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Horrible Experience! I am outraged! - Page 2

post #21 of 98
7/21/04 at 12:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wadebaker
Hello everyone,

I am writing this story to WARN everyone from buying from Alienware, so hopefully you will not encounter the same problem as me. The story i have is horrible. and i can not beleive this has happend to me, In fact if anyone has any pieces of advise of things i can do please email me and let me know, I am STUCK!!! (wadebaker@cox.net)

1. Ok first, it took me a month and a half to receive my labtop, im thinking ok.. this i guess is normal if i am to receive a world class PC i guess they have to take their time building it. So i let this slide. But seriously though? Dell Ships in 6 days..

2. When i got it? WRONG COLOR? how do you get the color wrong?, i asked customer support, they said they do not make the 3.2 Extreme with a 16.2 inch in blue or green only silver, so im Stuck with SILVER. THanks for telling me on the website guys!! and for confirming!! good job! (cough cough)

3. The Video card is broken, Ok. i got these huge TEST reports from alienware, how are you going to run all these tests and they pass, and still send me a labtop with a busted video card that gets 6 FPS off of Ut2k4, yes i said 6 fps. My card could not even produce a 3dmark score, it crashed out every time. So i have to send that back.

4. HERE IS THE ULTIMATE KICKER.

Ok first i will start by saying i have a DEAD PIXEL, Who tested and reviewed my MACHINE? i mean how do you get that anyway when they should be looking this THING OVER before shipping it to me!! WTF!.

Ok i only have ONE Dead pixel and i will read their policy to you (my pixel is outside the center).

Alienware will replace an LCD display unit when there are 1 or more dead pixels within the center of the LCD screen as defined by Alienware and/or if there are more than 2 dead pixels located outside of the center of the screen.

Ok what this means is that iam SCREWED since i only have ONE dead pixel they will not fix it?!?!, If anyone has ever bought a brand new car . Im pretty sure you dont want to have a scratch on it!.
Well guess what my brand new alienware has a Scratch on it, and they wont Fix it.

I have spoken with customer service, Written emails, and they will not help me with this. They keep telling me sorry its our policy.


I will tell you what if this was DELL, they would have sacrificed a goat just to make me feel better, they are all about Customer service.

Alienware used to be world class in my book now iam screwed.

OK #5. The last thing i tried to do... I called them up and demanded a Refund b/c on the website it says Money back 30 days, if your not happy with merchandise. So i wanted a refund. Guess what? they want 15% Restocking fee for refunds!! thats 700$ for me to pay to get a refund Since my labtop was 4.5 grand!!!!

I paid 4.5 GRAND FOR ALL THIS CRAP, and now iam STUCK AND SCREWED, if anyone is smart go with DELL, avoid all this BS, its simple horrible that i spent all this money! and iam stuck!!! HORRIBLE!!!

Wade Baker
wadebaker@cox.net
Hello wadebaker:

Other computer manufactures have systems pre-built and ready to ship out at a moments notice. Systems at Alienware are custom Built. Your system may have taken longer to build if there were any "limited availability" parts or back ordered. Your system is custom built by one of our Agents, so it does take time, plus our quality control and integration of your system is done by individuals.

Our laptops with the 16.1 screen currently only come in Saucer Silver. When we do have other colors, they are usually limited.

Our Dead pixel policy is stated on our website. This is an industry standard. Other manufactures will need you to have 5 or 6+ dead pixels to be able to replace the LCD.
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post #22 of 98
7/21/04 at 12:42pm

Returning a Defective Part

As per the posts about a computer part going bad and getting a replacement, there are two options.

You can send us the defective part back to us and once we receive it, we send you out the new part. This method takes longer because of shipping time delays.

The second option and most used:

We send you out the part first and once you receive it, you send us the defective part back. In this method, we need to "hold" the amount, not charge, your credit card. If the original part is not returned, then your credit card would be charged. With this method, the turn around time is quicker for receiving the new part.
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post #23 of 98
7/21/04 at 12:47pm
wow, i feel for you on that one. I have a dead pixel myself. Its a bright blue one thats almost in the center. I'm ticked too that its against their policy to fix it.

Keep on fighting to get them to fix your problems. I video card problem is total crap. When I got mine, it wouldn't even run on battery power because the motherboard is defective. I was like "how the hell do you miss that during testing?????" I think Alienware needs to drop some of the morons that are missing these important things during testing. They need fired real quick.
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post #24 of 98
7/21/04 at 12:55pm
wadebaker:

You read their policy right?

You have to understand that companies have policies for a reason. You keep comparing them with DELL?

Alienware makes custom machines. Dell has systmes alread made and they can sell them to someone else if they have it returned to them

Alienware can't do that. There machines are built from scratch. I am still waiting for my system (taking longer than usual) and I am a bit upset, but I understand that this system is custom built.

They probably have the re stocking fee because they can't seel the machine back to someone else. All the time and money spent building it is gone.

The dead pixel policy does suck. I would eb mad to, but if it is tated on their site, well, you need to know that. other comapnies need more dead pixels for a replacement and others if you pay a bit more, they protect you.

It is upsetting to not have your system like you wnat it, but they are doign everything they can. They are replacing your vid card and once oyu have that, your system will be as you want it. Hey, maybe a pixel will go bad in the center
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post #25 of 98
7/21/04 at 3:02pm
I agree that it does suck the way you have be treated m8, but hold out. I remember (as im sure others do) the way LurkingJayHawk was treated by DELL. Other people have had bad experiences with AW, but whilst it's understandable that you directly blame them sit back and think what you would do if you were them. Sure the dead pixel thing must be annoying, but as for the video card, at least they are sending you a new one. I have had my lappy for 2 months now and everything is fine, not had a single problem. I even had several phone calls from AW checking whether everything was ok as they didnt believe me! Maybe AW UK is different i dont know.

I work in Computer retail (PC World UK) and have to put up with people whinging about dead pixels all the time. Our policy is that four pixels have to be blown before we will return the monitor. Thats not because we are mean, its what the manufacturer has stated in our returns contract. Admittedly a pixel in centre is very annoying and the fact that you had to wait for your machine didnt help. AW UK is shipping in 10days if your items are in stock, so perhaps demand is high at the moment.

Just keep persevering with them, there is always a silver lining
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post #26 of 98
7/21/04 at 3:09pm
Um...

Dell's Rating: http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1867.html

Alienware's Rating: http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1650.html

Put down the crackpipe...at least while the sun is out!

-Craig
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post #27 of 98
7/21/04 at 3:14pm
"I was like "how the hell do you miss that during testing?????" I think Alienware needs to drop some of the morons that are missing these important things during testing. They need fired real quick."

Ummm..you do know that like 95% if not more of the "testing" Alienware does is actually run by a system...not a person lol
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post #28 of 98
7/21/04 at 4:18pm
Quote:
I will tell you what if this was DELL, they would have sacrificed a goat just to make me feel better, they are all about Customer service.
Actually not! their policy is more than 6 pixels! and they don't care if all of those 6 are in the centre! they won't replace it! Dell is far from being an angel! and sometimes they won't replace an obviously bad part! like hard drives!

did you buy it from alienware.co.uk? or is it an American laptop?

actually I'm amazed that alienware has 1 pixel policy, since in europe there is 6 or more pixels law - this shows that they are better!

also if you noticed on the website it says

Area-51m Case with 16.1" UltraXGA 1600x1200 LCD Display - Saucer Silver [+202]

you should have looked better!

and the last problem, IMO they will replace your card with ease

and btw, on your place, before ordering, I'd call them up and offered 50$+ to ensure that I won't get any dead pixels! Alienware isn't like Dell they would go for it! and would have a peace of mind! and wouldn't end up with a knife in your heart = dead pixel
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post #29 of 98
7/21/04 at 5:17pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the replies guys,

i guess i gotta live with it, nothing else i can do. oh well. Lessons we learn right?


As far as the policies go for the dead pixel. I would have had to PRE READ on their support site to get that information. When buying this PC i never thought of going to support to read about that before hand. The reason why i didnt was b/c i was so Psyched about this alienware machine when i finnaly got the money to buy it, i was like SHOOT lets hurry up and buy!! i never did any research or anything. I was that excited!. But like i said lessons we learn.. i gues now when you buy a pc you have to treat it like a car and look for the stupid hidden text in the policies before buying and do some research.

Im hoping that when my video card comes back i will have performance, and no problems... WHen i ran that 3dmark test and it Pooped out with like 6 FPS i was about to explode. Hope that doesnt happen again.

Time to go have a drink.. and wait for my Card to come in the mail!
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post #30 of 98
7/21/04 at 5:17pm
Boy, after reading this post I am a happy camper that I never got my AW computer. Not the put salt in your wound, but FNW as "0" dead pixel policy. And go to www.resellerratings.com and help out the next person.
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post #31 of 98
7/21/04 at 5:23pm
Thread Starter 
LoL! thanks man..
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post #32 of 98
7/21/04 at 5:28pm
Charge premium prices, you should deliver premium products. I was toying with the idea of the Aurora 51-m, but will definitely pass now. Why pay for crap? If it were indeed custom built, shouldn't even a cursory inspection have revealed the problem? The problem is, they made the sale, won't make any money from you anytime soon, wadebaker, which is why they do not care.
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post #33 of 98
7/21/04 at 5:47pm
Falcon Northwest has a policy, so does hypersonic, maybe voodoo.
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post #34 of 98
7/21/04 at 6:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Micro
Boy, after reading this post I am a happy camper that I never got my AW computer. Not the put salt in your wound, but FNW as "0" dead pixel policy. And go to www.resellerratings.com and help out the next person.
I think cases like these are few and far between. Maybe 1 or 2 out of 10. While I do feel bad for wadebaker and all the crap that he had to put up with, not everybody has experiences like that. I myself, along with many others here had 0 problems whatsoever and am extrememly satisfied with the end product. To say that you're happy you didn't order an AW means that in the back of your mind you were probably hoping for the worst which would give an excuse to rip AW. I think it was nice of Juan to try to help out wadebaker with his problems.

True, Falcon NW does have a 0 dead pixel policy but the price difference is a good $400-$500 more than AW. I also looked into Falcon along with Voodoo before making my decision.
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post #35 of 98
7/21/04 at 6:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by quackerjack
wadebaker:

They probably have the re stocking fee because they can't seel the machine back to someone else. All the time and money spent building it is gone.

The dead pixel policy does suck. I would eb mad to, but if it is tated on their site, well, you need to know that. other comapnies need more dead pixels for a replacement and others if you pay a bit more, they protect you.
You better believe AW resells machines - everyone does. They can't afford to throw it away just because someone pays a restocking fee.

As for testing, the whole point to pushing their 200-point testing is that you won't get a dead machine on arrival. Even if the software tests the majority of the features, nothng can replace a human actually testing a machine for at least a few minutes. But no company will ship 100% perfect machines, and can't be expected to.

The problem is that everyone perceives AW as a flawless builder, when in fact they have problems like everyone else. The real question is, are you willing to wait a month for a machine, then possibly have to ship it back to sit in repair for another 2-4 weeks, just for the pleasure of owning an AW laptop? That one's up to you.
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post #36 of 98
7/21/04 at 6:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by quackerjack
wadebaker:

Alienware makes custom machines. Dell has systmes alread made and they can sell them to someone else if they have it returned to them

Alienware can't do that. There machines are built from scratch. I am still waiting for my system (taking longer than usual) and I am a bit upset, but I understand that this system is custom built.

WHAT?

dell offers just as many "custom" options as AW does when it comes to computer components. i.e. processor, ram, hard drive, video card, drives, wifi, bluetooth, etc. so to say that all dell machines are "standard" is to say that AW is just as standardardized. go on over to dell's custom configuration screens and you'll see what i mean, come on, it won't hurt you. and in theory, everything is built from "scratch", even dell machines. They are built somewhere. Only difference is that dell's logistics and assembly system is light years ahead of AW's in terms of automation and because of that, Dell can "build" and deliver faster. As for whether or not hand built versus automated built machines are better, that's debateable. But with automated building systems, you take the human "error" component out of the picture. nuff said.

i'm no dell champion, but let's not mislead any newbs around here with false information

and by the way, when someone returns a dell machine back to dell, we all know what happens to that machine, it gets advertised and sold as a REFURBISHED machine at a discount. When someone returns an AW machine and lets assume it's a perfectly working machine, well no one seems to know what really happens to that machine. But i think there is a STRONG possibility that the machine as a whole or its individual parts get "recycled" back into the supply pool and sold as new parts.

And this doesn't only apply to AW, but to other manufacturers as well, such as Sager.

i'm not saying that this is what happens, but it's something to chew on
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post #37 of 98
7/21/04 at 9:00pm
Dell "technically" has pre-built computers. They have barebones systems that they add components to based on what the customer orders. Alienware builds the entire system from the ground up.

Wadebaker, I feel for you, but I have one question for you. You say you jumped into this four thousand dollar purchase without doing any research beforehand. Forgive me, but that is just plain stupid. When I made the decision that I was going to buy a laptop, I spent a good three weeks comparing models from different companies and gathered as much information as possible. When I decided on Alienware, I asked questions in this forum and looked around the AW support site for as much information I could get before making a purchase.

Four thousand dollars is a lot of money to just throw down on a purchase before doing any research. That is almost like buying a car without test driving it first...
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post #38 of 98
7/21/04 at 10:42pm
Ok, I'm not gonna read 3 pages of this crap because I have read it already and I'm tired of it. Here are my responses in numerical order.

1) I can guarantee that Dell would take a month and a half if the parts they needed were not in... They say simply, ships in 7 days from received payment IF ALL PARTS ARE IN.

2) I cannot explain the colour thing to you. You are the 3rd person I've heard this from and it shocks me too. Just thank god that your machine HAS a colour and isn't some fugly grey box like the Dell XPS.

3) Yeah, I know the pain of the vid card. I was sent the wrong card altogether! Suck it up, call up support, have them ship you a new one. I didn't even have to send mine back till my new one came (and it did the day after I let them know about it).

4) Dead pixels happen dude. It's a tiny bit of liquid crystal and transportation can easily mess it up. You're not the only person to have this happen. Just burn another pixel and have them replace the screen....

5) They say everywhere on their site that there is a 15% restocking fee... You have no one to blame but yourself.

Solution to all of the above: That lovely protection plan you paid a couple hundred for....
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post #39 of 98
7/21/04 at 10:56pm
Thread Starter 
1) I can guarantee that Dell would take a month and a half if the parts they needed were not in... They say simply, ships in 7 days from received payment IF ALL PARTS ARE IN.

Well Dell has this new system i checked it out on there customize site , where they show you which parts would Delay the order.. so you pretty much would know before subimitting if one of the parts you chose would delay your shipment. thats pretty slick.

As for the purchasing thing.,. yeah im young.. i totally made a mistake there.

But you know, what coffeeshark said.. They do a 200pt service to these machines before sending it out. I think that a bad video card, and a bad pixel could have been prevented..If the video card and the pixel went bad during SHIPPING.. then my god i have some HORRIBLE luck!! LoL...

I forgot who said this earlier in this thread.. i could not find it again.. but somebody said "Thank Jaun for helping me"

Juan did not help me... when did that ever happen? All he did was post the usual response i would have expected... "Sorry theres nothing we can do b/c of (insert policy here)" Statement. I got zero help from him about this issue..

But you know ive accepted it. im not going to complain.. at least anymore theres nothing else i can do.. ill just accept it. and yeah.. maybe the LCD will go bad? One can only wish... =/
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post #40 of 98
7/21/04 at 11:06pm
Going back to my previous point, there are meny posts on this forum about the 200 point inspection being bogus. Research would have shown this.

And if you look at Alienware's site, they have items with limited availibility listed next to them. There is also a link at the top of each page that will list everything in your current configuration that will delay your order. Same as Dell...
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