'The Phase Game' UK m15x

Im very disappointed in Alienware UK yet again, as my order is supposed to be shipped on the 29th Feb and its the 28th Feb now and im STILL in phase 4, which i have been for over 2 weeks.
Im getting fed up with this, ive just sent them a slightly Rude, but Polite e-mail asking why my order is still in phase 4.
Has anyone in the UK received their m15x yet? or are you having the same problems as myself?

 

actually, i called them up to see how my order is coming along.. and just like you.. i'm in phase 4.. over a week and a half now.. they told me that the reason for this is they're still waiting on the components to get there.. then they can start assembling the machine.. that'll take like 5 days or so to complete..

my guess is, a lot of people in the UK are in phase 4 and they're just waiting for the components to arrive.. meaning, us from the UK are going to get our machines around the same time..

mine is on the 11th of march..

 

Yeah im also in phase 4 (week 2)...really annoying.

 

hmmmm... so i guess i could be right.. now that i think about it, we ordered around the same time (just when it came on the UK website), so i guess they waited for enough buyers before shipping all the components together.

funny how they sell something without having the merchandise first..

 

yeah and if u look at the website, the estimated shipping time hasnt changed, its still like 26th March and it was that for like 2 weeks now meaning, it doesnt matter so much when u buy it. So a guy can buy it now, 2 weeks after me, but then still recieve it in a similar time period. That is annoying

 

3 weeks +2 days = phase 4 .

 

I'm not sure what stage phase 4 is, but the reason for the delay is they don't have the screens for the laptops according to the website. Also one of the CPUs is on backorder.

 

yes phase 4 is waiting for components. I'm sure they don't have the screens or keyboards or something and I know the webpage says 14 days delay for the screen but I placed the order 23 days ago and it said delay 14 days for the screen too. Also my calculated date was 26 february if I remember well, we're 28 and they still wait for parts . Is just funny .

 

Phase 4 here too. Meant to be getting it on the 10th of March...

 

prediction: i think after this weekend, we'll all be in phase 5 or by friday, we'll skip a lot of phases.. i mean c'mon.. 3 weeks of phase 4 is just too long..

 

Had to register for this one..

Ordered my custom setup of m15x on 9th of Feb.. Estimated time to ship was 3th of Mar.. Only two days less than 4 weeks in phase 4..

Maybe they should change phases to weeks.. Would be more accurate

 

wow.. and here i thought there were only a handful of us from the UK. even though under bad circumstances, i'm glad we're not alone in this one..

yes, weeks would be more help than just keep going to the order status and check every 12 hours.. i even have the website bookmarked on my toolbar.

 

Lol, if the M17x comes out tomorrow - I bet I'd receive it before you lot get your M15x's .

Wishful thinking

 

Hi guy ive just wire transferd for my M15x fully loaded,l burst the bank abit eek...............

So has no one from the uk had there m15x delivered, they are telling me mine will be shipping around 26th of march

I cant wait it looks soooooo sweet....................................

 

I'm about 90% sure that I'm gonna get this laptop, does anyone know if you can cancel your order before they started building it? Also anyone know of any discounts/vouchers (says when you go to checkout)

 

Hi, in regards to discounts - there are non. I pursued Alienware for hours regarding trying to get a sniff of a code / free delivery but they won't budge, so don't waste any time trying .

The only thing you can do is use Quidco.com to get 3% cashback on your order. Alienware just keep telling me to sign up to their newsletter as that is where they will tell anyone about any discounts or promotions (although people say they have never seen any discounts in their newsletters!).

You could keep your eye out on the many "discount voucher" UK websites, where they post 10% off on Dell etc all the time, but don't hold your breathe on Alienware .

 

I had a 5% student discount on my m15x. Secondly, you guys need to Call up alienware and ask them what phase you're really in. On my order status it says phase 2, when i Call them they tell me i'm in phase 4. They said their website doesn't get updated alot. - Call them.

 

yup. i knew that the website doesn't get updated a lot and i did call them this morning.. so, anxious people from UK, we're all at phase 4 it seems..

 

oh sham you're only in week 2 though? Phase 4 isn't bad for just week 2. I'm in week 2 in the US and only in 3

 

Yea, i ordered mine as soon as it came out in the uk, and its just absolutely stupid that were all still in phase 4. Im just waiting on the response from my email that i sent them. In a perfect situation they might offer me something free, but i seriously doubt it.

 

well, actually, tomorrow i'd be going into week 3.. even then.. it's a bit frustrating to know that i've been waiting a week for the darn components to arrive.. don't you agree? as mentioned before, you should call them up to see what the actual order status is.. if you already have and it is in phase 3, i feel sorry for you. i do hope that the other phases will go by swiftly!

doubt it dude.. and i've sent them an email about it too.. all i get was a copy-paste response like other people have been getting.. i guess we'll just have to wait it out, mate.. it won't be long now.. we should storm through the other phases soon..

 

Well They're saying my order is going to be delayed 2 days because they're applying my student discount that was supposed to be applyed when i first ordered it. Why the machine would be delayed 2 days to process a 5% discount is beyond me.

 

Hi Guys I am at phase 4 and ordered on the 4th Feb when it came out

its almost 4 weeks since I pulled the trigger (as the comment is so popular on these forums )

I am very displeased with the excuses (that are inconsistent) and the fact that we are just expected to lie down and take it!

not good customer service, considering the amount of money we are spending now is it?

 

yup. prior to deciding on getting a new laptop, i was warned about the customer service.. and yet i still went for it.. personally, as long as i get the laptop in good condition, i'll go through the sucky customer service over and over again if i have to..

on the subject of lying down and taking it, what more can we do? cancel our order and go for something else? i'm not joining that train.. but with new competition in the gaming laptop business growing, it's good for all of us.. more options.. after my m15x is busted in a few years, i'd still go for alienware i think. but hopefully by then, with the competition, a lot of improvement would be done by then..

from this long wait, i did learn something though.. don't buy it as soon as it comes out.. wait for other people to get it and let them stock up on the components..

 

And miss all the whining?? No way! Where's the fun in getting a new computer if you can't call the CS at least 3-4 times per day. Free-toll phone FTW!

 

So i call up Alienware again today asking if my 5% discount has been applied yet... and they tell me it was denied yesterday - and accepted today. They said while that whole process was going on my order was put on HOLD.

So something that should have been done in the initial transaction is now delaying my order 5+ days? How does that even make sense lol. If i don't get the notebook on or before the estimated ship date i'm most likely lookin at other brands.

 

well to be honest they have me because there isnt a decent alternative
the clevo is just ugly, and the build quality from places like Rock (while getting great reviews) doesnt stand the test of time. So I am skeptical how nice those clevo's will be looking this time next year.

the alienware machine is pure eye candy, and they have a sturdy reputation for product.

their marketing is great, if only they spent as much time on getting the product out of the door!

 

i wouldn't really worry about it.. i think it's just an excuse since you're going to have to wait in phase 4 longer than usual anyway. looking at other brands? you mean after you get your m15x right?

 

can anyone explain why there are very different situations between US & EU?

EUROPE:

Alienware Area-51® m15x
Estimated Time To:
Process Your Order 4 day(s)
Obtain Limited Availablity Items 14 day(s) (because of screens)
Build and Ship Your System 10 day(s)

Total Time: Up to 28 day(s)

Estimated Ship Date: 27/03/2008

USA:

Alienware Area-51® m15x
Estimated Time To:
Process Your Order 2 day(s)
Obtain Limited Availablity Items 0 day(s)
Build and Ship Your System 26 day(s)

Total Time: Up to 28 day(s)

Estimated Ship Date: 27/03/2008

 

because the components are in the US.. so, it's faster availability in the US and they have to ship the components to us in europe. and to process the order from europe, it goes to US, so that explains why it takes a few days longer.. not exactly sure about the last one.. maybe they're really busy with all the orders in US and it has just come out in the UK..MAYBE.. anyone with a different theory?

 

I dont think we can explain either region.
I dont think consistency of delivery times exists with these guys
their approach to build and release of machines is amateurish.

I would love to have the opportunity to show them how its done properly!

p.s. dont forget most of the components come from taiwan/china etc! so they dont ship things from the US

if fact one of their excuses was that EU supply lines were different to those in the US
(yes they turn left instead of right when they leave the factory LOL )

 

order process is not a big deal.

I was curious about "build & ship" phase! 16 days less in europe

 

I think is just marketing stuff. Maybe some strange survey in US showed that people are less worried when they see time passes to carefully build the system while in EU people are more understanding when they wait for parts. It can't be by chance that in both places it takes roughly the same time to ship the computer out of the factory (estimated). They're just inventing numbers that add up to get to their time. I still remember 3 weeks ago I was curious and was looking on their website at delay reasons and they were saying 19 days delay because of the cloth sleeve that you get with the system .

 

I don't now.. only in the last few days the estimation ship date was the same. a week ago, you had to wait for screens in EU and the shipping date was 27th march, while in US you had an estimation date of about 10th march

 

I have just received a response of;

Dear Mr. Watkins,

Thank you for contacting Alienware.

Unfortunately, there has been a delay in the production cycle.

Please note that the estimated shipping date that was provided to you at the time you placed the order was only an estimate. As such, it depends on how the system moves through the production cycle and on the availability of parts.

I can assure you that we are putting forth our best effort to see that your order is delivered as promptly as possible.

If you need further information, please do not hesitate to contact me or our Customer Service Department at 0800-279-9751. We will gladly assist you.




I sent them back an email asking what the problem is in the 'delay', As myself 'the customer' i expect to be informed rather then telling me there is a delay. If there isnt a decent response, I shall ring up, and see whats going on. See if i can get something off the price of it or some free stuff. I really feel as though this isnt good enough.

I mean, i havnt received an email stating that a part is delayed or anything. As phase 4 states 'In the rare occurrence that a PC component is not readily available, you will be notified via email.' ............

 

my order is currently in phase 4, based on the email from AW. I ordered mine last Tuesday in the US, so phase 4 just started.

Aw also mentioned that my order will be delayed because the screen is backordered. I was told to check back with them next week. We'll see how it goes...haha.

 

you ordered yours last tuesday? I ordered mine like... two weeks ago and am in phase 3 due to the problem with the student discount. I'm going to call up and complain.... of course that probably wont fix anything.

 

yea i ordered mine last week. i'm just keeping my fingers crossed and hope the screen will be in stock next week.

man that sux. i guess you have to keep on bugging them. hope everything works out for you.

 

Yea, I'll try contacting them to see what's up. =] What was your Estimated ship date?

 

i think the estimated ship date was either 3/14 or 3/17. it's about 2 weeks away, so let's see how it goes.

 

yea, mine was march 14th. I doubt it will come at that time I also doubt it will arrive in working order either considering how many people have problems with their screens / lights / touch buttons. It's kind of scary. It's like waiting to receive something that you are 80% sure is going to have a flaw(s).

 

yea, hope everything is in working order when we receive the m15x. the problems reported by many ppl will sure make others nervous and worried.

let's hope for the best.

 

Yea, I wish you the best of luck. Hopefully the problem is just a driver issue or something and will be resolved soon.

 

yea i wish you the best of luck too.

when i received my Area-51 7500 about 2 yrs ago, i couldn't turn on the computer. It turned out that the power connector wasn't connected to the motherboard...so I was like wtf....lol. Other than that, the system was and still working great, besides having windows xp crash due to other software incompatibility or something...haha.

 

yeah.. hopefully, the good thing about having to be this long in phase 4 is that they've received a lot of complains from other people and when it comes to ours being built, they take all that into consideration and concentrate a bit more on the common problems. good luck to everyone in UK. let's start a thread once we get our m15x and compare

 

Mines on Phase 4 now
They only got the payment today......Maybe i'll be stuck on this stage for afew weeks, looking at the early posts

1] Area-51® m15x

Display: 15.4" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD (720p) with Clearview Technology
System Lighting: Alienware® AlienFX® System Lighting - Aqua
Operating System: Genuine Windows® Vista Home Premium - English
Graphics Processor : 512MB NVidia® GeForce™ Go 8800M GTX
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme X9000 2.8GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
Memory: 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz - 2 x 2048MB
Turbo Cache Memory: Intel Turbo Cache Memory 1GB – Accelerate Data Transfer Speed
System Drive: Single Drive Configuration - 200GB 7200 RPM SATA
Smart Bay: None
CD/DVD/RW: Dual Layer Blu-ray Disc Reader (BD-ROM, DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Sound Hardware: Intel® High-Definition Audio (24-bit, 192Khz) with surround sound
Keypad: Alienware® Area-51 m15x AlienFX® Keyboard - English
Wireless Network Card: Internal Intel® Wireless 4965 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card
Additional Power: Additional Battery - Alienware® m15X 6-cell SmartBay Additional Battery
Warranty: AlienCare 3-Year Free Phone 24/7 and Collect & Return
AlienContact: Added Bonus with any AlienSupport Selection
AlienContact - Remote Alienware Support
AlienRespawn: AlienRespawn v2.0 Recovery DVD – Windows Vista Edition
Monitor: (None)
Mobile Transport: Alienware® Odyssey Backpack
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mesh Cap
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Personalised Nameplate
Alienware Extras: Custom Alienware® Mousepad - FREE!
Alienware Extras: AlienInspection - Exclusive Integration and Inspection - £50 Value - FREE!
Alienware Extras: Owner Identification Card
Alienware Extras: Area-51® m15x Keyboard Diagram Overlay
Alienware Extras: Area-51® m15x Smooth Mylar Touchpad
Alienware Extras: Area-51® m15x Protective Cloth Sleeve
Avatar: Alienhead 3D
Window Style: Default Vista Window Style
Mouse Pointers: Standard Mouse Pointers
Power Plan: Balanced
Automatic Updates: Automatic Updates On
Time Zones: (GMT + 00.00) Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London

 

by the way guys, when they say they are waiting for screens, they mean the WHOLE chassis

typically companies like clevo, arima etc and of course QUANTA all build chassis from scratch, which include screen, case and motherboard, and often cd drive if it has a custom styled tray end.

so the excuses vary, and no original notification email is sent when there is a delay, you have to call support, then they attach what they say to the support ticket email.

its all lies.
well my estimated ship date was originally 5th March....thats next wednesday
still phase 4 today (friday 29th Feb)

not looking good is it, with 5 working days to build and test!

 

Dear Mr. Watkins,

Thank you for contacting Alienware.

Unfortunately, the M15X 6 Cell Primary Battery-Access, the Area-51 M15X 15" WXGA+ W/CAM SIL-RIP-PNT, and the M15X ODD SmartBay KIT-Silver-PNT are backordered and we are waiting for them to arrive. The estimated date of arrival is March 3, 2008.

Also, the Alienware PC Bag for MD 2.5 and the M15X Additional AC Adapter Power Cord are backordered. Unfortunately, we are waiting for an estimated date of arrival for these items.

I suggest contacting me or our Customer Service Department at 0800-279-9751 next week for an update.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this situation may represent.

Thank you for your understanding.

-------------------

thats the email ive just received from them.

 

thanks for sharing that with us.. i guess we can all just rest through the weekend knowing that phase 4 will end this monday!

oh, except for that extra stuff that you ordered that's tough.. but i'm sure it'll arrive while they do the 200 point tests.

 

I didnt order that extra stuff, guess their just telling me about all of the items their still awaiting on.