Alienware Support - Post Your Experience

Created my first service call today for my M14X.

Info
Issue: Severe overheating @ 95c+, Malfunctioning Fan
Items: Fans, Thermal Paste & Pads
Rep: Rafael

Contact
Ticket Created: Friday July 13th, 2012 (5:30PM, end of business day)
Parts Arrive: Monday July 16th, 2012
Technician Appointment: Tuesday July 17th, 2012

I would rate the experience 10/10.

AW Rep
Rafael is very professional. My phone call took about 30 minutes today (including the 2 minutes of hold time). He ran Prime 95 with HWMonitor to confirm the temps and without hesitation, he booked me an appointment with a technician.

At the end of the call, he provided me with his e-mail in-case I had any questions and he's even doing a follow-up to review the technician service and part functionality.

Competition
Now let's compare other manufacturers...

Asus? MSI? Sager?
- 45 minutes on hold (chances are you will be transferred multiple times and/or on hold for ridiculously long)
- 3 to 6 weeks of waiting (repair depot) with lousy updates <- In my case, 5 weeks for MSI and 6 weeks for Asus
- You pay the shipping to their facility (MSI/Sager) even if warranty is active (50-60$ - And they call this "warranty? What a joke)
- These companies will attempt to hold you responsible for the worn-out/malfunctioning components (especially Asus) to save their money and use yours instead
- If your laptop returns after 3-6 weeks and there's still a problem, guess what? Say goodbye to your laptop for another 3-6 weeks

--

This is why I chose Alienware.

Problems are resolved FAST and the after-market support is of top QUALITY!

*Update* (July 18th):

In-Home Tech:
John the technician showed up not long ago with the parts in-hand. Very professional guy, too. He handled my laptop with extreme care and had a great deal of experience servicing Alienware laptops, so the service was exceptional. In total, it took him about 30~ minutes to disassemble and reassemble the entire laptop with the new parts added. I couldn't be more pleased with the service. Never in my life have I experienced such quality warranty service.

Minor Problem w/Tech Support (Call Centre):
The only gripe I have is with the Alienware Technical Support rep (call centre) I spoke to on the phone with yesterday. I had a last-minute job interview yesterday and the in-home tech was supposed to come over in the afternoon, so I called tech support in the AM to reschedule 5-6 hours in advance. The rep put me on hold and claimed that he had spoken to the local in-home tech and "everything was okay", only to find out today that the rep didn't even call the in-home tech. This made me look like an a** in-front of the technician when he brought it up until I explained myself - It's a 45-minute drive one-way, so I would be upset too if I had to drive for nothing.

 

Not always. There are plenty of AW CS horror stories out there.

However they do offer better service overall than other manufacturers from what I can tell.

 

Sure, sounds like a good thing to share. Glad your experience was positive btw. Mine was good also for my M17x. Couple bumps in the road but it got taken care of.

Info
Issue: Failing video card, artifacts, assumed VRAM failure
Items: AMD Radeon 7970m
Rep: Multiple

Contact
Tickets Created: (1) July 6, 2012 (2) July 9, 2012
Tech. Arrival: July 12, 2012
Warranty: Advanced NBD

AW Rep
I initially contacted tech support around 3pm pacific, Friday the 6th, to report that my video card was failing after already running the basic diagnosis tests. We spent the next hour or so going over the computer to ensure the diagnosis was correct. The tech setup an order for a replacement video card later that evening, to be installed by mid-week the following week.

Monday afternoon I called back to ensure the replacement was on its way, my concern coming from reading around here on the forum that the 7970m was back-ordered. Turns out it was, and I wouldn't get a replacement until at least the 19th.

I inquired about extending my return policy to compensate for the lost time waiting for the backordered card, as the computer was (at that point) less than two weeks old. I was forwarded to the cancellations department where I talked for a while with another rep.

After asking about options, he mentioned the possibility of replacing the laptop and that he would check with an engineer to see what was in stock. I never found out the result of that as after being put on hold I was forwarded to the hardware warranty department. This rep was unable to assist me at all (wrong department, though he did try) and sent me back to cancellations.

Keep in mind that I wasn't trying to cancel or return my laptop, I was just asking questions only they could answer.

So I finally landed with Durga, the rep who helped me finish this service tag out. After talking a while and learning about my situation we settled on the following:

-If the video card fails again they'll replace the entire laptop
-I can give my rep a call if I should choose to return the laptop after my return period has expired to make up for the time lost by the failed video card.

My rep said he would follow up with me in 2-3 days (from Monday) to update me on the status of the card. <s>I have not heard from him, but that's okay because...</s> The rep called me about an hour after I made this post to follow up. Though he wasn't aware that the card had been replaced until I told him.

Tech Arrival
I got a call from the tech on the 12th, Thursday morning. He had the card and stopped by to put it in a few hours later. Cool guy and we ended up chatting a lot while he worked. Dell sent him the video card by itself, and he didn't have any thermal paste on him so he was going to re-use the paste from the old card. Fortunately I had some mx-4 standing by. Unfortunately we were chatting too much, and neither of us noticed that he didn't end up using it.

He cleaned off the old paste, but forgot to apply the new paste lol. I noticed my gpu temp was immediately reaching 100c in Deus Ex HR after he left, so I did opened it up and did the repaste myself. All good now.

Conclusion
Some hiccups but support (with my help lol) got the job done and I'm back to gaming. The phone tag was about what I expected from Dell, and I've had worse, so no biggie. The tech appointment was more positive than my expectations, believe it or not, so I was cool with that as well.

I am glad I'm not afraid to open up my computer and adjust parts as needed. I could see a novice user in my situation end up with a brand new, completely fried GPU with the tech not applying thermal paste to the replacement.

 

See my experience would be mixed, on the one hand i've had good experienced getting my m11x R2 replaced with an R3. On the other hand, i've been waiting 9 months for a refund to be returned into my account, absolutely zero communication and none of my emails get responded to.

I can not call or resolve it via phone, my refund is being processed by Dell US but i live in Australia, the telephone call literally won't connect they don't allow international calls.

 

As far as customer service goes, its great. Anytime I call they are nice and they hear what I have to say and they ALWAYS accept my repair. They dont hassle me about money or anything. They even fixed my M11xR1 out of warranty which is awesome. My biggest problem is their repair depot and quality control. I had to send my M11xR1 in to the depot 3 times before they fixed the initial problem, in fact when I got my computer back after the first repair, a few other things were broken that weren't when I sent it in.

 

I've dealt with Alienware support many times, too many to count simply because of the large amount of their machines I deal with. The higher end warranty is worth every penny, especially if you aren't that gentle with your machines like me.

I love their tech support, and it's my opinion better than anyone else if you know how to talk to them properly. They also do things to make sure to guarantee your satisfaction - I've had the chassis of my M11x replaced entirely three times for cosmetic issues only (when calling in for real issues). I've also had the display on my M11x replaced four times, thus 5 screens total - one got scratches from the lack of the rubber bumpers, one had some pixels die after I dropped it lid-open, one had scratches on the top of the lid from some @$$hole, and the last replaced before the one on there today was simply the wrong color sent out.

I find it awesome that they come out to your house to repair... that way you can oversee them working. I've even had the technicians let me put in the parts myself on more than one occasion.

I've had my troubles with Alienware systems, (got M17x r3 before Dell had their footing on how to deal with the GPU temperature issues). They replaced my GPU and CPU twice. Again, all free and within 2-3 weeks of time total. For the trouble they gave me the 2860QM for free.

Since I've called them probably somewhere between 50-100 times over the last few years, I think I have a pretty accurate gauge of their support. I'd say about 80% of the agents are really good, another 10% are okay, and the last 10% seem like their new. If you talk with the managers, they are superb and willing to cut you special one-time things like what happened with that free CPU upgrade.

The last time I called them, which was like a week or two, I tried going through a non-high tier warranty line from Dell to see how it compared. I was greeted by a lady who I couldn't understand, and kept telling me I needed to extend my warranty that is going to be expiring in 2015. I eventually gave up, said goodbye politely, and proceeded with calling 1-800-ALIENWARE as usual, and pressing 4 for tech support.

That was the first time I wasn't able to persuade them to replace what I had been concerned about - the battery for my M17x r3. The wear seemed kinda high for how little charge cycles I've thrown it through. It's really no biggie though, he gave me a support case ID for it to track if it gets worse. I've heard it's hard to get them to replace batteries, but I've had that not been the case in the past for me. I've had the battery replaced in my M17x twice.


In conclusion, their great support has kept me a loyal customer to the brand even through difficult times like with my M17x when I had just received it (all good now). I've been able to persuade many people to go to the Alienware brand, and even organizations in the corporate space.


Random pics of AW products purchased thanks to my intervention:

http://evanguzman.com/hosting/images/alienware/May4.School.jpg
http://evanguzman.com/hosting/images/misc/group.jpg

 

Alienware support for me has always been mixed. That goes for all other computer companies I've dealt with over the years. This is mixed depending on who you are able to talk to at the support center. The majority of customer support reps are reading from a script based on your responses to their questions. 99% of the time they read you something you could have just googled yourself at home, they are completly useless!

But if you demand to talk to a Higher level or Higher Tier rep, that actually knows they are talking about, the experience can lead to an actual conversation that produces results.

I always tell the first "INDIAN" operater to connect me with someone else that knows they are talking about. Preferably a white male, between the ages of 21 to 28, that not only builds computers, but plays PC games and talks everyones's ear off at the water cooler about computer techno babble and other PC related topics! Yes this may be harsh, a little racist and very rude, but it cuts a 2 hour "DIRKA DIRKA" conversation down to about 20 minutes.

Simply put, when I want to go to my Video Card Properties, I simply right click the desktop and select the properties option the BAMMMMM your there!
QUICK, CLEAN, SIMPLE!

But the "7-11 clerk" tells me to:
1. Go to the Start Button
2. Go to Control Panel
3. Go to Appearance and Personalization
4. Go to Display
5. Go to "Change Display settings"
6. Go to "Advanced Settings"
7. Go to "Catalyst Control Center"
8. Click the "Open Catalyst Control Center" button.

Are your kidding me? They read from a script and treat the user like a noob. They waste your time and keep you on the line so they can log time.

Another example was when I first bought my Alienware M17xR3. I called to ask what Brand of SSD and Memory Dell uses for this laptop. The response was this:

Me: "What Brand does Dell use for the 256GB, SATAIII, 6gbs, SSD?"

Dirka: "Well Sir it is DELL BRANDED"

Me: "Ok so what Brand? Who makes it?"

Dirka: "Dell makes it Sir"

Me: "What do you mean, DELL makes it?"

Dirka: "Dell makes the SSD Sir"

Me: "Ok what about Memory, is Dell making Memory too?"

Dirka: "Yes sir Dell makes Memory, Hard Drives and all the other components as well"

Me: "Really Dude! Dell makes all the components?"

Dirka: "Yes Sir"

Me: "So your telling me that Dell makes the INTEL CORE i7 Processor, the AMD 6990M Video Card, the SAMSUNG DDR3 Memory, the SEAGATE 320GB Hard Drive, your telling me that DELL makes all of that?"

Dirka: "Yes Sir, it is all DELL BRANDED, they make it all and design it into the final product"

Me: "Your an Idiot!!!! Put someone on the phone that knows they are talking about!!!"

Dirka: "Hold sir........"


I finally got a hold of an actual rep that Builds Computer, Plays games, speaks english, talks the talk and walks the walk. He was able to tell me every brand that Dell uses for the M17xR3 and all the options without having to look it up. He was able to quote specs and performance ratings for everything.

So when you get a chance just for fun, call Dell or HP or Sony or any of the many useless Customer Supports and simply ask them "What brand Memory do you install in your product?" See how long it takes them to answer that simple question.

 

Just realized a tip I neglected to mention in my original post - you can ask them to make sure to send out really good technicians.

They will insist that they have no control over that (at least they always tell me that), but don't listen to them. The one time did I did actually have a terrible technician come out (who quickly murdered my M11x like he's never used a precision screwdriver before), I called Alienware after my machine was covered with scratches from him, stripped screws, fitted with an i5 instead of an i7 (granted that wasn't his fault), and a case that didn't fit together anymore (light was spilling out from the sides of the front grills brighter than the grills themselves almost) they told me that they'd make sure to send out someone who would do the work properly.

The guy knew what he was doing, and was really cool. He basically let me do the job after opening up the case "to follow protocol". I would have trusted him with the machine for replacing anything though. When I told him about what the previous guy had done to the machine, he said something along the lines of, "they usually send us out when stuff like that happens". This starts to lead me to the conclusion that there is some internal direction of different tiers of technicians they send out to repair your machine.

Alienware tech support seems to be willing to go the extra mile to keep you, the customer, happy. They sure have with me. If you're honest with them about saying you've heard some "pretty bad experiences with the technicians", or yourself have had bad things happen with them in the past - just vocalize about it and try to see if you can get them to do anything for you.

 

Eh, somewhat incorrect.

Dell contracts companies to do tech work for them. The technician who comes to your house is almost never a Dell employee, but a Dell-certified technician who works for a private company contracted by Dell to do the repairs in that region.

When you need a repair, Dell sends a msg to the company who services your direct area as well as mailing them the parts, and THEY then dispatch the parts and tech to your house. Which tech you get is purely based on which tech was there to take the job at the time, but in your case (ie. when there's already been a tech and now you need one to clean his mess) they just specifically tell that company that the tech they sent was horrible and cost us money, so send out a proper one this time or we'll cut your contract and go with a different company.

Sadly unless you've been at the receiving end of a bad tech who has messed your system up and they need to "make it up to you", you just get whichever tech was there to take the job.

 

Huh, I never knew that there was even a chance of it being a direct Dell employee. I simply figured their contractors may be of different levels of quality... unfortunately probably relevant to pay level.

Either way, it's good to be able to have a clear written out layout of how they send out the technicians. Thanks!

 

Yea Dell does have their own technicians, but they're rare as hens teeth for home repairs

 

99% of the time 'Google' and 'Alienware Forums' have been my "In Home Technical Support". I only call customer support if I am at a loss during troubleshooting. Thanks to the Forums, most of the issues I run into have happened to someone else already and they post their experience with solutions. Unless it is a MOBO or LED related issue, I feel confident in repairing it myself. But if it requires messing with small, tiny, parts or would just be time consuming, then I will take it to a Dell Authorized repairer.

 

Updated. Added my experience with the in-home technician that just left my house.

 

I've had pretty good luck with Alienware support and I'm in the process of dealing with them again. Had a full glass of water spill onto my running R3 and totally fry the thing. Contacted Dell and they are in the process of reviewing my case. So far so good.

 

Are there any lemon laws out there?

Dell has to tried to fix my nephew's M17x to no avail. The repair tech has come out twice, and we also sent the machine in for a month while Dell was "waiting for the video card". The machine freezes and locks up for 1-2 seconds when my nephew is playing his games.

They've pretty much replaced everything, except for the CPU, memory, and hard drive. I don't know why they just don't replace those parts or give us another computer. They've now escalated the problem to engineering.

We only bought the M17x because my nephew wanted a gaming PC, but now I don't think we're ever going to buy another PC. We have Macbooks at home, which have never given us problems, and if it did, Apple would have taken care of it. There's no way a customer investing $2k on a computer should be spending their saturdays with Dell tech support helping them isolate the problem.

 

If you have constant issues and are getting nowhere with tech support, you can contact one of the AW support reps here on the forums or:

First line of help (should only be used in above average cases):
Supporting Customers in Facebook and via @DellCares in Twitter - Direct2Dell - Direct2Dell - Dell Community

Extreme cases (should only be used in EXTREME cases):
E-mail Michael Dell and someone from the executive customer service team will help you within 24 hours.

This means to others reading, do not use these two contact points for a single issue. It has to be several warranty related issues with no solution (don't abuse it)

Don't let this unfortunate event tarnish the Alienware brand - they're actually an incredibly good company. I'm confident that once you contact a higher tier relations/customer service team, they'll satisfy you. The #1 reason I chose this brand was due to their NBD warranty support - I just couldn't handle the ridiculous 4-6 week repair depots anymore.

 

Well, both me privately and my company owned several Alienware and Dell machines. The typical experience is this:

• Sale representatives are annoying and unskilled. They tend to rush and be greedy, and tend to neglect customer's time (e.g. no calls back despite promises or calling at an inconvenient time although explicitly asked not to in advance). They also tend to fight each other for 'the right' to a customer which can be generally disruptive and time consuming.
• Hotline technical support tries to be very helpful and is never really arguing about anything. Sometimes some requests of 'damage proofs' can be silly but they always speed up things. Talking smaller things, I had never had any problem getting the replacement parts I wanted (so far that was 2x keyboard). The items were quickly shipped and the persons I talked to expressed no doubt about the problems I reported. I liked that.
• On site technical support works fast, knows their job and is polite. Technicians I met always scheduled the appointment first and were on time.
• NBR forum crew is helpful and replies to my PM fast.

As I said many times before, the weakest link in the whole chain undeniably is the first contact sales representation. I believe these are badly paid people (since the whole thing is always outsourced to periphery countries where labour is significantly cheaper than in the core, e.g. Slovakia in the EU) so I bet they neither care much for showing extra effort nor can be easy-going talking their own time and money (perhaps e.g. earning in a bigger part through commissions hence being pushy and rushing after 'quick sale kills').

 

Deleted post with email addresses. Posting this information is not allowed under forum rules.

 

Terribly sorry I neglected that rule! Won't happen again.

Does that give me an infraction point, or something?

 

Yeah, you will be spanked by Fox himself and be on latrine duty for two weeks.

 

No, not at all. It was just a friendly reminder.

 

Oh no, anything but that! xD

That's relieving, thanks!

 

Well I have to give credit where it's due. After wrangling with tech support for hours and sending our M17x in for a month and getting it back unfixed, we lucked out and spoke with an agent who was able to escalate the issue. They're sending us an M17x R4 (we have an R3). I'm speechless that he was able to do this, but after this experience I don't think we're going to go through this again for a gaming laptop.

 

Well, the saga continues. Dell sent us an R4, but with a video card much slower than what we had. So we've been waiting around for the tech support guy to call us to have this swapped. We haven't been able to catch him and have been waiting around for weeks.

There has to be a better way right? This will be without a doubt the last Dell/Alienware we'll buy.

 

So, my M14x has high temperatures (as per bad design) and I'd like it repasted. It also has a creaky hinge on arrival.
So I naturally complained to Dell support (I have 3 year Premier Service with CompleteCover).


The temperature issue has been described to me as normal. Okay, I can accept this, since it's really just bad thermal design.
Creaky hinge? I need to record the sound of the hinge, and take photos of it from all angles?

Then I need to wait 1~2 weeks for it to be investigated through the delivery pipeline?