Alienware support woes...

All,

I have been having problems getting help for my M14x. Anyone know a good contact at Dell who can fix their Customer Service issues? I am at my wits end dealing with the techs, and their lack of solutions. Bit of back story below.

I have had my display replaced for various reasons multiple times. Three times in the last month is of particular concern. I keep receiving defective or sub-standard replacement display assemblies. After the last one, the rep put in for a system replacement to try and make it better. Well, I got the replacement, which was a downgrade/upgrade (the GPU is hands down, an upgrade, but the RAM and HDD don't count... cause I have better in my R1 right now). It was a refurb R2, with a lower res screen (we wont even talk about the DEAD pixel near the center of the screen... or the fact that when it is at the Alienware splash screen it stares at you like an evil red eye... good quality control on the refurbished machines Dell...), a WiFi card that doesn't support 5ghz, and to add insult to injury, the processor does not support the same extensions as my old machine (hello Intel VT-d... relevance is debatable, I do play with VMs).

I am pretty livid about this whole thing now... I have called more days than not in the last 3 weeks, and all I get is jerked around. Things I have been told so far via phone:

"Sir, I am going to have to hang up the phone now and call you back later because you are upset..." <- Epic Dell... epic, Really? You don't calm an angry customer down by saying "Go screw yourself..." Well, this was said by a supervisor on the 1st of September, 2013... yeah I am mad.... its been a month and it is still not resolved.... who wouldn't be mad?

"You will be getting a computer that is as good as, or better than your current one." Didn't happen Dell, Epic fail...

"We will order replacement parts and installation to upgrade the replacement computer to meet standards, don't send us back the replacement." - Ordered a screen (don't know if it is even the 1600x900 screen), and a wifi card that makes me lose bluetooth... (from intel 2230 to intel 6300, processor and bluetooth concerns were not addressed, even have emails on those...which include reasonable recommendations to resolve the issues.)

So, anyone got a contact that can un-screw this situation? Or maybe one of the Alienware reps here will fix it... either way, I'm about 2 more calls from saying screw Dell... this is ridiculous... At this point I am sitting on both computers, and afraid to ship back either, cause I will just get shafted in the end... Maybe I should just ebay both machines, and say screw it...

 

I would not..make anymore phone calls. I would email Dell Corp and ask for a resolution team to take care off the problem which they will. Ty to be civil and not show to much emotion. I understand your upset but the person you will be dealing with did not put you there. They are good about getting in contact with you in about 24 hours. If you explain you just want what is right and fair and work with them every thing should turn out ok. Good luck.

 

go to BBB and make a complaint. It will report it to their head office, and someone from corporate support will contact you and help you resolve everything. Trust me on this.

 

STOP

CALLING

DELL.

You own an ALIENWARE CALL ALIENWARE.

1800alienware
4 for tech support
then
2 for systems after Sept. 2009

Then make sure you have your express service code(all numbers) ready to keyinto the phone, and then make sure you have your service tag(numbers leters).

Example

I have an m17x...say I have a hard drive fail....

1800alienware
press 1 fo...
*beep*4
if you purchased your syst...
*beep*2
Please enter your express service code, this is on a lable on the bottom of your screen it has no letters or dashes.
93792555537
hang on while I look that up...
great let me get you right over to someone who can help
*holds for a bit*
Thank you for calling alienware my name is Alison, can I have your service tag please.
Hi, my service tag is...
4b45zw1
That is

4 Bravo 4 5 Zulu whisky 1
(you don't HAVE to say phonetics but it helps with phone low quality sound)

Alright how can I help you today...

explains ahrd drive failure..
lets do some diagnostics....
yap somethings wrong..

Let me create this replacement order for you...

24~48hours latere(72depending on the weekend, its next business day)
new hard drive at my door, replace hard drive, relable the box with the included label, drop said box off at nearest fedex...

Congrats, that's how alienware support works.


And yes... I say this a lot... because im getting tired of people calling the wrong places for a system that isn't even in the correct support chain.
If you owned an alienware....why would you call dell?

Look all over that damned machine, what do you see?
Alienware branding, alienware branding, alienware logo, alienware nomenclature.

hmm


not a damn dell logo on it...
Stop calling dell.

 

Before filing a BBB complaint, think VERY carefully about doing so. Once Dell are dealing with things as an official BBB complaint, they WILL strictly adhere to terms and conditions for everything....to the letter. Whilst you may well end up getting a resolution out of it, I would only advise doing this as a last resort. If you can work WITH Dell, you will probably find that they are more flexible in how they approach your case - they have various options at their disposal, which may very well include offering you a whole new machine. You might end up being offered a brand new Alienware 14 with some enhancements over and above your current machine......if you file with BBB, Dell's only obligation is to provide you with a working machine which could very well be an outlet/refurb with as close to your original specification as possible.

Bottom line - don't shoot yourself in the foot before you have fully explored the resolution channels offered by Dell in these circumstances. Three failed repair attempts within a month is certainly justification for offering a replacement machine. Dell know this. Work with them and you might just find that you come out winning, as many have done in the same kind of scenario.

 

If you had a problem with the replacement specs, why did you authorise the replacement in the first place? You never sign off on them without agreeing on if it's acceptable.

It sounds irritating, but you've done yourself no favours by getting angry at the reps. They will not want to go out their way to help you, and you'll get marked as a problematic customer.

 

Sorry to hear about your troubles, but this should probably be in the Alienware M14x forum. You will get more attention from other members who own the M14x and may even get support from the representatives that visit this forum.

Good luck.

 

After re-reading the opening post, I too wonder why, if you knew about the shortcomings of the replacement proposed, you accepted it in the first instance? - seems a little late in the day for kicking off over the lack of visualization support from the cpu, wifi card abilities etc etc.

 

They didn't even consult me on the replacement... Just went from looking to shipped...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4

 

Ahhhhh. I see.....no wonder you are a bit annoyed.

 

Yeah... I'd have never authorized this replacement. They just shipped it and basically said it will be the same or better (should have a voicemail to that effect). I agree, I would rather avoid the BBB route, but I seem to get the agents that don't want to help.

Sent from my GT-P7310 using Tapatalk 4

 

Well, you could PM one of the AW reps here. Brother Luis Porras should be able to help you out or at least point you in the right direction.

If that fails, you can Tweet @DellCares...if that fails, you can escalate the case to Dell Executive Customer Resolutions if need be. I can send you an email address if it gets to that stage upon request. If that fails, its BBB time......

 

Just sent him a PM hopefully he can help get this un-effed. Thanks for the advice.

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No probs. Happy to help out. Hope you get it un-effed, too :thumbsup:

 

To back up what FranBunnyFFXII said, be sure you are dealing only with Alienware Support. Call 1-800-ALIENWARE and speak to someone in the US or Costa Rica ONLY. If you get someone from India, you've either called the wrong number or got transferred to a wrong place. Hang up and call back. The Costa Rica Support team is fantastic. Being you're in San Antonio, maybe you could take a leisurely drive up to Austin/Round Rock and show someone your problems in person.

Or, maybe there is an easier way yet to get past this. Will the superior parts from your old machine fit in the new one? If they do, swap out whatever is better and send back the inferior items with the system you return. If you can build one defect-free machine out of the pair of them, just do that. Pick and choose the components you want and send them back a complete inferior machine and be done with it.

 

I am calling the right number. Got that down pat at this point

The screen on my original is part of the problem so no dice on the Frankenstein...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4

 

That's a good suggestion. I'm taking care of the issue internally. We'll post back the results. Hopefully we will get everything sorted out quickly.

 

Just an update. They are working on getting me a new replacement, and the downgrade replacement has been shipped back. Hopefully they can at least not end up downgrading me again... But only time will tell. Thank you all for the advice and assistance. I will report back with any information that comes my way, but as of right now they are looking for a suitable replacement.

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That's great news! - keep us posted :thumbsup:

 

another quick update as I am about to head to work. I have not heard back anything regarding the laptop replacement since Wednesday after lunch. Kinda annoying but it took them almost a week to find a replacement machine for me before. Just sucks cause I have been down this road before, and they sent me a downgrade, so here is to hoping. Knowing my luck, cause I will be at work till 930pm mst tonight, they will probably call and I will miss it

If there is no word by lunch Monday I will call again...

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Heard back this afternoon. They selected a model that was a slight downgrade. I expressed my concerns and the gentleman I spoke with was going to search for one that covers my concerns. At least they called before shipping this time

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Well, seems I was wrong. This time they called me to tell me the specs AS it was shipping, not before. This is getting annoying. The only thing that could make it worse would be if its the same damn machine I sent back....

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If it's a downgrade, my thoughts would be turning to asking them WHY they are issuing you with a downgraded machine...AGAIN.....that is totally not right...

 

I asked that the first time... And it seems I came off abrasive and angry (see comment about hanging up and calling back later... From a Support supervisor. At this point, I have half a mind to deny the package and have FedEx RTS it. Then again, it costs dell/alienwasre more if I accept it and return it...

At this point I have half a mind to request the full value of my m14x including service agreement value onto my dell account and letting select my replacement for myself. At least if I downgrade myself, its me doing it, not one being forced upon me.... Sadly I cannot call cause they don't open till 8am CST, and I will be on my way to my college alg class....

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So... Just got off the phone with Alienware again... They sent the same exact computer... Same service tag... Same downgrade... &lt;facepalm&gt;

I asked him what alienware's policy is for replacements, and was told the same if available or a product... IE same or better does not apply.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4

 

Wow this is simply ridiculous.

I received 2 outlet machines from Dell this past week and BOTH of them had specs that did not match what was listed.

I called them last night and they said they are sending a tech with the correct resolution screens to replace them with (not to mention, one of the screens was also badly damaged). I hope I don't have these same problems. I'll post an update here myself.

 

Good luck... The last 3 screens I have received have been defective... Which spawned the replacement essentially. Let us know how it goes... Check for gaps on the top that bleed backlight (edge by the camera) and functioning microphones / cameras. Those are the issues I have had.......

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Wow ...that is an EPIC fail of EPIC proportions by Dell - sending you the same machine back that was supposed to be replaced. As for replacements, they SHOULD be like for like or better to the machine specification originally purchased - not worse....do not be fobbed off with lame excuses.

 

I won't accept less

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So called again after class to see if I could talk with the teir-3 guy I spoke with yesterday. Was flatly told no. Additionally, I was told that my ticket was pending a management decision which would take ANOTHER 24-48 hrs (the 48 hrs was more accurate according to the rep). Basically was told not to call again, and they will call me. All the while, still got a jacked up computer. I expect this kind of behavior and support from Asus, not Alienware. This is getting sad. Just sad. I just hope this log of fail is helping someone else make their decision of where their money goes....

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Well, did a bit more digging, and it really isn't the same service tag. The FedEx tracking page has the po number being a service tag. Looked it up, and it is the exact same specs as the one I sent back, just a different service tag. Little less angry, but still a fail, just not as epic. Hurray for techs who don't know what they are looking at...

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That's a little better, but still a fail if the specifications are worse than your original purchase.....hope you get it sorted.

 

Well, the specs are the exact same as the first replacement... Just a different service tag. All of this stemmed from bad replacement displays and not being able to depot the computer. And their solution always seems to involve a display replacement (to upgrade to 1600x900).

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So just talked to the supervisor that I have been working with. It seems that all these replacements have jacked my laptop's service tag, but he is actively working to get a replacement selected this week, or order me a new machine. At this point I am just tired of dealing with it, but atleast the supervisor is a nice guy, and wants to resolve this issue.

On the second replacement, he cancelled the order, but it shipped anyways (which put my service tag on warranty hold). So its not his fault per say, but hes working on fixing it. I will report back the resolution, and hopefully I can put this behind me perminately.

Even the supervisor said that this case in particular is abnormal as the issues are normally caught soonier and resolved better the first time, which has been my previous experiences with Alienware support. Donno if I just caught the techs at the worst possible time, or if Mr. Porras was able to light the proper fires, but I finally feel like this whole thing is rolling the right way atleast.

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Sounds promising!...

 

Ok so update...

They sent a tech out who brought two screens. It was semi annoying because he couldn't verify the model numbers of the screens he was sent until they were installed because they come as an assembly...

But he installed both and both were correct. I'm not a big fan of the LG display but the 16x9 is a LOT better than their 1366x768. And I can't tell when I'm gaming so I'm ok with it.

Threw a 256ssd into both machines and now I'm good to go

 

Glad they fixed you up... Had a call today... Looks like my warranty is stuck in limbo due to system errors after 2 failed replacements. Gonna try and talk to the supervisor this evening to see what's going on...

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Well, I am kinda disheartened at this point. Spoke with the supervisor who handled my second replacement last night, and he is waiting for approval for the system replacement. To be honest it has been over 15 days since this issue was escalated, and it was pretty close to a month before I even posted this thread. This is taking a lot longer than expected or wanted.

As it stands right now, my original machine is still in hand, still messed up, and I technically no longer have a warranty as it magically disappeared in their computer systems after the second failed replacement.... (iirc, my warranty should be good til 27 Sept 2014, not 100% on the date, but the month and year are correct....)

Thinking critically upon what I currently have, and what I have been told, its hard not to get a feeling of being jerked around and being hung out to dry...

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So my warranty is back ish... Still over a month on the issue with nothing but waiting now...

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Decided I am going to let them know that if no resolution is in place by Friday (order, etc) that I will be filing a BBB complaint. This is ridiculous at this point. Gonna call on Monday and inform them. Over a week of "waiting on a decision for the machine replacement"... Hell, the guy told me on Wednesday the 11th of Sept that he was submitting for another replacement with his supervisor.

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So... On the phone with support AGAIN. It seems that the supervisor did not even submit for a system replacement after I return-to-sender the last replacement that was not supposed to ship to me.... I am livid again... who do I have to talk to in order to get this fixed???????????

 

I would just return the unit and ask for credit or cash if possible. Then you be the judge of how or what you want to spend it on.

 

Maybe PM Brother Porras again......hopefully he can take a look for you, see what's going on....or not going, on as the case may be....

 

The supervisor I spoke with is actually trying to fix this for me. The last guy never submitted for replacement, after the cancelled but still shipped unit. I posted my previous post while I was on hold waiting for the supervisor. He told me he would have to call me back in 1-2 hours as he needed to get caught up and see what he can get approved for me. He called me just shy of 2.5 hours later (right before I was going to call back), and submitted for a new replacement over the phone with me. I had some concerns regarding the video card @ 1080p res, and he said he would submit it with the 765m and see if it was approved. He will call me back tomorrow afternoon at about this time. I am just happy I am getting more than the lip service I was previously, but we shall see tomorrow...

Also, I do not fault him for going over his 2 hour window he gave himself, more than likely, that time was spent looking at the millions of case notes on my tickets...

 

Just talked to support, they told me the replacement was approved, but they didn't go over any of the machine specs with me. Hopefully all is well with it. They said it will be 2-3 weeks for the order to be processed, but that's about normal build times from them. Will update again if there are any issues or once the issue is formally closed and resolved.

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Well, that's good news. Fingers crossed that the spec. doesn't prove to be an issue. Hopefully Dell can update you on this sooner rather than later - just in case it does need to be amended or changed accordingly.

 

Yeah. Word of caution... I got yelled at for calling them Dell (see first page in thread)

I may call up again and ask for the specs....

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Wow... Kinda shocked now....(in a good way)....

Got my order number and ship date... As well as system specs... Even better than what the supervisor talked about...

4800mq
16gigs ram
1080p
765m
750gb HDD (gonna toss my ssd in anyways)
Bluray drive

Needless to say, I think they litterly purchased my displeasure away

I feel like I am waiting for Xmas day as a kid again now...

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WOW!! - that is AWESOME!!! - I'm sooo happy for you!!.....really glad that you got a happy ending to everything - the spec. is great!! - have fun when she lands!

 

I am happy for you. I've had 2 alienwares and although I have not had any major issues, the few minor annoyances I have had have been handled without problems. I've been generally impressed with alienwares customer service. Afterall, these are high end rigs and they need to best the other manufactures in this catagory, which I believe they do. Enjoy your new machine.