MOST HORRIBLE customer care experience EVER - not the first time!!

I ordered an m15x when they were first released and waited MONTHS before I got my machine only to find that they rushed the product out and most of the drivers were crap and caused lots of issues with Vista. A couple months later, my hinges break on the case... DAYS of trying to convince them that I wasn't lying and finally they asked for photos or videos and finally decided to work on the machine. They had my PC forever and finally got it fixed. Lots of argueing and fighting with these folks in India.

So a couple years later I find that AW is now owned by Dell and I think maybe the customer service is better so I purchased a new m17x-R2. First off, the salesman lied to me and said there was no difference in the 900p and 1200p screen except resolution and for $200 I declined because the screen is so small that it didn't bother me. The next day, I find that the 1200p is also an RGB screen with much vibrant colors. I tried calling to have it changed and they told me no because it had already begun production and that I'd have to wait until I got it and then return it. When I got it - I tried this and they wanted to charge me restocking fees and make me pay shipping for it EVEN though the mistake was on their end! Stupid freaking salesman!! So I sucked it up and kept the machine. By the time they took out their 15% and then I paid for the upgrade.... it wasn't worth it.

So, VERY upset about it all... I just kept it. After all, it was a brand new dream machine right? ...and yet within days of owning it I run into major BIOS and driver issues that took me HOURS to fix. HOURS of waiting on the phone with these people who PROMISE to fix it. Yet, EVERY single time the problem returns or there is ANOTHER problem. A few days after I purchase it, they offer a HUGE discount that would have saved me almost $500 on my machine so of course I called an ed. They denied a refund so I said I was returning the machine - only then did they offer me the reimbursement. It took HOURS fo argueing to get them to agree to this. Six weeks into owning it they finally tell me I need to reinstall Windows. I did the respawn thing as suggested and they walked me through all the BIOS and driver installs yet again... the problem returned. So THEN they want me to totally wipe the machine so I do. Then they refuse to send me a disc so that I can reinstall Alien Respawn. They said that once you blow out the system, then you just don't have it anymore. !? That was a feature I really liked and for the money I paid, I should have gotten it. So more argueing and they finally agreed to send it... only after being transfered 3 times to the "right guy".

So I reinstall everything and it runs fine for awhile. I even posted good comments on here. I wait for the respawn disc in the mail. Nothing. I check the website to try to track it... no record. I call them and they say there is no record of it. They then tell me they can't send them out anyways. Back to square one and tired of fighting so I let it go. I've got a great machine, right? Wrong!!!! The driver and BIOS issues hit me harder than ever now! BSOD ALL the time!! I call them and again they walk me through more updates and bla bla bla... 6 hrs on the phone after being transfered 4 times and it seems to be running ok. THEN, I notice that my screen is fading on the bottom left hand corner... omg! It's really bad during gaming... then it spreads all the way across the bottom of the screen! So of course, I call them and I get transfered 3 times and of course have to explain the entire story EVERY time and finally I get to speak with a very competent rep in Costa Rica name Leticia... she's awesome! She double checked my BIOS and made some correction and also ordered me a new screen. For all my hassle, she gave me the free upgrade on my monitor! Woohoo! FINALLY, I'm getting results and I get the screen I originally wanted - awesome!!

I get the screen a few days later and the tech comes out to swap the screen... of course they don't do it the easy way and just replace the entire lid - they make him actually remove the screen and tear the whole laptop apart. It took him over an hour and even though he did a good job, you could now tell that the machine have been pulled apart. Kind of like a car... once it's been pulled apart - it never goes together EXACTLY the same. But I deal with it. FINALLY computer is running well and I've got this amazing screen!! The tech turned it on and everything worked fine. I never restarted it...

The next day, I had an update and needed to restart it. That's when the problems got REAL bad. BSOD's constanty. As soon as it would load up - it crashed. EVERY time. After a dozen tries, I got in to safe mode and dropped the screen resolution and that seemed to fix the problem, I restared and was able to log on again and everything was fine. So I put the res back and it crashed again. EVERY time I tried accessing the resolution screen... BSOD. So I called them yet again. 4hrs this time on the phone updating drivers and BIOS and bla bla bla.... then they recomended I blow out the system yet again!!! So I do. Same problem. They run some tests and realize my HDDs are bad and they are sending me new ones. The promised that I would get brand new ones the next day. Three days later I recieved them and they were refurbished. I called AGAIN and they apologized and I was fed up with apologies and their attempts at repairing my machine - I demanded a new machine. The Customer Care rep agreed instantly and apologized. I was stunned at how easy it was to get a replacement system! He had to put me on hold several times and during the final confirmation we were disconnected. OMG!

He said if we got disconnected that he'd call me back in 10m. 15m later no call so I call back. I have to explain all my problems since day one to someone that can't help me so they transfer me to a specialist and I explain everything yet again... this person then asks if it's a Dell or AW. Then they say they can't help me so they transfer me again to an AW tech. During my transfer - I am cut off again. So I call back and again I have to grit my teeth and repeat it all again. They transfer me to customer care, who then (after I explain again) transfers me to tech support. Tech support then says I am NOT eligible for a replacement machine. Then I lost it. I blew up and told him that another rep was already in the process of doing so and that we got cut off. He repeated himself as if he wasn't listening to me and said again that I wasn't eligible. I demanded to speak to his superior. He put me on hold and then we convieniently got cut off. OMG!!!!

So I called back yet again... I started around 11:30am and by now it's almost 4pm. I have to explain myself to the first person so they can transfer me to the right dept of course and I get sent back to tech support where they again say I'm not eligible so I demnd to speak to customer care... they say it's a tech support problem and transfer me back... then they say it's a customer care problem and transfer me back yet again. Once I get on the phone with customer care, I tell them they better not transfer me and as soon as I said that I was disconnected. By this point my blood is boiling, but I am NOT giving up. So I called yet again and demaned to be transfered to customer carem but of course the person answering the phone won't do it without first knowing why... she keeps telling me to give her a chance and that she is trained to handle anything. So I very calmy explain everything and she is stuck in silence and depply apologizes and says she needs to transfer me. So she transfers me to freaking tech suport!!! OMG!!! I explain the problem yet again and then they transfer me to customer care.

FINALLY the guy says wow.. I see all the records on your file - you've been dealing with this for months. We'll get a replacement out to you in 8 days. I asked him what the specs were and he kept saying they would be the exact same or better... I then explained that I had an upgraded monitor and that I wanted to make sure it would be on the new system. He promised me that it would on there. TWO days later I get a phone call and they're telling me that that don't have the anoodize black case and that I'd have to accept silver! Omg... idiots. I declined and said I wanted black. He said they didn't offer it anymore so I directed him to check his own website and he said dell.com did not offer it so I called him a bad name and told him to look at the AW website where I BOUGHT my system!! Of course, he apologized and fixed the order saying that he didn't know why his system only showed lunar silver. Because of this, my order was never processed, but he promised it would be processed that day. So my 8 day promise has now turned to 10 days. Then, two days later he sent me another email with the build saying that it would be in my hands 8 days from THEN, so technically 12 days now... whatever, just fix the problem. I look at the build and guess what!? The idiots didn't get the 1200p screen in the build and they even downgraded me to Windows 7 Premium when I PAID for ultimate. So back on the phone. I'll save you the details of the numerous times of being transfered and sitting on hold, but it wasn't much different than before. Finally, they say that they are giving me a comparable operating system and that I would get Vista Ultimate, LOL!

So I blew up this trime... just fed up and yes, I resorted to name calling and if the person was in the same room with me - I'd have probably beat him up. Badly. I said I would not accept a machine with ANY downgrades. He then finally fixed the operating system and said he'd have to call me me back the next day about the monitor. Two days pass and nothing so I call them and go through all the hassle of waiting, explaining over and over and of course sitting on hold. Finally I speak to a rep and he says that the new machine will have my exact build. I made him email me the build specs while we were on the phone. They fixed the operating system but the monitor was still incorrect. So I explained once again that my screen was upgraded and that they were replacing my CURRENT system and therefor I should have the 1200p screen. He finally agreed and said he'd fix it, but that it would delay shipping because they'd have to cancel the other order and start fresh. I was pissed, but nothing I could do about it so I agreed. So now it's been over two weeks and the order is starting from scratch yet again.

Two days later I get a phone call and they say my order has just been processed and that I'd get my machine in 8 days, LOL! So now the final countdown begins! 16 days plus the next 8 days... not including weekends - it comes to almost 4 weeks now. I ask for a build sheet to be emailed just to be certain of the new machine... the SECOND machine. He sends it two days later... laptop should be here in 4 days now. Build looks good... oh wait, everything except the freaking MONITOR!!!! OMG!! Freaking morons! All of that trouble and they STILL flubbed up the order with the monitor and set me up with the 900p... omg more phone calls. My phone plan gives me 1200 daytime minutes a month and we only had 150 left. Usually, evenwith my fiance'.... we finish a month and still have 400-600 left and it had alreasy reset from the first two days of calls!!

So I called. I got transfered and cut off FIVE times and probably recited my problem over a dozen times. Same ol' same ol'. History repeats itself. I had to hang up a couple times and start over this time because some of the people were just flat being retarded. Finally, I got through to a guy named Alexander in Costa Rica. The kid seems to think he can fix the problem. He promises that it will be worked out. It's been three days since I spoke to him... I can still track the second machine and it still says it's in production and the screen still shows the 900p. I'm not sure what's going to happen. All I can do is wait.

I do know one thing though.... this is the worst customer service I have EVER had from ANY company in my LIFE. In fact, I have never even heard of anythign worse happening to anyone else. This is just flat out stupid! They sold me a POS lemon... tried fixing it and failed over and over... then tried replacing it with a downgraded system... then fixed only a fraction of the downgraded features... then flubbed that up too and had to resubmit the order and yet again flubbed up the order!!!! I have had this computer since November. I paid around $3500 for it and I have only been able to use it a fraction of the time. I have not been able to edit one single piece of video or audio. I have been able to play SWG for a couple hours here and there... and when it runs smoothly -its a dream, but the out of nowehere it crashes. At least before, I could use the PC in safe mode and patch it up to get me by... not anymore. I have a $3500 paperweight on my desk right now. They are working on their THIRD replacement system and I have heard nothing from them regarding it. I got one call from the rep on Friday (five days ago) and said he was working on it. And email on Monday saying he was waiting for approval... and nothing since. And of course, I have had to inquire everytime. No courtesy updates and again... that second system that has the wrong screen is still in production.

These people have no idea what they are doing and I will never buy another AW/Dell ever again. I cannot tell you what to do, but I CAN tel you what my experience is/was and I can also promise you that there are NO exaggerations. I realy have spent close to 1k hours on the phone with these people. Days of getting nothing else accomplished at home because I have been stuck on the phone. I lost my job back in November... I have no income. I try to make a little money on the side with my video and sound editing work and I can't do that on my old desktop. The new software just can't run right on the old machine. So I can't make any extra money. I can't even pass the time by playing video games. My kiddos have about 20 Blu-ray Disney movies that all came with the Digital copy that I downloaed and saved on my laptop... now they're replacing the machine after owning it only a couple months and those keycodes cannot be used on another machine. They are digitally signed to THAT machine. The manufacturers won't do squat about it. I got hosed out of all that extra money. Not to mention, I don't like the kids ruining the actual discs, so I copy the disc for them to actually handle. It's a legal backup copy so that my original stays in pristine condition. I can't even do that. So I'm losing even more money. PLUS, I put this machine on a Credit card that I have to make payments on every month and I'm kaing payments for a machine I cannot use. My warranty is almost 4 months old and all that time is wasted because I don't have a working machine.

This is horrible customer service. Make your own decision. I will admit, that you cannot find a better machine for the same price. You can find similar builds with everything integrated for cheaper prices or you can find build with only slightly better euipment but twice the price and of course you won't get the cool features like the lighting and the trendy case and stuff... and again, the machine runs like nothing I have every experienced in a computer when its running correctly. Heck, I don't think it's ever ran right... but when I was able to use it - it was amazing. I can't imagine it's power when it's running properly and tuned just right. But does all that really matter if it is constantly being worked on and you can't seem to get anyone to fix it???

I will never buy from Dell/AW again and if I do... it'll be because they make me some sort of offer on this machine that I can't refuse.... and I just don't see that happening. There's nothing to upgrade except the motherboard and the warranty and I don't see them offering me either of those.

I will keep you posted on my progress.

Oh yeah, and good luck ever speaking to anyone that works in the United States. It is impossible and it's sad because all of my issues are complex and they take alot of explaining and I think haf the problem is that the guys in India just can't keep up with what Im trying to tell them. I have to explain everything three times and they still screw up my system. This is unacceptable. I hate to sound like a bigot because that's not what I intend, but I am saying that I think part of the problem is the language barrier. They have a hard time taking in all the information I have to give them and I have a hard time keeping my cool when I have to keep explaining the same thing over and over. Take it as you will. Flame is neccessary, but just remember - this could be YOU. Put yourself in MY shoes. I'm not rich... by all rights, I couldn't afford this machine, but I bought it for work and got fired two weeks later. A job I worked at for 5 years. But of course, I was stuck with the machine.... and I may still need it for a future job. The point is... don't be so quick to judge.

If anyone has any suggestions... that'd be great, lol!

References

I also have plenty of emails I can post to prove my trumoil.

My m17x-R2 Thread - and it's not all bad either!

My m15x Order when it was still owned by AW!

 

Wow... I didn't realize that was that long. My sincere apologies. What's sad is that what you read above is actually the short version.

 

tl;dr. I had a terrible experience with the techs over at Dell as well. Their customer service quality is disturbingly bad. I feel your pain

 

It would be shorter if you stuck with the facts more than the emotions.

 

I'm kinda surprised. I've never dealt with AW . . . I didn't even buy my laptop from AW/DEll, but the only horror stories I've heard from CS is from AW/Dell Canada. (and they were quite similar to yours.)

What I'm most interested in is the BSOD issue. I wonder what it was. Kinda sounds to me like a bad video card. Did you do any testing to try and isolate the problem? Like perhaps disabling CF, swapping the gpu's, downclocking each to 2D levels or lower, etc. You said a lot about them telling you to update the drivers, but did you ever update the VBIOS? The 5870 mobility had quite a few problems before Dell's VBIOS update for it.

I feel for you, I really do (I had a similar problem with a laptop screen manufacturer. Sent me the wrong **** screen and somehow I'm supposed to pay for shipping and restocking.), but it seems isolated to me. I can't speak for myself, but I've heard lots of stories of good experiences with AW CS support outside of Canada.

If I were you, I'd just demand for a refund. Pay the restocking fee whatever, with your cash back you can go buy a Clevo X7200 and get a much better computer for $3500 and be happier.

 

Threads like this make me want to avoid Alienware like the plague but its unfortunate that its hard to find better.

The ASUS G73 in Bestbuy I tried for build quality concerns was terribly built and felt cheap.

Sager has absolute CRAP support, repairs, warranty, etc (See HERE)

Origin PC (Old Alienware) is $300-400 more than the SAME EXACT SAGER and they don't have a long standing reputation as being good as they started in 2009... They also never responded to my multiple emails.

Annnnd Maingear is constantly sold out of what I want.

Honestly the only two viable options for me seems to be Origin (Which I'm wary of) and Alienware (Which posts like yours make me wary of)

Tons of decisions to make.. I'm currently working a Part Time hourly job so if I screw up this $2500-3000 buy I don't have the chance to get another.

 

The thing I noticed with Dell is this: either you bought from the business side or the consumer side. I got my XPS m1530 through my school discount program 3 years ago. This means it was bought through the business side, and it came with a free 3 year at-home warranty.

They sent out a tech exactly four times in three years. The first was when my bluetooth module died. Tech showed up at work and replaced it in 10 minutes. The second was when I had- get this - scratches on my stainless steel palm rest. The tech was out two days later and replaced the whole palm rest/keyboard/media key panel in maybe 20 minutes.

The third time was last week. Most of the laptops of the same vintage I have have been involved in the nvidia chipset fiasco (the 8xxx series had the bad habit of desoldering itself under high load and dying). I was having random blackscreens for no reason. I spent a few minutes in chat saying that I was having black screens and that I thought it was the motherboard/graphics card. Two days later, the tech comes to my office and replaces the motherboard, graphics chip, CPU, power supply, top media key panel, heatsink, and fans. This guy was good- he was done in less than 30 minutes. I'd figured this would take an hour or two. I put the laptop away and go back to work. I get home that night and am dismayed that apparently now it won't charge with my old charger. Back to dell support..

Two days later (and the fourth visit) the tech shows up at work with a replacement charger. Lo and behold, they must have re-engineered the charger and power port between the time I bought my laptop and the time the replacement board was made, this charger works fine.

Long story short, 3 years after I bought my XPS, Dell support has been fantastically helpful and replaced parts with a minimal amount of fuss and on site.

This goes completely contrary to pretty much every other story I've heard from people that just bought their stuff on the dell website instead of through delluniversity.com or similar. The consumer side of the website offers outsourced tech support, mail in repair, and terrible help.

Did I mention that each time I actually called or chatted with tech support they were based in the US and did not go through a script? They actually listened when I said I did x and it did not work, please send me x replacement part and it should be good. Oh and they've also mailed me screws for the hard drive because mine stripped. Screws. Via Fedex overnight. Awesome!

 

It's really terrible that super premium machines are backed by absolute support. G73 and the long denied GSOD's, and the AW support I got that wasn't too different than yours.

 

To the OP, post this on the Dell forum and see if a rep addresses it at all.

 

What epsilon said makes so much sence. I also had a horror story with DELL, that their technician massacered my laptop lol. Caused dell to ship me a brand new alienware... Took about 15 days, production etc etc...

I feel your pain, Dell financial section told me that Tech support is dealt over seas, however their financial department is based in canada / U.S (canada guessing from the headquarters in ontario)

Makes sence though, because every time i called tech support i was dealth with people in costa rica... while when i called financial department it was nice to hear "canadian" accents lol.

But i will admit, tech support (depending who you get) you may get a damn good person. When my video card fried on new years day i called, and the guy was a very nice person and dealt with me amazingly
It all depends who the hell you get; sadly.

PS: Try and get a supervisor... Once you get their name, your good business. I have a supervisors name and thats the only person i deal with. ( funny though, everytime i call and right away mention his name... they ask me why am i calling and why i want to talk to him... they said thats alright and transfer me right away)

 

haha I know how you feel! When I ordered my M17xR1 I was left waiting for a month even though after calling then a week in I was told numerous lies about how it was all on track... no delays, then oh sorry theres a delay... no eta! then back to everything is fine (that was three calls one after another on the same day), not to mention my favorite... the system is showing it as shipped already (website still showed pre-production).

Long story short, it wasn't until I got in contact with the ICCC and my local consumer relations commission in australia, who have previously sued Dell for bad business management that my laptop was suddenly shipped express and I was being bombarded with calls to ask if my laptop was running alright.

4 Weeks with no ETA, one phonecall to the right people and BAM... heres your laptop.

 

Yeah, I probably saved alot of space if I had kept out emotion... agreed. Just hard to do. I really needed to vent and no one around me understands the frustration. They just keep saying, "Take it back and go buy one at Wal-Mart or Best Buy.". These people are close to me and I value thier opinion, but in this respect... they don't know they're talking about, lol! I just needed to vent and I knew this was the place because I know alot of people here have had similar issues and problems.

For those with the better luck... that's awesome. No offsense to anyone in India at all, but I think that your luck Epsilon was simply as you stated... help from people in the US. I'm not saying that people on in the US are "better" than people in India or Costa Rica, but as I said before... they can better relate to our issues and concerns when we describe a problem. It has always been a widely known fact that statistically speaking for almost all types of customer service - it is generaly better in the US. The reason? No idea, but I personally have better luck when I can speak to someone that understands my language as their first language. And again, I don't mind speaking to people in India or Costa Rica... in fact, the best I help I got was from the chic on Costa Rica named Leticia - she's awesome! It's just so hard to speak one's mind and be honest without being "politically correct" and sounding like a racist. I really think that if I could speak with a US rep that I could get my problem fixed much sooner without being forced to repeat myself a dozen times.

Yes, very unfortunate that there just aren't any other computers that compare to the Alienware brand in my opinion. When they are running as designed - they are the best. But when they have problems - look out!

Gah! Again, I apologize for the long story. Just wanted to explain everything in the best detail as possible so that people can make their choice based on detailed experiences of others.

As far as my BSOD's... they tried everything. I think the problem began with the issue mentioned above with the video cards and the catalyst stuff. Yes, they did the biso updates and all sorts of crazy stuff. Every tech tried something different and swore they found the problem and and fixed it. Everyone of them removed bios updates and driver updates and reinstalled new ones and all sorts of crap that just seemed endless. They finally narrowed it down to (what they think is) bad HDDs. They did send me new ones and I just installed them because I'm tired of waiting for the new machine... I figured this would at least get me by, but I was not able to setup the RAID 0 and of course the Operating system disc they send these days isn't like the old ones. The old ones had everything on the one disc... now the op system is just that. It's the very basic op system and you have to install all the AW stuff for the lighting, disc drive, camera and even the AW theme and backgrounds and stuff. My m15x that actually came from AW before Dell bought them had all that stuff on the disc. All you had to do was update everything.

Back to the BSOD... I don't thik I'll ever know exactly what it was. I do know that it got worse after the higher res screen was installed. It was like the vid card(s) couldn't handle the 1200p or something. But I do know that it was a combination of multiple problems for sure. After the first bios and driver update for the vid cards - it worked great for several days and the BSOD's were very rare and random. After the 1200p monitor... you couldn't load windows at all. The screen would load up and you could log on.... and it would pull up the crash log and then BAM - crash. This would repeat forever unless I turned it off and left it off. It wouldn't even let you access safe mode all the time. It mostly wanted to "repair" windows. I'd just have to keep doing it until I could boot up safe mode with networking... and then I just ran everything from there including games because if it restarted - then it was hours again of restarting.

It could be anything. Either way, it's been pulled apart enough and everything reinstalled enough. It needs to be replaced. It's a brick. I just swapped the HDDs and reinstalled the op system... and it's not crashing, but it's running pretty sluggish and I haven't gotten all the drivers installed yet. Regardless, they're going to replace it. I didn't pay $3500 for a system with only 8mo of warranty, a refurbed monitor, refurbed HDDs, and scratches from the tech.

GRR! I could resort to physical violence here. Lol!

 

Scyphoz, the only place I know to call is the better business bureau and you bet your rear I will if this guy doesn't handle this before the end of the week. By Friday, I expect to see an update online with the CORRECT build showing that it will be here before the following Friday or I'm lighting up the phones of every person of stature that will listen to me. SOMEone out there has to be able to help.

SpecialEffect, man... I tried getting a supervisor almost everytime and thats when they decide to "fix" the problem.. only that days later I find it's not fixed. It's very frustrating. It'd help if they'd allow extension numbers so that you could reach the same rep everytime you call instead of being forced to repeat everything a million times and then get cut off... oh man, it makes my blodd boil.

Dr.J..... that's not a bad idea. I posted a link to this in the Dell section with a header asking for a Dell CS rep.

You know, with all the issues... you'd think that they'd want to do anything they could to keep my business. I've spent close to 15k on Dell/AW since 2004 and that doesn't include my family's PCs that I've set up for them or the ones my job purchased on my recomendation. You'd think they'd want to upgrade the hell out of my machine instead of trying to downgrade it and cause me grief. A whole freaking month without my PC! Bah! You know, I buy pre-built machines for the warranties... and it just dawned on me. What the heck good is the warranty when you have to go through this!? I think I'll start building my desktops from here on out... going to have to learn how to build a laptop though, lol!

 

I would demand a us rep to talk too, that way you know they will be able to at least speak properly.

I was considering getting an r3, but horror stories like this make me pause and think.

 

I'm not writing this to judge what happened because I don't think you want to hear my opinion... Instead, I wanted to offer some constructive recommendations that may help you and others in the future...

Basically, the reason for the following steps is to allow you to always determine if a problem is SOFTARE or HARDWARE related. Dell can help you fix a HARDWARE issue. They are NOT going to be able to help you with a SOFTWARE issue because technically, the only software they can effectively support is the original OS image that shipped with the computer.

1) When you get your new laptop, immediately create your Alienware Respawn discs. Don't trust the USB version, make sure you make the DVDs.

2) Always buy a second hard drive to use INSTEAD of the one that came with your computer. Get the smallest/cheapest drive configured from Dell. Then spend the $ to buy a HD at least as large or if you decide to upgrade to SSD, then it doesn't matter the size.

3) Immediately after creating your respawn discs, run your computer with some benchmarking tool to make sure the hardware is stable. If your computer is NOT stable, STOP and immediately call DELL to report a problem with your new computer. At this point, I would expect the computer to be stable running with their software and minimal software installed.

4) If your computer runs well, then go ahead and install any additional hardware such as memory, wifi card.

5) Test AGAIN one more time to make sure the newly installed memory or hardware is working well. If you run into problems, immediately REMOVE the new hardware and see if the system is stable. If it is stable without the additional hardware, then you know that the additinal hardware is at fault.

6) NEXT: REMOVE the HD that came with the laptop and set it aside in a static proof bag. Do not install apps, etc on this drive. The only software that should have been installed is some benchmarking tool. You won't need this drive again until you have problems...

7) If you bought a replacement HD that is larger than the one that came with your computer, then you have the option of restoring with Alien Respawn or installing a fresh OS. If you bought an SSD or decide to use RAID, then you must install from a fresh OS. Go ahead and do this. Install any additional software you want on this new HD. You may want to wait until everything is stable before activation all of your apps. Once you have a stable running system, activate all of your software and create a computer backup or system image (may required high versions of Windows 7) to an external HD or DVDs.

When a problem occurs, i.e. BSOD after Windows update, etc. you can always SWAP the original HD back into the computer. If your computer does NOT crash, then you have a SOFTWARE problem and getting Dell to service your computer is only going to create new problems because they will simply start swapping out hardware which you don't want since your good hardware might get swapped with refurbished and failing parts.

If you computer DOES crash with the original HD, then you should remove your additional hardware (i.e. memory) to isolate back to the original HW configuration. Once you are back to original HW config and the computer has problems with the original Dell HD, THEN you can call Dell support.

In my opinion, calling Dell support when you haven't isolated the problem to be definitely HW related is only going to waste your time and their time. The best way to do this is to KEEP THE ORIGINAL HD in pristine condition and using it only to verify hardware issues.

Good luck.

 

BTW,

Those of us with R3 had BSOD after installing a clean Windows 7 and Dell's 460M drivers. It turns out that the drivers from Dell were not compatible with a clean install. We haven't figured out why. But, because we were able to swap back the original drive, we knew that it was NOT hardware related.

Dell would not have been able to help with the BSOD since it was performed on a clean install and did not occur with their system image. Had we started calling Dell for support, they probably would have started swapping out video cards, motherboards, etc. Think of the nightmare that could have resulted...

 

Remember, for every one of these threads there are many many more people who are happy with their systems, who have never heard of these boards and so on.

You tend only to hear the negative, squeaky wheels and all.

 

Alienware support is pretty bad. I finally got my issues worked on but not without a lot of grief and persistence. The India support is just beyond words bad.

Come on Dell, these might be gaming machines but they are not toys when it comes to what we pay for them. You can do way better on customer support.

 

I was thinking the exact same thing. Honestly, nothing against the TC. He paid $3500 for a computer - and it's not unreasonable at all to expect it to work perfectly out of the box. The TC is 100% in the right here. However, if I were in the same situation (and I have been - but not as drastic and not with AW CS) I would do as much as I possibly could to isolate the problem before I talk to CS. I've found in the past if I am able to tell someone not only what is happening but a good reason as to why I think it's happening (and I'm usually partially (if not completely) right) things will go over a lot smoother and quicker.

 

In respect to the the guys that are trying to look at this from a different point of view, you're right. You usally don;t get to hear the "good" a machine can do because people usually only "squeek" when they're having problems. I totally agree. In my situation it's kind a moot point though. When the tech people do exceptionaly well, I ask to speak to their supervisor and I tell them how well their employee did - true story. I can think of THREE out of probably 40 calls I've made where I did this. Not because I was being picky, but because I want to return the favor to those who have helped me.

My thoughts on the matter though are - you shouldn't have to go through all that with a $3500 machine. These are supposed to be the elite. The best of the best. When they ship out a machine, it should have all of the current software installed. I shouldn't have to call and have a tech log into my machine and tinker with it for hours. I have better things to do. Granted, some things cannot be avoided and I understand that... but BOTH AW machines I've bought were shipped to me with outdated BIOS and drivers. The problem is money. Kind of like MMO creators. They push a title out too fast before the work out all the bugs and hope for the best knowing that they can just send out a barrage of patches later to fix everything. I shouldn't have to deal with that on a PC that I spend so much money on. And IF I do have to deal with that - fine, it happens... but not constantly. It shouldn't take 14 techs to chaneg everytime and make it worse. They are just as much responsible for the software as they are the hardware. They build these machines knowing that every individual piece MUST coincide with each other - or else you have issues like I have with mine. For the price - any price - one shouldn't have to deal with that, especially to the extreme like I have been pushed. I mean no offense man, and your tutorial would have been really helpful before I purchased my machine... but seriously if this is something that should be done, then maybe Dell should put that in the startup manual!? Lol... that was a joke, but seriously think about it. Why should I have to buy another HDD and go through the hassle of reinstalling everything like that just to ensure that their system is funtioning properly. Again, no disrespect... but that'd be kind like buying a brand new car and ripping out the fuel injection or carbeurator and putting an after market one on and testing it out just to make sure the car is running right and then saving the extra carb/FI system just in case there is a problem because the warranty from the car company covers the car, but not the fuel system and it's my responsibility to know how to diagnose it and unless I do that then when/if there is a problem... it'll be my fault for wasting their time because the techs they hired can barely change the oil, let alone run a diagnostics machine and find out what's really wrong with the car. Do you follow me here? You buy a brand new car and you spend the extra cash for one with ZERO miles on it and the extended warranties - you expect the thing to run flawlessly for a long time (assuming you take care of the maintenance). I take care of the maintenance. My computer started having issues within days of owning it. Again, that'd be like me taking my car home from the dealership and taking it to work three days later and hearing a knock in the engine.... I take it in and they say - did you check the oil? Well no! It's brand spanking new - idiot! Why would I check the oil - isn't that YOUR job?

You see where I'm going with this? YOu buy something new and you spend that much money on it - you shouldn't have any problems with it right off the bat. Now, if I dropped my machine or I drove my car home behind a gravel truck and cracked the windshield - the yeah, it's my bad. In this case - it's their bad. That's all I'm sayin man.

Blackestnight, where I agree with you I also have to say that - that's kind of the point. All the "good" info is plastered all over their website and in gaming magazines and PC magazines. We KNOW what the good is. The good is what is EXPECTED, therefor you're not going to hear much about it. So if you think I'm being a bit too "squeeky" for your tastes, I must apologize - I just don't like being yanked around by a huge mega company that is basically ripping me off. And the thing is, it's not like these issues are spread out far and between.... these issues happen all the time and buyers should be aware of them. It's obvious by reading my thread that several other stepped up with their worry due to hearing similar stories and then some even proclaim to have those same issues themselves. And that's just on this thread. What about the m11x and m15x pages? Or Aurora pages? And one last thing before I close... the same can be said about peopl ewith bad experiences as well. I wonder how many people out there have these issues that haven't posted and/or aren't aware of these forums. The same can be said for both sides. No one is stopping you from posting a "I love AW/Dell" thread, but this thread is about MY documented problems. It's a warning of what COULD happen to others as well and it's a thread that others may be able to use to pitch in and help. Point is - there is good and bad, I already said that in my first post. The machine runs like a dream when it is running PROPERLY, but in my case - that is very rare. The problem is not the machine though - it's the customer service and it sucks. Plain and simple.

Goldenboy69 hit it right on. For as much money as they make selling these machines - Dell is pretty much the #1 PC company in the world just like Windowns is the #1 operating system.... you'd think that with all that money and that many people buying their products - then they'd have really good customer service. They don't. It sucks. Period.

 

Agreed, though I think you guys are jumping to conclusions and just assuming that I did no trouble shooting at all before I called. I sent hours searching the web for possibilities. I ran a full diagnostic on the machine. I removed each stick of ram and tested everything with each stick. I ran two separate benchmarking tools. I tinkered with every option I could think of. The point is, thought I am far beyond the level of novice, I am by no means a computer expert.

Using my analogy above in reference to buying a new vehicle... if I pull away and my dash lights aren't working - I'm going to run over all the baics before I take it back for diagnostics. Fuses, loose wires, bad switches... I'd check all of that first. Same with the PC - I checked everything I could. In fact, there are posts here on these forums where I was asking for help before I ever called them. I installed the first set up updated drivers myself and of course ran all the tests I mentioned above. I couldn't narrow it down - so if I can't, then they should. And after numerous times on the phone trying to fix it and failing miserably... they should have sent out a tech to check it out and they didn't.

Sorry if I seem a little on the defensive, but I don't like this being turned around on me like I did something wrong. And I'm NOT saying that's what you're intending to do - but that's what it feels like. The point is - you should get a new fucntioning computer when you pay for a new fucntioning computer. Even though I tred troublshooting it myself - I shouldn't have had to at all. You might be a little more understanding if the shoe was on the other foot. You have no idea how furstrating this is. I know how to run a computer. I was building them my self back when Netscape 2.0 was the new hotness. This machine is a lemon - plain and simple.

 

The reason for iPad's success is because it is so locked down, you can't break it and any app you buy for it just works!

However, with a computer, the moment you turn it on and starting installing applications, windows updates, browsing web pages, creating documents, etc. it is no longer the same computer. I won't even mention viruses, trojans, etc.

The reason computers are shipped with old BIOS and drivers because the computers are testing with an original system image. Subsequent drivers such as those downloaded from Windows Update always have a potential of not working. When you call Dell and they ask you to restore your computer it is because this rules out any possibility of bad drivers.

Every so often, the system images and resources disks are updated. But, your original system image should remain valid.

You don't have to buy a new HD with every new machine but then you should be ready to restore the factory image as needed whenever you run into a potential problem. I think this is a pain and well worth the <$100 for a second hard drive.

 

Like, I said in my original post, I don't want to judge, I just wanted to make some points on what a "expert" would do to diagnose a computer issue. So far, you've said your computer is lemon, but we still haven't figured out what physical piece of hardware might be at fault.

 

Now that, jywang, makes sense and I agree totally. Kudos. Now, typically, I keep my info backed up frequent enough that I don't worry about losing information so even though it was a PITA to reset to factory image several times... I did it. It was when they kept asking me to do it that I got irritated because the machine was still acting up even with a fresh wipe. It's like, for the problem I had... they had a prompter telling them what to do and they ignored what the previous tech did so they all wanted to repeat every step and it was just getting annoying. Still though, I played along and thats when they came to the conclusion that my HDDs were bad.

The reason for this is because once in awhile (not often), I would get an error that said the operating system could not be found. The it would auto-restart and be fine. I had my own guesses, but these guys don't want to listen to what I think the problem is. They have a protocol they have to follow. It's like when I ran the diagnostics and everything came back clean - you can't mess that up, only way to do it... they still made me do it and made me sit on the phone as it ran through it. They still made me pull the ram out and test each stick after I already them I had done so.

So even though you make a valid point for anyone that's dealing with people that use common sense over protocol... this just isn't the case. These guys are teleprompter fed. Talking to them is like talking to one of those automated phone services....

please say which dept you want... tech support
i'm sorry did you say "dink with me some more"?
NO.
please say which dept you want... tech support
Great! Let me connect you to "you suck are you're never getting through", thanks!

LOL! C'mon... you can't say you've never dealt with that! Some of these techs are the same way. And again - I said SOME, not all. Several have been really good and helpful and genuinely seem to want to help... but statistically speaking from my experience? Overall? They suck. They're horrible.

 

Yes, we have. One of both of my HDDs are bad. I installed the new ones today and haven't had a single blue screen yet.

Also, the monitor was bad. The whole bottom left corner of the screen was bright white... kinda like how the old tvs would react to a speaker sitting too close to them for too long.

Now, the new monitor is doing the same thing on the bottom... almost like a burn-in or something. No speakers near my laptop at all. Not even headphones. Nothing at all in fact... an empty desk with a pen holder, disc holder and a calender.

I'm no expert. The guys on the phones are supposed to be experts. When they transfer me to a specialist - he/she should be an expert. So it seems to be running for now after I installed new HDDs, but monitor is going bad and the point is... it has had problem after problem. Software, bios, drivers. it has been pulled apart several times and it is going to need a third monitor. Oh yeah, and the monitor and HDDs are refurbished. My casing has scratches from being pulled apart. It will never set together perfectly ever again. Just like a car... if you buy a brand new car and it blows a head gasket and they have to pull the whole thing apart to fix it - you don't want it anymore. You paid for a BRAND NEW flawless car - not one that's been pulled apart and reassembled. This one is a lemon. Problem after problem - none of which are user error. Sure, the software part is arguable - but lets be realistic here... not much I could have done in a couple day to require all the work they did (that didnt fix the problem).

I don't know... I guess I just don't know how else to say it. I mean, they sent me a broken machine and I want a NEW one and for all the hassle and the fast they've screwed up my replacement order twice already and I've been without a PC for a month now - they should be upgrading it. But I never asked for that - I just want what I paid for! Is that too much to ask for!?

 

I'm a little surprised by all the comments talking about how the owner (the OP) could try to diagnose the machine to make life easier for Dell technical support.

At the consumer level, even if you have paid for the top tier customer service, they are more than happy to waste hours of your life and make you do all the work. I've had some bad experiences with Dell consumer support. As people have said, it's easier to get replacements if you find the problem yourself.

But what about 90% of people who cannot diagnose these problems themselves? What about the fact that people pay extra for a "At Home/Next Business Day" warranty and Dell still will gladly waste hours (even days) of YOUR time on the phone for a product that THEY are supposed to diagnose and fix?

Somebody has already pointed this out, but the business level support is much better. It has to be. At the consumer level, they will only lose only a handful of customers from a single bad support experience (like the OP's). At the business level, they can lose an entire company from a bad support experience. In some cases this can mean thousands of computers. So they try to get business support right.

 

No one was suggesting that at all. What I was suggesting and most likely everyone else here (although I can't speak for them) was that the TC could try to diagnose the machine to make life easier for himself.

And I'll restate what I said before, I completely agree that a $3500 computer should not have these issues and the technical support should not be so lousy. Alienware computers are absurdly overpriced and I like to think that one of the reasons for that huge extra expense is because you get good CS - but apparently you don't in all cases.

 

Yeah, I agree. I do my best to make it easier on them and myself before I call even though I shouldn't have to do a darn thing.

So, they canceled yet another build because it was incorrect and they FINALLY got the right monitor, but get this... LOL... they only installed ONE video card! OMG these people are idiots!!! I can't take it anymore!!! I called and of course they are sending another video card bla bla bla... but it kinda defeats the whole purpose of having a NEW machine sent. Now THIS one will have to be pulled apart and drivers uninstalled/reinstalled, bios updated and if THEY do it... we'll be back to square 1. My God!!!

Oh yeah, no compensation for all my digital movies that I paid for and cannot be transfered to my new machine. They just said sorry and that they didn't have any compensation dept. I couldn't get my warranty extended, no upgrades, NOTHING! And this was after being transfered back and forth from "customer care" and "tech support" six times!!

I am fed up for real. I don't even care if AW is supposed to be primo... I just don't care anymore. I am officialy against AW/dell now and I will NEVER purchase another product from them. I'm about to start a business and they are going to lose out on sales there. They will lose out on sales from my car lcub of 2000+ members. They will lose out on sales from people in my family and from my friends. I am so sick of this BS that I could explode! 27 hours of sitting on the phone with Dell since this all started!!! I am done.

Call me dramatic, call me what you will. Walk in my shoes and you'd be just as upset.

HORRIBLE CUSTOMER CARE. POORLY BUILT SUPER COMPUTER. JUNK.

 

So, some think I've gone off my rocker... from the PM I recieved, but seriously, who wouldn't be upset? These machines are supposed to be the BEST and when they 're running correctly - they are. But with this kind of customer service.... it's not worth it.

Someone said "No one cares and wants to read your drama story." Fine, don't read it. But for those in the market, just like I was several years ago and then again back in November... you NEED to know this stuff.

And for those that do not believe me... Id be MORE than happy to post my phone logs, emails and account updates. It's all there and I'm not exaggerating... THREE machines they screwed up - not including the one that's sitting on my desk bricked.

So take it as you will.

 

lmao, whoever said that is a bit retarded simply because people do need to hear about it. if they do experience some similar problems, they can learn from your experience. one example:

the stuff he posted, man, i took with a grain of salt, +1 rep to jy man. well, id go easy on the emotion, i agree with the other on saying that, but everything else is good to know. it wont stop me from buying my alienware, but if something ever goes wrong, i know how to tackle the situation.

 

Little late in the thread but the warranty repair issues thread would have been a much better place for this. Theres already a lot of others there having similar issues as this, which could have helped you through their experience.
Thats where I started on these forums, unfortunately.

 

Yo Demon, I respect your opinion. Thanks for the input.

getFound, I didn't even see boards for that... just the different models and then the "general" AW board.

 

It used to be a sticky, still should be. I did a search myself.

 

Followed your link and posted. Thanks.

Update. They called ME today to tell me that my THIRD machine is now on backorder because they don't have the chassis. I find this out the DAY BEFORE my PROMISED delivery date.

I expressed my concern very calmy yet again. He apologized and could not believe how I had been treated in the past. He said he could see every time I've called and couldn't understand why this had become such a hassle for me and them. He promised to take care of this personally.... mind you this is the THIRD person that has promised that, but I believe this guy. He asked me what I wanted for all my trouble. I told him that since my machine has been such a let down that I'd like an extended warranty. He said they were not allowed to do that. I asked about upgrading my mother board because everything else is already maxed out. He said we could do that, but my build would once again have to be started over. I said, "sure why not. My parts won't be in for another 10 days anyways - why not wait a couple days more for a better machine.". He agreed and said he'd call me back tomorrow.

We also talked about getting a refund at which time I would just purchase a NEW system from them but do so myself online or call in as if making a new purchase so that there cannot be any mixup in what they are building. He thought that would be a good idea as well. Especially since the R3 was just re-released and I can get WAY more power for less money than spent before AND get a 3yr warranty.

SO... he's supposed to call me tomorrow with options. We will see. I will post and let you know one way or another.

 

I got my phone call today... they are refunding my system, thank God! After 4 mo of this craziness... I'm getting my money back and I'm going to be a total hypocrite ... I'm going to order the R3 and for the same price, I'll get a WAY better system in 3d... VERY excited.

So in the end it seems to have turned out well, but I won't forget about the hassle and neither should you. I will keep you posted as always.

 

If I were you, I'd still go Clevo and get something with a GTX 485m or SLI GTX 485m's (which will be lightyears faster than the R3). No need to give AW money after all that they put you through.

 

Yeah... I agree, but I really do love these systems when they run right. I can't find any other PC's for the same price and features for the same amount.

 

Funny you are still going for another AW. Dell/Alienware warranty is actually not bad once you go through other brands.

 

This.

Turned off of Asus because I RMA'd a GPU (desktop) with them once. No communication, I paid shipping, I suddenly got a new (or refurb'd) GPU in the mail two 1/2 weeks later. I don't want to be without a computer for 2 1/2 weeks and I disliked their quality (I used to work in Bestbuy where the g73 was sold.. Used one for a few days.. It was pretty awful build quality)

Turned off of sager because their resellerratings claims that their send in warranty is complete trash.

Turned off of OriginPC because they want $300-400 more than sager on the SAME BUILD. Even the same Clevo PC. They also have no history considering they started in 2009.

Turned off of falcon because i7 960/460m/320gb HDD is moronic for $3300 starting when Sager has it for $2000.

Alienware was the only good choice in terms of build quality and warranty

 

Dont know what you paid for your AW but you can get a killer Origin for under $3000. They have history, read this link - The founders worked at Alienware back when it was Alienware, not Dellienware.

 

I think I remember the TC saying he paid $3500 for the computer. Try this on for size.

Clevo X7200, 17.3" FHD, Single or Dual nVidia 480M Video Card SLi, DVDRW, Bluetooth

Customize with SLI GTX 485m's, a i7 930 desktop cpu, 6gb of Ram, wifi card, and Windows 7. Use leftover funds to buy HDD space until you reach you're limit.

I've bought a Clevo X8100 from that site before. They're really good.

 

I feel sorry for you but I have had nothing but great experiences with their support. Make take a while and have to jump through some hoops, but thats the beast. Ever tried to 'fix' a computer over the phone for someone?

 

I also feel for you. That's terribly bad However my experience w/ Dellienware CS is top-notch.

 

Thanks for the input guys.

As with anything, it always varies from person to person. I had to jump through these hoops TWICE. I agree that the warranty itself is top notch and I still think that when these AW PC's are running at top notch... they really are the best. My problem with them is their customer service. I had really good expericne with most of the Costa Rica guys, but most of the India guys were down right rude and uneducated in the process. However, the one guy that really helped me and made my refund go through is from India - so again, I can't say "all", but most. And though this guy has convinced me to give AW ONE MORE SHOT... I still think that overall their customer care sucks - this guy just happened to genuinely care about my problem and he kicked to make me happy. Kudos to him.

And I don't just complain either. When things go right - I also write reviews to supervisors for the outstanding work their employees performed. I really do commend just as much as I complain, lol!

Yeah, I must be crazy to be wanting to try another AW, but I just can't find another system that compares to what I want. SO, I'm going to give it ONE LAST FINAL chance. I swear to all that if this one goes bad - I will make it my personal goal in life to destroy Dell/AW Lmaoz! However, if they get it right... then I will come back here and tell everyone how I just happened to be the one unlucky guy that had a bad experience twice in a row.

Time will tell. I will know more on Monday. Thanks for the support guys.

Also thanks for giving me other options guys... they seem like good machines, but still not what I'm looking for that only AW can seem to provide - IF it performs correctly. Again, time will tell and I will let you what build I choose and how it goes down.

 

Well, now I'm thinking I will just keep my R2... for what I need, I think it will run better and faster than the R3. 3D is not my thing really... I mean it's awesome, but none of the games I play run 3D and I don't have any 3D movies so - no need to downgrade the rest of my system to run it. Not to mention, I want the ability to run dual video cards. There's more info on my questions thread that was closed here.

I'm at least going to try to spring to get an upgrade on my mother board and/or maybe the ram.

 

I'm going through the exact same BS with Dell/Alienware. This is ridiculous!!!

 

I'll be your right hand man. Just hit me up if this is ever gonna go down. I'm awaiting their promise of a free Orion bag for all of the inconvenience caused to me. Once again: We'll see wassup.

 

As longs as you are willing to accept refurbished parts to fix software problems.....uh that doesn't make since...but that's what they do....

 

Ok so, I treid to update this once already and my system BSOD'd on me. Go figure. It's like they're watching me! Spooky, lol! Ok so I'm going to try to sum it up as best asI can this time to save us both some reading time.

Two months ago (which would be roughly 5mo after I purchased my original system), they replaced my system. They offered me the R3, but I declined because it's nto what I wanted. You guys can argue over which machine is better until you're blue in the face - no sweat off my back, but the point is... it's comparing apples to oranges. They aren't the same system. I didn't buy an R3 and I do not feel it is a upgrade to my R2... it's barely even comparable in respect to what's important to me in my laptop. We'll get to that later, I promise.

So, I told them I wanted a replacement and I argued for days and days and finally I got it. It took them THREE attempts to get my REPLACEMENT machine right and they still didn't install my 2nd video card! The first time they tried downgrading my monitor to the WLED and my OP system to Vista... seriously? Seriously, what were they thinking? So they had to completely start over the build. This time, they got the OP system correct but they didn't add my RGB LED monitor or my second video card. So again, we had to go through the exchange once again. Each time we do this, it takes almost a week!! By the third time they finally get everything right except the video card. They only installed one. I called and they said - don't worry about it, just accept this machine and we'll end the video card later. Ok fine, I don't want my machine pulled apart as soon as I get it - but whatever! It's been almost a month since I've had a PC and I'm ready to get this over with. So they send me the new laptop without the second video card and they did NOT include a shipping label for me to return the old machine.

I wait over a week and I hear nothing and recieve nothing so back to the phone again.
Hey, you forgot my video card...
Oh, we're very sorry sir, we'll ship that out right away.
Ok thanks, one more thing. I need a label to ship back this old system.
You didn't get a label?
No, that's why I'm telling you now.
Ok, let me transfer you to someone who can help you with that.
Omg... ok. *click*

They hung up on me. So I gritted my teeth and called back.

Hey, I need a shipping label for my old machine so I can send it back. Prefferably UPS because there is no FedEx around here.
Ok sir, no problem. You will have your fedEx label in the next few days.
I just said I wanted UPS...
Oh sorry sir, it's ok, we'll call FedEx for you.Ok whatever works. Thanks.

Days go by and nothing ever shows up and I totally forget about it. The box isn't in the way. The laptop is sitting by the door packed and ready to go. I fugure that if they want it bad enough then they will quit dinking around and they will send me a label.

So a few days later I still haven't heard from Dell about my video card, but now I've got bigger problems. The system is bricked! It won't power on, it won't do anything! This is a brand new system less than a month old! OMG! So I test everything I can and nothing works. I call them back and tell them that I think it's the mother board or processor. Of course they don't care what I have to say... after all, I was transfered 4 times back and fourth until this guy was ready to help me. Anyway, he made me go through all the diagnostic stuff again even though I told him I already did it. But I humor him and 45m later he says... I think it's either the motherboard or the processor. Wow man, great hypothesis. Grr! So he says that he's going to send me the parts right away. I then said that I hope the parts are new because the machine is less than a month old and I won't accept refurbed parts in a brand new system because I paid over 3k for a NEW system not a refurb. He understood and said they would be new. I also reminded him about my video card and how I hand't recieved it yet almost a month later... then the conversation takes a turn for the worst.

Your video card is broken?
What? No. You misunderstood me. I'm saying that my machine was supposed to have dual vid cards and it only came with one card.
Oh, it says your system build only has one.
Yes, I know - it's supposed to have dual.Your card is a dual card, but we only show your system as having one dual card.
Huh?? What are you... no. You're not listening to me. Let me try this again. I ordered my system with dual video cards and that means that my computer is supposed to have TWO separate video cards and I only have one.
But my system is showing that it was built with only one - we cannot send you a second video card.
OMG! Dude, this is a reaplacement system. My original system had dual cards... two cards... this system was supposed to have them as well and they didn't install them. They told me to call and have the second one shipped to me. They said it wouldn't be a hassle. I have already called and I still don't have my second card.
Oh sorry sir. I see. Do you still have the service tag number from the old system?
Grr! Yes!
Ok sir, I see everything checks out. I will send you a replacement card.
I don't need a replacement. The one I have is fine. I need the second card!
Yessir, that is what I meant sir. Your second card will arrive with the mother board.
Ok thank you.

After I hung up the phone, I realized he said mother board and not "motherbioard AND processor". At that moment, I knew this was going to be screwed up. Three days later I get a call from the onsite tech (who we'll now refer to as OST) and he says we've got your video card and mother board in, but they didn't send a fan for the video card and I'm pretty sure it's the wrong one so I'm going to call them and have them send it before I come out.

So a few more days and he calls back. We've got the fan and they sent another video card... it's the same one, but they assure me it's the correct one! So we set up a time and he comes out to install everything. We are both crossing our fingers and hoping that the new mother board will fix the problem but we both know that they should have sent the processor just in case as well. So he pulls it all apart and low and behold... the heat sink bracket is 4 inches away from where it's supposed to be and it's melted into the mother board!!! So some idiot at the factory screwed my computer up from the get-go! We go ahead and install the mother board and I was suprised to see that they actually sent me a brand new one. Then we get to the video card and it's refurbed. Grrr!! Not only is it refurbed but it's a replacement for my original card and not the one for the other unoccupied slot. Yet, the fan was correct. Idiots!!! And to top it all off, the motherboard swap didn't fix the problem. So now, they need to send me yet another video card (#3) and a motherboard and processor.

So I tell the OST to call them himself. I wasn't dealing with this again. So he calls and explains that he's pretty sure it's the processor and that they need to send a new one because the customer will not accept refurbed parts and that they also need to send the correct video card. They tell him that they need to speak with me and that I will be called in 48 hours. Two more days!?!?! My new parts could be here by then! I was so angry though that I couldn't call. I just wanted. And waited. And at the end of the THIRD day I called them. It took me THREE hours to get through after being transfered back and forth. They do this to me all the time. Customer service says it's a tech issues and vice versa.... back and forth... back and forth until I finally blow up. NO! You're not transfering me again. I want tech support and i want a supervisor. Sorry their all in meetings, but I can help you - what's you're problem?

Look, I'm not going to repeat myself for the hundreth time.
Sir, I need to know what the problem is before I can fix it. Let me read your file. (Then I sit on hold for almost 20m) Ok sir, I see you got a replacement machine. What seems to be the problem?
OMG... you've got to be kidding me man! Ok look - fine, I'll play the game. (and then I started from the very begining back in November up to the current issue with the mother board and video card)
Ok sir, I'm very sorry. That's not how our support team is supposed to work. Let me get these parts sent to you and as a courtesy, let me upgrade your processor.
Thanks! Finally, someone that want to help!
Yessir, you shouldn't have had to go through all of this. Ok, well I upgraded the processor and we're sending all new parts for your system. Basically, everything in the system will be replaced to ensure we fix the problem.
Ok great!

So a few days after that call, the OST calls me and says... "I have your parts, but you're not going to be happy". Everything is refurbed and they still sent the wrong video card. I just couldn't believe it. It took me a couple days to calm down before I could call them.

Finally, I called... I'll save you all the drama I went through, but trust me that this time wasn't any different. On hold forever, trasfered several times. Cut off a couple times. Bla bla bla... so finally I get through to someone and explain everything from the beginging once again. They explained that since I took the upgraded prcessor that it would have to be a refurbed part. I agreed, ok fine - whatever, one part. I can handle that. Then he says... we've sent you all these parts, why isn't your machine working? I explained to him again the situation and he again couldn't understand why my machine wasn't working. I kept telling him that the parts hadn't been installed and they wouldn't be installed until they sent me NEW parts for my NEW machine. He repeated himself again and said, "well, we've sent you everything for it. We can't just keep re-replacing parts. This machine is bad. We need to replace it." I almost lost it at this point, but I let it go and explained again like I was speaking to a child....

Look man, the only part in my system that has been replaced is the mother board and that wasn't the problem. I tried telling you that it was the processor because it wasn't assembled correctly at the factory.
Then why have we sent you three video cards? Something is burning them up.
No man, you keep sending the wrong one!! My machine is supposed to have dual cards. A right and a left. You keep sending me the left card to replace my current card. There is nothing wrong with my current card - I just need the second one installed, but you have to ship it to me first!!!
Sir, there's no record of you having two video cards. The card you have is a dual card.
Ok so you're telling me that there are TWO 5870's built into one card???
No sir, it's ONE dual card - meaning you can add another to it.
YES! Exactly -So send me my second card!
Sir, no one authorized an upgrade...
This is NOT an upgrade! This is a replacement system and my original system had two video cards - THIS system should have two as well.
Ok sir, let me check the records.... ... .... Ok, you're correct sir. It was supposed to have two. It's been almost two months, why are just not taking care of this?
Are you serious??? Can you not see on your screen how many times I've called trying to get this matter taken care of??
But sir, it shows here that you said your video card was not working - that's why we sent the replacement.
No! I never said that! Omg... I'm not going through this again. Just send me my second card.
Well sir, we've sent too many parts out for this machine and it's still not working and we can't keep paying an onsite tech because we're losing money. Why don't you ship it to us to diagnose.
Absolutley not. First off, I'm not going to sit here without a computer for God knows how long. Secondly, I'm letting my computer out of site. Whoever works on it gets to have me breathing down their neck. I paid extra for this service and I'm not sending it in. We know what's wrong with it. Alll you need to do is take back these refurbed parts and mail me new ones along with the correct video card. I'm not sending it in. YOUR techs are what screwed it up in the first place when they didn't properly seat my heat sink bracket!
Sir, your best option is to get a replacement machine.
OMG no... I'm not going through that again. I just want MY current machine working.
Sir, we can offer you an upgraded machine. We can give you the R3 with all the options you want.
No... wait, all the options?
Yessir.
Grr, I still think the R3 is a downgrade, but whatever - lets see what you've got.

(so we go over the new build for the better part of an hour, then he says I'm going to have to pay for the upgrades...)

What? No way! If you're forcing me into swapping out my R2 for the R3, then you're forcing me to downgrade several options and if that's the case, then you need to compensate and upgrade other options. Right now, the system you're offering me is $1800 retail and I paid $3500 for my R2 and I've hardly been able to use it. If I wanted an R3, I'd have waited a month or two and spent that full $3500 on it and got way more options than you're offering - that's rdiculous and you're not going to screw me out my money like that!
Sir, the R3 is better. It has a better processor. Better web cam. It's 3D!
Look, I don't care about that stuff. You telling me it's "better" doesn't help. I need specs.
The R3 is better in everyway, sir.
No it's not.
Yes, it is sir - thats why we've discontinued the R2.
Look man, you're downgrading my 1200p screen to a lower res... from RGB-LED to WLED.... you're taking me from dual video cards to a single video card... you're taking away my 8mb cashe processor for a 6mb cache processor... you're taking away my anodized aluminum shell and replacing it with a plastic POS that I've had before on the m15x when they came out and it broke on me THREE times in a year! No. If you're forcing me to downgrade those options, then you're going to compensate elsewhere!
Sir we can upgrade your video card to the 6970 and it's better than your current card.
No I'm supposed to have TWO cards and again "better" doesn't tell me anything. I need specs here! There is no way that a single 6970 is going to beat dual 5870s. There's no contest, especially for the aps I'm running with Adobe Masterworks. Sure, the 6970 is amazing for gameing, but I need dual card to split the workload for what I'm doing.
Ok sir, I think we should just fix your current machine.
OMG! You think!?!
Sir, hang on one moment while I pull up the information and get caught up again. ... ... ... 15m ... ... ... Sir? You've violated Dell's terms of agreement and I can no longer have this conversation with you.
WHAT!?!?
You have not returned your original system and you have therefore voided your warranty.
WHAT!?! I was waiting on -
SIR!! For quality assurance purposes, I can no longer speak with you on this matter. Your account will be flagged and you will have to speak with customer service regarding this matter.
You have got to be kidding me! You gave me the run-around for almost 3 hours and then you pull this $hit!?!? I'm sick of this. I'm sick of you. Sick of Dell. This is the most horrible predicament I've ever been in with a purchase and I'm calling the better business bureau and my congresman - you cannot treat people like this and get away with it!
Sir, I don't care who you call - you broke the contract. Good-bye.
WHAT!?! (curse word corse word curse word)
*click!*

I tried calling Customer service right away, but it was a saturday and apparently they weren't going to be open again until Monday. So Monday morning I called the OST and told him to install my refurbed parts right away. He had no idea what was going on and he didn't ask. I wanted a working computer at least in case they tried something stupid that was going to take months in court to fight. So, he got the computer running on the used stuff which is why I'm finally able to post on here after over a month with no PC. I'm still running a single video card though. Anyways, I called early monday to speak with customer service... I explained everything in detail and he couldn't believe how I was treated. I told him that they'd already have their machine if they'd send me a freaking label. I told them that they were supposed to send one with the new machine and they didn't. I told them that I called about it and they said a fedEx label was created and I never got it. So he created a UPS label for me right then and there and emailed it to me. I printed it off and told him it would be in the mail the same day.

Then we moved on to my issues. He said he couldn't help me until they recieved the computer. I blew up again at this point. Why am I being punished for YOUR mistake. He says "I'm really sorry sir, no matter what the reason - once your account is flagged, there is nothing I can do until it is cleared. When the computer arrives, I will call you and fix everything."

Two days later I tracked the package myself and they had already recieved it. Yet no phone call. I waited and waited. Nothing. I finally gave in and called myself. The tech guys says there are no more new parts. He says he can replace my machine but it would be an entirely refurbished machine. Oh I forgot to mention above that my casing now has scratcges and dents on it from the OST. I was sure to mention that to Dell when I called. He said refurbed parts or an R3. The knots tightened in my stomache instantly. Here we go again. I argue for an hour about how the R3 is a downgrade on several levels for what I NEED it for. Finally, he talks me into going to the website and just looking at them.... first thing I see? m18x! Anodized aluminum! Dual video cards! Everything but the RGB 1200p screen... that's doable! Sweet! So I tell the agent what I want... he says they can't do that because the R3 is the closest to my machine. WHAT!? Seriously? The m18x is simply a bigger R2... what gives!?! Sorry sir we can't do that.

You know what? I'm done. I want my money back.
Sorry sir, you can't get a full refund after 6mo...
What!?!?! I called in with this problem almost two months ago!
Sorry sir, I understand your predicament, but it's policy.
No! You guys were dragging on this on purpose! You wanted me to hit that 6mo mark so that I'd be stuck with my system and you didn't have to work with me on a refund!
Sir, I assure you that was no one's intention.
Well, it sure seems like it! You should make an exception since I've had nothign but problems since November. A crap replacement and then NO comparable replacement to give when THIS one took a dump. I want my money back!!!
Sorry sir.
Put a manager on the phone. Now.
They're in meetings sir.
Too bad. I'm fed up. Pull him out of the meeting.
Sir, I can't do that. I will have him call you back.
No, I've heard that before and I waited days!!
Sir, this has been escalated. He has to call you back within 2 hours.
Ok fine. *click*

Two hours and 15 minutes later the phone rings. It's the supervisor and he has nothing good to tell me. He repeats everything. No help. At all. But, he does offer to max out everything on the R3 to "make it right". Ok fine, lets do that. I'm thinking that if I have a brand new maxed out R3, then I can sell it on eBay and then use the money to buy the m18x and get the alum case and dual video cards. Let's do it.

Then he says "I have to get back to the meeting. I will have my associate follow up with you on this." *click*

Yes, he hung up on me. Nothing was finished. Nothing settled. It was late (last night), I figured I'd get a phone call this morning. Nothing. So I'm back to square one. I cannot believe this. This is THE most horrible customer service experience ever.

Am I trying to tell people to steer clear of Alienware? Yo're damn right I am. I can prove everything in this thread with copies of my phone records. Saved emails, screen shots, dispatch numbers and service orders... the list goes on and on and I am fed up. So I say to the flamers... "flame on!" I could care less. For those of you with perfect machines or for those of you that pulled it apart and fixed it yourself - good for you. I'm not a laptop dell certifiec technician and I'm not getting paid to do it but I DID pay $3500 for a perfectly brand new machine with no refurbed parts that is supposed to run 100%. No matter what anyone says - none of this can be denied.

And you know what? I don't just "complain" when there are problems. I've worked in sales and I've worked in customer service and marketing. I work in radio now - image is everything. When someone handles my problem properly and respectfuly, I ask to speak to the supervisor and I give them a good commendation. Every time? No. But when someone goes above and beyond - yes, every single time. Do I complain everytime something goes wrong? Nope. Most of the time, I just cut my losses and move on. But when it's so freaking ridiculous like this... you bet - I'm going to tell everyone I can and I'm going to fight it tooth and nail until I win back my money or what I want. Plain and simple. So if you're not here to support or help me - get lost... I have no need for your negative feedback just because you had a great experience. Go start your own "best experience" thread and let the rest of us that have been cast aside find a way to fix this problem and hopefully prevent our peers from going through the same thing or worse in the future.

Sure, I sound combative. Sorry. Ask yourself how you'd feel in this situation. The legnths you'd go to... it's a really $hitty spot to be in and I really hope you don't have to experience it.

 

All I can say is wow. That has to be the worst customer service I've ever heard of. That is absolutely ridiculous...