By this time next week, my Hypersonic AX7 should be on its way to my front doorstep. Well, in theory at least - HS might have other plans for me 
. So, as we head into the last week of waiting, I figured I'd start a thread to document my experiences with the company; past, present, and future.
Sales Department
Since placing my order on 6/11, I have contacted them 2 additional times. All 3 times, I have spoken to a different sales rep. Frankly, the quality of their sales department seems to vary greatly. The first rep I spoke with, Michael Kohen, was very knowledgable about the product. He was able to answer my questions regarding HS's pre-production testing of the AX7, as well as provide details on their assembly and shipping processes. After placing my order with Michael, I felt assured that I'd made the right choice in resellers.
Unfortunately, the next 2 reps I spoke with didn't seem quite so forthcoming with information. On 6/24, I contacted HS again to see the status of my order. The rep I spoke with this time told me that no work had been performed on the order yet, but that it was "still on schedule". With little more than 2 weeks to go, I had assumed that the unit would be in the painting process at least, as this can easily take the better part of a week. When I asked if all the components had arrived and were ready for assembly, he merely reiterated that they were "still on schedule". In my book, anything other than a 'yes' is a 'no', so this didn't exactly give me any warm fuzzies.
The most recent rep I spoke to was even less helpful. When I called on 7/1 to ask the status of my order, I was greeted by a recorded message. Well, no, not actually, but she may just as well have been a recording for all the information I got out of her:
Was it painted yet?
"Still on schedule"
Are you waiting for any parts?
"Still on schedule"
Your company has a reputation for letting shipping dates slide and not informing customers until after the date has come and gone. If there are delays, will I be notified?
"Hold on a sec..." Placed on hold for 30 seconds, "...Still on schedule"
Just about the only thing I got out of her was that HS has apparently "just started using a new painting process, and it takes longer for each coat to dry". If there is going to be a delay anywhere in the process, it'll be there. Gee, I feel so much better now.
In their defense, I must point out that Hypersonic does not have a phase program like Alienware or VooDoo; your order is either accepted, being built, or shipped - that's it. So maybe I was trying to micromanage the situation a little too much.
As of 12:00 EST today, my order is still scheduled for 7/12. However, given that most other resellers offering the D470K chassis (upon which the AX7 is based) won't begin shipping units until 7/15 or later, I find this date highly suspect. Assuming they get their units at the same time as other resellers, tag on 10 days for paint, another 5 for testing, and I figure my final DOS will actually fall somewhere between 7/27-7/31.
But maybe I'm just being pessimistic. Only time will tell.
(To be continued...)
. So, as we head into the last week of waiting, I figured I'd start a thread to document my experiences with the company; past, present, and future.Sales Department
Since placing my order on 6/11, I have contacted them 2 additional times. All 3 times, I have spoken to a different sales rep. Frankly, the quality of their sales department seems to vary greatly. The first rep I spoke with, Michael Kohen, was very knowledgable about the product. He was able to answer my questions regarding HS's pre-production testing of the AX7, as well as provide details on their assembly and shipping processes. After placing my order with Michael, I felt assured that I'd made the right choice in resellers.
Unfortunately, the next 2 reps I spoke with didn't seem quite so forthcoming with information. On 6/24, I contacted HS again to see the status of my order. The rep I spoke with this time told me that no work had been performed on the order yet, but that it was "still on schedule". With little more than 2 weeks to go, I had assumed that the unit would be in the painting process at least, as this can easily take the better part of a week. When I asked if all the components had arrived and were ready for assembly, he merely reiterated that they were "still on schedule". In my book, anything other than a 'yes' is a 'no', so this didn't exactly give me any warm fuzzies.
The most recent rep I spoke to was even less helpful. When I called on 7/1 to ask the status of my order, I was greeted by a recorded message. Well, no, not actually, but she may just as well have been a recording for all the information I got out of her:
Was it painted yet?
"Still on schedule"
Are you waiting for any parts?
"Still on schedule"
Your company has a reputation for letting shipping dates slide and not informing customers until after the date has come and gone. If there are delays, will I be notified?
"Hold on a sec..." Placed on hold for 30 seconds, "...Still on schedule"
Just about the only thing I got out of her was that HS has apparently "just started using a new painting process, and it takes longer for each coat to dry". If there is going to be a delay anywhere in the process, it'll be there. Gee, I feel so much better now.
In their defense, I must point out that Hypersonic does not have a phase program like Alienware or VooDoo; your order is either accepted, being built, or shipped - that's it. So maybe I was trying to micromanage the situation a little too much.
As of 12:00 EST today, my order is still scheduled for 7/12. However, given that most other resellers offering the D470K chassis (upon which the AX7 is based) won't begin shipping units until 7/15 or later, I find this date highly suspect. Assuming they get their units at the same time as other resellers, tag on 10 days for paint, another 5 for testing, and I figure my final DOS will actually fall somewhere between 7/27-7/31.
But maybe I'm just being pessimistic. Only time will tell.
(To be continued...)
...
