Alienware/Dell 24h next day warentee (UK) going down the pan?

Hi,

Wondering what other people's experiences with Del//Alienwares warranty support is like of late?

I always used to buy Dell's(last 10+ years)mainly because of the warranty with them, which made all the difference when issues come up. I used to be drop them a line with an issue and it was fairly painless and quick to get things sorted out.

The Alienware 17 been the latest addition (replaced an M17xr4 that I wasn't really happy with, 580m worries and build felt terribly 'plastic' on such a large lump of a machine), which had 1 year next business day support for a year .

First issues, it arrived with a poorly fitted heatsink on the GPU, dropped support a line telling them exactly what was up, they insisted though I call and jump through all the software hoops (re-installing windows, drivers in a specific order... etc) which took the best part of a week for them to get to the conclusion I had already come to (GPU thermal issue).. and they finally sent out a repair tech and replacement parts. Certainly not the advertised onsite next day....

Second issue, just recently, as the warranty was about to expire, dropped support a line to get a replacement power supply sorted out as mine had started to playup, the usall Dell not recognized error. Usually thats a quick conversation and a new PSU arrives a couple of days later (had that happen a few times on various systems in hte past...), not this time, lost of questions, can I send a picture of the PSU etcetc... again not a quick fix and dragged on, not to mention the service agents tone been rather rude, certainly not how I would expect a customer with a fairly expensive premium product would be talked to and dealt with ...!

Have I just been unlucky on both occasions recently or is this the way their UK support is going.. ?

I had been planning to spend the money and extend the warranty for another year, but after my recent experience, have decided not to and quite possibly this will be the last Dell system I buy, as the biggest selling point to me ( the next business day warranty appears not be be what it used to be) has ceased to be worth the money.

Just wondering....


Cheers,

M

 

Hi, dells success with me has been built on the support also. The last time I used them about 6 months ago (another GPU failure!) it was a quick diagnosis and the guy was there the next day with a new card.

I am seeing a lot more requests to send in machines for repair and this concerns me. Legally they can simply say 'we are not sure, it will need further investigation.' and you are doomed to a week or two of stress while some entry level engineer goes through the crib sheets.

I renewed my warranty for the second time just after the GPU replacement, asking for a straightforward renewal. I went into my account recently and saw that had expired the NBD (which includes the on-site) which makes me think they are loosing money. Dell always gave business level support to alienware but I wonder if the new market they seeking to attract (ex-console gamers) will put up with this level of service since they have no expectations.

Just my 5c

My next purchase will be whatever has the performance I am looking for - I just hope Dell come out with something to compensate for the loss of a lot of AW specific stuff on the latest models...

 

I have nothing but praise for Dell.

I had gotten a bad unit (AW17, with some scratches and stuff on it). First of all they offered to repair it and give me a 10% discount, I declined and then they offered a replacement. I told him I couldn't go without it for the week or two it takes them to send a new one, and it was no problems, I could just keep the old one for however long I wanted until I had the new AW17 set up.

I always buy B2B and I don't know if theres a big difference in how they treat consumers vs businesses.