Dell / Alienware Customer Service Poll

Well after 4 days of dealing with Dell / Alienware trying to get a replacement for my faulty on arrival M11x, I have now been told that the only way to get a replacement is to get a refund and then reorder the system. I have been passed from pillar to post between tech support and customer services and have spent somewhere in the region of 4-5 hours on the telephone speaking to probably the most incompetant people it has ever been my misfortune to deal with. The only positive contact in this time has been from a Dell rep monitoring these forums who is trying to assist my situation. I just wondered if other people had similar experiences or whether I had been singled out for special treatment.

Please note that the perpose of this poll is purely objective as I would genuinely hope that my experience is not the norm.

Poll is supposed to read how was your customer service experience, but not sure how to edit.

 

Slightly worst experience than yours... And the same Rep is trying to get me a replacement as well.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=6031134&postcount=39

 

Vorbis, I'm in the same boat as you. Except I have had these replaced:

1. Fan/Heat Sink assembly
2. Top Piece
3. Palm Rest
4. Keyboard

The keyboard is still not installed properly, a few keys are a lower than the others now; maybe just 2mm lower, but it's pretty obvious. They do not want to issue me a replacement, but a brand new machine requiring 3 Dell technician visits in the span of 6 days since delivery is utter nonsense.

Calling up Customer (Dis)service, they are giving me the same option as they gave you: return the unit, and re-order a new one. Which I cannot afford to since I only have this as a work machine and cannot afford to be without one. This ranks above and beyond my horrid days of Acer desktops, at least those lasted a couple of months before having to send it in multiple times.

And to reflect on their attitude, I have the impression they simply don't care, and are quoting the easiest way out for them, ie, the road to less work for them.

 

Seriously, their customer service is terrible. They don't care about you or your computer. Most of them are as impersonal as the recording that preceeds human contact. Worst of all, they LIE and tell you what they can't do when th last rep from their department explicitly told you what can be done.

Before I'm guilty of a hasty generalization, I'll say that I did encounter a couple of individual sales reps, who were pleasant, personable and willing to help.

 

I've had good experiences with them. When I wanted a refund for my system I called and they didn't try to disuade me. they kept me updated at every step and they followed up to make sure I got the refund and was aware of the status. Good experience. Although I don't ever really have much need to call them anyway.

 

I have had no problems with Dell or Alienware customer service ever.

Like DR650SE, I returned my M17x within my 21-day period, no questions asked other than why and that was it. My rep followed the process along and kept me updated and I got my refund. I also had a good experience when I ordered the R2 to replace it. They gave me a good discount and I was very happy with the service. When I called Alienware Tech Support to let them know I didn't receive the 2nd HDD case, they sent it to me overnight without asking and I got it the very next day. I've dealt with Dell for 10 years now without any complaints.

I think it is all in how you deal with them and respond to their actions. If you are kind and talk in a friendly manner I think they are willing to help out as much as they can. If you get upset or talk in a tone that makes them think you are irate, then they may not be as willing. It happens with just about any customer service with any company. Treat them as you would like to be treated and realize they can only do so much as they do not build or order the parts for the computers. They are just the frontline and have to do the best they can with what they have access to.

 

Glad to see someone has had a positive experience and I really hope that I'm in the minority

 

I first had some bad experiences with a bad rep and then a few weeks later had a good rep which number and name i kept and he got me my replacement with a lot of upgrades because he knew that i was mistreated, so out of the bad came alot of good so im kinda in the middle what to choose.

 

Sorry but I was kind and polite on most of all my 9 hours on the phone with them and it did not work. Depending on your country and time of the day you get routed to different call centers. My best experience has been when I was connected to a rep in the US while my most aggravating calls where connected to off shore call centers.

 

I too was polite in all my calls except one where the CS rep was downright rude and I'm ashamed to say that I rose to the bait. In all my other calls the people I spoke with were polite and appeared helpful, it just seemed that they were incapable or unwilling to solve my issues and have taken 4 days and 4 or 5 hours of calls to tell me that they cant send me a replacement and I need to get a refund and reorder. I dont think the issue is really with the individual customer service reps, but rather with the overall management of the whole customer service division. I think Dell need to take a long hard look at themselves as this can only have a detrimental effect on their sales figures. Prior to this experience I had on numerous occasions recommended alienware and Dell systems to friends and family and the knock on effect of a bad experience can end up costing tens of thousands in lost orders

 

+1 It truly is amazing how different the experience is when you're routed to an offshore call center. Night and day.

 

Well I guess its about even then, I wonder if it has anything to do with what country you're in? The strange thing is I bought a Dell monitor before which had a problem and the customer service couldnt have been better.

 

All of the Indian call centres are terrible - I constantly get talked over even on the front dest - THEY HAVE THE WORST CUSTOMER CARE I'VE EVER KNOWN... Apart from SOME of the sales reps, ish...

In comparison - the people at the delivery centre when the package entered the UK were amazing. I cannot stress how much they wanted to bend over backwards to help me out.

If there's a rep on these boards (as we're told there are...) you need to get the quality of customer care and ATTITUDE of the reps sorted out, they're SO rude - if you complain, they hang up.

On top of this - the UK Alienware manufacture was done in Irland before - the quality was far better (still a few fan issues) and a lot easier to get a quality product.

Bring back UK call centres.

 

These guys have been great. They call me with updates, they have given me discounts, and they haven't left me out of the loop. Best customer service I have had in a long time (the EDD's could be better but thats not directly tied to their customer service, at least in my mind)

 

Considering Dell is at the bottom of the pack with regards to Customer Experience that's about correct...

http://experiencematters.wordpress.com/2010/03/07/pcs-narrow-customer-experience-gap-with-apple/

Two extremes here. Some of the best products in the world coupled with what is likely the worst customer service...

 

It might be related to your location. I am in Latin America and therefore I have to deal with the respective call center which is located in Panama. I have had to deal with on 4 occasions so far, and I must say that receiving a better service is nearly impossible. I got a new screen once which was expertly placed within 24 hours (I mention the part of expertly placed because many people seem to have the experience that Dell techs ruin your machine if you let them touch it). Other problems were also always dealt with in the most professional matter. A couple of days ago I had to call them because my girlfriend's m1330 stopped recognizing the battery. It resulted being the battery itself (which was 2 and a half years old, so not really a shock) and the tech let me keep the spare he had brought along for testing! Again, best service ever in my book.
I'm sure things can be really different if you get connected to some faraway call center where you probably won't get a real expert on the phone (after all, they're hired as cheap labor, aren't they?).

 

Honestly, with 1/3 of the people feeling good about customer service that's a HORRIBLE set of results for a company... if I recall correctly I was told at one time at least 60% is considered good

 

you know a tuesday last week i would of said theres no option for ridiculosly probably the most terrible in the world. but they redemed themselfs in my eyes i mean not many companys give someone 1500 doller discount lol

 

Let me just clarify - I have NOTHING against the fact that the call centres are offshore - by no means am I adverse to any Indian call centres, my problem is definately a 'Dell' thing and the attitude of the customer care people - my sales rep was pretty great, although I still paid £35 more than my original discount should have been because another rep told me to call back.

Point being - I hate being talked over by a company rep that I've paid well.

Customer 'CARE'

 

For Me I had to wait 48 days to get my m17xR2. It just kept getting pushed out. The call centers are staffed by people of different cultures and there will always be culture clashes on how people talk.

 

I don't think it's a culture clash as much as a corporate policy/direction to improve the bottom line by denying requests. With a cheaper workforce this can be a very cost effective, even more so for a company that seems to not really care that much about customer satisfaction.

I sure can't generalise and say all off shore staff offer poor service as I manage 20 support staff based in India and they are excellent.

While my experience with Dell has been better when dealing with North America based staff I do remember a XPS support rep, back in 2008 when Dell had a XPS call center in Canada, that was a real jerk and would not help with a display issue on my M1530. Ended up calling again the next day to obtain resolution...

 

I do hate the fact that here in Canada, we have the offshore CC. Coupled with the fact that i have an English accent even my Canadian wife has trouble with, it's not a fun experience. I have had zero joy with any problems so far, I even missed a days work , costing me $200, so that someone could come and fix my screen and they didn't show. WEveryone I have complained to has passed me on. I don't have time to make phone calls during the day so email is my prefered method of ranting. I have emailed complaining about my loss of wages, but nothing back. Great laptop, terrible customer service.
(i may be more bitter as the Canucks are throwing this game away to the Wings)

 

I voted pro but now am inclined to con more and more.
Their service is fast, yes, but the Unisys techs are just not skilled enough to leave your system undamaged.
Plus of course, the time it usually gets to be "diagnosed" correctly is enormous.

 

I finally gave up and will be returning the system today. That's after one last call with my Sales Rep. who assured me the replacement unit has been ordered and should arrive in a few days. When I've asked him for the order number of the replacement he came back and said it had not been ordered yet but it was close... When I pointed out he had just told me the completely opposite story 2 minutes earlier he said 'Yes'.

The sad part is I may have to bite the bullet and re-order as the only other system that really competes with the M11x is the Sony Z but cost twice has much...

The sad part is I may have to bite the bullet and re-order as the only other system that really competes with the M11x is the Sony Z but cost twice has much...

 

Pretty good, after speaking with tech support for a couple days for prob a total of 2 hours, I was able to speak to customer care and they got a replacement machine, same exact config placed for me while on the phone. I had minor issues with the fan on all time and screen gap. Not a big deal, but since it was still in the 21day period I figured why not try to get a replacement. So here I am, waiting for my replacement since some parts are backordered apparently.

 

Actually, it's not really twice as much, over here I have the option for nearly the exact same specs (4GB ram, 500GB HDD, don't care for the differences in ports), except its going for about USD700 more, and this is basically for the following differences (that matter to me):

1. Screen is said to be of better quality, 1600X900 resolution, and 13 inches of real estate.

2. Core i5 instead of the SU7300.

3. Less powerful and based on an older architecture graphics card, ie, the GT330 instead of the M11X's GT335.

4. Only 1 year warranty, which doesn't include accidental coverage.

At this point I don't really care for Dell's warranty, their technicians and/or quality control process doesn't cut it for me, so I'm 90% sure I'm going for the Sony Z if a replacement doesn't materialize for me.