Gateway eSales chat - so bad it's funny!

The following is an actual unedited transcript from an eSales chat session with Gateway. As I am in the market and considering the Gateway M210X, HP dv1000, and COmpaq v2000 I had a few questions and launched a live chat session.

Only the names have been changed to protect the guilty! And yes, that truly is how it ended, the session was still live but the agent just went silent! You gotta laugh...

Sales Agent [ )] says:
Hi Customer. Thanks for choosing Gateway.com my name is Sales Agent, and I will be your eSales advisor today. You may also reach me by email at [email protected]. May I please get your phone number?

Sales Agent says:
Hello, Customer how are you doing today?

Customer says:
hello, fine thanks

Customer says:
I have a couple questions about the M210X

Sales Agent says:
go right ahead shoot

Customer says:
Is the integrated wireless card an Intel card?

Sales Agent says:
yes

Sales Agent says:
sir

Customer says:
I'm looking at this Gateway and also the comparable HP and COmpaq models

Sales Agent says:
ok

Customer says:
They are currently a little less and I was wondering if there are any other discounts or sales coming up on the 210

Customer says:
And also wondering if you are aware of any major differences, the specs seem nearly identical

Sales Agent says:
sorry, not on the 210 gateway doesn't compare to Hp because we know what type of system we have. We never said that we are the cheapest system out on the market but we are the best in quality system

Customer says:
What do you mean you don't compare to HP?

Customer says:
And what one earth does "we know what type of system we have" mean to me?

Customer says:
hello?

Sales Agent says:
Name brand for one. Also we are the only ones with our own microsoft certified technitions. We don;t have to transfer you to Microsoft if you have software issues. That can be expensive. We have the highest customer return in the market. That says a lot. I had a friend that had one of thos (HP )and he spent half the time talking to people in India trying to get his PC fixed. We also have 24x7 service and support. There are a lot of little things that come with the Gateway package and no offense but. Not everyone can afford a Gateway. If they could, no other pC company would be in business.

Customer says:
Ok, well thank you. None of this is really any help in my decision. Gateway is no more recognized or respected brand than Compaq or HP and really has very little to do with getting to the issue of how these machines compare. You haven't mentioned one thing about the components or architecture of your system

(after more than 10 minutes...)
Customer syas:
Anything else?

Customer says:
I guess not...

Customer says:
Well thank you for your help, I now know I will definitely not be buying a Gateway.

 

(gateway)...a bunch of clowns....

Titanium...The metal of choice.

Dell Inspiron 6000
Sonoma 1.6 GHZ
WUXGA 15.4" WS
512 MB RAM
60 GB HD
Wireless B/G
DVD/CD-RW

 

Most of what the agent said were pretty dumb " Not everyone can afford a Gateway .. " but :

If like he said software issues are solved by them vs. other companies then its a big plus since many issues are software related , the extent of this help is another thing , if they just say restore the system with the CD or really help you find and fix the specific trouble maker .

 

at the same time....if Gateway support is anything like gateway sales....maybe I prefer to talk to India, or Microsoft...that guy was just pompus!

X6000 P-4 3.2GHz 2gigs PC2 4200(533MHz)Ram 7200RPM 60 gig HHD 8x DVD Burner and the Brightview!

 

Read my posting about this company!!


http://www.notebookreview.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=12588

I Should have bought a DELL Notebook!!!!

Weldwirez[8]

 

Heres one of my multiple chats with them:


09 Jun 2008 05:38:53 PM "The stylus pen no longer works and I just bought my laptop about a week ago. The tip of the pen appears to be missing." was submitted by ****** to the problem analysis engine.
09 Jun 2008 05:39:03 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: Welcome to Gateway Chat. My name and badge number are Warren_GWPR264. I am looking at your account and the information you submitted. I will begin troubleshooting with you in just a moment.
09 Jun 2008 05:39:10 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: Hi ****** how are you doing?
09 Jun 2008 05:39:23 PM Customer says: ok you?
09 Jun 2008 05:39:49 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: I'm doing good thank you for asking.
09 Jun 2008 05:41:03 PM Customer says: I had a question about the warrenty on my laptop... the stylus pen is no longer working would I be able to get another one under my current warrenty?
09 Jun 2008 05:41:21 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: According to your submission and my data, the serial number for your Gateway system is ********** and the limited warranty expiration date is 5/19/2009. Is this correct?
09 Jun 2008 05:41:48 PM Customer says: yes
09 Jun 2008 05:42:01 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: As I research I see that the system originally came with 2 GB of memory. Is this correct?
09 Jun 2008 05:42:14 PM Customer says: yes
09 Jun 2008 05:42:26 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: Thank you for verifying. I have some suggestions that will make your PC run faster and overall more efficient. Let’s focus on your issue first and talk about how we can improve your PC performance once we fix your issue.
09 Jun 2008 05:42:49 PM Customer says: ok
09 Jun 2008 05:42:56 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: I checked your issue submission form, your system's pen is not working. You lost the tip of the pen. Making the pen not to work. Is this correct?
09 Jun 2008 05:43:04 PM Customer says: yes
09 Jun 2008 05:43:31 PM Customer says: does my warrenty cover the replacement of the pen?
09 Jun 2008 05:44:22 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: We can only replace the pen if its not working. Due to mechnical failure.
09 Jun 2008 05:45:03 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: Since you lost the tip, its consider a customer induce. You will need to pay for the new pen.
09 Jun 2008 05:45:11 PM Customer says: how much is a new pen
09 Jun 2008 05:45:33 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: Please wait
09 Jun 2008 05:50:23 PM Customer says: well I found how much the pen is... could I just buy a tip for the pen since you sell the pen with 5 tips?
09 Jun 2008 05:51:55 PM Customer says: hello?
09 Jun 2008 05:52:14 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: No that is included on the pen. Its not sold seperately.
09 Jun 2008 05:53:28 PM Customer says: so how could I fix this pen without paying for another one? Ive had this laptop maybe a week and the pen fell apart... I really don't find its my fault, I think that its faulty assimbly... so its not possible at all to just buy the tip, even though your selling a pack of 5 tips?
09 Jun 2008 05:54:25 PM Warren_GWPR264 sent a link to [ http://www.gateway.com/system_ri.php?system_id=529667902&parent_id=529597319&eol=0]
09 Jun 2008 05:54:39 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: Please refer on the link that I sent you.
09 Jun 2008 05:54:58 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: At the bottom part that is the only compatible pen for your system.
09 Jun 2008 05:56:58 PM Customer says: yes, I know how much the pen is but my point is that the only thing i want is the pen tip not the entire new set. the tip is the only thing that is missing, because your product came apart and I don't want to buy a new set. To be honest, when you put me on hold I looked it up on ebay and I found the pen for half the price. I want to aviod buying a whole new set I just want the pen tip since your product was faulty.
09 Jun 2008 05:57:15 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: As I told you earlier its not sold separately.
09 Jun 2008 05:57:27 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: For this issue you can call our customer service department.
09 Jun 2008 05:57:38 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: They are the ones who can decide regarding this issue.
09 Jun 2008 05:57:58 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: There toll free hotline number is 1-800-846-2301
09 Jun 2008 05:58:19 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: Since I can only replace a component if it failed due to mechnical failure.
09 Jun 2008 05:58:24 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: To save your chat log, please click on the "View Live Log" button at the bottom left side of the chat window. It will open a chat log window. Please use the option to "Save log to disk". Keep in mind you do not need a disk or cd. You can simply save the log to your system.
09 Jun 2008 05:58:29 PM Customer says: thanks
09 Jun 2008 05:58:31 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: Is there anything else that I can help you with?
09 Jun 2008 05:58:36 PM Warren_GWPR264 says: It was a pleasure working with you. My name and badge number are Warren_GWPR264. Thank you for using Gateway Remote Assistance and have a great night.

 

He? Personally, sound like a woman...

 

such a badly trained rep.

 

As a counter point, I have used both esales and technical support chat and in both cases have had wonderful experiences with people who quickly answered all my questions to my satisfaction. I have also used phone sales and technical support with similar experiences.

 

yeah right off the bat it does definitely sounds like a woman to me, i can't imagine a guy saying that, not being sexist D=

 

You guys do realize the original post was dated over 3 years ago right?

 

You really needed to dig up a 3+ year old post for what purpose exactly?

 

seems the quality of live chat support has improved dramatically, is it because of Acer?

 

Guys,

Do not dig up old(in this case ancient) threads...if you want to continue the discussion on Gateways live chat support, then make a new thread.

Thanks.
-Kdawgca