A message from Alienware-Scott

I have no problem waiting as long as it takes, and i agree that you want it in tip top shape BUT...

Doesn't honest play any kind of role at alienware?

i mean ifit is gonna take 60 days, just tell us that... dont say 30 days and then ship it out in 60...all i want is honesty

Glade to see you are here to help like juan.... THAT'S GREAT!!!!!!

Sorry I do not mean to be rude but I do not think it is a good idea to threaten a customer If I were looking to buy a PC from Alienware and I read your thread I think I would change my mind. Just because your shop can not get pc's out in whatever time that you promised DOES NOT mean that quality should be compermised. If anything were to be left out it would be the supplier (alienware) that would be held responsible not the customer, because I am not the one that promised new systems will be shipping in 7 days! Please think next time you threaten us.

awacs

I agree, this is extremely unprofessional... If you can not ship something out in the tiem period you promissed then that is not our problem. if you cant ship it out then that is also fine, thigns happen, time tables change, but do not compound htigns by lying and saying the order will go ouot tommrorow when you no itisnt goign tohappen.

honesty,t hats all ia s for.

Don't take it as a threat Awacs, he states what happens when someone is asked to rush, the results is a rush job.

You want this steak cooked or bloody rare?


Scott and Juan are both from Tech Support which means kissing butt may not be a prerequisite. Most would agree that I would rather have them be open and candid with their comments in these forums as opposed to script driven vanilla corporate blah-blah.

Thank you Scott and Juan for being here.

The fact that another rep from Alienware has joined means that this forum is a big presence and needs to be reckoned with. Lets not drive away a valuable new member of this forum.

Thank you for your support!

Vote for me as your President - I should join that band wagon!

booga, I understand that but its not our fault (as the customer) that Alienware promised a shipment date and it is not met. Obviously some sort of compensation would be required after they missed their deadline, If I were to be at work and I missed a deadline I am at risk of loosing my job. For example with my alienware, It was promised in 7 days but it actually shipped some 18 days late. Yes it was worth the wait but you don't promise something that you cannot deliver on. Even worse it is sad that when you call Alienware they have no idea when your system is.. or even if it will ship. I was promised 3 dates that mine would ship... it did not, finally on the fourth it shipped. That is not a very good way to keep customers.


awacs

Hey Scott, as awacs said, I don't mean to be rude, but my issue is that my parts were sitting in a box for 3 weeks, and when I call for a status update being told to call back in a week wasn't very productive for me, nor your team.

If it's obvious you've got a lot of full boxes around, hire some more assembly technicians for a month and churn them out. If you're selling more, you can hire more, lots of companies do this during the christmas season.

Here are my suggestions to keeping your customers happy during times of turmoil:

1. If things are slow, let your client know. Keep an eye on how many systems are finished per day, inventory the number of systems that still need to be built and give a more accurate time line.

2. This is particularly my issue: If you're running out of a certain kind of hardware, take it off the list before systems get priced including that hardware, sell off the overstock to equipment shops at a small profit. You'll make a bit of money and make no false promises.

3. Don't tell a customer to call back! Assign a few people to updating particular customers that request it via e-mail, refer to #1 and keep them posted on timeline changes.

4. Stop changing policies! We've seen the shipping times change, dead pixel policy, among others. Those policies are a contract with the customer, I'm not just buying your case, the look, the processor, the ram. I'm buying the service, your policies, your customer support and your company. I haven't been very impressed so far, and I don't trust Alienware's word. I've been made several promises that have been broken so far, and I can only assume that you'll break more in the future. If you don't feel you can commit to something, just don't commit, but give me a reason at least (refer to #1).

Honestly, I'm a patient, understanding customer who know's what you're going through, and why it's so tough. The most important thing I tell the developers I over-see is that they can't leave me hanging. If they know there is a problem, that they can't meet a deadline or figure something out tell me as soon as they know, I can't help them meet a deadline if they tell me the day before a milestone. I can always allocate more resources or make arrangements to do something about it if they tell me as soon as they find out.

I chose Alienware initially because everything I read about you is that you're determinied to release a great product, with very high standards. But it's more than that, any monkey can build a PC (I can build one, I'm a monkey). But someone who can follow through with their promises and service will truely make a great impression on their customers.

Seriously, I'm on your side. I see alot of potential in alienware, I just can't abide by lies.

I am on your side on the issues with delivery times, believe me. I felt bad seeing the wrong person get blamed for it.

Juan has made it a point to address delivery time issues and he may be more geared towards something like that. Scott came forward and stated his reason here is to "answer questions/troubleshooting". Kinda suggests that he is Tech Support.

I just wish there was an etimated time remaining for each phase that you are on listed on the website. This way the customers can better tell how long its gonna be. This way no one would have to keep naggin you guys about how much longer its going to take.

now that sounds like a good idea, if they let you know how much time is left in the phase then they would probably get less calls from us customers

To me...it is a big step when a company that is as large as AW is willing to have its techs/reps answer questions on a 3rd party forum. To me this is unheard of. I appreciate the fact that AW is taking this extra step, so welcome to the boards Scott! I never once called or inquired on my Area-51m when it was in production and thank goodness (knocking on wood) my system runs beautifully with a few minor 3rd party problems (NBA Live does not like my ATI card or Adrenaline too much and my logitech dual analog is a POS). Having said all that, I do question sometimes the tactics that AW uses. For instance, I understand that you guys have a new Dead Pixel Policy...which is fine and somewhat understandable but should only apply to people who order after the day of the change. One of the deciding factors for me when I purchased the Area-51m and the 3 year warranty was the 0 dead pixel policy. I was assured by everyone at AW that you guys have a 0 Dead Pixel Policy and now you have changed your policy. This is not a good business practice. Ok make changes to your policy but how can it apply to those who bought under different circumstances. Just imagine you buy a car and get an extended warranty and then a few months into owning your car the manufacturer says that we won't cover any electircal problems...you would be furious and accuse them of breaching their contract and employing a bait and switch technique. It is things like this that have upset many. I hope this helps you better understand where some of the users here are coming from...

Hey Scott. I got an actual question for you, no insults. I heard you guys were testing the 3.2 extreme processor in the 51m, any idea when it will be released? One more question, are you guys planning on switching over to the 865pe motherboards anytime soon like the Sager and Voodoo use?

Thanks
Yodaman

A little help here Scott.....

http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?p=136299

LOL!!! Drew, I still see that nobody has answered this question for you either here or the AW forums. Quite interesting if you ask me eh?

Well, after being lied to by AlienWare cust reps. and being treated unprofessionaly, pardon my french but AW can kiss my

Yes, the product is great, and so on. But their customer support is below acceptable level. I've been lied to for 5 weeks about my order and the only time I had nice experience with a rep was when they were taking my order. After that its been all lies. Nobody really cares why its taking them so long to prepare a unit, its their JOB to do it. If they can't do it properly might as well say so on the page and not put 15day preparation promises.

I apretiate AW cust reps coming to this forum, but i'm feeling negative vibe from Scott just from how he represented himself with that post.

I doubt he can be helpful to us in anyway either.

Friendly suggestion to get some heat off of Scott.

Follow up with your sales rep, he/she relies on numbers of sales and will do what they can to keep you happy.

There's something about Scott's post that seems unprofessional. It gave some bad vibes. We have Alienware employees coming to this forum as representatives. I don't see why a professional would imply that poor service is given to those who have concerns about their $2000+ investments. Someone mentioned steak cooked or bloody rare. It seems from that post that if you complain it's taking too long, they will do more than give it to you rare. Seems like they'll jiggle it around in their pants and spit on it too.

I'm only a few days into my wait. I haven't called to check the status, nor will I. Alienware is a member of the BBB and has no outstanding complaints. It is a good business. As such, I have full faith in them.

I agree, the tone of Scott's post was very abrasive and any potential customers would be pushed away with post like that. I can't believe that he is telling customers to not call and inquire about something they've purchased. Many of you think that Alienware is this big comany. Alienware is inside of a bay in an industrial park in southern Miami-Dade County. I know because I live here and have visited the place. The picture on the web is very deceptive because you don't see the other businesses on each side. As far as their Customer Service, Alienware probably employs a lot of young unprofessional people. Why do you think Dell, Netgear and others are outsourcing their Customer Service and Tech Support to India? It's cheap and the turnover is low. Alienware has a lot of people barely out of high-school on the payroll. You get what you pay for concerning employs. Even the VP that I met was rather young.

Follow up with my sales rep? I have and no progress, different story every time. After paying $3k for a unit, you would expect a bit more than bunch of lies and 5weeks still into wait.