Who has Roswell tech support instead of standard?

When I purchased my m9750 I was emailed immediately by the manager of the "Roswell" division of AW tech support. I was told if I ever had any issues to contact Roswell directly instead of standard support and they would take care of me. They were even nice enough to send a pic of the Roswell crew with names attached so I know who I am talking to on the phone, which is a very nice touch. It's nice to have a face to associate with a voice. After hearing everyone's horror stories with tech support I am trying to see if this is only a problem with their "standard level" tech support. I have yet to have a single issue not get taken care of immediately by the Roswell group.

I am assuming that the "Roswell" support is offered to those who pay over a certain dollar amount for their systems, as mine came out to $4,484. Dell does the same thing; their base systems have tech support based overseas and it is absolutely terrible. That being said; you can't expect Dell to fork out big bucks to well trained tech support staff for people that bought a base model $400 computer. I know for a fact that their XPS line, as well as some of the other higher-end lines get US based tech support with well trained reps that don't suck. I'm trying to figure out if the Roswell group is the same setup- those who pay big money get an extra level of service.

Some people may find that this is unfair but it is pretty standard throughout any industry. For example, I bought a Jaguar and when I take it in to get serviced the techs are super nice and I always get my car back washed and vacuumed at no additional charge. I guess they figured I paid so much for the damn thing to begin with the least they could do is clean it for me, even during a routine oil change. Last I checked you don't get that level of service with a Ford or Chevy. I'm starting to believe that a lot of the customer service complaints on this board are unfounded or based on the fact that someone bought a base model AW computer and expects the CS department to part the ocean for them because of the AW name. I'm a strong advocate in "you get what you pay for" and I think that may be the root cause to a lot of this "AW customer service sucks" talk.

Let's discuss...

 

Now this is what I don't understand. What you're implying is that when you buy a basic Alienware it's like you're buying a cheap Inspiron, therefore there is no need for quality support from Dellienware. Is that what you're saying?
Alienware is supposed to be about performance and quality and they shouldn't differentiate customers. They should offer highly trained personnel at any hour of the day, no matter how much you paid for the God damn laptop. Does that make sense? Alienware = premium brand, not some cheap 400$ laptop brand like Acer or something like that.
You should rethink your post tokaygecko, as I don't think you really made a point with the 400$ laptop and Alienware in the same sentence.

 

i actually heard good things about the roswell group. i have yet to hear a person complain about them when we were discussing CS in the m15x thread.

 

Hi tokaygecko
i must admit, when i first heard of AW quite a few years ago this was one of the points that finally made me want a computer from them. ive heard great praises from people that own an AW computer and as soon as i saw the spec of the m15x i thought ive got to have one of those.
ive had a couple of computers in the past and the worst was a company called mesh.they sold hi spec computers that were great when they worked but when you had a problem you would spend a minimum of 45 minutes in a Q waiting to talk to technical support in india and the average call cost £20-30//$40-60
as you've probably guessed by now im across the pond in the uk. looking through AW website there is no mention of roswell. is this service only available to US customers?
hopefully when i finally get my laptop i will not need TS but it is alway handy to know if i can also get the backing from the roswell team.
regards
jim

 

This is my point. I'm trying to figure out if the problem with CS is with Alienware all around, or just standard tech support. I've personally never heard of anything negative about the Roswell team either.

Second, I don't know if Roswell is only offered to those who pay over a certain amount. For all I know they pull people's names out of a hat. That's what I'm trying to generate some discussion about. If more people reply with their experiences, maybe we can figure it out. I paid for 3 years of Tech support, maybe Roswell only handles the 2-3 year tech support customers. Again, I don't know, I'm trying to find out.

 

I never had Roswell Tech Support. I only had the general tech support + a critical issues agent.

 

I had roswell too. This is the dept who knows stuff. I am impressed. Their critical team is good as well. Their normal CS talk nonsense sometimes.

Here I will ranked

1) roswell (u can even make proposal to them about your m15x)
2) critical team (one on one- this guy will run test the way u want them to run b4 its ship back to ya)
3) CS (are they part-timers from pizza hut?)

 

nice one.

 

It was through the Roswell Team that I was able to receive full credit for m5550 and now I'm getting an m15x. So, I'm pretty happy.

 

OK, so it seems the consensus here is that Roswell is awesome customer support. For all that have dealt with Roswell can you answer a few questions?

1. What, if any, extended warranty did you get on your system? (1/2/3 year)

2. Approx price paid for system

I want to see who gets roswell. I'd like to see if it is based on dollar amount or service contract purchased.

 

A $1699 base model alienware and a $4500 decked out alienware are in different realms as far as I'm concerned. 2.5x the price warrants a little better customer service, at least in my book. Sure, both systems should have good CS, but just the fact that alienware tech support is based in the US counts as a plus towards them. Most other computer manufacturers use overseas tech support for their systems, even the ones that cost $1500-2000.

I own the low end Jaguar model, the X-type. I get excellent service from the dealer when I take it in, but not on the same level as the guys with XK or XJs. They paid ~$70-90K for their cars, mine was 1/2 of that. They get complimentary loaners and rides from their house when they need/want service, I don't. Same thing as with AW. My car is the low end model of a brand of high-end luxury cars, therefore I get the low end service.

Seems pretty simple, what don't you understand?

 

it has nothing to do with price. I spent about 4800 on mine, and had the worst service imaginable. So i dont think price has anything to do with it

 

could it be to do with if you have major problems from the off. ie: faulty pparts when you receive it from new. you are then passed onto the roswell team to try and keep you sweet.

 

I was given the information for the Roswell team before I even received my laptop, so hopefully they weren't trying to imply anything I received the email the day after I placed my order.

 

1. 1 year warranty - last May

2. +3k


I received this information straight from the AW official forums way after I bought my m5550.
By the way, you don't have to do anything to "get" Roswell service except be the original owner an the AW system. You can email them anytime at

[email protected] or call 1-866-ROSWELL.

Their office hours are:Monday - Friday 9am - 6pm Est

 

Interesting. I haven't heard of the 'roswell support team'.

I haven't had any issues with my system, though.

I got the 3 year warranty, and laid over 4k for my beloved 9750.

 

I also use the Roswell Team. I enjoy calling 1 person and emailing only 1 person. Anytime I e-mail them I get a response same day. (as long as its not the weekend)

 

I like this as a well. I don't have to keep explaining the same problem over and over like I did with regular tech support.

My only complain is that they work only from 9am-6pm. Another good thing is that they actually call back when they say so.

 

I see a trend that Roswell tech support has their business right. I am glad to hear it. I just want to know why only a small percentage of AW owners even know they are there...

 

They are a new group. Seems like it started right about the time the m15x was first announced. You should give them a call if you need something.

 

Its my understanding that you have to be invited by them b4 they'll take your account. How do you get invited? I don't know I just got an e-mail one day where they explained to me to call them and pretty much only them.

 

I wasn't e-mailed by AW about the Roswell group. But, I was told about them on the Alienware support site by Alienware-Mauricio. Maybe you are right, I'm wrong. Sorry if I confused anyone else here. But, they are a great help, indeed.

Here is it quoted from the site:

Well the m5550 is considered EOL (End Of Life) but there are still lots people under warranty who deserve the best support we can provide and that's were we come in.

In regards to your question about the 8 series upgrade for the m5550 I'm sorry to say that the answer is pretty much no.

I'm sorry if you had your hopes up; I would personally recommend not to believe everything you read about upcoming upgrades on notebookreview.com Wink, unless it's coming from Alienware-Frank or at least if it's confirmed by Chaz.

If you have a doubt you can always ask me and I'll try my best to answer your question without breaking my NDA (non-disclosure agreement).

By the way if you are interested, we have an elite service group here at AW that operates during business hours M-F 9AM-6PM Eastern. They call themselves "The Roswell Group" and their number is (866) ROSWELL. You may want to give them a call for any follow-up or issues that you may have or if you want I can have them call or e-mail you directly.

This offer goes to anyone reading this thread as well.

He did say the offer goes for anyone was reading my thread. So I don't know.

 

I got an email personally from them

 

Maybe he was referring to others with "the EOL (End Of Life)" m5550, in that thread at least.. Dunno what's the name of the thread so that's only a guess..

 

lucky me then...

 

Anybody with Rosewell support get any response regarding the downclocking issue?

 

I tried the roswell support and they just refered me to the conventional technical support. Complete waste of email and bandwidth. The roswell group did nothing for me.

 

Then, I guess that you have to be invited. My bad guys. Didn't mean to have your hopes up.

 

Hehe now me and Dhoang417 can both have similar sig's in terms of our credited M5550's lol. By the way I don't think anyone here said that you could put the M8800GTX in the M5550, I certainly didn't.

 

I wouldn't even dare to dream of getting an 8800m GTX in my m5550. lol I was hoping for at least an 8600 GT (Since AW-Warner told me that they were testing the 8-series for the m5550 and m9750), but after the negative answer and three times of repairs, I thought it would be time to demand the credit (for a defective system) and go for the m15x. If it wasn't for you and a couple others and the Roswell team, I would've never gotten this far. haha

 

All,

To answer the question everyone seems to be asking, "What does it take to get Roswell Support?", all you need to do is have an Alienware computer.

Choey,

FYI: We have come out with a new BIOS update to fix the 8800GTX down clocking issue… you can contact the Roswell Crew or the normal technical support team and ask for the BIOS update… we will be more than glad to help you install the update.

Newfiejudd,

You are still more than welcome to contact the Roswell crew if the need ever arises… we are here to help.

Best regards to all,

 

Hellow roswell kevin, and welcome to notebookreview.com!

 

Hi Kevin... Those are great news! There's another new Bios version? When will it be officially released? Hopefully now, it will solve the problems that BIOS versions 30 couldn't fix (so that I can finally order my M15x).

Nice to see you guys from AW around here!

 

What did I tell you about the Roswell Crew. I wasn't kidding! lol

By the way, Kevin's the one who credited my m5550. haha

 

I think Kevin mentioned the new bios that nearly everybody in this board already has installed. (v30)

@Kevin
unfortunatly the new bios helped only to fix few m15x while several people still expierence downclocking of the 8800M GTX due to overheating.


saint

 

That's what I thought... But I was trying a bit of optimism.
In any case, if the Roswell division haven't heard of it yet: http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/10/some-alienware-m15x-users-still-reporting-problems-after-bios-up/

 

Kevin is pretty cool talked to him a bunch of times he is usually there later in the day. Not my usual agent but he still a great help. Thanks for coming by and thanks for you help Kevin.

 

Welcome to the forums, Kevin. Please let me know if there is anything you need or have questions about regarding the site itself.

 

Kevin is the person that helped me out as well Glad we have some good tech support out there.

 

Dear Roswell Kevin...
I'm sure Alienware is always trying to make the right choices and always trying to make up to their fame and expected standards. As it became quite obvious, the downclock problem hasn't been solved.
( http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=238989))

Me, as a potential future client and owner of a M15x, feel that the ONLY right thing Alienware can do at the present moment is to STOP selling M15x with the 8800GTX card on it. This is, in fact (and until this situation is solved), the only fair attitude you can have towards your future clients.
It has to be said that Alienware advertises their 15'' flagship as the FIRST notebook of its size to have the most powerful GPU on earth... Well, you should probably change it to mention that it's the most powerful, not properly working, GPU on earth.
What Alienware is doing is falacious and wrong advertisment, about a product that is not delivering what it was paid for. And this can be considered a crime in many countries of the world.

And that's all... Hope Alienware will take some proper and REAL measures to fix this problem.

 

@Milcs - That is the exact attitude I have towards the situation. As much as they would like to stop selling the 8800GTX, I think that they haven't sold as many as they would have liked to sell, and they will continue to advertise it as such until the sales increase on the system. This is just my viewpoint on the whole situation, but it makes sense.

They invested $$$$ into the system, and are only getting $$ back because of all of the returns and lack of orders because of this problem. Honestly though it is completely their fault. They could have easily asked a few users here to test out their systems for them since they seem incapable of doing so. I understand why they are still selling it, but I think it is wrong.

However, I think it is good that AW is stepping up finally and starting to help users by coming on these forums, and also by starting that Alien Network. Even so, after I am finished with my M9750, I have to say that I will not be purchasing an Alienware notebook ever again.

 

That's exactly how I feel with this m15x, Stone. It'll most likely be my last AW notebook. It's just not worth it, going through all of this trouble for one notebook. So much time, and money, was wasted already with my previous m5550. I hope AW does get it straight through. They got the marketing part right, but the tech part needs a lot more work.

 

Seems unfortunate that Alienware notebooks should suffer from subpar technology, since Alienware PCs are advertised as being on the bleeding edge of technology. Their customer service also seems to be getting a lot of flak, judging from what I've seen from multiple sources. That being said, I think it's an excellent step in the right direction for this "Roswell team" to have been set up, since most who've dealt with them so far have had a fairly pleasurable experience. It's also an excellent decision on Alienware's part to have the services of the Roswell team open to any and all Alienware buyers - even consumers who own "obselete" platforms such as the m5550.

Also - tokaygecko: 70-90k for a Jaguar XJ/XK? T.T It's 200-300k here! RAWR!

 

Holy crap!!!! Maybe I need to get into the export/import business... Even a fully loaded XJR doesn't top 95K here. The most expensive XKR I've seen is under 100K.

 

Hello all,

For those who do not yet know, we just finalized the testing for the new m15x BIOS v32:

- You can download the BIOS update from http://4help.alienware.com/cgi-bin/a...=&p_faqid=5779

Note: You can also get the new BIOS from your "My Hive" support area at support.alienware.com

If you need any help installing the BIOS, you can contact the Roswell Crew and we will be more than happy to assist you!

 

Hi Kevin and thanks. Can you just detail what problems does the Bios tackle and how does it solve the downclock problem?
Cheers and thank you.

 

yea, thanks Kevin.

And can you let us know what's new in this BIOS and how it fixes the downclocking problem??

 

Just in case you haven't seen the already-ongoing discussion on this topic (the X32 BIOS)...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=241009

 

Does anyone know how I can contact them from UK or if there even is a free telephone number?
I'd like to talk to someone more professional before sending my unit in and them concluding that there's nothing wrong with the keyboard just like the tech support agent I spoke to on Thursday has.

 

Welcome kevin

And just to let everybody know, when i ordered my m15x on the 20th i received an email about the roswell crew on the 22nd.

My order was 1,700 pounds ( 3,400 dollars ) and i live in the UK