Recent AW buying experience

I had some feedback from my recent purchase w/ Alienware; Dell-Bill_B suggested dropping it in a post here.

1) Screen selection. The day after the purchase, I realized the screen is glossy. I hate, hate, *hate* glossy screens. I almost cancelled the order, but I figure I can try to remedy this with an after-market screen protector. Plus you are, I think, the only company offering dual current-generation GPUs. I would have jumped at the opportunity for a matte screen, even if it was an extra cost.

2) Order confirmation. So I placed my order around 6pm. That night I received a call at 9:55pm from the same Dell # I had called to place my order. I was in the middle of a game of LoL, so I let it go to voice-mail. The caller left a voice-mail then sent an email. The email said my order was being held because the info I had given did not match the information on record w/ my bank. I popped over to my bank's site and saw that I did, actually, have a pending charge for the cost of the system. I called the guy back, and he just asked me to verify that I had placed an order, the mailing/shipping address, and the total cost. It was a little alarming, though. Also, I happened to be wide-awake already so it didn't really affect me, but is it SOP to call people that late?

 

yea they will call you at funky hours some times.. certain states have certain laws but that for telemarketers..
As for them calling and confirming its weird the first time.. I was like holly heck whats this? they come on like there off work and dont even say thank you and good buy..straight to the drilling..for info..

 

I did the confirmation via chat while I was ordering. I do remember Dell calling me to verify the order on prior laptops though so nothing new there.

 

I had a similar experience. I had someone call me after placing my order to verify that I actually placed the order. Never happened on any of my previous orders. But anyways I answered a bunch of questions including giving them my work number, home number etc... I specifically ask the lady not to call my home or work number. I do everything else they ask for me to do. Reply to an email from my work email among other things. The next day I find out that they left a voice mail message about my order on my house number. Thanks for listening and further more thanks for letting anyone in the house know what it was about. It's not as if she just said please call us back, she mentioned details of the order and all. I was pissed to say the least. Good thing I got a good deal, because usually I'm so stubborn that something like that would've made me cancel my order even though I really wanted it.

And these companies wonder why we want to give them as little personal info as possible. Had they called my work number I would've really been pissed!

BTW it's not like i was trying to get a line of credit for the purchase either.

edit: situation wasn't that similar, but they both show questionable customer service practices

 

Yeah the nerve, how DARE they make every effort to ensure that someone isn't stealing from you to pay for their new computer. I'd be pissed too, I mean I'd much rather not get a phone call at a strange hour when it's easier to just let $2000+ just vanish from one of my bank accounts or credit card limits.

I think you should call the BBB and notify them that you don't appreciate Dell's efforts to combat Bank Fraud and demand that they be black listed.

 

Amen. I applaud their effort to ensure that sudden multi-thousand dollar purchases are not going unchecked.

 

When I confirmed my intention to order with the Dell sales agent, he called me shortly after. Seems fairly standard operating procedure to me, though I wouldn't be sure about operating hours.

I mean, it really makes sense, if you're buying anything more than a few hundred dollars, a confirmation should be in order.

 

So in my case you think that's acceptable? The lady called and talked to me and even after had me reply to an email sent to my work email address. Guess my personal wasn't good enough. Even thereafter she calls my home number which I specifically asked her not to because for one nobody answers it. So she leaves a message saying she needs to confirm a purchase made? Good thing it wasn't a gift for the person who listened to the message! If when I told her not to call my home number that wasn't good enough she should've just said so. Cancel the sale or find another way (which was supposedly me replying from my work email).

 

We have a situation where I got a call at a strange hour, followed by an email from someone claiming he was with Dell, stating that there was a problem processing my payment and asking for me to call a # that I don't know for certain belongs to Dell (i.e. not the # I originally called). At the same time, my bank's web site shows that the withdrawal is pending, which doesn't jive with the contents of the email. At first glance, it sounds a little like a phishing attempt, so I don't think your sarcasm is really warranted.

Further, when my *bank* calls me to confirm that I spent that money, that's someone looking out for me. When Dell uses the contact info they were given to ask if the person on the other end placed an order, that sounds like Dell protecting themselves if anything. If I see an unapproved charge on my cc, I contest it immediately and get a new # issued. There is no damage to me, I am 100% protected. Dell, on the other hand, has to deal with the cancelled charge and any applicable vendor fees, plus they've wasted workers' time processing the order and probably don't want to waste more time & money partially completing the order.

If, as you believe, Dell was really just doing this with my security 100% in mind, then they unintentionally alarmed me instead, and that is something they just *might* care about.

 

Yep, sure do.

It may surprise you to learn that large multinational corporations tend to have more than one phone number, and that dialing in to an 800 number as a general rule doesn't mean that you're going to be called from an 800 number. Just some food for thought.

As to the rest of the ramble, consider that ANYONE can send an email and it's usually more certain that you're speaking to the correct individual when you are dialing a number that THAT individual provided.

 

I actually spoke to the lady that was handling my "verification" a couple times (on the original phone number used for my account) before they decided to also call my house number (which I specifically asked them not too). I don't see why people think it's acceptable to call a number that you request they not. They also asked for my work number. It would be completely inappropriate for me to get that kind of call to my work number as well. Would that be acceptable? I'm a second shift computer operator. We have two lines into our computer room that any number of people could answer and I'm only there off hours anyways.

 

My suggestion, if you are as inclined as you seem to be about complaining, is to purchase your computer elsewhere. They are merely doing what they feel is the proper thing to do in order to protect the customer and themselves from fraud.

People really need to open their eyes and realize that there are far more important things in life to whine about than what phone number that YOU provided them was called by them.

Personally, if I don't want a number called, I don't give the number out. I find that's much easier than blaming someone for calling a number I gave them. Then again, I'm an advocate of personal responsibility and accountability too, sadly most on here don't seem to share that life view.

 

Lol. I had some feedback for Dell, and it was suggested by Dell personnel that I post it here. Am I barred from voicing a concern? I am obviously not the only person who felt this way, so perhaps there are others who don't visit NBR. Why so defensive? Your sarcasm was unwarranted, as is your ad hominem. People really need to open their eyes and realize that there are far more important things in life to whine about than people providing feedback with which you disagree.

 

I'm done arguing (whining as you may call it). Bottom line is I'm happy with my purchase, but in may case it's a privacy concern and if you don't believe in that then that's your thing. I hope your not on FB or have a gmail or yahoo account. Then you wouldn't mind if they did whatever they wanted with the information (emails, pics, account info) you might have shared with them.

 

I received a call at about 8pm (the day I made the order) from Dell's finance/credit department confirming that I made the order and the card I used for the transaction.

They also wanted me to send an email confirming the transaction and I think I was also told to include the shipping address for some reason.

I figured it was standard procedure. All in all, no big deal. I wanted my system the soonest they could get it to me. Also, I get calls at all hours of the day and night (because of work) so I'm use to being woken up in the middle of the night for stuff.

 

Being an Original R1 owner and now a R4 owner, each time i have a product ordered and built i was very pleased with the quick build/ship times and quality of work from Dell.