Customer Service Issues M15X

This e-mail below is what I have sent today, after it being almost a month for my M15x to come:

Reasons as to why the screen isn't here yet:

I was told it's out of stock
It may never come in because they supposedly stopped making M15x's
I would have to cancel my order of a free lap-top and get something else

all from customer reps. Unbelievable.


I've been searching for possible solutions to this problem for awhile now. I've called Alienware every day for the last two weeks since I was told the product would miss shipment and that a part was back-ordered with NO ETA. Now, I've won this as a gift for a radio station via a Pepsi contest with TRACKEntertainment. However, winning the lap-top perfectly came up at a time when I actually needed a new computer and possibly another one for my Fiance.

But what I didn't expect was to call in to customer support various times, and be told it was going to ship in 24-48 hours one day, then told that the ETA was unknown, only to call in the day after that and it be back to 24-48 hours! Then call in again and it's back to no ETA! I've never been so frustrated with a customer service support as this one.

Finally, I called in last night and spoke with an Armand guy. He told me that there again was no status for ship, mind you I was told Friday that it would ship within 24-48 hours. Once he told me that it was back to no ETA I promptly told him my displeasure with what I was being told via customer service. I was then given two options. Wait for the part, or cancel the order and re-order the new lap-top that has a higher price! I would have to pay out of my pocket, for something I WON! This is unacceptable.

Why do I have to pay for a system that's screen's broke? I understand that it could be back-ordered but the least someone could do is give me a valid answer, and not switch back and forth constantly. Also, I can't cancel the order because it has all of my credentials submitted by the company TRACKEntertainment. So, in the mean time. Before I even have the computer in my hands, I can safely say customer service alone has ruined this experience with me. You just can't tell someone that it's going to ship Sept. 16th, 2009, and then go back and forth with ship times and no ETA status's like that. It's now October 6th! Please, respond. I need to hear someone give me a logical reasoning to this.

 

You just need to be patient I'm afraid mate. You can't really force Alienware to just get one screen for your laptop. They would have yo bulk buy, etc from their suppliers. And yeah you know what I mean by that. I don't think they will order those screens until there is a lot of demand for them.

Just wondering, what screen option are you waiting for?

 

Design & Display: Silver Ripley Design
Display: 15.4" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD (720p) with Clearview Technology
AlienFX®: Alienware® AlienFX® System Lighting - Blue
Video/Graphics Card: 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3870
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T8100 2.1GHz (3MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium (64-bit Edition) with Service Pack 1 plus Free Windows 7 Upgrade Option
Notebook Tuners and Remotes: Without Media Center Remote Control or TV Tuner
Memory: 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz - 2 x 2048MB
System Drive: 160GB 7,200RPM (8MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
Optical Drives : 8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Wireless: Internal Intel® Wireless 4965 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card
Sound Card : Internal High-Definition Audio with surround sound
Keyboard Options: Non-Illuminated Keyboard - Exclusive Design
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Onsite Service and 24/7 Toll-Free Phone Support
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mesh Cap
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mobile Binder
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Personalized Nameplate
Alienware Extras: Owner Identification Card
Alienware Extras: Area-51® m15x Protective Cloth Sleeve
Alienware Extras: Area-51® m15x Keyboard Diagram Overlay
Alienware Extras: Area-51® m15x Smooth Mylar Touchpad
Avatar: Alienhead 3D

 

TO*. Sorry a little typo there just to clear up confusions (after "They would have")

 

That's what I won basically, all decent stuff, and basically stock for them. I was specifically told this screen wouldn't come in anymore because they stopped selling the M15x by a sales rep by the name of Armand.

 

I can already see the problem there I think. Alienware wouldn't want to stock in old screens used for their old laptops because that is just a waste. Also, like I said before, they wouldn't be able to just buy ONE screen for you from their suppliers. I'm not sure though, but do they use the same kind of screen in their newer laptops?

 

Also I just found the issue today with all these hinge crackings and stuff? Is it still prevalent of an issue with the M15x's?

 

Well that is true. They stop selling that old laptop. What you can do is get a rebate or trade the laptop in for the newer m15x, which is a lot better IMHO.

 

No Idea, but if it was the case of the screen not making it in and them not selling it anymore, why wouldn't they tell me or atleast call me, instead of making me call 10+ days to figure this out.

 

I am not an owner of the old m15x, but yeah I recently see some posts about that. IMHO, just trade in the laptop, add a bit more cash for the new m15x.

 

Lol if it was up too many I'd just take the money and get a Macbook. Unfortunately this was a pepsi/alienware contest I won via a radio station. So trading it in, I'd have to pay 200-440 extra for a new machine?

 

They probably are trying to buy "one" screen from their suppliers. They tried to process your order but failed to and therefore now gave you the reason that they stop making this laptop. Perfectly normal I would say. You can not really blame Alienware for stop making discontinued products.

 

I am not sure, go ahead and check with an Alienware sales rep. He/she can probably help you. I have to tell you though that the new m15x outperforms macbooks. You can just see how powerful they are by knowing that they use the new Core i7 chips.

 

lol it was discontinued last week. However, My process went from 4/testing to 8/pre-package, after I sent this e-mail and wrote a review of their service. Funny how that works.

 

get it, sell it, buy a macbook

 

If anything I am excited however in getting the lap-top, because I've never had one, and I can play wow at my g/fs house when she's asleep haha

 

If it gets here within the next two weeks, I'm for sure going to go ahead and keep it. Looks really nice when I've actually seen pictures of it. Are the hinges still an issue, I'm reading that pretty much everywhere.

 

yes they are. sell it while there are no issues with it. then buy what you really want.

 

Alright, I'll be aware of it. Thanks

 

If you are going to play WOW, do not opt for an ATI GPU. Reports said that ATI is somehow not fully compatible with WOW and will cause video stutters (Correct me if I am wrong).

If you want to use your laptop for gaming, I would suggest the new m15x over the macbook pro.

 

last I heard, it was that SLi doesn't work well with wow, but Crossfire was fine. Don't remember where i read it though.

 

Not true. My 3870's in Crossfire bring WoW to its knees. No problems with it at all.

 

This lap-top is free, I won it, so I had no choice as to whats in the machine, but I know WoW will handle fine on this machine anyways.

 

How long does

Phase 8: (Production Phase 4 - Quality Control/Shipping Prep)

take? It just finally switched to that.

 

Only a couple more days til arrival probably

 

I remember how excited I was to get the m15x, it came so damn quick, put it also came with a lot of problems. I will be phoning up yet again (after just over a year of possesion) to complain about cracking hinges (for the second time) overheating graphics card and nackered sound card. Yay for me

 

I would have been hoping they couldn't source the parts for the old m15x and offered to supply you a the new M15X.

That's what happened with me when I ordered a M1730 and there was alot of mucking around before they finally just offered me the M17X.

Needless to say I was happy in the end.

 

Oh ok. Sorry for the false info then. Thanks for correcting Marvie

 

Yep. Basically SOME ATI users experienced a mild stuttering, others didnt. Generally its reported that crossfire does at least work with WoW. SLI on the other hand has been meant to not work on a wide range of SLI setups since at least 2007. Neither side is perfect (which could suggest some game issue)

 

^ agreed ^

Maybe you should talk to the company you won the laptop from and explain the prize they gave you is a laptop alienware no longer makes, maybe they will just give you the value of the prize you won towards a new M15x. From what I read the cracked hinges never got fixed.

 

WoW works for the most part with SLI. It just doesn't really take advantage of it. Check the thread in my .sig from the WoW forums.