can see in this picture some of the damage that was done to the video card. There is more to show but I’m sure you understand the severity of the damage.
Alienware is so willing to satisfy you as a customer that we have paid for shipping, are not charging you for labor and will be keeping your warranty intact for the future. The one thing that we are charging you for is the replacement of the damaged hardware. We have gone beyond what any other computer company within in the industry would do. Most if not all the other companies would have voided your warranty. We understand that this was not your intention nor was it ever beneficial to you to even install that HSF as it would have only endangered the validity of your warranty. It is also not beneficial to us to void your warranty.
Alienware and our agents have gone above the call of duty (according to your warranty) because as of right now, it should be voided.
Your machine right now is in the Service Department and is only awaiting parts. I can assure you it will come back as good as new and with an AMD certified HSF.
I appreciate your forthright but I felt that I must tell Alienware’s side of the story.
Thank you for your attention.
•Blaine Ehrlich
Support Forum Moderator
[email protected]
Corporate HQ: 305-251-9797
Customer Service/Tech Support: 866-287-6727
My response to his post:
Blaine, you don't need to sugarcoat it so it appears that I'm the one out of line.
I have no problem paying for the parts. It was my mistake with the heatsink. The motherboard and CPU rightfully should be paid for replaced by me. The heatsink coming off, well, I had it packaged by Mailboxes etc. and shipped to you FedEx. Nothing I can do. I still didn't complain about paying for that. Here is my list of problems that I would like responses to:
Why did it take 10 days to find out that the credit card I gave was denied, and in order to find out, I had to contact you via the forums? I never recieved a call, or indication that there was a problem.
Why was I shipped a motherboard withiout a CPU when I was charged for both? Furthermore, why was I being accused of being a thief when it was not my mistake?
Why was I never originally notified that a Depot pick-up could have been arranged? That would have been my first option, but I was never notified by the customer support or tech support people I spoke with.
Why was I never called back 3 times?
Why am I put on hold every 2 minutes whenever I deal with someone in customer service? It seems the people who work there have to get their managers to approve when they can go to the bathroom.
Why was I clearly lied to by the customer support agent claiming he couldn't give me a depot number, when an hour ago the other customer support agent was saying he was trying to give me one but the system was down? One of them was lying, which one was it? And why were they lying?
Why am I forced to repeat problems to different people because they never follow through on call-backs? It's even more annoying when they confirm my number. If they aren't gonna call be back, they should just tell me so, so I don't have to sit like an a$$---- around the house all day waiting for a phone call.
Why was my computer recieved 4 days later then FedEx said it would be recieved? I appreciate that you paid for the S&H, but I did pay you $3,500 for a computer, which I could have built myself for around $2,000. The whole point of buying it from a company was to not have to deal with these problems. Also, I do remember a little thing called a 3 year warranty, so you paying for FedEx is not a gift to me, it's part of an agreement. Furthermore, every other company I was considering purchasing from (Dell, Falcon Northwest, Voodoo PC, etc.) all have similar service plans, and they don't try to act like they are doing you a favor when they do something nice for you (I have friends who have Dell's and Falcon's, and their reports have been flawless of the companies).
Why did it take a week to call me and confirm the parts I needed? I understand they need to be tested, but does it really take 7 days to dial my 11 digit phone number and confirm the parts? I was calm at best, but then when I get another call 10 more days later, therefore coming to a total of 17 days, to re-confirm and add a part (the video card), I was about to punch a wall. It should not take 2 and 1/2 weeks to confirm the parts I need. Pitiful.
I understand the damage was applied was the result of my installation of the heatsink. I accept the charges for the parts, and the exepected return rate 5 to 7 days.
What I have a problem with is everything that is listed above. Incompetent customer service reps, incompetent tech support reps, numerous redundant callbacks, lies that remain unanswered, mysteries in the shipping department, and other things.
All you have done in your response Blaine is tell me that the damage done was my fault, which I have never denied, and that I should be grateful for Alienware for the massive migranes they have given me.
It's June 17th right now. These problems were brought forth on May 6th. Do the math Blaine.
My computer is a huge part of my life, and because of this inconvenience, I had to re-type a 17 page report that was due at the beginning of June, because I was naive enough to think the problem would be fixed within 4 week sof it being brought to your attention.
When the above stated questions have been answered, then I will be semi-fulfilled.
When I recieve a letter of apology from the CEO for taking my computer out of action for 2 months, for giving me headaches, for causing me stress and torment, then I will be happy.
But for now the above questions in bold being answered will suffice.
And also, I installed the heatsink properly, which was AMD certified. I had no clue that the shoddy motherboard clips would give out during shipping (something I had no control over, especially since I paid $30 to have it packaged) and cause damage to the video card. And I didn't complain about giving you money for that. All I wanted was to see if I could get the damage that incurred during shipping covered by FedEx or Mailboxes etc. And it took over 2 hours on the phone with an incompetent fool to tell me he'd call be back about it.
And some really "intelligent" responses from other forum members:
To whomever moderates this post:
You may delete this entire message. I just want you guys (especially Blaine) to know that the way in which this problem was handled has pleased me very much. I am extremely proud to own a product put out by a company as professional as yours. Keep up the good work.
If it's not too much trouble, please pass this message on to the other moderators, as I feel it is important that all of you are aware of how much you are appreciated.
#2
Oh how I love this forum! I found it very interesting to hear the "whole" story....nicely done Blaine.
Marvin
And my last post
Our people on this forum just incredibly moronic?
I never minded having to pay for the parts. What I minded is that it has taken over 6 weeks to get my computer back and working. Read the second post I made, dolts.
If you read this whole thing, crazy, but thanks for listening to me vent anyways. Never buy Alienware. No one there is on the same page. I get called for a billing credit card, give it to them, 5 minutes later, another call for the same charge. Clueless, incompetent, and condescending. Bunch of bitches. |
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| JohnSmith |
My god, i cannot believe i just read that WHOLE thing.
on one hand, i understand your grief that they took so long. and passed you around, put you on hold etc.
on the other hand, i completely understand their point too. you put on an aftermarket heatsink, that fell off and damaged your computer during shipping. who's fault is that? maybe, it's not yours, but it isn't theirs either. you might be able to get some money back if it was insured through fedex.
but, if you would have just left the heatsink off, then you would be fine now. so it overheats? it's under warranty.
as for the moral of the story.. what have you learned? did all your raging make you feel better? did it get you what you wanted?
probably not. if you would have played by their rules, and been polite, you probably would have got your computer back sooner. |
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| El~ZaPo |
| That's why I ordered all my parts seperate and built the computer myself. From the day I ordered it, I got all the parts deliverered to my door together, and I built the entire system myself the next day within a couple hours. |
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| DJ Chrono |
hmm. It sounds like they don't know what they're doing over at alienware. I can understand why your so mad :(
Personally, I wouldnt buy a computer from the internet,, where shipping is involved. I just picked my HP up from futureshop and the thing has been running smoothly forever. I figured it's safer to buy a computer made by a big company like HP, and so far Im right.. I know people who built custom made computers, and they always have strange problems. |
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| Damo |
that is serious bull, if that happened to me i'd have taken an AK-47 into their headquarters and had some fun... you always know when buying a new computer that you won't have it fully operational until a few days of tinkering but i couldn't imagine waiting weeks... i got frustrated after 4 days with my comp because the guy who put it together didn't set the harddrive jumper properly among a few other minor setbacks...i had to spend an extra 100 bucks in addition to what i paid for the comp just to get it working properly... but then again i bougt the parts for the comp individually and had a friend put them together...
and what are your comp specs? you must have gotten some insane for that much... |
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| butterfly |
that was a captivating story.
i think you handled it well. there was no reason for that company to behave like that and those response posts sounded like they came from within the company.
good luck with your computer. if i believed in lawsuits (which i don't) i would say sue the company but that would probably be more aggravation than it is worth. |
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| Flec |
sorry to be an ass to you but your warrenty was viod the second u installed that heat sink
that means they didnt have to dick all for you aka your on your own aka you dont get any help from them etc...
however they are asswholes for taking so long to tell you all this and for that they should be shot :P
its honestly sad that you would think they would go to the trouble of fixing your computer if you were not smart enough to follow the guidlines of the warrenty |
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| Devbert |
Thanks for people who made intelligent responses.
To the others: I'M NOT MAD AT HAVING TO PAY FOR THE PARTS!!!
Jesus, you people are dense. If you actually read it, I'm just angry at the fact that it's gonna take 60 days to get my computer back to me again.
If I could do it all over again I'd buy from Dell, because they have some kick-ass customer service.
And as for the warranty issue, I posted on the forums first about wanting a heatsink. The same moderator told me I could get an aftermarket one and install it as long as it was AMD approved. I hooked it up properly, and the overheated.
The warranty states that mishandling or illegal modifications void the warranty. I asked for approval first, got an AMD approved Heatsink, and installed it properly. So I did nothing wrong.
Specs:
Athlon XP 1900
Gigabyte GA7-V
512 MB of PC-2100
(2)Western Digital 100 GB HD's with 8 MB of Cache
Visiontek Geforce 3 Ti500
SB Audigy Platinum Ex
Klipsch Promedia v5.1
Pioneer 16x DVD Player
Plextor 24x CD Burner
And all the other little necessities (Floppy, Cooling, Case, Keyboard, Mouse, etc.)
Plus a 3 year warranty.
Also I bought an 18 inch LCD. Those kick ass.
My complaints have nothing to do with having to pay for the parts. They have to do with the amount of time I've spent trying to get these parts installed. Which is 6 weeks. |
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| Palivar |
hey can you buy me this one:
Athlon XP 2200+ CPU
Asus A7V333 motherboard
Swiftech HSF
Corsair XMSPC2700 512MB DDR SDRAM
Leadtek GeForce4 Ti4600 Winfast A250 Ultra TD graphics card
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy sound card
Cambridge Megaworks 510D PC speakers
Western Digital 1200JB 120GB hard drive
Plextor 40x12x40 CD-RW drive
Toshiba 16x DVD-ROM drive
Lian-Li PC60 case
Enermax 431W power supply
Iiyama Vision Master Pro 454 19" CRT monitor
Arctic Silver 3 Thermal Compound |
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| Fir3start3r |
| quote: | Originally posted by El~ZaPo
That's why I ordered all my parts seperate and built the computer myself. From the day I ordered it, I got all the parts deliverered to my door together, and I built the entire system myself the next day within a couple hours. |
Amen brotha! :p |
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| Damo |
no offense devbert, but you got jacked... you would've been better buying wholesale and paying some goob to put it together for you...
i got an AMD 1.33 ghz, 512mb DDR SDRAM, 64mb DDR video card, 40gb WD 7200 rpm and everything else for less than a third of what you paid... and this was in february...hope you're rich man...
tho i do envy the 18inch lcd , or a bigger hd would be nice.. but i don't have an extra 2 g to throw around... damn.... |
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