GenTech C90 buyers; a question

About how long did it take you to get...

1)... Your order confirmation call?

2)... Your C90 after the confirmation?

I just spent $1,757.26 to get a 250gb 5400 rpm HD, 3gb ram, e6700 with no wireless card/external hd, 3 Day Ship.

Was the out-the-door time reasonable? Did it arrive in good time?

 

1) Placed my order in the morning and got the confirmation call in the afternoon of the same day.

2) I don't have it yet, but apparently it is going to take about 25-30 days + 3 days three-day select shipping from UPS from the day I placed my order.

 

25-30 days? I'm literally scraping by on a turd of a computer at the moment. I really hope they can get it here within a couple of weeks at the most.

 

Well the 25-30 days also includes the weekend days as well, but yeah it is still a long wait.

 

1) Placed order on July 13th in the early AM, confirmation call later that day.

2) Has not shipped yet. I have been told it will probably ship the week of August 6th.

This doesn't sound the best (I have had my problems with it), but 1) most other resellers are out of stock so the long wait time will be somewhat similar, 2) is one of the cheaper resellers around, and 3) even if other places can get it to you cheaper, it won't be tested and ready to go like the one from GenTech.

 

Heres the deal most of the people like me who have the c90 is because they preordered and most of the people who are complaining (not blaming you guys) because they have not gotten there is because they did not pre-order. The pre-orders for gentech were in the hundreds so they had to take care of those first then the people who ordered regularly. Now they are quality testing the laptops so that is causing the delay.

 

I agree to a point, Matt, however... does it not seem a bit absurd to say that an out-of-stock reseller can get it to you as fast as one who advertises that they have it in stock?

I'm happy that it'll be tested, and clearly it was one of the best prices around, but hell... by the time it's supposed to be ready to ship to me (if 25-30 days is accurate) I'll be able to afford another. I really hope this is not the case.

 

Believe me, I have had the exact thoughts, you can read the other threads and see. But I have come to the conclusion that for the complete package they are still the beast way to go. Yeah, you might get it a bit sooner but what if you get incompatible ram or your bios has issues? The other resellers aren't taking care of that (and really they shouldn't have it, it SHOULD be ASUS's deal).

Prepare for the reality of 20-30 days.

 

Ah well. Well, if it gets to be too ridiculous of a wait, "false advertising" comes to mind.

A tip to GenTech: you may not sell as many this way (which would actually help with being backed up), but you really need to put some sort of notification on your site that clearly states you guys are bogged down. "All laptops usually ship within 2-5 business days" is what I saw right before I committed to purchase; you can't claim that hyphen was a typo.

 

i already got my c90 from btotech, which thank the lord they didnt go through weeks of testing and just sent it because it works beautifully but personally, if i was in your guys situation, I would of canceled my order when i ever found out that it would take more than 2 weeks to get - especially 25-30 days of "testing"

i mean i think its great that there testing but....

i would want them to ship the system untested and just hope that it worked good, if it didnt, i would sell whatever config i had and rebuy a compatible config or send back just the parts that didnt work instead of the whole computer and get them replaced - that way i would be happy with having the computer right now and could work, even if for a little bit, woudl work or buy temp products, have it work, wait for the replacements and take the temp products back....but thats just me - im very impatient and very thankful i receieved my c90 3 days after ordering

 

This was/is one of my frustrations with them as well. They may have great customer service and while they technically have them in stock, functionally they do not because it is taking so long. I don't have a problem waiting (which is a change from yesterday) because I know it is worth it, but I DO think they need to change what their website says so people that do not have the benefit of this forum know what is up.

20-30 days is not "months."

That is completely reasonable I think, but be absolutely sure you check the alternatives before you cancel. I was exactly where you were for the past few days but after talking to Ken, looking into NUMEROUS other online shops,
and weighing all the options and variables, GenTech is still the best option in my opinion.

 

It isn't 25-30 days of testing, it is that they are testing every model they send, which is in the multiple hundreds (yes, they may have gotten in over their head, but if ASUS had sent them problem free, there wouldn't be the issue).

That is definitely an option, but to me, that seems extremely inconvenient and risky. It is totally awesome that yours worked right out of the box and maybe MINE would have been like that as well, but is it worth having right away? Well that is for the buyers to decide I suppose.

 

Is there any chance that during the confirmation call we could just say "You know what? Skip all the hardcore testing and mail the damn thing."

I'm not trying to play the latest games, I'm not even all that interested in running things smoothly on all the highest settings. What I want to do is be able to play WoW smoothly on mediocre settings without my computer lagging up a storm. That's all. If this laptop can live up to that low standard, I'll be more than satisfied with it. :>

 

There's Some incompatibility with some cpu/ram combo's i believe. The unit i rma'd supposidly keeps failing, while the one i hae right now works perfectly. Testing is Needed.

 

I can understand and sympathize with the first month taking a long time to test what works and what doesn't -- what's going to make the thing stop working and what wont -- that sort of thing.

However, with all of the knowledge they've gained over this last month of testing, they have to have weeded out what sort of cpu/ram combos simply conflict with each other and STOP OFFERING THEM. Say e6700 dislike Corsair ram (much akin to the way dodongo dislike smoke)... don't offer that combination. If you save the ignorant buyers (in this case, me) from making mistakes from the get-go, you can safely say "This cpu/ram combo has never worked in the past, therefore you can't opt to get it that way. Therefore, you don't need to try to make it work, and then say 'Well, it seems it still doesn't work! Lol, there's another week of delay.' "

Once you're past consumer-error (a la "Here's what you CAN get that wont make your notebook explode." solutions) you cut down on testing time drastically and ship faster and faster.

Make it a science. You guys have to know what types of problems typically/can arise with the C90 components. Check those things off asap.

Great service, great prices, and a dedication to quality are commendable.

However, in today's world of instant-gratification, speed is #1.

 

Sure, we can actually just ship you one tomorrow but, you must agree that you will not call for support or request RMA from us.

 

I'm not saying skip all testing and mail me a piece of crap, so please don't take that the wrong way. :> Like I described, I don't plan on doing any hardcore gaming on it, so I don't need hardcore testing like you've described in Geared2Play's thread. Does it run? Is it safe to approach while it's being turned on, or should I duck under a nearby table? Will it perform like it's supposed to without overclocking up the wazoo? If so, great! Send it my way.

 

Some unit does not any problems but issue are more serious not just gaming, like halfhalo's unit sent back today, he won't even able to install Windows, it got BSOD during Windows installation, I mean what good is that if he can't even load Windows on it?

 

However, since I see you're here... I'd like to ask what a reasonable estimate would be on confirmation to shipping time. How long do you guys really test, and have you sped that up lately, or would it still take 25-30 days? If I requested basic testing and keeping in mind that I didn't even order an OS with it, how long then?

Edit: Also, I agree that halfhalo got the short end of that stick. Assuming he purchased the notebook from you (and it's very possible that he didn't, but assuming he did...), testing and all, he was unable to load Windows on it and needed to RMA it.

Has any time been shaved off of the testing process from experience?

 

But that really isn't how testing works. Either you test is or you don't.

 

That is something I also would like to know about. Are you guys (Gentech) speeding up with the testing at all? I agree with whoever said that over time you would think you guys would learn what works and what doesn't work, making it easier to pick parts that work.

To put it simple, I'm wondering if there is any possiblity of getting my laptop shipped in about 18-19 days... maybe? please? lol

 

Well, there goes my purchase from GenTech. Sure, I love the idea of all the testing, but to wait up to a month to get the laptop? Pretty inconvenient when you're a college student. Love ya guys, but I'm thinking of shopping someplace else. $100 is no big deal if it means getting that laptop in a week rather than a month.

 

Yup.. that's what I did.

 

Ken, please ship my C90S within 2-5 business days as advertised. I'll PM my order # to you.

 

Why are you guys being so impatient? You can see from all the posts on this forum that a lot of people are having problem, which means you most likely will too.

 

That really isn't how it works. It wasn't guaranteed to ship in that time frame, that is for normal orders, this was obviously not a normal release. Like Ken said, he is willing to refund your orders, but you would be doing that at your own risk.

 

BTO is another reputable and respected reseller... but I think they are out of stock right now.

 

I paid for fast shipping because I saw "we usually ship laptops within 2-5 business days". I didn't pay an extra $53 dollars to wait a month. Honestly, if they tell me I wont get this laptop within a reasonable amount of time (14 business days or so), I will find someone else. It's that simple. Any business should know that if you set a time frame and you are unable to meet that time frame, you either change the time frame or you lose business.

I'm not asking for a miracle, and I'm not even being all that impatient. I'm asking for them to ship my laptop within a reasonable amount of time. I paid $1750.00; it's absurd to have to wait a month.

 

And usually they do. This was a very different circumstance caused by ASUS, not GenTech.

You have been told exactly that, you will not get the laptop within a "reasonable time." We have all had to deal with that, it is your choice what to do. You can cancel or you can sign something to the effect that you will not call GenTech for customer support or RMA and then they will ship it, but that seems really dangerous.

 

I just read in this same thread that it only took the guy a few days to get his notebook from another retailer. I have nothing against GenTechPC -- it's admirable that they put every system through testing, but when you're talking about a kid like me who is going to college and really wants that laptop right away to make the smooth transition, not waiting until the middle of September to receive it (I have to buy mine the week of August 12th), it's just not worth the hassle. If it means spending $65 extra to get that laptop in just a week, I'll do it.

If GenTechPC can confirm that just purchasing the laptop with only the basic assembled parts, without the other options (HD, RAM, CPU, etc.), and I can get it within a week or two, then that'd be great, and I'll put my order through with them. I understand this is a barebones laptop, but I've built my fair share of computers and tend to know what is and isn't compatible, but it'd only take me another week to RMA a part and get a replacement rather than waiting an entire month for the parts.

Sorry, but I just don't see it being very reasonable for someone in my situation. If I had more time, I'd buy from them, but it just doesn't make much sense otherwise.

 

Most dealers are out of stock now. Asus received 1k units as far as i know. there ar enone left in the channel. Few vendors have them on the shelf. those who advetise on their site but do not give a stock notification probably dont have any either. Ken may be the last dealer in the states to actually have some on hand. I doubt he has more then "some" left. Next eta is in 2 weeks possibly.

 

I can handle the end of August for your company, Eddie. But the middle of September? I'd rather buy it on eBay, or go with a different model...

I know I sound just a bit unreasonable and coming off a little mean -- and for that, I apologize, but this is most likely a $1500+ investment and would really like to get a laptop before then. Is there any way to get the laptop a lot sooner from any vendor if I leave it at the complete barebone setup it is at default? Just curious. I'm the kind of guy who loves going online (I have a life outside of it, but still), so this information would be really handy. Thank you. =)

 

Guys, they are out of stock everywhere... And it'd not that bad.

My friend ordered a Dell Inspiron on the first week of july and ETA is august 12.

He didn't even took any "may delay your order" components...

I assume those 20-30 days are because you took the assembly option right? So yeah, that's what almost all online stores ship within...

 

all dealers get them at the same time. if i have them restocked tomorow everyone else will too

 

Sorry, I meant the middle of September for GenTechPC.

How fast do you send your C90S shipments out, Eddie? I know you have to go through the compatibility testing, but if you kept everything at default without adding anything (or maybe even taking some things out), would the laptop ship a lot sooner? Common sense says yes, but I figured I'd ask.

A billion and a half questions from Ridley23 later...

 

Who said middle of September? Ken (GenTech) is saying 20-25 days.

 

20-25 days. I'm getting my money the second week of August. That's near the middle of September. I'm not going by general numbers, but by my numbers. After all, I'm the one purchasing it.

 

In theory you could purchase it now though (essentially getting on the waiting list) and by the time it ships (which is when you are charged) it would be the second week of August and you would have your money.

 

Yeah, I think they will all go through the tests regardless of how bare you order it. Because ASUS didn't really test things before they left their doors, the resellers are having to because if they don't they will have to deal with all the RMAs and complaints. Better to make sure it works before having to deal with all that.

 

I don 't know... I'd rather not risk it. If it ships earlier, I'd be spiraling out of control with the ole bank company.

 

Unfortunately, I canceled my C90S order. It's not GenTech's fault; it's Asus' fault. The trouble with something new and revolutionary is that if you want to beat people to the punch, you have to rush it out of the gates and hope you don't get killed by bugs. Great concept, though. Time to look for something else.

 

Just wait a bit...

 

I did try to call you and so is the other lady in our office called the other day, there is nobody answer the phone.

 

Hey Ken, how long is your guys' backorder? Estimated time between order and product shipment that is, say if I ordered tomorrow, when could I expect to see the notebook? I'm pretty solid on my intent to purchase from you guys, the quality assurance and price just seems worth it, despite the timing, though a perk such as ground shipping free would be loveley, just a thought.

 

I called everyone, I might left message for other customers but I just don't remember all because there are too many phone calls everyday.

I can't just sitting in my office everyday try to call you if you never answer the phone, what we do is we will call back the next business day.

Update:
I know what happen, I called the number you provide for us on the order form which is
1-8xx-9xx-0xxx, you email us another number which is not on the order form 1-8xx-7xx-3xxx, that's why you didn't receive my call and the other lady does order confirmation always call the number on the order form.
There must be some confusion on the phone number you provide, I did called you can check your caller ID on 1-8xx-9xx-0xxx but, don't call me a liar.

 

I'm so glad I ordered a G1 after seeing this thread...

Ken and his team got my computer shipped the day I ordered it and it's due at my house tomorrow. 6 day total process.

 

My apology to Ken. It's not GenTech's fault. It's ASUS like many have posted before. From what other people have posted, GenTech guys are good by taking the time to iron out any of the issues that ASUS did not fix. So, they're taking the brunt of the issues.

 

I've created a new order with GenTech to see how long this one will take. I've gone ahead and cancelled the one with milestonepc.

Thanks for the response Ken.