*XPS M1730 Problems/Dell Replacement Issues*

Well, I received mine today and have it up, running and almost everything trannsferred from the XPS. It has been a long and stressful journey but very much worth it I think. I wish everyone else that is dealing with the replacement thing and waiting for their AW m17x to get to you the best of luck!

 

Great, there are some mistakes in my 4th order. now i contacted them and they might cancel this order and update me with the new order... Also a dell rep told me that he shall put a request upgrade for me but in the end he didn't. Another lie that i learned because he said it is not a guarrantee. however other dell rep said that he shall something without saying guarantee then it is a GUARANTEE.

 

So Sad my 4th order has just been canceled, no new order at this point.

The Rep called me today to say that it is still in production (it was 2 weeks since they last contacted me) I asked him to contact dispatch to make sure it was still on track and also asked him to switch me from weekly updates to every second day due to the amount of time that the entire thing has been running.

Am I being punished? I wasn't even cranky to him!

 

I need some advice. After a multitude of attempts, delays, non responses, etc Dell has offered to replace my system after I submitted an Unresolved issues.

In this response they say the system will be replaced in 10-15 days and nothing more.

There is no contact information such as a number, extension, or email address, just a rep name and rep ID and a service request number.

For obvious reasons I am greatly concerned with what replacement they're going to ship to me.

This is the second time during this process where dell has failed to provide me a way to contact the individual handling the case.

What should I do?

 

You can use this link in option 2 to find any orders https://support.dell.com/support/order/LookupInformation.aspx?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd

 

Also, if I don't see any upgrade in the next order then i will file the unresolved issue that might speed this process up...

 

How long have you been waiting so far? For me my XPS GPU died on the 22nd of September and I received my first order number on the 23rd of October

 

Well, I contacted them on october 16 and got my first order on october 30. Then there were some configuration issues that caused 4 cancelations. Now i am waiting for the fifth order that might come up tomorrow if the dell rep does thier thing on time.

 

Ring Dell everyday, thats worked for me so far, and thanks to being able to change the number from 0844 to 01344 numbers it's not costing me a penny to ring em everyday.

Tomorrow will be the big day to find out whats going on, as I speak to Corporate, and they only have 1 week to get something sorted anyway before this ends up in the hands of Trading Standards and small claims court, as I'm not willing to around, as I want a working gaming beast for Christmas!

 

Misery loves company! Well keep us in the loop as to your progress, I'm hoping I get a new order number tomorrow.

 

My problem is that I have no one to ring, no one to email, no one to contact.

I can wait for them to process an order with absolutely no input from me and even if i found problems with their configuration I have no one that I can talk to. All I could do is reject the order after it was shipped to me.

The responder left me the general tech support number and the chat support link, both of which no help to me since the system is being replaced and I've already been through the circus.

I am not sure why the person who responded did not leave their contact information.

 

Which country are you in and did you buy directly from Dell?

Most of us here that have been promised Alienware are in the states and/ or purchased directly through Dell.

We have been given the extension number of the escelation team, though they have notonce returned my voicemails.

 

if the response was via email, just reply to the email and do not alter the subject line. It will be routed automatically.

 

Let's see if dell rep keeps their promise but they usually don't. Well, i learned from my lesson that i had to deal with the same rep so that thing will not get mess up. I found a very nice india guy that helped to resolved the configuration issue that the rep who i talked yesterday couldn't. Now i have his email so i can contacted him if things go wrong tomorrow.

 

Received mine this afternoon. Everything looks on the up and up.

 

Great News Guys,,, I just checked my order status and my replacement alienware Shipped today with an estimated delivery date of 1-18-2009. My two months nightmare is almost over.. I cant wait to see what this thing looks like and how it performed...... Another thing.. I am buying the alienware bag, that's a must, but I couldnt find any good reviews on the alienware Tactx headphones. I currently have the TekNmotion pulsewave and this things are awesome. I need a couple or reviews on the tactX from real users and not some company that just looked at them and created a half review. I heard that the volume on the tactx is not as good as other headphones like the pulsewave...

 

i dont understand how dell could offer some of replacements and jack other people over. I got my replacement machine yesterday and am very happy with it so far. I dont really like the touchpad, but the machine is great.

I am still praying for you guys to get your issues resolved.

 

Thank you jve33. However, i don't see any progress now. My order with wrong configuration are still in production!! I talked to them in the morning to cancel it as soon as possible... Well, they said that i will get a new order tomorrow so i will just wait again!

 

I had the same eh~ feel for the trackpad. Going into the settings and lowering the pressure to the lowest setting as well as shrinking the scroll regions slightly made all the difference. It's not perfect still, but much more usable.

 

Has anyone got advice if the card they sending me is used can I send it back?
Aka Fan has dust etc...

Or do I have to accept it...

Logistics according to corporate Escalation Desk = Will have cards from 24th November 2009...

 

You generally have to accept it. The terms of the warranty state the replacement part may be refurbished.

If it fails, re-open the case# and escalate the situation from the start.

 

ok thanks

 

I don't beleive it. It is a bit like who gets the system replacements, some do and some get screwed around. Some get mid Jan and some people get the cards will be in here in 2 days.

Here in Oz I was initially told 8800gtx's would be available in 2 weeks (2 weeks ago) When I was told this I called it as BS straight away and they backed down very quickly and I was offerred a manager and 2 minutes later I was offerred a replacement.

Two days ago I was pushing v.hard for the 280m's in my replacement system and they wouldn't budge. In the end I was told either accept the 260m's or wait till mid Jan for the 8800GTX's.

I beleive that Nvidia is indeed manufacturing new 8800GTX's and they will be available around Jan. In the meantime Dell will drag their heels and hope they can delay as much as possible until the new cards arrive.

In my experience so far I have had so many unreturned calls and emails, I have had continual claims that my emails come thru as code and are illegible. I have been promised calls and emails and never received them. I have been jumped 10 times to technical support who then tell me I have to call Customer Service back. I have employees who deny that they even have extension numbers or employee numbers. Each one of these delays is another business day or 2 to acheive resolution.

Also FWIW as soon as my system was accepted as broken and a replacement warranted I was swapped straight to unresolved issues team and this is how I have been dealt with.

So when the unresolved issues team deal like this who do I complain to next? LOL

 

Forgive me, but is your replacement really that bad? A new machine with 260Ms after a mere 2 weeks is a pretty good result. I'm getting those after 9.5 weeks.

I'm just a bit concerned that certain people are getting a sense of entitlement here (though it does suck when you see some offered a better upgrade straight away). I don't blame anyone for trying to get upgrades, but it's worth bearing in mind that only those that have suffered a very large delay and amount of hassle in resolving this really have any grounds asking for additional upgrades as a gesture of goodwill, and even then, plenty of such people aren't getting them.

I know if I'd been offered my current system after 2 weeks, I'd have been very happy with that. It's only the fact that I've had to wait so long and got messed about so much that makes it seem a bit of a slap in the face when I see others getting the 280Ms.

 

I have a feelings its another stall tactic but how to I unescalate a matter lol?

I cant really go anywhere from here... have wait a week and if no card throw my toys out of my cot...

 

@ Photolysis.

? I hope I'm misunderstanding the point of your post.

 

Now that's funny. Please post pic's. ; )

 

I agree with what Photolysis is saying, I know people (and myself) are having a a nightmare getting things sorted, but ultimately all Dell have to do is fix the issue or give you a refund minus usage costs, unless you can get them on some technicality.

For myself, atm they have basically given me a credit note for £2500, so what I'm about to do is get a Desktop Alienware and a monitor from Dell, it actually comes to just over the £2500 (by £10) which I have to pay, but here's the thing, if I pay that £10 and they take my money, they have formed a transaction contract with me and will have to deliver the goods, so basically even if the cards were to suddenly turn up, I'd still be getting rid of the m1730 and moving back to desktop land.

 

But you also said you were told something 2 weeks ago and 2 weeks later you're being offered a new system. Assuming you didn't mean months (and I'm afraid I've lost track of all the people reporting issues here ), then I don't see the problem, other than some people at Dell being annoying and making you run around. If you did mean months, then your push for the 280Ms is understandable, and I apologise for the confusion and misunderstanding.

As for my entitlement comment, that was merely aimed generally at people, as I've noticed a few people wondering about Alienware replacements when they don't have the specs to justify it. Basically, I think we need to make it clear that such upgrades are only appropriate for those with the high spec systems, and where Dell are unable to provide a non-AW equivalent machine.

 

If that's what you're happy to accept then so be it but I'll be stuffed if I'd accept it. That's another one of Dell's little white lies. They have no right to charge you a usage fee when the system is broken due to their design fault.

You paid for a system and you should get a system that works if you don't then you get a refund or an upgrade to a working system. That is the LAW in Australia. Dell writes their policy but the most important part of it is they don't write the laws.

This is exactly where Dell tries to make people believe their policy is more important than the law.

On a different system Dell tried that pro rata usage BS with me. I asked if they'd like to take it to consumer affairs and they very quickly politely declined and gave me a full refund.

Put it this way -if you bought a Toyota and the engine kept on breaking down would you ccept the refund minus the K's that you got to drive. Maybe you would - I sure as hell wouldn't.

 

1st up the point of my post is the delaying tactics that they are using. I'm not having a whinge I'm showing people how they delay and why they delay. they delay because new cards are on the way......... Around Jan yes but not Nov 24th as originally posted.

At what stage did you decide that you felt the need to point out and decide what is an appropriate upgrade or not? The only appropriate upgrade is what Dell offers and the client agrees to. If you have a high spec 1730 and you agree to a 10" netbook then that is what you're entitled to and the converse is true as well. If you believe their BS and wait months and months for a resolution then that's what you're entitled to.

 

Im stuffed
No card till after January 2010.
But I am in South Africa and cant get a replacement M17x due to Exchange rates
I cant get a refund as I brought the unit from Ebay and even though name has changed for ownership the refund goes back to the original purchases card...

Sigh

 

Well, anyone can ask for whatever they want. I could ask Dell to give me a billion dollars compensation and make me their new CEO, but no-one in their right mind would say that's a reasonable request, and one I should be making. It would also be greedy, in addition to wildly unrealistic. Remember that Dell's replacement policy is to provide "equivalent or greater" not "the best you can get".

If you want to push hard for 280Ms after 2 weeks - which is an extremely good and quick result - then that's your business. But I still think it's greedy, and unrealistic, and you don't have any grounds for asking for such an upgrade. And I do honestly think it might give a misleading impression to newcomers.

There's also a big difference between what you are entitled to, and what you ask for. They are two entirely different things. You're entitled to specific treatment. Whether you settle for less, or battle on for more, it has no effect on this. If you have a M1730 and settle for a netbook despite being entitled to more, it doesn't make it appropriate. If you ask for more, it doesn't make the offer automatically inappropriate, or the request appropriate.

As for my delay, it wasn't simply a matter of naively trusting Dell, though that did account for a considerable amount of it admittedly (and if you factor in the previously good and accurate service I've received beforehand, I had no reason to doubt them at that point, nor did I have access to information here). But even when escalated they did mess me about a huge amount.

 

Congrats mate! I have my 5th order number with the only chnage from the rpevious one being that the version of Adobe being shipped went from "ADOBE ACROBAT READER - Eng" to "ADOBE READER 9.0 MULTI- LANGUAGE"

 

ok I've done my deal with the devil, i'm getting this...

Base
Alienware Aurora Standard Cosmic Black Chassis

Microsoft Operating System
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit- English

Memory
6GB 1333MHz (3x2GB) Tri Channel Memory

Keyboard
Alienware TactX™ Keyboard - UK QWERTY

Monitor
Display Not Included

Video Card
1.8GB NVIDIA® GeForce™ GTX295 graphics card

Hard Drive
500GB (7200RPM) SATA Hard Drive

Mouse
Alienware TactX™ Mouse

Optical Devices
24X DVD+/- RW Optical Drive (DVD & CD read and write)

Sound Cards
Soundblaster¿ XFi¿ Titanium PCIe card

Shipping Documents
English - Documentation with UK/Ire Power cord

Gedis Bundle Reference
D11AWA01

Standard Warranty
1 year of coverage included with your PC

Enhanced Service Packs
3 years Next Business Day + Accidental Damage

Order Information
Alienware Aurora DT Order - UK

Processor
Intel? Core? i7 processor 950 (3.06Ghz, 8MB L2 cache, 4.8GT/sec)

Headphones
No Headset Required

Dell System Media Kit
Alienware Aurora Resource DVD

Avatar
Alienware 3D

AutoMatic Updates
AutoMatic Updates : AutoMatic updates - On

AlienFx Colour
Mars Red

Accidental Damage Support
Accidental Damage already selected in your Service Plan

Protect your new PC
No Security/Anti-Virus Protection

Dell SX2210 21.5-Inch Full-HD WideFlat Panel Monitor With Webcam

In the end I ended up paying £67 (the differance between the systems) and I'm just glad to be off the nightmare that is Dell Customer Support.

 

Can u pm me the managers name?

Ive been told i cant get anything cos Im in SA... and DELL rips off here...

A $3000 laptop costs almost $10000 here :/

So not viable for them...

 

sweet rig, congrats

 

update. Dell rep called me today to make sure i was sending my old XPS back. I told them yes but then i had to cancel the order. I then told them i would expedite the shipment.

 

to Ali3nSan,

I just dealt with a normal Tech guy, he just seemed to know what he was doing and got it sorted out super fast.

 

LOL!!!!

My order that went through had no antivirus software installed and Windows 7 already on it (not a coupon for it). If anyone gets canceled again I suggest you have them configure it this way.

 

Cool, just as the dell rep promised. My 4th order was canceled and the 5th order is up just now. Look like this dell rep kept his word. Hurahh!! However i saw a disaster might come up.....i saw the 1520 wifi card again!!urgh! Let's see if the dell rep will call me to resolve this issue....

 

So far the discussions do not look promising. The language they are using makes me feel like they're playing games with semantics. Perhaps they will redeem themselves, or perhaps as I've come to expect after giving them a bit more time I will simply have to take the matter up with my attorney general and BBB.

The only point of contact that I have is by replying to the email, it takes them about 24+ hours to respond. I have the feeling like they could really care less about me as a customer or getting me a proper functioning machine.

Even after asking for a number with an extension, a department number, or an email address I get back the same tripe with tech support number and chat support. I can reply to the email and it will go to whoever is available.

They will likely ship out a replacement without even discussing it with me.

As with others, I am finding this entirely too stressful. Since I purchased the xps m1730 I haven't had it working more than a few months at a time. The rest of the time its sat in a drawer. I went 8+ months without a working laptop until i carpet bombed corporate who promptly got me an exchange. The exchange unit worked for a few months and then it too was completely wonked by problems.

I feel as if I'm in some feverish delirum; perhaps I'm in a dell support behavioral study where they are determing if learned helplessness on their customers will increase their bottom line.

 

Bloodroses,

Keep ringing and talking to tech till they sort it out, I've rang at least once a day, sometimes as many times as 5, till they started to move thier arses and get my issues sorted out, and my m1730 has only been none working for 9 days, basically accept no [REMOVED] till you get what you want or something close to acceptable.

Basically make it your mission in life to get it sorted, always be polite, I've had it commented to me by staff already that I was being really polite despite the issues I was having, remember the guys at the end of the phone are just plebs, earning their £2.50 a day wage, I found being polite but persistant got me sorted in the end

 

This is key.

 

Good advice. I've found that at times even when I'm completely disgusted with the corporate entity that is dell that I should treat people politely. Generally they do not deserve my wrath. I do not scream into the phone "from hell's heart I stab at thee"

I've lost my temper a few times in the past, especially when I am mistreated and held on the phone for hours on end (8 hour tech support calls are unnecessary and they are obviously trying to prevent me from obtaining reasonable service).

Even when I lost my temper I explained my situation to them and they understood that I was infuriated with the situation and not them. I did not disparage them but the unteniable situation I was put in.

Sometimes this worked to my advantage because it finally got through to them as a person and they truly empathized with my situation and relented.

 

are you still in warranty?

 

After my first replacement I extended the warranty another 4 years, I think it's until 2013.

Ugh, just remembering the cost of the warranty makes me ill. I could have a laptop for that warranty.

 

£ 2.50 a day wage? Plebs?! Wow, what sad part of the world is this? And no offence, but not a very decent choice of words.

As far as I know--and I know a thing or two about this subject because I had a contact who worked at call centres--that most operatives in Asia earn a very decent salary of around £500+ a month, which by Asian-economy-standards, is a lot! This is 2005-information, by the way; the rate has most likely gone up because even more call centres have been outsourced to places like U.A.E., Pakistan, India, Malaysia, etc., in recent years. I am just saying, this whole 'they make chump-change' idea is a bit untrue. What counts is that it is a tough job, and that is why these centres only hire the most educated and patient candidates, and pay them a half-decent wage for their time as phone-fodder where they put up with what can be best described as a very sordid and mixed up trifle of rare-decent-treatment and blatant abuse.

Point that I am trying to make is that deeming a certain group of people 'plebs' and 'poor' and then using that judgement to treat them nicely is not a graceful approach. One should be good because one wants good results, and that civic-sense should be mutually practised irrespective of socio-economics. Don't shoot the messenger, regardless of salary. I wouldn't even treat a corporate suit with disrespect, but merely point out their wrongs where the wrong occurs.

 

After a month and a half of back and forth nightmares from Dell, a rep came out today and brought me what seems to be a working 9800m GTX SLi set. My system originally had the 8800m GTX SLi, but had burned out, and I was given a temporary 8700 GT single. I'm glad that I at least got a step up from my original configuration.

The rep that came out fully acknowledge that nvidia and Dell seem to be having some huge issues with the M1730's though, it was refreshing to hear that from someone other than ourselves.

 

I worked for one of the UK's (if not the UK's largest) Independant call center companies, and at one point we were looking at opening a centre in India, and average wages for the guys on the floor worked out at £2.50 a day wages, but that was a few years ago.

Pleb is short for Plebeian which was ancient roman for a lower or middle class person, commonly used where I live as a term for an ordinary worker.