My nightmare experience with @DellCare / Dell Complete Care Warranty / EMEA Dell support FULL DETAILS INCLUDED - PART TWO!

Hello guys - and girls,

As the last thread here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...-emea-dell-support-full-details-included.html was getting grossly out of hand, I elected to have it closed. Too many posts that were not adding any real value to the topic at hand, and it was also getting off the real point of the thread.

In the interests of providing finality, and conclusion - and by popular demand via PM, I have decided to have a 'Part Two' that will provide those of you who ARE interested with the conclusion to my ongoing saga.

Let me get this statement out of the way right now. I will not be reposting information about who, what when, where or why - I will not be entertaining posts or comments that are questioning the past and how decisions were arrived at. All that is required, and all that needs to be discussed here, is the last RESOLUTION of replacement that WAS offered to me.

Questions relating to how or why that last resolution - which was offered by Dell - was arrived at will deemed not be relevant and questions about such will not be answered. All of that can be found in my previous thread linked above.

Also, questions or comments that suggest that I should have taken or been happy with Dell's original resolution of a single, lower performing SSD will be deemed irrelevant, too. As I stated many times, I did not force Dell into offering a further, different resolution to the SSD replacement, so going over and over SSD performance figures in relation to single vs. Raid are a moot point as that replacement offer was superceed at Dell's own doing.

So, with that said, let part two commence......I am far from being done with this just yet.....

REMEMBER - PLEASE EXTEND ME THE SAME COURTESY AS I EXTEND TO YOU - LET'S HAVE A TROUBLE FREE, AGGRESSION FREE THREAD - ARGUMENTATIVE OR NON-CONSTRUCTIVE POSTS WILL BE REPORTED - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST. KIND REGARDS - STEVE.

 

Okay. I want to clear some loose ends up from the previous thread, so that we are all singing from the same hymn sheet. As we know, Dell, prior to retracting their offer to replace my current machine, OFFERED me the option of a LIKE FOR LIKE REPLACEMENT MACHINE. I did not DEMAND it....they offered it. That is confirmed with the message I received on 11th June 2013 from @DellCares. This is what they said to me:

That was closely followed by another message from @DellCares, which clearly states that the replacement machine to be offered will be LIKE FOR LIKE, and the only exception to that would be regarding the drive manufacturer - it did not say ANYTHING about having my original machine specification greatly reduced whatsoever. That message was as follows:

Okay, with that out of the way, let's move on to what my ORIGINAL machine specification was. The machine that I purchased from Dell in September 2011. Here is what I ordered and PAID £3,000.00gbp for:

Spoiler

That machine arrived, and it came apparent fairly quickly that the graphics cards (6990m Crossfire) suffered from the 'cold boot bug' which was a a problem where the cards would overheat and shutdown. That issue was identified by Dell US pretty quickly, and many owners were asked to submit their machines to Dell for testing, to aid in resolution of the problem. I volunteered my machine for such testing, via Brother Bill B, but was ruled out of being able to take part because I was not a US resident. Further to the problem being remedied by Dell, I saw many users having their troublesome 6990m's swapped out with the aid of Alienware NBR staff. Not so for me, as I was an EMEA customer. I raised the issue with EMEA but they did not want to know. I reached out to Brother Bill B and asked for his help. It took some time and hard work on his behalf, but the end result was that he managed to get EMEA to replace my entire machine with one equipped with Nvidia GTX 580m Sli. They could have sent the cards, I did not insist on a whole new machine - Dell's choice again.

So, a few months after I received my original order, I had it replaced with the following machine - the only difference from my original order was the graphics cards - note that the graphics card performance was NOT an upgrade, merely an alternative to the problematic 6990m's - the performance of 6990m is on par with 580m, so I do not class this an an 'upgrade' - it's more so it was an alternative hardware solution to a problem, that's all:

Spoiler

That machine arrived in due course, but when it arrived, it had multiple issues. So, I contacted Bill, told him of the problems again, and he arranged for yet another replacement machine to be sent out - this time, as some form of good will gesture (considering the issues with the 6990m's followed by yet another faulty machine) he managed to include the SSD's that I have in my current machine. The replacement machine that was sent out this time around is the one that I currently own, and is the machine that is suffering the issues I have been experiencing of late. Here is that specification:

Spoiler

That brings me pretty much up to date, as far as machines go. Yes, I have had some replacement machines, but that has been none of my own doing. I could not possibly control the fact that Dell sent me faulty machines pretty much back to back. Yes, they did offer be an upgrade in the SSD department, which I was grateful for. Again, I did not demand this gesture - it was Dell's own act.

So, of course, I go through all of the saga listed on part one, to be greeted with the following offer of a LIKE FOR LIKE replacement machine from Dell - a machine that it took them THREE WHOLE WEEKS to actually decide upon, specification wise. Here was what they offered me in exchange for my original machine:

Spoiler

I hope that the above clears up any misconceptions that anyone may have had about how I have the machine I have now, and why I have it. It also goes to prove that the replacement specification that was offered to me was by no way an accurate like for like swap/exchange. Notice the following:

Going From:

2960xm cpu to 3630qm
Dual Nvidia GTX 580m Sli to a single Nvidia GTX 675m
Losing the Bigfoot Killer Network Card
Losing some of the balance of my warranty - I had two and a half years remaining, the replacement came with 2 yrs.

FAIR OR LIKE FOR LIKE? - YOU DECIDE.

My current configuration, with 680m Sli, is irrelevant because that had nothing to do with my original order. That was done later by myself.

I hope that helps people to understand things maybe more clearly.

 

Reserved

 

Reserved

 

So is the latest machine working now?

 

Please refer to "Part One" of my story in my signature or at the start of the opening post on this new thread. Thanks. Short answer, No. Long answer - have a read if you are interested to see how Dell treat their customers. The machine I have now is the same one that I have had for the last 18 months. It has never been replaced since I took delivery of it, new, in December of 2011.

 

Way to go Stevie, was trying to PM you to keep it going but do not know how lol. Anyway keep up the fight & ingnore the trolls.

We have got your back and I believe Dell have too, just not the clowns at Dell EMEA. I hope someone at Dell corperate is watching
this thread and takes a big stick to Dell EMEA because something is clealy broken and people do not buy Dell/Alienware simply for
the fact there is total inequity in their pricing, sales policies & warranties for everyone other than US customers.

While your post is about your issues, I think your post more importantly has highlighted the contempt Dell has for customers outside the US.
Dell really need to clone enthusiastic & dedicated people like Bill.B, Luis, Chris etc & distribute them throughout Delldom, people who care about
their customers and proud of their product, not fools who don't give a sh*t except for there pay cheque or bowl of rice at the end of the week.

 

Hey Mutumba! - thanks for the kind words, Bro. Unfortunately, the Dell US crew have failed miserably. Dell Bill B and various other Dell US related people were involved already. Bill B said that his hands were tied because his wife, who works within @DellCares, was the last person from DC to be reviewing my case. There were several other Dell US people involved, too....however, they chose to escalate my case back to EMEA. Way to go team Dell US. At this stage in the game, I have absolutely nothing to lose by telling everyone every last little bit of information that I possibly can - that is why I reserved a few posts so that I could elaborate on this whole pathetic excuse for a resolution.

I'm done trying to be nice with Dell - I've been nothing but 'nice' (apart from my one lapse, where I did get quite irate, but who can blame me after virtually TEN WEEKS of this crap) and look where it has got me. Some might think that a refund is a great resolution. Personally, I do not. I took warranty for the same reason as everyone else takes it for. If something should go wrong, which it has done, then Dell should be standing by their warranty and NOT taking the easy road out for them, simply because a refund is the path of least resistance and the easiest and cheapest (actually, cheapest not necessarily true) most 'cost effective' thing for them to do.

What about the customer in all of this? - what about what is best for me? - I will of course add more detail as time permits. In the meantime, I am not declining nor accepting any resolution from Dell, regardless of what that resolution entails. I want to furnish myself with as much information as I possibly can before making ANY decision. I will be writing to Dell to request a written copy of the full UK terms and conditions for my 4 yr Complete Care policy and I will be reviewing that very closely.

Time is something that I have plenty of right now - I'm not concerned if this takes a long time to resolve, one way or the other.

 

I cannot believe thats the spec they offered you. Thats a base spec machine where are yours is a top spec machine?? I insisted and having a 3 year warranty with my new 18 and now I'm feeling as though I've wasted my money?

 

Well, I woud not say you have wasted it. I have been offered a full refund - I had to fight tooth and nail, otherwise even that would not have been offered, as originally, EMEA denied I had a problem at all - even so , that refund will not even cover the cost of a true like for like replacement. I will have to put around £1,300 towards a new Alienware (if I wanted to, which I do not) to actually get what I feel should have been covered by my warranty, and offered by Dell as a replacement under said warranty. Many other customers who have had replacement offers have received like for like or better replacement machines - for some bizarre EMEA reason, Dell chose not to afford me the same treatment.

 

Hey Stevie. I really do hope that we can keep this thread civil. Weither I've been for or against you, at least I respect you enough to not poke your buttons and try to get into a shouting match with you.

This post from me got lost in the chaos, and I would love your response. I have made one small edit from the original.

"I perfectly understand why you want to continue. It shouldn't be any drop for them, and they should've offered you an honest like for like machine. What it comes down to is that you're looking to get an upgrade, but the same upgrade as everyone else.

What you SHOULD be offered is an AW 18 w/ 4900MQ, SLI 770s, 6GB RAM, 512gb mSATA, and 750gb HDD. You can get all of this with your refund, easily, and maybe that's the way you should go.

The 2920xm has it's limits, and although it's not XM, I think that the 4900 is quite analogous in performance, given it's 4.2ghz max XTU clock, and architectural differences. The 4900 also has an 8mb cache, just like the rest of the XM CPUs do, compared to most at 6mb. Even if you ran the 2920xm at 4.5ghz, the 4900MQ should match it.

Then you pull the 770s, place your 680s, and have fun!"

 

Thanks Hybrys, I too am hoping for no further irritations - however I fully expect Mr. Caladdon to post something fairly soon.

To respond to your post, I don't feel that anything less than an MX would do. the 4900mq cannot be overclocked to the same degree. I can get my 2960xm to hit close to 5ghz in benching etc. The 4900mq will not be able to do this, only an extreme processor can be overlocked to this degree, and that is the reason they carry such a high premium. I feel that to replace with anything less is simply unfair as I paid for that particular unlocked feature in my original machine - it was not a freebie. Also, I paid for an enthusiast specification that I could enjoy maximum performance from. It was also a futureproofing measure at the time. It goes to show that futureproofing works, because my 2960xm can keep up with an 3940xm. A 4900mq would not be in the same league.

As for the gpu's - I agree. 770m Sli would have been equivalent. I did not expect 780m Sli - it would have been nice to be offered it by way of a good will gesture, but I never ONCE mentioned this to anyone at Dell that was dealing with my case.

I guess that one of my main gripes is "why should I have to fix a replacement up myself to make it equivalent or better?" - my 680m's should not even enter the equation for Dell - they are totally seperate.

As for memory, because of the new tier structure, and the level that you have to choose to get a 512gb SSD/mSata in the UK means a minimum of 16gb. I would have been happy with 4gb, but could not select it.

So, I was not looking for any upgrade at all. I just wanted a direct real-life like for like swap - I would have been happy with that, yet Dell EMEA poo-poo'd that.....for some bizarre reason.

Oh, forgot to mention about the UK price for the spec you mentioned. Of course, I cannot select 6gb - minimum 16gb, but if I spec it up with 4900mq and 770m SLI and also 3 yrs warranty and AD (because I have 2 and a half years left and I should not lose cover to keep this exercise comparable) then that actually works out at £3,672.99 - my refund is only £3k to the penny. I know my rep is good, but he is not gonna cut me that much discount - and more to the point, I really do not agree with that spec as lke for like anyway, let alone being in the position where even the spec you mentioned would still cost me more......

As I said in part one, that's what warranty is for - not so I have to put my hand in my pocket, if you follow?

 

While I can appreciate your reasoning, I do think in day to day useage you wouldn't see any difference between the two @ each's max OC. I do COMPLETELY understand the difference if you bring benching into the picture, though. If that's a passion, there's no contest which one it should be.

I hope they come back to you soon with something truely like for like. I don't think supervisors are linked to the configurations, so I'd like to see you get exactly what you should, which is the same as I posted exchanging the 4900 for 4930MX.

 

From what I've been told, this offer of refund is pretty final. Here is the message that I received from one of the Dell US guys who was escalating for me from his 'elevated position' within Dell US:

Of course, being told something is final by the organisation doing the telling is not quite the same as being final from my side of things, if you follow me?

 

Have you contacted your sales rep asking about how inexpensively you can get your hands on an AW 18 that suits your needs and specifications? The refund sucks from a certain point of view, but if you can make it work, I don't see why not.

 

He's good, but he cannot offer such discounts. Which is why I am extremely annoyed at the offer of the refund - it's just an 'easy out' for Dell, and leaves me in a pickle again. Many people view the offer of a refund as great, but from this point of view, it is not.

One of the things that I forgot to mention about the refund is this;

In accepting a refund, I am accepting a refund of my original configuration. This means that the SSD's that were offered as good will on my current machine, for the problems Dell inflicted for me back then, are effectively taken back off me, too. Talk about adding insult to injury....if I want a SSD it has to come out of my refund money, not the warranty cover that should have covered the cost of their replacement.

Do you see what I mean about refund not being so good now?

 

I see! That's why I was so confused on why your refund would be 3k instead of 4k or more. The SSDs weren't originally part of the configuration.

That makes so much more sense... And might even explain their reluctance to give you like for like, because of your previous free upgrade.

 

Since Dell made their final decision few days ago, what more can you do/what is the purpose of this thread?

 

So maybe now you can see why a refund is not so hot after all, right?

Have you ever heard of something called an appeal or maybe people challenging decisions? happens all the time - or do you just take what is given to you without question? - sorry, you might be like that, but I am not someone that likes being walked over, or sits back and takes it just because "Dell says it is so".

The purpose of the thread is twofold:

It allows for continuity, so that hopefully, without further derailment, I can continue to explore options and also keep those who ARE interested in hearing a final outcome informed of such. There is plenty more I can do......

I think anyone from EMEA should be able to see how Dell work in relation to warranty. That is not sour grapes, it is informative.

 

Appeal is only used in courts as far as I know...? Or maybe issues where authorities is involved. I dont think you are allowed to appeal on the decision Dell made when they made it clear it was the "final" decision.

Are you gonna take this to court or contact legal autorities that work with customer rights?

Just trying to figure out your strategy here

 

That's for me to know and figure out, not you

 

Hi Stevie, i was inactive at forum from about a year cosz of my Job . Well i still remember, when i did require your help deciding to get Dell U2410 monitor, you did help to me to choose quickly even you did reply to my PM quickly to sort it out. I do appreciate, Thanks mate

Well back to my story first, Last year i've bought M18x R2 asa it released. Great system indeed but after a month, sound card issue pop up (as on restart sometimes sound card not detected randomly ). So i did contact Dell asap about issue first they (CS colleague ) denied about any sound hardware issue with system. Anyway then i try to reach out bro Bill B, advice me to call again. Next day i did call dell again, well first advice me to reinstall driver again but not able to install driver cosz sound card not detected, next windows format well now it worked installed driver everythin fine. Wait wait... after 2 days again same problem, time to call Dell explained everytin finally they agreed to change system MB well thts good next day Tech. came and replaced system MB tested system worked fine at a time and for about a week. After 2 weeks same problem but i think that time Dell released R2 Bios A03 which aim was to resolve sound card issue, but its was just useless at all. Hence call Dell again, first they advice me to update Bios to A03 but MB was already updated to A03, well again agent booked tech. to replace MB, next day tech. came and replaced MB. There was no issue for about 3 week so i've thought problem solved now, but issues just envy stunnin system . Same problem again :S. Called dell again explained everythin even i did speak with manager, he did agree and said to me that there was on goin issue with second revision as Dell released Bios A03 to fix sound issue, unfortunately it was unable to fix issue. So he advice me that i have Two option take full Refund or New replacement, Well i do love my alienware baby, agreed for replacement. New replacement unit was perfect no issue for about 2 months as sound worked on every restart. But after 2 months same problem, this time i did email manager directly as on last conversation he provided his email to contact directly if any issue pops up. Next day he called me and feel sorry that same issue overcome again, said me that one of colleague will call me later on with some troubleshot. Well ive received call after about 2 hours, agent took almost about more than a hour to fix issue but no solution at all, advice me that he will explain everythin to his manger. Next day manager called me again feel sorry about it than offer me Full refund. Well i said please give me a day to think, than for few days system worked fine No sound issue at all. Finally ive sent email to manager that im happy with system, as sound wont detect on random restart, he did reply me if system face any issue in future contact him directly and my full refund offer still available (well of course within warranty period).
So as per my experience with Dell CS is smashin, but Alienware quality control check and performance diagnostic very poor. Even still Dell dint release Bios to fix this issue and now i dont think they do bother about it. Now my system warranty expired, im happy overall as random time i got to restart system twice when sound card wont detect.

Back to your system issue mate, first i did read your previous thread i do feel sorry about your system on goin issue. In short, Dell did offer you 512gb SSD isnt it? but it was slower than Samsung 2x 256gb drive performance in Raid 0. Well i do agree that single drive performance slower than Samsung Raid 0, But stevie mate as i think its not a very big performance drop(like only Carling left ) nor noticeable on everyday usage. Also replacement unit offer was just insult compare to your current system. Additionally from your 2nd post, Dell offered you free upgrade to 2 x Samsung SSD on your 2nd replacement isnt it? So havin 2 x SSD is just your advantage as it wasnt part of original purchase.

Anyway decision is yours, best option for you to take single OEM 512gb ssd and later of if you feel that system performs slower (well it'll not major performance drop) than you can get same ssd from ebay at around 220 to 240 quid and go for Raid 0. From my pov this issue isnt worth to take too much hassle, from your few posts i can imagine how it affects on your life or job. good luck...thumbs up for great champ

 

TBH, knowing that the RAID SSDs were an upgrade on Dell's dime to begin with, I probably would have just taken the LiteOn SSD. Sure, it's a bit slower than a Samsung, but you probably won't notice the difference in daily use. A replacement system so that you can use SSDs in RAID would be nice, but I personally would have dropped it after getting a replacement SSD.

 

I was in your corner in the beginning, and I still do believe that Dell is handling this badly and not giving you what any business should give to a loyal customer. That being said, your attitude and condescending arrogance in a few recent posts tend to make one wonder if perhaps there is more to your story that is pushing Dell to this point. You don't seem to be willing to accept that others may have a differing viewpoint and that doesn't reflect well on you at all.

From a legal standpoint (at least in the US anyway) all Dell is obligated to do is either provide you a like for like (which they haven't offered) OR a refund (which they have). Good luck fighting that as I sincerely doubt any judge is going to side with you when the company you're taking legal action against is willing to give you ALL of your money back.

 

I've also been following this thread since the beginning when I thought it was a US vs. non-US customer service issue. However, now that they have offered you a FULL refund, my recommendation is that you take it.

I can't imagine any warranty would allow a company to take on more liability than the original purchase price. Just because you got some freebies along the way, does it mean that when they need replacement, the like-for-like applies to the freebies? I would think the replacement only applies to the original purchased items.

In any case, before more and more people start feeling your requests are becoming disingenuous, I believe it would be in your best interest to simply thank everyone including the Dell representatives here who have helped and move on.

 

Really? A second thread? Sounds like more people are starting to see the bigger picture and side with DELL. More and more people seem to have uncovered your "can't be pleased" ignorant take on the situation. You must really enjoy typing these 1000 word posts, disagreeing with others and justifying to yourself this non-existent replacement that you somehow think you deserve while you sit there and stew in anger. I think you'll be hard pressed to get any more responses from Dell and should feel lucky you recieved the last one you posted, which to me was significantly more civil than the last one you provided them following the refund offer. You also found it necessary to hijack a positive thread about members sharing good stories regarding Dell warranty? It honestly is starting to sound like this topic is the bane of your existence, certainly there has to be more important things in life than to whine about potential 4k speeds on a perfectly functioning laptop. Here's an idea: Whynot use the difference Dell gave you for the free SSDs in the first place, buy your own and get back to gaming, which was the laptop's original intended purpose.

 

give it up. you made your point and i can assure you--we all got it.

would still like to see that original warranty language, stevie. my suspicion is that you'll be unpleasantly surprised. take the money, man. they're offering to make you wholer than you could've asked for.

 

It's funny though, because everything you posted concerns him, and not you. What are you, President of his fanclub?

Here's a better idea. Shove off. He's not harming anyone in making this thread and people are keeping it civil. Try it sometime.

 

If you just ignore him, it takes away his power. So, do just that.

The original language has the statement regarding 'equal to or better than' replacement computers if offered. And I think that's the major sticking point for Stevie.

 

Agree entirely.

Well I was disgusted with how Dell has treated you (my post history would back that up) up until when they offered you a FULL REFUND, they have really went out their way to offer you your money back for a machine you've had for close to two years. It's also hypocritical of you to claim this is SOLELY ABOUT PRINCIPLE when barely a week ago, you were insistent that you were DONE WITH DELL and past caring. You also stated you'll sell whatever machine they offer or don't offer you and take your business elsewhere. A FULL REFUND surely offers you the best opportunity to stick to that?

I also find it quite sad to see you lashing out at members, many of whom have been in your corner since the very beginning, just for voicing out their opinion disagreeing with you. If you are only keen to moan and preach about this without having to be subjected debate or the opinions of others, my suggestion is to do so on a BLOG. Your topic does not belong on a forum if you can't handle discussion, negative or otherwise.

 

I come to NBR seeking advice on owning and enjoying an Alienware, not to see 50+ pages (and much to a few members surprise)....YET a second thread opened purely for purposes of slandering Dell. Is that the purpose of NBR? We all got his point, he's only written an essay on the subject.... I don't see the reasoning to keep this going. Dell has provided a FINAL resolution in a civil manner after offering him everything under the sun over such a small issue. We all know this isn't going to go any further and anyone that thinks so and keeps reassuring him to keep pursueing this is simply wasting the time of the hard working folks in Dell CS and Management... That's why part of me is absolutely dumbfounded with the existence of a 2nd thread... how much longer can you beat a dead horse? As a new member to NBR, I certainly don't log on to filter through a bunch of negative slanderous threads over an individual's personal hatred to a company that so many people have found enjoyment in.

 

As a new member of NBR, you need to be taught how not to click on a thread that you have no interest in other than to cause problems? It's so hard to "filter" through a thread that you need to click on it to see what it entails even though you're continuing the same diatribe from before.

Here's another idea. Let the moderation staff do their job. If the thread is deemed "negative" it'll be closed. Which, until you came in here, it wasn't.

This isn't the first negative thread on this forum. I doubt it'll be the last.

But please, continue playing the victim.

 

Absolutely 100% agree with this post. You posted this on a public forum, open to disagreement. The minute you posted it, it became everyone's right to have an opinion on the matter. The part that most frusterates me is that he's recieved countless constructive posts and in turn disagreeing with an entitled snarky demeanor. No one is allowed to comment you have taken this a little far, possibly in hopes to wipe the fear out of his eyes and move on? In turn he write posts trying to justify to others how much of a reasonable person he is and it absolutely DOES NOT.. AT ALL WHATSOEVER... seem to reflect the indivudual who has proven to be "Dell's favorite customer". Why ask for opinion simply to lash back at the community. It seems Dell has closed the means of discussion and why shouldn't we too?

Why have 55 pages of a thread, than open another when you AREN'T WILLING and TOO STUBBORN AND IGNORANT to even discuss the matter. Post this in a BLOG or in a JOURNAL. Go hit a punching bag or go do something else to take out your frusterations and leave the forum to what it was originally intended.

 

The community has a responsibility as well. This behavior shouldn't be encouraged. Everyone in the world that buys a warranty believes they are entitled to dictate what they see fit. Sad thing is this consume pointless hours of employees trying to help others and decrements the entire support experience from others trying to get legitimate help. I don't log on to HAVE to weave and filter my way through someone's personal vendetta against Dell and I'm sure no one else does as well. Just because I know how to avoid it doesn't mean I enjoy looking at multiple threads purposefully slandering Dell. Post your hatred and move on, no need for thousands of posts and multiple threads.

I provided Steevie words of encouragement until this got to the point of pure ridiculousness.

 

But as a public forum, that's privately ran, you don't get to decide what is acceptable and what's not.

If it's really up to the community, report the thread and move on. That's it. Don't comment and make it worse.

And yes, I agree that before, you were being sensible, but it's gotten worse to the point where you're now just attacking him. Just report the thread and move on. Take the high road, don't sink down to his so-called level.

 

StevieJ,

I'm happy to read / view updates on your issues. As a UK resident and hopefully (next week) an owner of an Alienware 18 (with 3 years warranty) from EMEA, I'm very interested with your issues and the performance of the support system within EMEA.

It does seem that there is a 2 tier system in place (might be more than 2 tiers) within the Dell universe.

Keep up the fight and I realise this isn't to do about Refunds (Money), but the principle of having a fair system throughout.

Good luck.

 

The only reason my threads weren't originally liked is because it wasn't the reality that Steevie wanted to hear. Dell's decision infuriated him and he retreated here to be reassured what he was doing was acceptable which part of the community tried to bring him back to some sort of "fair" reality. Others made similar comments and I personally did not agree with the way he responded to them in a personal fashion. You ask for opinions and even provide a poll, if you can't respond appropriatley to the feedback don't bother posting. If anyone escalated the matter it was Steevie and some of the community responded back with their disgust on the matter. I don't speak for the community but I can make an educated guess to say this is not why these forums were created. If you are that bitter go create AliewnareUKsucks.com and take your followers with you so that others can enjoy the tweaks and customization advice offered here. The job of the moderators isn't to offer opinions to someone when they think they are wrong, thats more the job of the communitity. I doubt there is anything in the rules that says you can't create 10 threads bad mouthing Dell over your personal vengeance, it just makes for a poor experience.

Everyone seems to forget that this matter is CLOSED as far as Dell is concerned. We are all discussing some twisted pipe dream that "this is far from over" in the eyes of Steevie.

I come to see benchmarks and threads based upon firmware, bios and latest drivers. You don't just close a thread because some people's disagreement pissed you off.... in turn to open another one, do the exact same thing and expect a different result...

 

LoL, the TROLL crawls out from under his rock.

 

Everything you said that shouldn't happen, has. What does that tell you? Let it go man.

If you're here to go see all those things you say you're here for, then why are you here in this thread? Do you not have the ability to ignore threads, especially if you don't like the topic?

You're really not building a case for yourself as far as your purpose here and instead really coming across as attacking him now. The exact same thing you're preaching could be said for you. If you don't like his comments, go make a blog post or a website called StevieWhinesTooMuch.com or whatever you see fit.

The point is, you're doing the exact same thing that you're accusing him of. Let him complain and moan. It's not your place to complain and moan about his complaining and moaning, especially when there are other members who are not in the know and are geniunely interested in his case. See richardm's post above, if you missed that.

 

If this is what you want NBR to be focused around keep promoting it. That really promotes people to join and contribute.

 

Why isn't it my place to share disgust about the level of complaining and moaning in the public forum I would like to enjoy. Shame on me for trying to make more a positive environment. This is absolutely an open forum, to share opinions but just as "freedom of speech" is practiced, there is something to be said about the quality of the topics discussed. I feel this topic has been discussed thouroughly, and the quality went south once Stevie flew off the handle with the refund resolution and started attacking people trying to offer sensible solutions.

My goal in the matter was at first to shock some sense into someone so they could possibly move on and enjoy the computer they purchased. We've chosen to allow such a bloody mess to go on, over such a small issue regarding TRAP issues in RAID 0 that is getting treated like the entire computer is non functional and Dell is out to get him.

Since that goal clearly can't be accomplished and he clearly cannot come to reality of Dell's decision... Let the pity party continue. I just can't see how anyone can manipulate that into "sharing my story" with others when it is primarily made up of slanderous comments. If this is the community you want to be a part of, so be it.

 

Stevie, thanks for keeping us posted on any further developments. As you know, many of us are keen to see how this plays out.

Lets play on and IGNORE the troll

 

What further developments??? Did you not read the email from Dell saying take it or leave it to the refund? Has anything changed since that?

Color it the way you want, the content of this thread is exactly the same as the last. Anyone that disagree's with Steevie is instantly shunned because it's not promoting the imaginary reality he is living in destined to "get whats right"

 

LMFAO, Troll Away Troll, Stupid is as Stupid Does (Forrest Gump).
& be prepared for being an ex member of this forum.
Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out....lol

 

I believe that no one is expecting Dell to re-open this case and come crawling back for forgiveness. That being said, stevie can still choose to arm himself with legal munitions if he believes his case to be true. However, as I mentioned before, it would very probably be a Pyrrhic victory even if stevie wins the case as the extra expenses are likely to eclipse the £1300 that is currently at stake by his calculations.

Future bards might write songs about stevie's foolhardy assault on the unholy citaDELL but I myself would hate to be the one taking on Dell just to prove a point. Heroism and martyrdom are pretty much one and the same in this fight..

 

Wow this thread doesn't seem to disappoint. I'm considered a troll becausing I'm not promoting this behavior? There is nowhere in the forum rules saying you can't disagree with someone. Steevie isn't a mod, and just because he states something in the first post doesn't make it rule. If its permissable for him to allow this circus to continue, it certainly should be ok for me to voice my displeasure on the topic.

 

Speak to the hand TROLL LMFAO

 

Wow, a lot of activity overnight. I have read and caught up with the majority of it before making and comment. A few things to say, and a few people to whom I owe a reply to from the previous thread. I elected to have that closed because argumentative comments were not getting anyone anywhere. I did try to make it clear at the start of 'part 2' that I had hoped that this would remain civil and without personal attacks - seems I was hoping for too much, but I will not retaliate to those comments.

Anyway, I feel that I would like to clear up a few things that some people may or may not be confused about, in relation to my case. I tried to explain to everyone about how I arrived at my current machine that we have been discussing - everything listed verbatim in the opening post about that. I've been in the situation before, where Dell have not wanted to redress problems - their answer seems to be a rather common one - from an EMEA perspective - of just give someone their money back and then they are no longer Dell's problem.

Technically, yes - they have honoured their contract. It does, however, leave a bitter taste in one's mouth - especially when you have a repeat experience of it, like I have with this debacle. I took refund money back in July 2011 and stumped up even more of my own money to buy the machine with 6990m's in it. That was ME placing MORE faith in Dell....I could have just walked, but I wanted to give Dell yet another chance - I'd hardly say that these are the actions of someone who wishes to do damage to Dell or slander them in any way, shape or form.

Of course, since I did that, and bought the machine with 6990m's, the history is documented in the opening post here. Now, for me, it's just another case of history repeating itself with regards to how they have acted - except THIS time, Dell DID offer me a replacement machine - which I was extremely grateful for - but somehow, and for some reason beyond me, the machine they offered was pretty diabolical. (see spoilers in opening post).

So, with that said, it is NOT that I am ungrateful for the offer of a full refund, it is quite simply that because I have 'been there, done that' once before, I am tired of the same old sad routine from Dell EMEA of "Here - here's your money back, it's not our problem now.....". For those that have never been in a refund situation before, let me explain to you how it works - you return the unit to Dell, they check it over, takes a few weeks to process the refund, in my case it took longer for refund funds to become available, and then you are back to square one. If you want to re-order, you obviously can. If you DO re-order, you then have the additional 'downtime' without any machine because you have had to wait 2 or 3 weeks whilst Dell process a refund fully, and then you have the build time of a new order as well. This, for me, ended up being around 6 weeks when Dell decided they would give me a refund back in July 2011 and I re-ordered and got the 6990m Crossfire machine in the September shortly after.

What I am saying here, is that having a replacement machine eradicates ALL of that rigmarole, if the machine being replaced is still semi-functional, you keep it until the replacement arrives - no downtime, no messing about with refunds to credit cards etc etc - in general, a LOT more customer friendly than Dell's "easy out option" of a refund.

So, getting back to my current situation. You can see why I would have preferred to have a replacement machine. This option WAS offered to me, so at that time I was ecstatic - from the point of knowing that Dell's replacement policy is "like for like or better", which also means that if your current revision is no longer made, as was the case with me and my M18x R1, it automatically meant that I would be offered a machine that does have full native TRIM support and also I would get rid of my problematic SSD's - M18xR2 or Alienware 18 - didn't matter to me which one, as long as it had like for like hardware specifications. I was not seeking upgraded components - just to be treated like the next guy when it comes to replacement specifications. If they had offered me an R2 with 3940xm/675m Sli, I would have been extremely pleased, and I would have felt that this indeed was a comparable like for like specification. I would have just dropped my 680m's in it and been away... No upgrades, just like for like.

Now, they offered me a pathetic R2, which I am 100% certain that if anyone, with my current original spec. of 2960xm/580m Sli, had received the same offer, they would also be deeply unhappy about it, too - don't even pretend to say that you would be happy with a 3630qm and a single 675m in exchange.

Would Dell acknowledge that this offer is nowhere near like for like? - NO, they just carried on and even withdrew that pathetic offer from me as well, and also, to add insult to injury, they also added in the email that they sent me about the refund that "my drives were functioning as normal!".

So, to summary why I am not happy, succinctly, would be to say this:

Why do I NOT deserve to have a genuine "like for like" offer of replacement, when it is commonplace to see such replacements being offered?

Why should I be forced into taking yet another refund, and go through the laborious process of said refund as described above, just because Dell cannot work out just exactly what IS "like for like".

Why should I, upon accepting a refund, be in the position whereby to actually PURCHASE an equivalent "like for like" machine from Dell is now going to cost me even yet MORE money?

This whole thing should have been covered under warranty - yet Dell have elected the path of least resistance for them, because it is extremely easy for them to simply refund someone, then it is no longer their problem. Contractually, you could say they have done the right thing, but from a customer perspective, a full refund to me does not put me in a good situation at all. I am now looking at having to find even more money if I wanted to get a similar machine from Dell....a similar machine right now would be a New 18, with 4930mx cpu, 770m Sli gpu's, Windows 7 Ultimate, BluRay drive, 16gb Ram (in the UK that is the lowest option to get a 512gb SSD option) and 3 years warranty with 3 years accidental damage cover (because I have 2 and a half years left - 3 is closer to it, without losing warranty).

If ANYONE wants to hop on to the UK web site here: The Dell Online Store: Build Your System and configure such a machine, you will find that it comes out to being £3,997.98. Compare that to my refund of £3,000.00 exactly and you can see that even with a discount, I am going to be a LONG way off even getting back to what is actually comparable.

Maybe that can clear up why I am not a happy bunny. I will respond to older posts in due course - this one has gotten too long for easy reading.

Oh, one other thing, whilst I think on about it. Yes, I admit I did have a reaction to Dell's offer of a refund - that was quite simply because I was expecting them to realise that what they were offering as a replacement was indeed pathetic, and I was hoping they would redress that accordingly. The last thing I thought of, or really wanted, was a refund - as that put's me in the position that I have just described above. I quote from "part 1" from this post: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ort-full-details-included-54.html#post9294004

I did fly off the handle, somewhat - I expected a little understanding, perhaps. Maybe I went about things in the wrong fashion, but we all make rash decisions when upset. I should also mention that I have apologised to the people involved in my responses, and they have accepted my apologies, because they understand just how frustrating this has been for me. The response I got from my apology was posted earlier, but here it is again for those who only choose to look through tinted spectacles:

 

I along with many other people here seems to agree that Stevie is way over the line here, and should take the money Dell refunded him and move on. Dell honoured the warranty and in my opinion went waaay above to try and satisfy Stevie. Just think about it, a FULL refund from a machine that is old and used in his satisfaction for some time until the SSDs started lagging.. Hardware that is outdated and worth way less today than what he got paid back. But still he isnt satisfied.

I cant help but wonder if Stevie is the classic example of a difficult customer. There might be some part to the story we havent heard yet, how he have worded his emails or how he have talked to the customer staff at Dell. I know from experience working with support and have been in touch with various customers, a key element is being strict but humble. That goes for both parts. In this issue Dell offered him a 512GB SSD, a little slower than the 830 SSD, but still a good SATA3 SSD, which I tried to explain to him from my own experience, that you wouldnt notice any difference to a Samsung 830 SSD anyway. Neither would you against a Raid setup.

So Im sorry Stevie that this thread turned out like the first one: where majority was with you at first, me included, but disagreed with you after their final decision. Dont make a third thread to try to hide the people who challenged your opinion about this matter in the last two threads. it will be the same in that thread too.

 

What I don't understand is why would you want to prolong this whole ordeal with Dell which you claimed to have caused you a great deal of stress and inconvenience when Dell has clearly offered you a reasonable way out through a FULL REFUND. I can't imagine why would anyone who CLAIMED to have suffered a great deal through the actions of a company would want to continue giving their business to said company. Surely if you feel so STRONGLY about how nightmarish and unacceptable Dell has treated you, you would take the money and spend it elsewhere? Like you said you would a week ago?