Alienware Beware

I purchased an Alienware Area 51-M laptop in February 2004. Within a week I was online with support trying to solve a problem with the DVDR drive. When manufacturing there's a foil backing they adhere under the keyboard area. This they left a little short going to the edge, as a result, when the machine warms up a little bit of the glue began leaking onto the drive door. Minor, so I didn't send it back, as I had a ton of video and graphic work to do. Three weeks later, the display began mysteriously going blank right after start up. Their tech supports final solution for me?... to "use a paperclip to jiggle the display switch." Wow, that's the best tech support advice they have? Now I spend 30min to an hour jiggling the switch until the display finally stays on. Unfortunately, I missed my 30 day window to return. Now they are willing to take the computer back for repairs. They anticipate it will take 21-30 days to fix and return. 21-30 days is about all I need for my business to go under. This was to be our portable workhorse for our mobile business.

They do not offer on-site repair, nor are they willing to send me a loaner while they fix mine. They honestly think it's o.k. customer service to ask a person to give up their computer for 21-30 days! Their reasoning is that they build superior custom machines, and don't have extras to loan. My question to them was, if you're machine is so superior, why am I now out $3,400 and without a machine for 1 month?

Alien-Beware
Brad Tatum

 

Wow, thats pretty poor service on Alienware's part. Hopefully, you were just unlucky with the build quality on this machine and when you finally get that repair perhaps it will last a bit longer.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 21,862

 

I don't care what the problem is 21-30 days is absolutely ridiculous for repair time. I thought they were better than that. [ !]

Sony GRT270-16.1" UXGA; P4 2.8GHz; 1GB RAM; 80GB HD; DVD+-RW; 64MB Geforce 5600; XP Pro

"People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid." - Soren Aabye Kierkegaard

 

This type of thing isn't rare.

Mine has just been sent off for the 3rd time for the same issue. It's hardware, Tech Support agrees it's hardware, the Depot will not change the hardware.

Oh, BTW, that 3-4wk period starts after they get it. They like to send things ground unless you complain a lot until they do 2day. The first time took 8 days to get there.

Bad product, bad support.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Howeln

 

you know, prior to the Sony GRT I have now (and Sager 8790 on order), I had an Alienware Area 51M. Needless to say, I threatened legal action and sicked my credit card company on them to get a refund.

I know of a few guys that have 51M notebooks and like um, but all have had problems with them too. *shrugs* I'll give them on thing, Alienware sure has one hell of a marketing dept

 

One would hope that perhaps they could take some money away from marketing and put it into a quality product and customer service.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 21,862

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Quikster

 

gosh. Those Alienware experiences all sound like disasters, Alienware has the media wooed by its image however and you rarely see negative stories regarding them. Kind of like Apple...they can do no wrong because the media loves them, even though there's a huge recall on iBooks with faulty displays (that just got widened by the way) that Apple is totally taking a bath on, all we hear is "Apple is great", "the iPod is amazing", "Steve Jobs = God". Meanwhile, anything Microsoft does or takes a wrong step with is put under the microscope and blown up. I still say if Apple had released an XBox or Smart Watch type of device the media would go ga ga and basically sell the products on behalf of Apple. Alienware could do the same, because they have an Alien on their notebooks and a cool image.

 

I totally agree with you there everyone always says apple has nothing wrong with it. Although they have been sued several times over their iPod batteries, and the ludicrious prices they charge to replace them.
I don't know about the notebooks, but the only people I've ever seen with an alienware desktop didn't know a thing about computers and had more money than brains. Even when I showed them they could build the exact same machine for 1/3-1/5 the cost depending on the alienware model.
My friend got his powerbook and had to send it back 2x, because when he received it the display had two different problems. Once there were lines on the screen, and the other time about 1/8 of the screen was dead.

zx5000 :: 2.4M :: 512 DDR :: 40gb 4200 RPM HD :: 15.4" :: Radeon 9600 Mobilty M10 :: Aquamark3 21,862

 

It sounds like you didn't want to send the system in for repair. In all reality, there are complaints about every company. But the ratio for complaints for Alienware systems are tiny compared to the number of sales. Alienware sales are enormous. I agree that Alienware marketing is very good. But back to reality, no company can be 100% perfect. Alienware goes above and beyond any company in support. And is always improving its business. I'm not an employee but I am sorry when anyone has an issue with Alienware. This situation was more damaging because of the lost production. But you really did purchase an excellent system from an excellent company. Alienware will make sure your happy with your system. This experience shouldn't be used to turn people away from Alienware. There are just way too many satisfied Alienware owners. I hope your experience gets better.

alienware moderator
alienwareforums.com

 

ugh. An appologist.
You did get some things right, though.
No company can be perfect - just try to be.
This experience also shouldn't be used to turn people from alienware.

Where you're wrong: Alienware's policy of taking upwards of 30 days to repair a system is ludicrous. That's policy - ie typical - and I can think of no one who would want to give up their computer for more than a few days. Absolutely ludicrous.
Also, the latest issues with the new line of Alienware portables are chronic - ie I see a ton of complaints. Alienware can't have the sales volume of HP or IBM, yet I see a lot more complaints about Alienware these days. That's the telling factor. I'm not spending that much money on a system from a company that claims to have superior, personal tech support, yet whose customers give extremely detailed accounts to the contrary. If that's the support I'm going to get, I'll save the 1500 difference and buy from a company that doesn't make these claims.
Still, Alienware makes some really cool computers. Too bad they overprice them. Just looking at the Acer Ferarri kinda exposes that: custom paint job and great components for under 1800. Hello?

 

Actually AW customer service does stink. Their machines had terrible wi-fi cards (which they were reluctant/refused to replace when they got a different brand), the screens were washed out, dvd quality stunk, and the systems overheat.

I had a new A-51m and it was terrible. I had to fight for a month to be able to return it. They are smart to lock their forums, if the public could see all the complaints I doubt they'd have many sales (I sure wouldn't have bought one).

Steer clear of AW, they just want your money and don't care about customer satisfaction at all.

They tried to tell me it'd be a month for repairs too, please... I like how Sager can manage a couple day turnaround. I'll just have my money back thank you.

 

For those who want honest reviews from Alienware customers, the Official Alienware IRC channel is a great place to discuss about alienware and other things, alot of people have been helped through the channel and Alienware employees visit as well [8D]

Information needed:

Server: irc.enterthegame.com
Channel: #alienware

You need an IRC client:
Trillian has IRC support, and so does mIRC, there are some more but these are the most commonly used ......hope to see some new faces...?

For those who don't want to download anything to chat go HERE

[ ]

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by TheShaman

 

Alienware really built their rep on desktops, which are much easier to build. In all fairness, they WERE the sleekest, fastest custom desktops on the market-for a little while.

One of my friends had a very similar issue with his 51-M. The right side of the notebook keyboard stopped working...42 days later, he had his repaired. That was not a typo-42 days later.

eMachines has the opposite problem. Their laptops across the range have turned heads with their power and quality. But even I, a proud m6809 owner who vouches daily for their notebooks, would never, ever, ever buy one of their desktops. They are cheap by design for those who don't need much and those who don't abuse their systems as much.

 

I've also been hearing some disturbing reports about the Area 51-m, although this was before the new design was in place. For $3000+ dollars, I don't like hearing "motherboard melting because the fan broke." Alienware makes some of the best custom desktops by far, but they still need to work on their laptops.

My theory on these ultra-expensive companies is to continually ask yourself "Is this worth the money?" Because in most cases, you can find the same specs (save the 256 MB graphics card which I STILL don't know how it's done) elsewhere for cheaper.

--------------------
Compaq Presario 2800T
Pentium 4-M 1.6 GHz - 15" UXGA
512 MB RAM - 40 GB (5400 rpm)
ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 64 MB
Pretty good for 2002 isn't it?

 

no i know that Alienware is supposed to make some really high performance products. But honeslty with the prices, it seems like they are over rated. And with the cost to buy the computer, they should be able to back up the whole "Superior" thing with a strong policy to prove their computers are so efficient that they can back it up when they have problems.

Inspiron 9100- 3.2ghz P4 HT - 1gb RAM - 100GB HD - 4x dvd/cd burner -128mb ATI 9700. Too Much Computer for Such a n00b!

 

I've never been too big on Alienware, Voodoo, Falcon Northwest, or any of the other sellers in that particular niche. They charge way too much for the little bit of extra power that you might get over a high end mass market machine. Most of the time you can buy 2 mass market boxes for the same price as one Alienware and you don't get customer service reps with an attitude. They think they're the best so they don't have to care. Just keep telling everyone about the lousy service and the crummy product that you got from them. Sooner or later Alienware will get the message.

 

As someone who works in Marketing strategy and CRM systems for a living, I am shocked to hear about Alienware repairs. Premium Price = Premium Service. Or the brand dies. Just look at Lexus - it's a gussied up Toyota, but the service is what makes it special.

It's one thing to have a bargain brand with bargain service. If someone told me eMachines had a 30-day repair policy I would not have been surprised. But a premium priced vendor with bad service?

I am about to go buy a new high-powered notebook, that's what brought me to this site. Alienware was on my list to consider - not anymore...ironically, now I think I'll go browse the eMachines forums for a while and see what people think about them...

 

I hate this stupid laptop. Don't even consider buying an Are-51m unless you want to spend $4000 on a paperweight.

Yes, I payed $4000 for the "extreme" end-all high end gaming version of the Area-51m. I expected $4000 worth of performance. I got a large silver paperweight.

Since I bought this thing, I've had to reformat windows twice because of numerous problems. Flashed and updated the BIOS, drivers, tweaked direct x, tweaked win xp, tried all the little "fixes" I could think of and even the hugely obvious ones suggested by tech support. Still, wierd unexplainable problems keep popping up. Why do my windows just disappear when I minimize them? Tech support says: "reformat". Ok, so i reformat. Worked great for a little while. Now the computer shuts off 5 minutes into a game. Sometimes it shuts off for no reason.

No it's not overheating.

It just sucks.

...and tech support has no answers. In fact, they don't even reply.

Even when the laptop is working, IT IS REALLY NOTHING SPECIAL. Sure, the processor and vid card are great for games. The gig of ram is nice too. Except, why does my picture quality just look like utter trash? I mean, no one would really notice, unless they spent $4000 on it. Which I did. So why do DVD's look pixelated at 1200X1600 res? Why do games look so choppy during motion sequences? why do DVD's and games look TEN THOUSAND times clearer, sharper and better on any other laptop NOT made by Alienware?

Tech support has no answers.

Is there anything I can do to get my money back? Alienware isn't too ready to let me know how. I've already had it for quite some time. I want to get rid of it badly.

Don't ever buy one of these things!

** Do not ever buy an Alienware-51m! **

 

Wow, I am glad I have read these several posts in the boutique section. A friend of mine has been thinking about spending a pretty good chunk of cash on an Alienware lappy, so he can play Doom 3 on the go. I understand there are a few comparable alternatives out there as far as power and performance. Perhaps some of you out there who have a lappy as beefy as an Alienware can put your specs up here, the price you paid, and also the amount of trouble-free use it has given you along with any applicable customer service experiences.


Cheers,

Stevo

zv5000z: Ath64_3200+ (2.0GHz) - 1GB DDR - 80GB 5400rpm - 64MB 440 - 15.0" XGA - Win2k (tentatively)

 

Fanny bleedin tastic Ive just bought the all singing all dancing Area 51-M laptop costing me £3082.03

I aint even had the thing delivered and I find myself questioning the company.
Sales Staff very helpful in selling me the item quoting me 10 - 15 working days for delivery.
10 - working days later im getting quotes like :
"waiting on coloured casing for the machine"
also a few days later
"waiting on a hard drive for the machine"
when asked a straight forward question
"when is my laptop going to be delivered"
I get put on hold for 10 minutes
they come back and tell me cant give you a date probably 01st October
I ordered it on 06th September
I feel like these "order status" emails coming through are so condescending now eg.

This e-mail is to inform you of the status of your order with Alienware:
Your order is currently in phase 5 (Pre-Production Inventory Queue phase)
Your system is now on queue and awaiting inventory inspection and audit.

I am not interested in what the laptop had for breakfast !

There are "14 Phases" the 14th says its shipped ! As of todays date 23rd Sept 2 weeks and 3 days later im at phase 8

As for these phase numbers I see now they are all sales "BS"

All I really want to know is when is it arriving and that if there is a problem with the unit that i can have it repaired quickly and effectively !

From the threads in here and from my initial dealings with aftersales staff Im getting the hee be jeebies.

Ill spend the next 24 hours chin scratching whether or not to contact barclaycard and cancel my order.



Oh what the hell and invariably it becomes that !

 

You may want to read their return and cancellation policies. If they are pissing you off too much, you may just want to call and cancel your order. They have a serious problem if they are charging that much for a laptop, and it's taking them a month to build it.
14 phases?!?!?!?!?!? Just build the dang thing and stop counting phases!
BTW, if it DOES need repair at some point, don't expect to have it done quickly - just so you're prepared for that up front. Sorry you're finding all this out after the fact.


Good luck - cheers,

Stevo

zv5000z: Ath64_3200+ (2.0GHz) - 1GB DDR - 80GB 5400rpm - 64MB GeForce4 440 - 15.0" XGA (1024x768)

 

I will never buy from Alienware again.

About a month and a half ago, my german shepherd puppy managed to pull my Sony Z1 notebook off my dining room table onto the floor. The LCD was shot. So I sent it off to Sony to get it repaired (total turn around 1 week).

In the meantime, I thought maybe I should look at new notebooks and decided to buy an Alienware Sentia Notebook, fully tricked out at $2900. Well, after waiting a month looking at their bogus order status page (which out of 14 steps, it took them a week to move me past payment received stage and I paid with a credit card), the system finally arrived friday. I fire it up and start fooling around with it and it bluescreens. Then it tells me that the harddisk is unavailable. Ok, maybe it's XP. I play around some more then put it in suspend mode. About 20 minutes later I noticed that it has magically come out of suspend, the fan is running full tilt, and it's telling me the harddisk is unavailable again. Then, the fan starts running all the time at full speed, even while the system is suspended (when it decides to remainn suspended). What about all the quality control and 200 point quality checks they tout on their website? This thing could barely run for an hour without a problem. And further, besides the cool little blue alien eyes, the whole notebook seem pretty cheesy, like some OEM laptop with some custom case.

Anyway I call Alienware this morning, and after talking to tech support for 30 minutes they tell me to send it in and they'll replace it. I said Nope, I want my money back. They say, ok, but we charge a 15% restocking fee. What a ripoff. I argue and argue, but to no avail, either I accept a replacement or take a $300 haircut because I believed the hype. I sent the piece of crap back this morning.

Look long and hard before you pay a premium for this crap. Never again.

 

You know I see here a lot of negative posts, how come ? Let me first tell about forums, yes about forums when do people use a forum, when they have a bad experience, when they are looking for help. People who are happy don't go to forums to thell they are happy, ok almost no people will do it.

So now my reaction to all the bad news here.

I ordered my Area-51m with alienware in the UK on 15th September. I recieved it 12 days later, ok in reallity 15 days because DHL lost the package during 3 days in Belgium. I am not talking about working days but real days including the weekend. I am now typing this message on the forseen shipment date of my portable when I ordered it, but I already have it 3 weeks in my home, is that bad no it is not [ ]

Secondly I contacted AW during my order processing several times. first about the network card. US site is mentioning Gigabit lan, UK site still 10/100 in reality deliverd the Gigabit LAN. My second contact was about the DVD-writer, because in the US it was a duallayer and I wanted to know if the UK delivers also the DL one. Respons AW, sorry that item is not yet available in the UK. After a check up of my system, I found out I have the DL one, even sales reps of AW UK where not notified they already deliver that. So again a good point for them, because I have free of charge a DL DVD-writer now.

The last time I contacted them, and that one I posted also on the non official AlienWare Forum. Was about the Radion 9700 card. I ordered this one, and Linux and ATI chip ID soft said it was the 9600. So I did my post on the forum and sended my question to AW suppurt in the UK. On the forum I recieved in less than 24 hours an answer from a AW support guy from the States with a link that explained the correct way to determine the chip revision. So everything is ok even better perfect. Because they are fast like hell, and didn't had any problems with it. Including their internal WLAN card is great.

But normally these success story's you never find in a forum why not? Because I am not complaining, I don't need help so why would I visit a forum ? Just to write some good experience post, no thank you no time for that. You know this type of reactions ? probably you all do.

 

this is why i didnt go for an area-51, ive heard so many bad reviews.....

Savrow on the other hand (see my review post) have had nothing but good reviews and customer feedback....

Not only (IMO) are their laptops and customer service far superior, but in custom pc magazine where Savrow, Alienware, Voodoo and demnoite top end PC's were compared and savrow came out on top.

 

I myself have been on another forum which discusses Alienware along with Sager etc, and the amount of unhappy people on there unnerved me, even with the desktops they are having stupid issues such as lights not working, leads not in, hardware failiures sometimes EVEN THE WRONG HARDWARE, and the CS is literally shocking today I just bought a nice little Acer Aspire 1355 Laptop from Mission Computers Rochdale he has been there 35years ( old man and his band of merry pc fixers ) for a nice small sum, it runs everything i need and i am glad i did not go alienware.

Acer Aspire 1355 Ordered Arrive tomoro 3/11/04

 

Hey guys.

I guess all this has taught me to extensively research complaints with a company before investing $3k in a product ordered over the internet. I guess the years of reliable service from the big-name factory-direct providers has wooed me into a false sense of security in the industry as a whole.

I ordered an Area-51m 5500 from them on Oct. 13th. It arrived a month later, which is the longest I've had to wait for a custom-build machine whether that's reasonable or not. The laptop I received differed in design from the one pictured on their website, and to this day the enlarged front view still shows the image I saw when I placed my order.

Presumably they will have updated their site completely by the time most people read this, so for posterity here's a screenshot:
http://www.shaundon.com/alienware_screenshot.jpg

The loss of screen area was really frustrating to me, combined with the 1680x1050 pixel resolution in a 15" screen... pretty tiny even by my standards.

Also the machine's CMOS battery was dead, the video and WLAN drivers were installed incorrectly and reporting errors, and the X, C, and V keys on the keyboard were dead. Obviously no quality control agent looked at my machine as the CMOS battery halted the boot prompting for date and time as soon as you booted.

I fought over the phone with them over the fraudulent sales photos on their website -- even directed the customer service rep to the enlarged view that still hadn't been changed to the new model. He wouldn't waive the 15% restocking fee, and refused on four occasions to transfer me to his supervisor.

After reading all the complaints about the company similar to my own, I want out. I'll give them back their hardware and the $400, ensuring they still profit on my bogus sale.

After seeing on many websites/forums the rabid attacks by either Alienware fanboys or clandestine AW employees against people complaining about service they've received, I've been greatly disheartened. The use of expletives and name-calling (i.e. "As for all you other idiots that wanna trash AW, and ME, **** YOU!! You are all so jealous because my machines rock and you obviously like whining about petty problems that you probably brought on yourselves through your own ignorance and lack of understanding of computers.") is shameful. I put my faith and money into a company in exchange for a product and service I didn't receive, and somehow I'm faulted and called a "whiner."

I fear for our society when anyone can blindly defend a company that has wronged me, cost me two months without a machine (for which I needed to work, as I'm a freelance 3D artist), and $400 to ensure their bottom line. Yes, I understand and hope for the sake of all Alienware's clients that I am in the minority, but don't we have a right to at least share our stories without being attacked further?

Oh the humanity. Or lack thereof.

Shaun

 

Hello, this is my first post here and I would like to tell you all about the problems I had with AW. I ordered on or near March 19, 2004 I was spending about 5500 on this computer it had everything. Then on April 12, 2004 a new video card came out the 6800 ultra so I called AW and told the person on the phone I wanted to change my order. The first thing they tell me sorry you can’t do that (I was in phase nine at the time).

I then said fine lets cancel this order I was put on hold for a while and when the person came back on they said that I would be able to change my order after all. I said fine please give me the new video card, and upgrade the power supple to 600 watts. During this time I asked when would the computer ship. I was told the May 8, 2004.

May 08, 2004 comes I call, and AW told me that it is delayed for they are waiting on a part to come in and when the part comes in the computer would ship. I asked when would this be and I was told May 17, 2004 so I wait again.

May 17, 2004 comes…I call them (AW) they tell me that the part is in but I had to wait because other computers are being built. I said what!!!!!…. I have been waiting all this time and my computer must wait so others could get their computer first. I was pissed but I really wanted this computer so I wait.

May 27, 2004 still no computer…I call AW and was told they were waiting on a part. I said what part. Again placed on hold. They come back on the phone and said the parts are in they are building my computer and it should ship June 08, 2004. Now there is smoke coming out of my ears, I then informed them I am not waiting anymore I what to cancel my order which the person on the phone becomes very rude to me. I had to wait on hold for over 30 minutes so that I could talk to someone else just to cancel my order. I had the cancel number, but I had to wait 15 working days until my money was returned to me.

So I went with Falcon Northwest and I thank God I canceled the Alienware computer.

 

I purchased an Alienware Area 51-M back in october and it took forever to be sent to me (over a month). I had a lot of the same problems you guys did and I must say I'm very disappointed. The performance and reliability isn't what I thought $4k would buy. I've been on the phone with tech support too many times, and they don't help. It's a $4k paperweight most of the time.

My room mate, however, bought his laptop from a company called StreamlinePC. He got his in just over a week and has yet to have a problem. I'm not an employee, but damnit I'm pissed because he paid way less and got way more. I'm thinking about ebaying my AW and buying from streamlinepc.com. Sometimes the whitebook guys are pretty decent and worth a look.

 

Couldn't keep myself from posting in this subject.

I got lucky. I just cancelled my order of their new 51m 7700.
After waiting two months and having them keep telling me "we're waiting for parts, you will be notified when all the parts are in so you can make the remainder of the payment" finally one person that wasn't entirely useless checks my order and transfers me to billing.

Billing asks me to trasfer the remaining portion. I say I will gladly do so, I ask them if all the parts are in and when I could expect the unit to ship out. The response I get is 4 to 6 weeks.

Basically they messed up had me wait 2 months due to incompetent customer support reps and I was basically finding myself at the begining of a whole process. Took me half an hour to cancel my order and get them to wire back my deposit.

I'm guessing the wire-back will also take a few months.

What really got me laughing was when their supervisor asked me why I wanted to cancel the order. Even she was out of words when I told them that if they took two months to realise they needed to get my money and three months to build the computer, I didn't even want to imagine what their after sales support would be like.

 

a ha LOL I would like to have heard that...SPEACHLESS...


yet alienware still tempts me and draws me in...I wish I had one, they perform so powerfully (I'm more drawn to their desktops) but then again there is a really cool voodoo i found in the desktop category and sager's are allways there for notebooks...but I'd rather go with a Dell 9300, or a Apple Powerbook G4 15.2 inch.

 

nvm

 

I am writing this to make consumers aware of the business practices of Alienware - a high end computer maker.

I am a current customer and have a $3600 Area-51 gaming laptop.

I recently had a hardware issue (I have a 3 year warranty) and called their tech support.

Their tech support, in the process of troubleshooting, told me to pry open my keyboard.

I told them I didn't want to do this and was told I had to if they were to okay it to be shipped to their depot.

In the process of prying up my laptop keyboard with a credit card (as per their technician's instructions),
I broke a clasp that held my keyboard in place.

The tech then informed me they wouldn't cover any physical damage.

Now my laptop keyboard bubbles and won't stay in place - all because of following their instructions.

I.E. Their tech told me I had to pry up my keyboard, then refused to cover any damages done when
following their instructions. (They point out that the warranty doesn't cover physical damages AFTER they
tell you to do physical work on your laptop - they also asked me to unscrew my back panel etc.)

I have tried to reason with Alienware to fix my laptop and they refuse. As a result,
I want consumers to be aware of what transpired.

If other Alienware owners have similar stories - email me.

Sincerely,

Jason Hickman
[email protected]

 

Just noticed an old post here by Aurora, an Alienware mod from NotebookForums, and, in case he should stop by again, perhaps with his pal Hammerhead, thought I'd say, "Hi."[ ]

His, it seems, is just about the only post in this thread favorable to
Alienware. Sad, no? While I'm not an AW owner, and never have had a problem with AW as a company, just thought I'd mention being surprised at all these negative comments.

BTW, Aurora, I don't see any bashing going on here, no personal attacks. A nicely run forum, wouldn't you say?

 

To be perfectly frank, Alienware and VoodooPC have been ripping ppl off for as long as they have been in business.

Think about it -- take a Clevo 9860 barebone (AKA the Alienware 7700), paint a pair of ugly eyes on the lid, then sell it for roughly $600 more than what Sager sells, or roughly $800 more than if you just buy the barebone and build the components yourself! So what does that $800 buy you? Supposely it buys the superior customer service/experience. Consider that DELLs highest level of service is their 4yr at-home service, which costs $495 and is HEADS AND SHOULDERS above ANYTHING Alienware have, it's quite pathetic that Alienware can charge so much, just to offer so little in return.

VoodooPC is even worse in that aspect. I seriously do not understand why people buys these overpriced ugly things, when they can save a few hundred bucks easily and get a Sager. Plus Sager's customer support is BAR NONE, having dealt with them before.

just my 2 cents,

yass

 

I am the owner /operator of a laptop repair facility in Rhode Island. One of our customers came to us with a problem with her laptop in which she had spilled milk into the keyboard. In diagnosing the extent of damage we have found it to be contained to the keyboard only. She expressed her desire to get it repaired as soon as possible. In which we contacted Alienware for the replacement keyboard.
The first call I spent twenty minutes on hold until I spoke with Technical Support. They informed me to contact customer service and gave me the price of the keyboard. I got approval from our customer and then called Alienware Customer Service and waited Twenty minutes on hold again. I was then quoted a higher price that was higher price than original estimate. I was then informed I cannot order the part without a customer number.
I then called the customer got their ‘Customer Number’ called Alienware Customers Service waited fifteen minutes on hold and then ordered the keyboard. A had past week and no keyboard was received, yet my credit card was charged on the date of ordering. I then called your accounting department at Alienware. I was put on hold for fifteen minutes; I was then told I was being transferred back to customer service department. I asked if there was a problem with the stock of the keyboard. The Alienware customer service representative said that they had plenty of that model keyboard in stock. I then asked why was my credit card charged and the keyboard was not shipped, and was told they would investigate why the order was not completed.
At this point I requested to speak with a supervisor or manager. The customer service representative informed me that , because I was not the original customer who purchased the laptop I could not speak with them and receive information about the laptop. Yet Alienware charged my credit card so that does not qualify me as a customer. I gave my email and telephone to the most unhelpful customer service representative to contact me with information about my order and my status as an Alienware customer.
I did not hear from anyone at Alienware in over six hours and decided to call customer service and ask about the status of my order. They still did know and I was told the person who knew about my status was in a meeting. I then requested if that person could call me back before the close of business day. They said yes they would have them contact me before 7:00 PM.
Needless to say no call was received, not even an email response. I then called back again the next day on my order only to be informed that the part was not available for another 1-3 weeks. I was told by the customer service representative that Alienware bills your credit card on ordering not when it’s shipped. Then the owner of the laptop informed me Alienware voided her warranty on the laptop because she did not want them to replace the keyboard because they were charging her a labor cost $70 per hour for two hours to replace the keyboard plus the price of the part and return shipping cost.
At this point the customer is totally dissatisfied at which I explained that this is the result of buying a no name laptop in which only one company controls parts. With a support service that does not return phone calls or email. On Online Web forums nothing but negative comments were posted about Alienware products and customer service.
This Company is set up to discourage the consumer to and make them purchase a new product instead of fixing an easily repairable problem. And If you don’t believe it check out the web.
I have been in the computer service industry for over 30 years and it is my personnel opinion that Alienware support is the worst I have encountered. We are always looking out for our customers and their best interest in giving them quality service and support. It is a pity that Alienware does not do the same.

Gary Di Casparro
President
Tec Direct, Inc.

 

[ !]
I wish I had done some searches on the laptop before I actually bought it!
I just received my Are-51m and am already having problems!
5 minutes into a game, the computer just shuts off. It does not seem to be overheating, but I just started to troubleshoot it with tech support.
ATM I am downloading the 3DMark software utility to do a test and then call them back with the results.

After reading these posts, I fear for the worse!

 

wow, i thought alienware was better than that. I did alittle comparative analysis. I compared an Alienware 51-m to hp's 17 inch model, exact same specs, the HP was about a grand less. Ive delt with thier coustomer support before, pure gold. i would never buy an alienware.

Compaq Presario R3000z
AMD Athlon 64 3400 - 2.2gHz
1 Gig DDR
15.4BrightVew (1280x800)
100 Gig 4200Rpm
nVedia GeForce 4 440 - 64MB
8x Super Multi w/Multi-layer
802.11b/g, Bluetooth

Compaq h4155 Pocket PC

 

Another horror story of zero "support" from Alienware - won't bore you with the details similar to past posts.

This isn't a warranty problem, though. My area 51-M was dropped on the PCI coner jamming a wireless PCI card into the slot breaking the PCI. I know I have to pay, just would like it fixed.

Local repair shop can't get parts from Alienware (told "company policy" not to ship parts to computer shops or allow others to work on Alienware computers). Contacting Alienware Tech Support, I'm told I can't send my computer in to be fixed because it's "company policy" not to do repairs (even though I'm willing to pay the overpriced $$$).

They won't send me parts, won't tell me if there are parts available or ordered, etc. Big runaround from tech support and customer service.

Anyone have any advice on how to get an Alienware laptop repaired when the company refuses fix it or allow another shop to do the work or order parts? It's only a few months old. Thanks.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by twobear

 

Thanks - I'm slowly getting smarter, but won't yet call myself computer literate. It's the slot broken off the motherboard, not broken card.

Complaint email to Alienware after posting here yesterday was answered immediately this morning with the explanation that that my computer model (51M 766) was recently discontinued and it was "company policy" not to repair discontinued products.

"However" they would approve mine to be sent in for repair - just have to call technical support one more time.

(This is the part where I'm getting smarter) I sincerely think I'd be better off finding a local technician to replace the pci slot and have nothing more to do with Alienware. Suspect I'd save a bunch of money, too.

Just so I have things straight, the Clevo 9860 is probably what I need?

 

I too ordered an Alienware laptop based on their supposedly excellent quality assurance and customer service. What a mistake! My Sentia arrived with a burnt pixel that was slightly to the right of center. Because it was not in the center quadrant, they refuse to replace it. I have to either pay a 15 percent restocking fee (about $300!) or I'm stuck with a glaring reminder of how crummy Alienware is every time I turn on my screen. This bright blue mark will show up brilliantly in the midst of every game I play, every PowerPoint presentation I make, everything I do on my laptop.

When I spoke with the technical support manager, Juan Carlos, he was condescending and asked me: 1) Don't you know anything about how LCD screens are made? and 2) Do you even know what ISO 9000 standards are?

Well, the answer to both is no, but I do know unsatisfactory customer service. I had no idea I needed to know LCD manufacturing procedures and ISO 9000 to buy a quality laptop. I mean, I don't need to know how my car is made before I purchase one...

Meanwhile, my husband sent a mail to their 'customer support' line that they claim to reply to within 24 hours. We're going on 48 hours now without a word...

Alienware thinks a burnt pixel is a defect if it is in one quadrant of a screen, but if it is slightly to the right, it is merely an acceptable flaw. What?!?

I'll never buy another Alienware and I'm doing my best to get the word out.

 

I too am a completely dissatisfied Alienware Area-51m customer -- I've posted multiple threads about the issues with my $3,000 paperweight on the Alienware forums, but here is a copy of the one that best describes my situation and my frustration:

-------------------------------------------
All users suffering from overheating, post in this thread.
Posted: 01-01-2005 10:56 AM
I'll start us off:

I have an Area-51m system with the Radeon 9600/9700 Mobility Pro in it. The CPU is the 3.2GHz (if I remember right), along with 1GB of RAM. My problem is this: even in the most moderate of room temperature scenarios, my laptop will regularly power itself off due to overheating.

And yes, I am running the latest updated version of all my software, regularly check for spyware and viruses, I have taken apart the graphics portion of the laptop case so I could clean the fans, and I have even purchased a 3rd party underbelly laptop USB-powered laptop cooling platform. Absolutely none of this has helped. At all. Ever. If anything, the cooling platform only slightly delays the time before my laptop will shut itself off.

Here's the kicker: for the first couple months after I purchased the laptop, I had no problems like this. It would get insanely hot, yes, but it wouldn't power itself off; and most certainly it didn't happen multiple times each day. And until recently, so long as I had the cooling platform hooked up underneath the laptop, it wouldn't shut itself off every night. But now it does. And this is totally unacceptable.

Generally after the emergency power-off I'll touch the bottom-right side of the laptop, just to check and see how hot it gets; each and every time, the case is almost (but not quite) hot enough to literally burn whatever touches it, skin included.

And of course after the shut off, I have to wait until the system cools down before it decides it's ok to be turned back on, otherwise I end up waiting 5-10 seconds for the Alienware BIOS loading screen to pop only to be greeted by the flashing white display.. at which point it will repeat itself.

If I did not pay close to $3,000 for this laptop, I wouldn't be quite so annoyed. How could this machine be claimed as a "desktop replacement" and "super-duper gaming system" if it can't even handle being powered on for a significant length of time?

I am honestly at my wit's end -- and I need to hear something other than "turn off the auto-power-off function," because I LIKE the fact that the system automatically powers itself off, because I don't want my system damaging itself. What I want to hear is that Alienware has seen all the complaints about overheating and is planning on doing something about it, for all Area-51m customers, past and present. To do anything less would be an admittal of intent to screw over your entire customer base.

In closing, I encourage all customers with overheating issues to post to this thread, although it's not entirely necessary considering how many overheating posts can be found throughout this forum.

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

That particular topic is now 3 pages in length because of responses from other Area-51m customers who feel cheated.

I even went to the lengths of removing my CPU heatsink/fan only to find that whatever thermal paste they had put between the CPU and heatsink was so sub-par that it had completely dried out and turned to a flaky dust. After cleaning it off, I applied a top of the line high-density polysynthetic silver thermal compound and put the heatsink/fan assembly back together.

There has been no improvement.

I highly recommend all prospective Alienware laptop customers reevaluate their options and look into other manufacturers.

 

To be fair, I have to update that Alienware has "allowed" me to send my laptop in for repair. Took 3 emails and about 4 hours on the phone (mostly on hold) with technical support to get it set up. Being an out of warranty repair, I'll be paying, so I'll post again to let you all know what happens, how long it takes, and the cost to fix a broken PCMCIA slot.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by bmwrob

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by aurora

 

Laptop PCMCIA slot repair update. My final post on the subject.

After getting approval to return my computer for repair, I didn't receive the shipping label. One more call to Alienware technical support, and I was lucky enough to get a rep who spoke english as a primary language. He had it all set up in less than 5 minutes.

Dropped off the FedEx package on a Friday, received a call the next Thursday that it was fixed and ready to send back, he just needed my credit card info for payment. Laptop received the next Tuesday, 11 days start to finish.

Returned in original packing box, well packed, good condition, they even added padding between the keyboard and screen for protection. The broken PCMCIA slot was replaced, and all seems to work fine so far.

Total charges for shipping both ways, 2 hrs labor ($80/hr) and parts was $221 and change. Might be steep, but I had thought it might cost more. At least it's fixed.

Frustrating process getting laptop repaired as stated in earlier posts, but turned out ok in the end.

 

yassarian,
respectable, tech savey forum? You must mean the forum I'm from. lol. couldnt resist that one. haha. your comment is partially true because there are individual communities. People have different preferences and just because one person does not like something does not give them the all knowing wisdom to tell the world what is good and what is bad. hows that so far, yass/ and Alienware is one of the Top names in High Performance systems, even though a handful of people imagine they are not. At the AW forum, owners post reviews all the time. They outline the good points and the bad points. If your angry about a complaint post being deleted its probably because it was an "I hate Alienware" post. happens once in a while, we get kids doing that from time to time. I still don't understand why people waste their time doing things like that. Its not helpful to anyone and its a disrespect to the forum community. Same if it were to happen in a Dell forum, etc. And if you re-read my last post, It clearly reads "I cant honestly say these are all fake..." a forum that has owners posting positive and negative information works. It is very helpful to people that are looking for information. If a complaint is posted the person follows up on it and everyone can see how it gets resolved. Your accusation that complaints are deleted is just another childish whine that all Alienware owners see all the time. maby not the two or three that use this as a rest stop but the hundereds that Im used to seeing everyday. peace yass.