Dell tech breaks my m17x

So, Dell sent a tech out to replace my keyboard. I am at work so my wife lets him do his thing. He pry's and pry's and pry's and finally gets the command center piece off. He replaces the keyboard and then proceeds to call Dell. He then tells my wife and Dell that he "forgot" to take out the two screws at the bottom and busted the command center piece.

Why don't these guys read the service manuals before doing a repair call?

 

lol, at least he's fessed up and is making good. I had one break a bezel on my m1710, he just sent over another one, no big deal.

 

Yeah I suppose not a whole lot of people own m17x, so the techs don't have a whole lot of experience on them.

 

Yeah, no doubt. Glad he owned up but still...read the service manual folks!

Anyway, now I have to push down the bezel to close the lid but he says he should have the replacement tomorrow.

 

Ha, he breaks it, he fixes it, or you get a new machine...

 

That's how I got a new motherboard. Tech came to replace LCD, broke motherboard. Now both are new.

 

THE EXACT SAME THING was going around with me and I had to tell him that he needs to get the screws off.. apparently the tech guys are not so familiar with this model.. my tech guy had trouble taking the battery out.....

 

+1

Mine broke fan cables, speaker plugs, palm rest & messed up something else because now it will turn on & as soon as it warms up...maybe 4 minutes it begins to instantly powering off.

Before if it was bumped it would turn off & only do that on battery. Now it's shutting off whether on ac, battery.

I'm waiting on a replacement R2 right now, too bad it's held up due to a shortage of blu-ray drives.

 

me too, tech scratched up everything and at the end kill my laptop, would not even boot anymore. ended up getting a new replacement. i just had my screen and keyboard replaced last week and guess what same tech came,lol. but this time i told him to drop off the parts and i would do it myself. so i replaced everything myself. thats why i always recommend printing out a copy of the service manual so the tech could read it before doing something .

 

I've had a tech replace a motherboard and forget not only 2 screws holding the keyboard in place but somehow he managed to forget the 2 screws within the laptop after sealing it up. One of the screws floated into the CPU/GPU fan (Studio XPS) and the other one managed to lodge itself in the slot load dvd drive (forcing a replacement of both the DVD drive and the motherboard.

 

Wow. That's why I recommend that, if you are technologically able, you tell your tech to drop off said replacement parts for the defective ones. Saves a great deal of headaches.

 

I never had a problem with techs and the machines, its just the parts that dell sent always FRIED THE FREAKING COMPUTER OR SCREEN!!! Bloody hell.

 

Get a replacement. Do not get parts to repair the system. Just ask Dell to get you a new PC as that is what you paid for.

 

Greetings fellow M17X users,
I apologize for all the inconsistencies that many of you have expierienced during your repairs. Keep in mind that all the technicians are actually contracted and part of a much larger group of DSPs (or Dell Server Providers). If I'm not mistaken, there are 11 major DSPs that Dell has chosen to provide service on their behalf. All technicians are required to be certified on every model that they service. However, mistakes do tend to happen, as most technicians are still getting a feel for Alienware. Also, keep in mind that the ratio of Alienware computers to Dell is very slim, and the disassembly differs. Most Keyboard bezels on Dell computers are clipped on as opposed to be being screwed down on most Alienware computers. After a technician has been through a full day of Dell repair, it is easy to see how a mistake can be made on a single Alienware computer.
Most DSPs usually follow up with a survey. It is crucial that you rate each technician accordingly, as most representatives are required to maintain 90% customer satisfaction. If the survey is left unanswered, Dell has no way of correcting DSPs and their mistakes. The customer is in complete control of which DSPs service their computers.

Thanks,
Gabe

 

thanks for the info Gabe. I also think the consumers should really put inputs with the survey.

BUT do you personally think dell actually puts in that info? i was just wondering cause there must be hundreds a day or so

 

Gabe,

I want to thank you for your input and I entirely agree with your statement. I have had a few parts changed on my R1, I guess like every body else and the first tech guy that came broke the back panel. He also broke a glass of water I had given him and a mini screw driver he borrowed as he had left one at his previous customer. I don't know what happened to him that day and I stayed quiet. For all I knew his wife just died...

Anyways, he ordered the broken parts and came back about 5 days later and switched the parts he had broken. Well this time he broke the freaking keyboard. I am like "Are you serious".

That is when I had enough, called Dell while he was there and told them everything. They just shipped out a new PC to me. I did not pay 4K for some refurbished, band aid repaired PC.

So yes, mistakes happen but they seem to happen too often on AW laptops. Putting the fault back on the tech guy is easy and sometimes necessary but it shows pure lack of training from Dell.

When the next tech guy came, he was great but that was his first M17X. He told me the training he got is only from a video he is required to watch prior to coming to the customer.

I think Dell should upgrade their training to these technicians.

 

Hi Dellienware,
The DSPs are responsible for submitting all surveys to Dell and maintaining that 90% average. If a DSP drops below a 90% average, they are put on a probation period so to speak. If the average continues to be below 90%, the DSP loses accounts and another DSP takes over. The DSPs with the highest average receive the most work.

@Joebarchuck - I can understand the frustration of having multiple issues occur during a technicians repair. All DSPs are responsible for having properly trained technicians, whether it's video or hands on based. My training is a little different, being that I'm an Enterprise Technician, and we're required to certify without the ease of watching a video. I would recommend asking the name of the contractor (or DSP) the technician works for, and possibly escalating it directly (in the even that you don't receive a survey).

Thanks,
Gabe

 

How do you become a DSP? I should do that I'll have all the orders within weeks...

 

If a DSP is responsible for submitting a survey I'm sure they would read it first. If that DSP is put on probation and could lose their accounts because of some bad surveys, I doubt they would submit those surveys. . . . It can't be that hard to say "The customer didn't want to take the survey". I'm sure it must be done differently, right? But then there is my next question (and most important one). . . .

A DSP's training can't possibly be to just watch a video on how to do the repair can it? Because some things you need actual hands on experience with. One of those is swapping graphics cards, motherboards, etc out of a $4,000 laptop. . . .

 

Unfortunately,
DSPs are large companies that must hire you as a technician. You may recognize the following company names, as one most likely appears on your invoice:

1. Unisys
2. Banktech
3. Smarttech
4. Getronics
5. Integration International
6. Onforce
7. Worldwide TechServices

@Rekroar - DSPs are large companies and not the individual technicians themselves. Surveys are submitted to customers after the repair is complete and not by the technician. Surveys are usually conducted as phone calls, cards, or emails.

Thanks,
Gabe

 

I had a on site tech come out just a couple of days after I received my M17x to replace the palm rest. I had the service manual sitting right beside the laptop on a towel that I had spread out over the table.

I also make sure I schedule all tech visits when I am going to be off work.

 

When I called in because my keyboard needed to be replaced they said they would send a tech and the keyboard. I told them just the keyboard please and they said no problem. Can't you guys just refuse the tech?

 

You should be able to refuse the tech but I'm sure it also depends on what's being done and your comfort level. I would have rather had a tech swap out the processor or video card in my laptop but after reading the many horror stories and the thoughts of where I live and the VERY few people that probably have Alienware laptops in the state of Vermont. . . I'm sure any technician I get wouldn't have much experience with it, if any at all, and I know at the very least I'd be more careful not to damage my baby.

 

I had this exact thing happen to me last week. Dumb Worldwide tech service technician left all pry marks all of over my 9 day old M17x... Hence the reason my replacement R2 is due to arrive tomorrow... I guess I should be thanking him...

 

You can refuse the tech. I did and I highly recommend anyone who is able to do self repairs to refuse a tech. Just have the defective part ready to hand over and do the swap when the tech arrives to drop off your part. Just be sure to check if the part is correct.

 

Yeah i got the part replaced by another tech, i just was kidding around, you can always refuse the tech if you know or know someone who can do the job for you like i do.

 

There is no need to refuse the tech, just ask the tech if he would mind watching you while you do the repair for him, that's what I did with the last two of them after the first one broke the touch stripe. Not only that, but the last tech left me as a gift his toolset because he wasn't comfortable doing it and spared him from trouble

 

Damn man, that sucks, feel for you. Thanks to Moo's videos I can do all the repairs and replacements myself now, it's a nice feeling!

 

Yep, this was a UNISYS guy.

 

I hear ya. But looking at it from a business perspective, they can't risk users repairing their own systems, because if they fudge up the repairs, the manufacturer has to either honor the warranty for a defect the customer caused or refuse the warranty because the customer caused it and take a PR hit, even possible litigation. Thus, they insist for warranty repairs, their techs do it.

 

No survey was given or offered when the Tech "repaired" my M17x.

 

Me neither... Lucky for him because I would have BASHED him with all zeros.

 

I didn't receive one either....the 1st tech would have received a nasty nasty review. The 2nd tech on the other hand was very professional. Slacks, clean & pressed shirt, a little cart with toolbox's & parts, etc. This cat was on the ball with his job, I felt way more confident with him. I think if I ever need anything else serviced I will ask specifically for him. He would have gotten a golden star if this were grade school.

 

On my R1, the tech (which i knew from a previous job as I was his boss there) had just reviewed the manual in his car before knocking on the door. He openinly stated that to me. Now he was technical savvy but I asked if I could do the work as he watched and he was ok with that.

On my second r1 I just had the parts sent directly to me and replaced them myself and they were ok with that. They did say that it was mandatory to do this while having them on the phone and I was like sure I will call once the parts come in.. Meh, as you probably guessed, I didnt call them. The parts came in and I did the video card swap and all myself.


So I would never let them touch my system. Back on my old XPS 710 desktop i seen how they handled the equipment when I had to get a MB replaced, video cards, and fans. The tech handled it as if there were no cares in the world, just yanking cables, pulling, snapping, ect.. I almost had heart failure.. I even freaked out on him a few times with the way he was handling the hardware.. From that point on, I would never let them touch my systems ever.....



On the certification process comment, in most cases as I have been shown, all they have to do is take an online test sometimes with video and sometimes without to become certified to repair the systems.. Their certification process is a JOKE. I have had this confirmed with two people that have gotten their certification.. Basically the person may not have ever opened a system before in their life but if they can answer all the questions right, they are certified for repair... Now this was for Qualiserve as they both worked for that company as its a big one in the north east. (dont know if I got the spelling right on the company)...

 

yep, anyone can pretty much take the A+ exam, its an entirely written test, no practical portion.

Many of these low-level tech jobs only require A+

 

you can always call worldwide tech yourself to give a tech a review...

The #s I've called are:
800-970-5206
866-856-9899
800-253-7100
978-848-9000

 

I work in tech support. I had a server raid control die and Dell sent a tech and card to get it running again. Only took a couple hours to get there. First thing the tech said was "this is my first time working inside a server", didn't leave me with much confidence. He replaced the card but had no idea how to configure the RAID array so I ended up doing it.

 

Where are these "Moo" videos that people speak of?