Dismal, even abysmal customer service

The worst customer service I've ever experienced in over 500 phone calls to more than 35 companies in over 10 years.

I spoke with all of the following people (identified by badge numbers and names in two cases) over the course of 120 minutes trying to get a simple question answered.

I spent $1,000 on two computers (an "45pire 1"---decode this word by replacing 4 with A, 5 with s, and 1 with One---and a desktop computer) over two days and needed to find a recovery CD-ROM or DVD-ROM (not included in the package for the "45pire 1" and after trying to get someone to help me with that for about two hours and failing because of constant interruptions and infinite loops in the interactive voice response system and the human handling of my multiple calls, I'm returning both products because I refuse to support a company with such abysmal customer support service.

I think it's worth stating in a paragraph of its own the simple fact that the Acer "45pire 1" Netbooks ships with NO recovery CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, so if a virus damages your operating system and/or hard disk partition table, your only option for making the machine functional again is to return your product to Acer for help (and based on many other reports all over the web---for examples click here---you will be very sorry you bought from them at this point if you weren't already).

I've read reports that Acer will send you a recovery CD-ROM or DVD-ROM if you pay them for it, but after having bought more than 25 different laptops, notebooks, and netbooks, this is the first time I've ever seen such a product ship without a recovery disk.

Humans I spoke with before deciding to return $1,000 worth of equipment for my money back (their badge numbers and in two cases, also their names):

GWEM1931

GWTA321

TA116 (Johnny; a supervisor for the "45pire 1" department who interrupted me constantly and ultimately hung up the phone on me)

GWGA274 (Kathy; a first level agent who interrupted me constantly)

The best tool I've found for rewarding good customer service and punishing bad customer service is here, and I strongly recommend it:

Contact Help

 

what does a recovery disc do you on an aspire one, no disc drive? and you can reinstall windows with a flashdrive...

 

A lot of laptops now don't come with recovery cd/dvd's. The systems come with a hidden recovery partition, which means one of the first things people are meant to do when they get there product is burn the recovery disks. I guess this is a cost saving exercise, but can cause people a lot of headaches.

If you forget to burn the disks, or didn't know you had to there can be ways round this, for example, on some acers (not sure if it's all of them), you press ALT+F10 on boot and this should bring up a recovery console.

It's a shame you've had a bad experience and hope you get everything resolved, by refund or getting your issues sorted out, but I think this is a common theme with Acer, I hear a lot about Acer being pretty useless when it comes to customer service. Shame, such a large company and failing in something so important - the customer!!!

 

Hmm....I've owned 3 Acer notebooks till now. I wonder why, I never had a problem with them. I guess the use of an old techie acronym is probably appropriate here (PEBKAC).

 

lol........

 

i cant comment, never had to deal with acer. if i bought a laptop for someone who isnt completely computer proficient it would be a dell or one of the bigger brands.
if you buy cheap laptops, dont expect detailed technical support.

that being said im pretty sure theres recovery disks on the site. i have no idea i dont use that crap.
i partition my drive on laptops in half. if windows crashes i just reinstal it. and my data files on the other partitioned drive arent lost.
any really important data i back up on sd cards or external hard drives

edit also, did you buy the insurance or whatever it was? can you like post it back to them and they fix everything for you. i dunno i got my cashback..lol

 

Just an FYI in case anyone is interested.

Making a ‘Restore Disk’ for the Acer Aspire One

 

That's news to me. Which ones follow this practice?

This product was the first one I've seen after having bought many, many similar products over the last 10 years.

True, and I did find that partition. But there are several problems with it in this product (and in general):

1) Booting that recovery partition provided me an option to recover the WinXP partition ( only), and did not alter the partition table, so if a virus did alter the partition table, then you're f*cked (I suppose this could be considered a feature if you had other operating systems on other partitions that you didn't want altered, but there should be an option to restore the entire physical disk to as-shipped condition;

2) The recovery partition on this product offered no option to create a recovery disk;

3) If the recovery partition were damaged (say, from a virus altering the partition table), then it's useless;

4) The user guide mentions this feature, but only in passing. There was no admonition to burn a recovery disk on first boot-up (of course, in this product, that was not even an option) or anything like that.

The Asus Eee PC (which I found underpowered compared the the 45pire 1---I really did like the hardware in the 45pire 1 but can't justify keeping a product from a company who treats me so shabbily after I give them $1,000) ships with a recovery disk. Maybe I need to go buy a higher-powered Eee PC from Asus. I wonder what their customer service is like.

I'd say there's nothing more important. Even tho' I liked the product from a hardware standpoint, I won't tolerate such abuse from CS folks. I can't imagine anyone feels differently.

 

I have Agree we dell with acer customer services alot diffent laptop sell they always come thought fix product tech support usely not that bad

as for not comeing with recover disk for desktop or laptop it prompt burn set it pretty stander for machine not come with them I don,nt feel that acer fault that some screw up machine did,nt have back up or did,nt burn restore

they remind you burn for as for aspire one they recovery same as desktop

alt f10

beside wound you be happy if acer had recovery disk for laptop does.nt have cdrom i think then you just be that acer did,nt provide cdrom in sub notebook they have cut cost to produce cheap laptop it not like they realy make ton of money on netbooks

also curios is this us based support or canada?

canada support is great

 

A recovery disk works beautifully while running from an external optical disk drive, connected via USB.

 

You're mistaken about that. I tried downloading a recovery disk before calling their tech support (all computer tech support is notoriously bad so I avoid it like the plague, but Acer took the cake today). I'd post a link but they're broken and I'm dissing Acer, so I'm avoiding links to them in my posts.

 

Well that's an interesting observation, but I think it misses the point. Merely owning an Acer notebook (or even several) can't give you any insight into the issues I'm writing about. You can only gain insight into these issues by calling and dealing with the customer service system at Acer. Have you done this? If so, how often and regarding what issues and how have your issues been handled?

I think that's hilarious and I've found it's almost always the root of most problems, but by definition, is not applicable regarding any customer service issue, and most especially so when the particular issue is about a recovery disk that is not included with a product (or is the person BKAC supposed to sh*t one out when he needs one, do you suppose? Hmm?). Did your 3 Acer notebooks ship with recovery disks? Which models were they? I wonder when Acer stopped shipping recovery disks with their products.

 

I agree Acer has bad phone CS. My average hold time is about 20-30 minutes and the reps aren't very helpful, enjoy giving short 1-word answers ("Is this covered under warranty?" "No"). However, almost none of the laptops these days come with recovery discs.

 

Ah yes, I have dealt with Acer's customer service (recently). I've an Aspire 3680/5570Z, had a Aspire 5670, just got a 5930G and planning to get an Aspire One.

Oh well, I wonder why users (or people) even bother Acer's Customer service department with software issues . Alright, it makes sense if a part burns out and you need the hardware replaced and all.

My Aspire 3680 came with no recovery disks, but the 5670 did. The 5930G was bought in scrap, and been trying to re-build and sell it for a profit (hopefully). The 3680 came with Linux and I dunno what was there on the HDD, but I formatted it and installed XP. The 5670 came with XP Pro pre-installed, never had any issues, upgraded and sold. I think the buyer told me to chuck the recovery discs and documentation, and the HDD had no recovery partition since it was an upgraded one.

The 5930G - burnt LCD inverter and motherboard due to spillage. Acer obviously wasn't gonna send me a new mobo, since they don't cover accidents, but generously they shipped me an inverter for free, with the instructions printed as to how to replace it (though I had the service manual already). The birdie on the phone was pretty sweet, though I spent 40 mins and 5 quid on the call, I wasn't pissed off at Acer that they didn't send me a dam motherboard.

5930G's HDD did have the recovery partition, but I nuked the OEM HDD, sold it on fleebay, and bought a WD Black. I dunno, I think it is mandatory that every one who owns a computer must have an OS install disc. Like, you get XP unlicensed discs for $15 from fleebay, and a Vista unlicensed disc for $30 shipped, what's the need of a recovery partition. You can always use the disc to repair the OS, or install using the OEM key printed on the COA sticker.

There is also free and premium software available to make HDD images and store them on a DVD/DVD-DL or on the HDD itself, so that one can just revert to a previous stable state instead of reinstalling.

I've called Acer once, and dealt with Dell a no. of times on the phone, only to get H/W replacements, not for software issues

Even if your netbook/notebook/whatever it is, is infected by a virus, there are again tons and tons of free, premium and cheap antivirus software available for clean ups (Avira, Avast, KIS pwn all viruses).

If I was you, I would have just borrowed or bought a $10 XP Install Disc, a $10 slim-line ODD, a $3 ATAPI-USB Cable and done a clean install, instead of wasting my time on the and overhere.

 

Hey thanks for your reply. Contrary to your first one, it was really helpful to me and I appreciate it (in spite of the uncalled for pejoratives which roll off me like water off a duck).

So you obviously have a lot of experience with Acer hardware. I've formed my own opinion of their CS (and the myriad other folks who have complained in a similar vein about the same assure me that my experience was not a fluke but rather, the norm), but I have almost no (aside from that mentioned here) experience with their hardware.

How do you rate Acer hardware in comparison with the other makers you have experience with? Do you have experience with Apple laptops/notebooks? How does Acer compare with theirs? What about HP/Compaq? What about IBM? What about Sony Vaio and the other Sony products? What about eMachines? What about Toshiba? What about Dell (I know there's very bad press about Dell's CS but I've had good experience with their hardware and never had to deal with their CS at all)? What about Gateway? What about Asus? I have experience with all these, but this was my first experience with Acer and I'd appreciate learning your perspective on these questions.

Thanks again for your helpful (second) reply to my post.

 

Oh, and thanks for removing your comment and emoticon at the end of the above post indicating that you thought I was a lamer. I appreciate that too.

 

Thanks for this.

If it weren't for the severely negative CS experience I already have with Acer (and similar experiences from other folks like this one), then I might hang onto my 45pire 1 and try this, but now I'm taking it back for a full refund.

 

Oh yes, it did seem to be rude once I read it myself.

You would rather compare Acer with an Asus, or a Clevo/Sager.

HP, Dell, Acer, Lenovo, Toshiba, etc go to the same ODMs (Original Design Manufacturer) such as Quanta (no.1), Compal, Wistron, Inventec, etc. They don't make lappies, they just sell and support them. Dell, HP, Sony, Lenovo, etc have their own small man-power to offer CTOs (Customize to Order), Acer, Gateway and Toshiba don't sell CTOs. So, the hardware and all is almost the same, though build quality depends upon the OEM. Business class notebooks will be more sturdy and be backed with a 1st class warranty and after-sales service.

Asus makes and markets its own products (I think the term used here is vertically integrated ?), and build quality is good, and the 2 year warranty consists of the the 1st year as accidental cover.

Clevo makes heavy duty, top-notch products with awesome cooling and great specs. Checkout the Clevo Guide, very well written.

I think Apple has been going to Quanta lately when they adopted the Centrino platform. And Gateway (lappies made by Quanta) is now officially Acer.

If you're into buying another notebook, post in the WNSIB section at the top of the index of this forum.

 

You know, I read this reply of yours four times before replying just to make sure I didn't misread it, but I don't see you commenting on the quality of Acer hardware in comparison to the others. Or am I missing something in spite of having read it four times?

such as?

Hey this is great information. Thank you very much for sharing. What kinds of sources are you reading to get this kind of info?

I'll be sure to do so. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

Basically Acer gives contracts to the same ODMs as Dell, HP, etc etc. But nothing to do with ASUS or Clevo. So, it would be the ODMs such as Quanta, etc v/s Asus and Clevo in terms of H/W quality and design, where basically for the higher-end models, Clevo wins, then Asus and then the rest in line like Quanta, Compal....

Build quality for business class notebooks such as the HP 8730W, Lenovo T400/T500/T61, etc is good (from what I've read in the various sections of this forum). Don't know much about this, but I gained this info by browsing around in the WNSIB section (<-- Source), where users advise newbies as to what they should buy after filling out the FAQ. And you can always nbrsearch

 

That matches most everything else I've read on them.

Asus Eee PC came with a recovery DVD-ROM, even though it had no optical disk drive. I returned it because it was under-powered, but it was a 700 series IIRC, so it may not have been representative of others.

 

Ok, thanks for clarifying.

So if I understand correctly, your experience with Acer (which seems pretty extensive) has you rating the quality of Acer hardware right alongside HP, Dell, et. al. (because they use the same ODM) at the bottom of the pile.

Am I getting that correct?

 

For eg. Aspire 8930G is the best spec'ced notebook available from Acer, and Clevo D901C is the top notebook from Clevo. And the D901C destroys the 8930G in terms of....everything except cost, but Clevo still wins in "Bang for the Buck" IMO.

 

How's Clevo's customer service? Maybe that's the best solution for me now that I'm returning the 45pire 1.

 

Checkout the Clevo Guide.

 

Wow! 43 pages!

That's a huge, fabulous resource! I'm obviously new to NBR but not for much longer. This place has GREAT info!

Andy, thanks very much for your comments!

Would it be too much for me to ask you about who you would recommend buying Clevo products through for the sake of best customer service? I noticed that Clevo doesn't deal with consumers themselves, so I'm sure customer service varies a lot. I realize you're just one opinion out of many people commenting on that thread, but it's clear to me that you have a great deal of valuable experience so I can't help asking.

Thanks again.

 

I would only bother with the CS if I had hardware issues I cannot resolve on my own (which is rare) or with the help from colleagues.

I virtually never bother myself to call the CS with the software issues because I know how to fix them myself ... also I formatted my 5930G's hdd, eliminated the hidden recovery partition and used it for extra storage space (which I repartitioned to my needs, and now I have far better organized hdd with the OS-es of my choosing installed and larger amount of free space - check the signature for more details).

Messing with customer service is almost always pointless unless you have hardware issues.

Having said that, I haven't had problems myself ever since I bought this Acer 5930G.
I try to keep an eye on it and I also tend to it's needs (in terms of maintenance when it comes to hardware [cleaning] and software [regular garbage disposals/optimizations and quality antivirus software]).

I know that CS should be capable dealing with software issues as well, but the problem is that many of these large companies hire idiots who next to nothing and go through baby steps for the most part (most of which we cover and exhaust even the more challenging ones) instead of listening to what you have to say.

 

Thanks for your comments, Deks. I wholeheartedly agree with you about avoiding CS wherever possible, but of course the problem is that it's usually not possible because hardware problems always do arise eventually. It is for this reason that I've learned over 10 years (twice that actually, but that's moot here---10 years is enough time to learn this) to evaluate companies based on two critical factors in this order of priority:

1) quality of customer service;
2) quality of hardware product.

With the second priority being very near to the first in importance.

Acer has demonstrated to me and to many other people (Google for the three words, "acer customer service" ---no quotes---to see for yourself) that they have what is arguably the worst customer service of any company in their industry. There are exceptions (eg. Andy has apparently had good experience with them), but my real point is that their norm is abysmally poor CS and I think that's a critical factor in choosing a company to buy a product (of any kind, computers or whatever) from.

So now I'm just wondering who the best company is to buy a Clevo from. Any thoughts?

 

Sager and Clevo forum

 

I suggest you start a new thread in Sager/Clevo section about that.