Xotic PC: Very Poor Experience

[[::FOLLOW UP BELOW::]]

As a rule, I am generally resistant to writing bad reviews about my experiences with a company. Usually bad experiences can just be chalked up to someone having a bad day. I get that, we all have them. However my experience with XoticPC has exceeded the normal bounds of unsatisfactory and I feel compelled to write a review. I know that representatives of XoticPC pay attention to this forum, and since there is no YELP page for XoticPC I feel compelled to share my experiences here.

It is also worth mentioning upfront, that after almost three months of dealing with XoticPC, the issues I describe below have not yet been resolved.

I placed my initial order for an MSI Laptop in late August. As part of my order I had to go through a special process with a sales representative from XoticPC, due to my shipping address being different from my billing. This went relatively smoothly, although it did take several days to actually get in touch with the woman who eventually helped me. This is the last part of my experience that I would describe as smooth.

Upon initial purchase, I paid extra money for their "White Glove Packaging" and "Rush Production" services. According to XoticPC's website, "Rush Production" means that your PC "Ships in 1-4 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed." Over two weeks later, I still had no update on my computer. When, after many unanswered phone calls and emails, I finally got through to a sales representative, I was informed that the RAM I had chosen was out of stock, on back order, and that they were waiting for it in order to build my computer, but did not know when it would be in. In my mind, this is an understandable delay, however what is not understandable is the complete lack of update or communication about this from XoticPC. The conversation leading to this conclusion did not go smoothly either, as I had to wade through excuses and hidden purchase clauses quoted to me by the sales person, before she'd admit that they failed to keep me updated on the issue.

In order to expedite the process, I decided to go with different RAM instead of waiting for the one I initially chose. My PC finally shipped around September 21, and arrived in about a week. Nearly a month after I placed my order and paid for "Rushed Production" that was not delivered on or compensated for. Unfortunately the problems didn't end there. The PC arrived, and upon the first bootup I received a Blue Screen of Death. The computer then promptly rebooted and was fine. However, I soon found that the computer Blue Screened every time I initiated a fresh boot (every boot that was not a reboot).

So I called customer service and support, again and again over the course of multiple days. Through this experience I encountered many answering machines and endless hold times, but never did I get through to an actual person. Eventually I gave up and decided to contact customer support through email. I heard back about my email on October 8, and proceed through a long and grueling process of trial and error fixes while being bounced around by customer support agents for over two weeks. At the end of this process my computer was still not fixed and they decided that it had to be sent in for repairs. I had to fight with them for another two weeks in order to get them to pay for the return shipping, of a computer that they sold me, that did not work properly, because the return was "beyond their 15 day limit"... an utterly useless policy when their customer service department took over two weeks to even decide that the computer needed to be sent back in the first place. They did eventually pay for the return shipping, but I can't say there was anything pleasant about the road to that outcome.

I shipped the computer back on October 29, and they received it on November 3... 10 days previous to me writing this review. The email they sent informs me that it takes about 3-5 business days for systems to be reviewed and diagnosed, and that once the RMA package is opened and reviewed that I will be notified via email...

I have not been notified, and there has been no further contact from XoticPC at this stage. In fact, I don't even know if my package has been opened at all. No one on their 24 hour service and support line is answering the phone, and here I am writing a negative review, for the first time in my life. Honestly, I expected much better from XoticPC, this has truly been one of the biggest customer service nightmares of my life... All of which could have been made much more pleasant with a little bit of polite communication and responsiveness. At this point I am not sure what to do, I just want the computer that I paid for, and I want it to work like it is supposed to.

Regardless of how this is eventually resolved I have a hard time thinking that I will ever shop with XoticPC again, and while it seems that others have had positive experiences, I would warn high caution to anyone considering buying a computer from them. As their customer service is among some of the worst I have ever encountered, and the the management is either turning a blind eye or doesn't care at all.

 

Hey Spraw,

I'm sorry to hear that you have been issues with your system, and haven't been getting communication and updates on what is going on with it. This isn't something that we like to have happen, and I would like to be able to help out however I can. Could you please PM or email me your order number and/or RMA number? I'll check in to what is going on for you, and see what needs to be done to get this moving forward and try to resolve the situation. I'll do what I can to try to make you happy with your system and purchase from us.

We do listen to feedback and try to improve where possible. And I can assure you I will be bringing this up with management, so that we can try to make sure that updates are being handled as they should, and try to help you and other customers make sure they get all appropriate info in a timely manner.

But let me know on your order / RMA number and what I might be able to do to help out. Thanks!

 

Pat,

Thank you for responding. I have sent you an email with the information that you have requested. We can continue the conversation from there. I appreciate your timely response.

-spraw

 

Thanks for emailing. I'll keep checking up on your RMA and let you know what I can, as soon as I find out.

 

I finally have my computer, and I figured that it might be good to amend my post by providing an update.

From the time I originally posted about my experience, it took a few days to get any substantive information (however it was the weekend). In short, when I eventually got through to the service department I found out that they had actually been working on my computer for a while and were having trouble diagnosing the issue. In the end my computer was replaced, as well as some of its components. I'm not 100% clear on what the real problem was, but it was definitely a faulty hardware issue.

The computer arrived two days ago, and everything appears to be working well so far. I did have one blue screen on my second startup, but after running the first round of available updates it has not repeated itself.

In terms of XoticPC's customer service, I am left with a few distinct impressions. First, everyone whom I spoke to from their sales department throughout this process has been really nice and very helpful. They are very easy to contact and almost always answer the phone. I spoke with about 4 people from sales over the life of this endeavor (including Pat who responded to me here) and they've all been great. Second, the service & support department has also been very helpful but they are incredibly hard to get a hold of. XoticPC's website claims 24hr telephone tech support and while that may be their intention, it's absolutely inaccurate in practice. When attempting to call, I almost always timed-out of the hold period, and usually gave up after about 9 or 10 tries. None of my phone messages were ever returned. They do have the option of contacting by email, but they usually only respond to you once a day. This is why it took about two weeks for me to complete the first round of trouble shooting with them before sending the computer back. If we'd been on the phone, I'd have known the computer needed to be sent back in more like 2 hours.

Third, XoticPC did it's job. I got the computer I paid for, with the correct components, and it appears that they took all steps in order to ensure that everything worked the way it should. It did take almost three months for me to finally be in this position, and I while this is my only experience with them, I expect/hope that this was an exceptional circumstance. Fourth, I should not have had to argue so much in order to get them to pay for return shipping of a computer that arrived broken. They did eventually agree to pay for it, I'm really not angry about this, but it's generally good customer service to not make the customer pay for mistakes that the seller made. Last, they need more people working in the service department and answering phones. This point is directly related to my second, I think this would really help them, and it would go a long way towards making that 24 hour service & support promise a reality.

Overall my impressions are okay. Like I said, they did the work they were supposed to do and they appear to have done it well. The people working there seem genuinely friendly and good at their jobs, however they should have caught the issue with my computer before sending it out the first time, and the service department really needs to do a better job of making themselves available to customers (answering the phones would be a great start), communicating the status of repairs as promised in their emails, and troubleshooting in a timely fashion.

Would I buy another computer from them? I don't know... I am very concerned about the issues I have mentioned, and they are the types of things that would usually make me hesitant to buy from someone again. That being said, if when it comes time for me to purchase another computer, I see evidence that these issues have been resolved/improved. I would be willing to give them a second chance.

Would I recommend them? I also don't know... On one hand, the issues I had were extremely frustrating, and three months for a new computer is far too long... On the other hand, I got the computer I paid for, they did not scam me, they are a real business, and they produce a quality product... I have a hunch that my circumstances were exceptional, and if your computer doesn't have any issues, then you'll be fine. If you have to send the computer back, or go through extensive troubleshooting then you may not have such a good experience. You'll have to decide for yourself if that's a risk worth taking.

I hope this has helped, and been somewhat informative. I'd happily answer any questions if people have them. PM me or whatever. That's all.

 

I'm glad to see that the system is back to you and running. I appreciate you taking the time to write up the review, as I will bring this up as feedback for my bosses.

If you ever need help with anything, you can reach me here, email, call me... Just let me know what I can do for you.