Customer Support vs. Wait Time

I ordered a Hypersonic EX7 over a month ago, and I am still waiting on it's arrival. When I originally ordered the laptop, I was told it was going to be 2-3 weeks, which would place arrival sometime in mid to late September. That came and went, no computer.

When I called to ask about my order, the hard drives were not in. I've read in many post that hard drive availability has been an issue before, so I was not too surprised. I'm moving in mid October, and was counting on the laptop for the trip, so I opted to downsize the hard drives from 80GB to 60GB and use an external HD to supplement. I could always upgrade later, right? Done deal, the computer was going to be shipped the next week. That came and went, no computer.

So, I called again. This time, the video card had failed testing, and they needed to install a new one. It was due in Thursday, and they would ship it by the next Monday. That came and went, no computer.

I called again. This time, they found dead pixels on the screen, and it would be Thursday until they could get me a new one. Unfortunately, we are now into October, and I leave out in under a week. I don't have that long to wait anymore. So, they're shipping me out a computer with as-is today (it still has a faulty screen), and it's supposed to arrive tomorrow.

That being said, if it were not for the time constraints I was under, I would really appreciate that level of testing. Yes, it's a bit of a pain to wait close to a month and a half to get your system, but I've bought a lot of faulty parts in the past, and knowing they won't fail once you get them is a definite plus.

Also, the customer service there was as good as they could be under the circumstances. The rep there (Allison) searched to find a screen that would work until after the move was over (only one dead pixel), and said she would send overnight shipping labels to send it back once I could take a pause, and they would replace it with a new screen in one day, and overnight it back. So, worst case, I'm out of the laptop for 3 days whenever I can schedule around it.

I still haven't had a chance to test the laptop for the purpose I bought it (video/audio capture, editing and remastering from different locations), and probably won't until later this year, so I can't comment on the computer itself. But, for those of you thinking of going Hypersonic: if your experience is anything like mine, you're in for a loooooong wait. But, the customer service there is top-notch, so as long as you're not in a rush, you're going to be taken care of.

Update

UPDATE:

I got the computer, as promised. It worked like a dream for a whopping 24 hours. The next day, I tried to open a file for work, and the computer locked. When I rebooted, Windows was gone. I would blame the program, but it's CorelDraw, which I use on my tower with no problems, and it worked fine on the new system during the 24 hours that it worked.

First solution, the recovery DVD that came with it. I used it to restore the "original image." Now, I get nothing but a black screen. I cannot even access safe mode. So, back it goes and we start the fun all over again.

Just like last time, the customer service was great. Fast response, sending me overnight shipping labels, etc. It still doesn't solve the fact that I don't yet have a working computer.

In response to Soloman, I thought the situation through quite carefully. I was told by the rep it would be 2-3 weeks to build and ship. Considering it was custom, I allowed for 4 before I got antsy. By week 5 with no computer, I was concerned. Now that I have it, it doesn't work, so we're looking at more like 6-7 weeks before I get a working system, if not longer. I don't mind if it takes that long, but they shouldn't tell their customers 2-3 weeks if they can't deliver on that. I understand waiting is necessary for systems like this, and if I were told it would be 2 months to get it, fine. At least I'd know what I was getting into.

Update 10-17

UPDATE:

I just got shipping confirmation that my computer is on its way, ready to do. I'll have another update posted soon once I have a chance to run this thing through its paces. Hypersonic emailed me the tracking number, and when I called to find out why it was malfunctioning, they explained it clearly and fully (motherboard failure). If this new system runs as well as it did before its initial failure, I have to admit it will be worth the wait. I was really impressed with what I've seen so far.

I got my machine, and it works great (finally)! No problems thus far. I'll start a new post if anything goes wrong, but right now this final build is working perfectly!