Absolutely fed up with AW customer service

[Sandbox_Gamer]

Since the day I received my M18x the light in the front grille has not worked. This being a minor issue and me being overseas in Iraq, I did not feel the need to contact customer service. About 30 days after I received the computer the screen started to go bad and there were green and pink pixels all over. I contacted customer service and returned to the united states at the same time. Once I arrived back in the US an on-site technician was dispatched to replace the LCD. The technician arrived and replaced both the light and the LCD screen. Neither of these repairs worked. While replacing the screen the technician clearly was not familiar with diss-assembly and pulled on the bezel around the keyboard until it nearly broke before realizing there was one more screw he needed to remove. The bezel is bent and sticks up on one side now. Because neither repair worked a new service dispatch was created, this time to replace the motherboard, cables and LCD. I was contacted 3 times by the technician to schedule the service, and took off work to ensure I would be available at the time he scheduled. On all 3 appointments the technician never showed up. When I called him he said he would try to get to is tomorrow. Finally a week later a different technician called and was able to perform the repairs at my work as I was not willing to take a day off when I was not sure they would show up. This service call ended up with the computer being completely non functional. It also resulted in scratches and damage to the palm rest from the chemicals he used to clean the thermal compound he got all over the system when replacing the motherboard. When he called in to the service desk at the end of his service call I spoke to the representative who told me that I my case was being escalated to a customer support resolution expert and that someone from the alienware red team would contact me within the next 24-48 hours. I allowed the time to pass and was not contacted. I then called in to customer service and was told that the person that was supposed to contact me was busy at the moment and hung up on. I called back again a couple of hours later and the service representative said he could not find any record of the person being scheduled to call me and that he would reschedule the call. He also stated that I would receive the call in about 4 hours when they person was due to come in. I then asked about the cosmetic damage caused by the on-site tech to make sure it was noted on the account. The rep told me that cosmetic damage was not covered under my warranty and because I could not prove the tech caused it that it would not be fixed. I waiting again for the agent to call and did not receive the call. Today I have called and was told that a system exchange had been approved for my computer and that I was being transferred to someone who could assist in that. The call was disconnected. I call back and the customer service rep refused to transfer me to the person that was supposed to help and said that they had left the office. When I asked to speak to their supervisor I was told that I did not need to do that and that the supervisor was not going to be able to help me. when I was finally able to speak to the supervisor I was told that I would not be receiving a system exchange regardless of what I had been told and hung up on.

I am incredibly frustrated with all of this. I spent thousands of dollars on a computer that has not worked properly since the day I got it. meanwhile my warranty continues to expire and the service they have provided to this point has caused even more damage.

[Notabrawd]

The rep told me that cosmetic damage was not covered under my warranty and because I could not prove the tech caused it that it would not be fixed.

Yeah next time a tech comes over I'm going to bust out the video camera. If he complains I'll say "well, if a tech breaks something in the process of the repair Dell will require me to PROVE that the tech caused it."

Sorry to hear about your story.

[DumbDumb]

lol im sorry im not trying to laugh.. I went thru this for months.. upon months before any thing was done..
but in the mean time why not try to give a shout to alan or another one of the alienware guys here on the forum..they seem to be pretty helpful in a situation like this.

[Sandbox_Gamer]

At this point I dont even want to replace my computer. I want my money back. I have lost all faith in Alienware's customer service and even if they end up replacing my system like they said they would (to be seen if they actually do it) I have such a bad impression of how they would handle it if the new one had problems. A co-worker (director of IT) has been seeing all of this too and our company is getting ready to do a tech refresh of all our companies servers and work stations and based on this, has decided that the $700,000 they were going to spend with Dell is going to go somewhere else. To be honest I can't blame him for making that call.

[jywang]

The grass always seems greener on the otherside. However, you'll soon realize that it isn't. The problem is that often the onsite support personnel are third-party contractors from 3rd party service companies. When things go terribly wrong, it seems that Dell will sooner or later make things right. However, it will take alot of effort on your part to contact them and get them to understand. Don't get frustrated with a particular support person because sometimes what you are asking is impossible for them to approve. You'll simply need to ask them to escalate to the next level for you.

Typically if you are in a "hightech" metropolitan area, you'll have techs that are mostly knowledgeable. I usually try to get an idea if they are or aren't and if they aren't I try to stick around to help them as much as I can. You should't assume these technicians are 100% knowledgeable about every system. They probably service other brands as well.

This is one of the reasons I sometimes prefer to "mail" a system back to dell for their "trained" employees to fix my system. For example, my 2 M11x had to have hinge replacement and since I purchased from BestBuy, they required that I send it back to them. The work they did was flawless. Probably better than any onsite technician could perform.

In any case, good luck and keep calling...

[jem286]

At this point I dont even want to replace my computer. I want my money back. I have lost all faith in Alienware's customer service and even if they end up replacing my system like they said they would (to be seen if they actually do it) I have such a bad impression of how they would handle it if the new one had problems. A co-worker (director of IT) has been seeing all of this too and our company is getting ready to do a tech refresh of all our companies servers and work stations and based on this, has decided that the $700,000 they were going to spend with Dell is going to go somewhere else. To be honest I can't blame him for making that call.

to be honest with you i am one of those onsite tech persons and i own a m18x
i know how to assemble and disassemble a system there are online tools to walk a tech through disassemble of any system including the m18x only a ing idot goes to fix a alienware and does it blindly the tech support are idots as well when a parts is doa for me and that happens 3 to 4 times a week i have to call and speek to a rep as well. and i will screem and yell at these people to get them to do what need to be done. rep shop till you find some one to help and never talk to the first person ask for a sup as soon as they pick up a phone and make sure they can authorize a replacement. not all techs will damage your rig. just to let you know that.



and before the tech left the last time he should have made arrangements to have the pc sent to depo to fix or for a replacement to be sent out.

agian some tech are idots most aren't

[ACHlLLES]

Just escalate your issue with unresolved issue. Dealing with customer rep is luck of the draw as well. It may be time consuming but there will be someone willing to help.

[Dain54]

I would try and contact Bill_B or @DellCares on twitter and explain your situation. That usually helps in a situation like this. In any case, I wish you luck in your endeavors, as full refunds are generally not an easy thing to obtain from Dell.

[Mr. Fox]

As terrible as it sounds, MSI, Clevo, Asus and HP warranty service is worse than this sad story.

I agree with the recommendations to reach out to a Dell/Alienware rep in our forums or tweet @DellCares. They do care, but you had a series of bad experiences. I know they will want to make things right with you.

[MrBiscuits]

Wow, horrible experiences like these will make me stay away from Dells at home tech service for ever. But I still love Alienware!
I am sorry I cannot help with your prolem, but I appreciate your effort to share with the forum.