Xotic PC lied to me, but Alienware treats their customers like gold.

I'm hella pissed.

Oh im pissed off to no end right now.
But at the same time I'm very happy.
Pissed like hell at Xotic PC, but more happy with alienware than ever.

So I was looking into some upgrades and stuff for my laptop...
WELL Alienware has a registration system for their laptops that tracks where they have been shipped and delievered and their configs, pretty standard for a boutique machine maker.
Well I ordered mine from XoticPC so I could get some customizations...

WELL
I waited more than 4months to get my system.
Yap
4 months.

XoticPC told me it was a problem with Alienware all a long, and that they were having issues with alienware shipping their systems.
So here I am on the phone asking about upgrades and they do a system check
They asked why I wanted an upgrade when I already had a i7 3740QM...
I was like "wait what? I have a 3630QM... what are you talking about?"

Welp guess what? Turns out XoticPC swapped in a different CPU into the system, instead of shipping out the configuration.
They told me "alienware isn't shipping systems out, they don't give us order numbers," on and on excuse after excuse after excuse.
Well Just so happens...
Alienware covers their tracks, Xotic PC? apparently doesn't know that.

So I pull out the box my M17X R4 came on. Pull up the dell support site... and I check the shipping lable. YUP THERE IT IS CLEAR AS DAY.
ORDER NUMBER RIGHT FREAKING THERE, Order number, Service Tag, shipment date and everything.
I received my order June 4th 2013, after I had placed the order January 25th. Yup 4 months and 10 days.
So now the lies all unravel.

I have the order number, the purchase date the tracking number and dates, the original system configuration, and every bit of information I need to verify where the system came from, the name on the order, its ship date, configuration, The name of the employee that the system was ordered for, EVERYTHING.
And guess what?
Alienware wasn't lying to me, XoticPC was. XoticPC jerked me around telling me Alienware hadn't shipped the order yet.
But when I check the order status on the dell support site, It was already there are their offices.

They explained to me there wasn't any order numbers or service tags associated with the system, the service tag and order number is right on the box.
They said the system came in a bulkorder, which the order doesn't confirm. I managed to check the purchase ID for Xotic PC LLC, there were 5 systems ordered for them and delivered to them at various times during april.
They were all PERSONAL orders.
I was told lie after lie, and messed with by Xotic PC.
I'm freaking agrevated by this. The system's order wasn't even placed until April 4th! 3 months AFTER I had ordered the system!

Whats worse is that I suggested that other people go to Xotic PC and that puts my own reputation on the line.

System information as follows:
Order placed by me to XoticPC: Jan 25th 2013
Order charged for XoticPC products and services: 02/12/2013
Order placed at Alienware by Xotic PC: 4/3/2013
Arrival date at XoticPC: 4/10/2013
Shipdate from XoticPC: 5/29/2013
Arrival to me in seattle: 6/04/2013


Tracking Number: Click Here
Carrier: FEDEX GROUND
Shipped On: 4/10/2013
Shipping Method: 2nd Business Day
Order Date: 4/3/2013
Dell Purchase ID: 2004111250551 "Information"
Order Number: 358523500

So... they aren't an actual Dell Alienware vendor, they are personally ordering systems under employee names using dell advantage benefits, and probably coupon codes to resell probably unauthorized sales of Alienware products.

Alright so... It wasn't alienware's fault at all.
So what's so great about alienware then?
We'll here's my rave about alienware when it comes to this whole screwed up episode...

Alienware is honouring the original system configuration for me, I called in about the upgrades and stuff and explained to them what happened, and where I got the system and they desided they are going to exchange the CPU out for me.
They are giving me an upgrade for all this hassle.
Alienware has ALWAYS been awesome for me. 4 systems later, and I knew I could believe that Alienware wasn't screwing me over. Alienware cares too much about their customers.
Alienware Stay awesome.

And Next time, XoticPC or any reseller for that matter. Next time you wanna jerk around a customer, make sure they don't have access to records and are ordering from a company that allows public access to all those records free of charge.
You're luck a rage thread is all you're getting out of me. I could go to the BBB and ResellerRatings and post about how you lied to me and screwed with me.

 

why would you buy from them instead directly on alienware website?

 

So I could get some specific customizations, the artwork for one.

 

So what did Xotic have to say about all of this? While I can understand the hassle, time and energy involved with making a stink about it all, I'd seriously be going out of my way to do so if it were me.

Glad everything worked out for you in the end.

 

I haven't said anything to them yet. I don't know if I will. I do I'll take the situation to the BBB and explain things.
I can't believe they'd lie to me like that.

 

who was the person you were dealing with at xoticpc? I was thinking of getting a computer from them but now that i've read this...

 

Hutsady.

Just got it, problem's I've noticed.


They lead me onto believe this was alienware's problem. And infact it wasn't at all, Alienware held up their end of the deal. and xoticpc made them take the blame.
I'm pretty upset.
Don't buy from Xotic, and if you care, you'd share this with people around the net, because I'll be damned if they do this to other people.

 

Maybe they wanted the 3740qm for another system and wanted to swap out for a 3630qm they had, but that does not explain the other odd behaviour.

 

I originally ordered the system with a 3630QM, but that wasn't the configuration that the system was shipped as. Which is why alienware is swapping it out, they are exchanging to honour the systems original configuration because its not a CPU under their warranty. Xotic also swapped out a non alienware distributed hard drive instead of sending it with the stock hard drive, meaning the hard drive I was given, is not under dell/alienware warranty.
Meaning they voided the warranty for me on 2 parts that I wanted to have warranties on. So alienware is upgrading my CPU for me to reflect the original system configuration. I'm really pissed off because hard drives are my biggest problem with systems and if my warranty isn't covering it. I'm kinda screwed.
Xotic messed up my order big time, I'm pissed.

 

When you order it through a reseller you should go through them for repairs. They would be able to put in parts matching the warranty and get it repaired.

 

Not with xotic. Their system policy for alienware is that they do not handle alienware warranties, but they only will cover the 3rd party hardware they install. So i'll have to barter with xotic if the hard drive fails since its a hard drive they installed and not me.

I intended to have the hard drive covered by alienware though, not XoticPC. Alienware supports their systems very well and I'm not exactly happy with XoticPC's behavior with this order.

 

Oh wow, well considering that policy I am surprised they touched the stock components then :/

 

Hi Franbunny,
I'm sorry to hear you feel like we jerked you around.
We and all other resellers did have to order computer directly from AW as personal machines so we could get everyone that was waiting for their order to be fullfilled.
We were trying to go them directly through our Alienware rep but as you and many other customers experience, there became a huge back log which was taking months to get through. To help get people their computers we started ordering them another way so we could get them in and people wouldn't have to wait several more months.

Your order on our site has the i7 3630QM which is what was installed in the computer so you did get exactly what you ordered. As with all the brands we customize like AW, Asus, MSI etc all parts changed from the manufacturers specs are covered by Xotic PC. The hard drive was different because you selected an upgrade on our configuration page vs what AW would normally have installed. Those parts will be covered by us instead of AW. With any customized computer bought from a reseller you want to contact them if you need any service. We'll then help you get it sent to the appropriate place for repair.

I'm sorry you feel like we jerked you around, that is not our intention. Hopefully all the time we spent in chat and emails will make you realize we were really trying to help out the whole time.

 

Jerked around? You guys lied to me!
You told me it wasn't even there yet, and the damned laptop's order tracking says it had already arrived!

I have access to all the damned records. You have no freaking clue how pissed I am.

There wasn't a huge backlog of orders either, People were getting theirs direct long before I got mine.

You guys told me there wasn't a freakin order number with the system, and its right there on the freakin lable.

It doesn't matter if I got what I ordered or not, you'll lied to me.

 

I looked at XoticPC.com about 3 years ago now? when I was considering Sager when my new laptop purchase research began,, but again, I really think people should just buy Dell from Dell. It saves a lot of hassle in general and if you want some custom stuff, maybe get it done after the fact. Price can't be beat for one and I stand by my own belief that all vendor support generally is pretty lacking. AW included.

Going in with that mindset, you're less likely to be disappointed overall.

I would hope xoticpc or any reseller shouldn't have to swap stuff around if a customer paid for something which was cheaper or included. I suppose what happened is that the cpu wasn't available so x-pc bought a higher end upgrade and they swapped it out after to give the customer what he wanted. The delays are just too long and if AW treats resellers like that, I'd sell something else. In that time frame, a new model came out I think...dropping the value of all the older machines.

If you got downgrade, it's sorta like when a car dealer gets cash back from the manufacturer, they should pass that on to you. It sounds like this case is probably more about limited configs or what not.

Still sucks and as mentioned before, buy aw from Dell direct. Price alone makes whatever aftermarket stuff irrelevant. Want a custom paintjob? Ask a local air brush place or something.

 

[Mod Edit: deleted content of private correspondence. Please review forum rules as this is not permitted.]

----------------------------
https://www.fedex.com/fedextrack/?tracknumbers=929883692853392&cntry_code=US&language=EN


Care to explain why the system took 3 damned weeks to get to your "inventory"?

oh and by the way, don't even try to claim this as a vendor problem


1

A5750525

Your Dell Advantage benefits have been applied. Don�t forget to select free 2nd business day shipping at checkout.

You guys used a dell advantage code, meaning you know EXACTLY how their system works, and knew EXACTLY where the system was and I know for a fact that the order wasn't placed until april 4th.

 

We never lied to you. There was a back log going through our Rep. There was also a back log going directly through AW. We all had many people that did order directly through them asking how long it was taking us to get ship them out because their orders were also delayed. I know around the time the tracking number says it arrived to us you wanted to change the skin on it (April 10th). Doing that adds time as we have to have it reprinted.

I did say there was not an order number that I had access to, which we were not provided to us. I'm sure Alienware assigned it an order to keep track of it but it was not something I could get to pass along to you. If there was any missunderstanding you're welcome to shoot me an email or come into chat and i'll be happy to answer any other concerns.

 

Oh really?
Well Just for the record the system's original name Is Justin Nolte. Wouldn't happen to be the same Justin that works for Xotic PC LLC would it?
Because that's whos name is on the lable
View Profile: Justin@XoticPC - XOTICPC Forums
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/justin-nolte/13/417/280

the lable also shows it was a single order. So who was screwing with whom?
The tracking labels and order status page, tell a different story than I was told.

03/26/2013 Phase 2 (Sent for Custom Building / Testing / Burn In & Final QA) Hello,
I want to personally thank you for your order with XOTIC PC! My name is Megan and I will be processing your order. Should you have any questions please refer to our FAQ page.
It is VERY IMPORTANT you read the below notes regarding your order.
Thank you for confirming your special-order Alienware item. The production time at Alienware is estimated 2-4 weeks. Special-order items may require an additional 7-16 business days for Xotic PC additional upgrades. Please note that production times are estimates. Production times are not guaranteed. Once an item is sent to special-order production at Alienware, any cancellation request would be subject to a 20% restock fee if cancellation is requested. Also, please note that we have particularly confirmed your order prior to submitting it for final production at Alienware. Any changes requested after submitting the order to special-order Alienware production cannot be guaranteed.

Please review our warranty page regarding Alienware special-order items
Custom Laptops, Gaming Notebooks, Custom Gaming Laptops | XOTIC PC

Once your special-order item is received by Xotic PC, it will proceed through Xotic PC production and will be completed as quickly as possible. Upon completion of production/testing, you will be provided with tracking information for the shipment.
When calling regarding your order, please dial extension 527
Thankyou,


----

How exactly is it "particularly confirmed" when you guys haven't even placed the damn order yet?!

 

As mentioned we had to start ordering a different way then through our regular rep so we could get the computers in. This is because many people including you were having to wait months for their computers. We did not wait months to place the order from when you paid, thats what it sounds like you're saying, we were ordering them right away and the way we had been since adding them to our site in June 2012. Eventually that way was taking months, so yes we did end up ordering them individually so we could start getting everyones orders taken care of.

 

Well way to go. You made a customer really pissed off in the end because they felt like they had been lied to the whole damned time.
Still does not change the fact that you told me It wasn't there when the delivery tracking from fedex and order status from dell said it was.
You implied there was a whole shipment from alienware and yet the shipping lable denotes only one system was being shipped and tracked in quantity.

I don't believe half the crap you're telling me.
Not only has this turned out to be a disappointed customer turning into a pissed off one, but now there's a P R mess.

None of the other resellers were having this issue, the systems were shipping out from dell direct just fine, AND IT DOESNT EXPLAIN WHY IT TOOK 2+WEEKS TO BE "CHECKED IN" either!

You bet I feel like I was jerked around and lied to, yall sure as hell made sure i'd never come back or recommend anyone buy a product of yours, and you all know for sure I was recommending people, you even mentioned it to me.
I put my own rep on the line for ya'll because I thought you guys deserved it, but way to make me look bad, and XoticPC look bad.

And doesn't change the fact that there was a guy on your forums who had waited longer than I did and never got his, he came to alienware arena and we advised him to buy it direct.
Whatever the hell is wrong with XoticPC and alienware, either fix it or XoticPC need to stop selling their systems.
Like I said in the email and forum posts.
This is unethical, this is a big problem.

These aren't little toys, these are multi thousand dollar systems you're messing with, and It's not ok that this is happening.

 

Many other resellers were having the same stock issues including AW directly. As mentioned we had many people ask us what our ship times were because they had also waited 2 months or more for the ones ordered directly throught AW. We also had people that ordered from other resellers that were having the same delays. That part of things you dont see.

Yes I told you there was a whole shipment that was ordered. Those were the ones that were taking months to get. Yes the shipping label only shows one because we also got tired of waiting months for computers then started ordering them individually. As you mentioned in your original post there were 5 systems ordered in April. Yes it shows Justin's name on there. He is the owner of the company, as with all the brands we sell, AW, Asus, MSI, etc he pays for the computers.

Again I do apologize if there was any miss understanding, if you have any issues at all feel free to contact me directly.

 

You told me that mine was in that shipment, so what happened, it just got forgotten about in Xotic's warehouse?

What im not seeing is the hole in the story that's saying Mine order was there and you guys took forever to get it "checked in"

It arrived the 13th of april and wasn't shipped till the 29th of may.
I know there was a problem with the name plates, but you told me "they sent the wrong one" when the order clearly states it was never actually ordered with a the name plate.

And alienware wasn't having stocking issues at the time! I told you that people ordering directly were getting their systems 2~4weeks later. One of them even apologized to me because he got his before he got mine!

I guy replied to my post on alienware arena saying how he was told that Xotic would take longer than 30 days to process his order so he cancled and went to hivevo and got it 3weeks later.

 

I'm just wondering what you want from XPC here? - I can understand the CPU thing, shipping from Dell with a better cpu and being swapped out technically voids warranty from Dell as it ain't original config. - you seem to have that sewn up, grabbing a free upgrade to a better cpu from Dell. As for the HDD's, if you upgraded them via XPC, afaik, they are XPC's warranty - not Dell's and XPC won't send you the original HDD's as well as the ones you opted for from XPC if you upgraded HDD from them, so from that perspective, the machine isn't original Dell configuration anyway, so Dell could refuse service because of the lack of original shipping HDD.

What would make YOU happy, Franbunny? - I assume you didn't just want to have a rant, even though you are probably well entitled to. Sorry if I have missed some info.....

 

I did hear back that it wasnt checked in until the second skin was printed and arrived to us so that is what the delay there was. They waited until all parts were ready to go. Then on May 3rd I started email you pics of the skin. On May 9th I let you know the plate was sent blank and offered to ship the computer our without the plate or wait until AW could send us a new one with the custom etching you wanted. You said you preferred to wait for that plate. It finally arrived to us on May 29th and we shipped it out that same day.

 

Yah im kinda pissed, but I'm sure alienware will be understanding about it, or I can buy a hard drive from alienware and just fix it that way.

Thanks for filling in the gaps, but it doesn't change the fact that XoticPC's actions effectively voided my warranty, and kept me in the dark about what was going on.
Letting your customers feel like they are being lied to because they did a little digging and found the story they were told didn't seem to be consistant with what she was told.

I really hope Xotic gets this situation with alienware fixed, because this doesn't look good for anyone.

 

I'm confused, because if you ordered through Xotic, then your warranty should have nothing to do with Dell. Xotic would be the ones who need to honor their warranty which would have been part of the purchase agreement as you configured the notebook. However, if you wanted a Dell warranty, then you should order directly from Dell. Just easier.




Sent from my Samsung Captivate/JB CM 10.1 via Tapatalk.

 

Xotic doesn't build the system, alienware does. Xotic is a reseller.

 

Yes but they also cover any modifications done to the system. I really don't see the point of this thread.

Sent from my GT-I9100

 

Happy to clear any questions up. If you would have just asked me first I would have been happy to answer them.

We do cover all the upgrade/changed parts as we do with all systems.

 

Fran, since its all been explained rather well by XPC, I'm also unsure of what more you want. I do know for a fact that reseller orders were being bumped to the back of the list.

You got a free upgrade, you were warranty covered the whole time, you opted for a month long delay while waiting on the nameplate... I mean, what more do you want? You cannot expect 100% instant service from a company 1/10000 the size of Dell, AND it sounds like they laid out all the timelines rather well.

I like them more for this exchange.

 

OK, I'm going to close this down now. We don't need any heckling or name calling like what I just deleted. Fran was able to express how she felt about being mislead and it looks like Xotic is willing to take up the matter privately with her. Alienware also stepped up to the plate for her. So, all is well that ends well.

I am also going to put this in the M17x thread.

As far as the impolite comments that I deleted are concerned, please review forum rules. There are guidelines about interactions with other members of the community. It seems we have quite a few new members in the Community, so now is a great time to provide a link. Taking a few minutes now may help avoid infractions for inappropriate behavior. This is a private forum, so not everyone is at liberty to say whatever happens to be on their mind at the expense of others.

The forum rules in their entirety can be viewed here: Forum Rules - *PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING*

 

I just purchased the GT70 Dominator. It arrived, and I had it out of the box for a few mere hours, when I got the system failure screen TWICE. I called XoticPC, and not only did they not help resolve my issue, but they refused to exchange the computer since it had been shipped more than 15 days prior (I live overseas and use a military APO/DPO address). The service guy had no idea what to do to troubleshoot the problem. Later the same night, I got a third system failure message. In the end, one problem I discovered was that they installed a Windows XP driver for the webcam. I still don't know what caused the system failure messages. In the end, I reinstalled the operating system, and all seems to have worked out. But, buyers beware that XoticPC has really poor customer service. I will not be a repeat customer.

 

Hello Lesley0000,

I believe I spoke with you after you spoke with Barry on our support line. We are definitely sorry that this happened. If you are who I think you are I was personally trying to help you out but couldn't proceed much further with troubleshooting as we weren't able to be provided with the error message that was causing the system to crash. I was awaiting an email from you with pictures of the message so that I could give you a call back and help you further with the issue, just not much can be done if we don't know what error was happening or without the computer there in front of you to have us walk through possible solutions. Definitely not our intention to make you feel like we have bad support, but we need a chance to help resolve problems when they occur and why we were asking for what we were.