Is Customer Service Alien to Alienware

I sent you some questions via private message.

I feel a saga coming on but in all fairness I have had contact from Chris @ Dell on this forum. We now await the outcome.

However this is an open plea to someone at Dell who has a clear senior responsibility for Alienware and delivering customer satisfaction:

1. Please can you explain why your Alienware support desk are not providing clear, honest information on warranty, customer rights and Dell global policies

2. Please can you explain why Alienware customer service never call this customer back - despite saying they will

3. Please can you explain why they either do not respond to emails (or possibly they have given me a junk email address)

4 Please can you explain why on the unresolved issues page, when you fill out the details it says you will be contacted by someone in Dell within 1 day. How far out can this be - the clock is ticking from Monday 28th and still no contact from Dell

5 Please can you explain why there is such a gap between your advertised customer support objectives as shown on your recruitment pages for Dell support:

Small Business. Institutions and individuals. Corporations. That’s who we serve. At Dell, we understand that the ultimate measure of our success is the satisfaction of our customers. Providing a positive customer experience every time is the best way we know to ensure our continued growth and leadership. That's why our Customer Support professionals play such an invaluable role within our organization.

and actual customer experiences

6. Please, Please PLEASE can you explain why the VERY VERY expensive piece of Dell equipment we ordered was so clearly not of merchantable quality when it arrived. Please explain why we should have to wait for an engineer to visit to repair something we have never used - it has arrived 'brand new (?) from Dell. As the system does not even recognise the charging unit it came with we have been unable to ascertain if anything else on it works. Your support desk has told us it is a motherboard issue. The engineer will bring another with him. But hold on a minute, the system has also been shipped with 2 ss usb ports that have been designed to ensure nothing plugs into them. What else might be wrong with it. As a customer your global policies are irrelevant. You have shipped me a product that is defective. Your help desk has told me it's an EOL model. REPLACE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7. Let me quote you from a recent article 16th May 2012 on Social Customer Support:

Businesses should think about things from the customer's point of view, too. Carfi says it's important to remember that, as individuals, we're also customers. When you remember this, he adds, you'll bring empathy to business conversations.

Duty agrees that putting the customer first is an important aspect of providing customer support through social media.

"Our motto is, let's do what's right for the customer. If there's a policy that gets in the way of that, or a process that is customer unfriendly, we'll throw it out the window at that point," he said. "There's no script for us. There's a high level of research to see the history of the customer. Then it's a judgment call to determine what is the right decision for the customer-and it's often independent of what the 30-day return policy or warranty exception policy says."

This is a quote from someone at Dell

My view is here's the first person from Dell I've found who speaks any sense.

Oh by the way - for anybody from Dell who actually reads this and gets this far I AM A VERY VERY VERY UNHAPPY CUSTOMER

"Our motto is, let's do what's right for the customer. If there's a policy that gets in the way of that, or a process that is customer unfriendly, we'll throw it out the window at that point," he said. "There's no script for us. There's a high level of research to see the history of the customer. Then it's a judgment call to determine what is the right decision for the customer-and it's often independent of what the 30-day return policy or warranty exception policy says."

That came from Dell! Where did you find it please?

Wow! Putting that out and then doing quite the opposite can't be doing them much good. I'm going to try their Facebook service to see if I can get anywhere with driver support because their policy of providing only 12 months driver support is simply unacceptable.

www.pcadvisor.co.uk/.../how-social-customer-support-brings-social-media-beyond-marketing

Oh dear - things go from bad to worse!!!

Finally on Friday - 8 days after the original report of our problems we finally get a  reply from someone Dell have entrusted with the responsibility of creating and maintaining a happy Alienware userbase.

It goes like this:

.....'please accept my deepest apologies for the late response.'.....

To me this means: - yikes this customer is causing some problems so how do I worm my way out of the fact that despite our global policy of prompt responses to customer issues and the numerous attempts to contact me I'll see if we can get away with it without actually having to do what we should!!

.....'I´m really sorry that we have delivered a faulty machine.

As confirmed during our conversation on 28.05.2012 we will refund you the amount which was paid by you.

There is no option for a replacement machine.'......

To me this means:-  Ah - a global policy I can now invoke and we can stick to. Despite the fact you've already said your son has saved over 2 years to buy into our premium gaming brand he's been a mug. But no worries. Teenage gamers are mugs and we can get away with making all sorts of confident claims about our products and services but it's pretty easy to duck our responsibilities if we ever have a problem. Customers never bother to read the small print anyway!!!

....'Please let me know if you agree with a collection or you wish us to repair the machine.

There is no option for a compensation as we are refunding you the whole amount after you confirm you want us to start the collection + refund procedure'......

To me this means:- Right that's sorted then. I'll just keep my fingers crossed you'll take your money & go away and stop trying to get in the way of our ability to upset and disappoint future mugs (Oh dam I meant consumers)!!! Oh and by the way I won't mention anything about the fact I totally misled you about your rights as a consumer by insisting you make a decision within 7 days of taking delivery of the pile of CR*P we sent you.

Look Dell - You undertook to supply us with a brand new ultimate gaming laptop at a costs of over £1,200 ($1900 approx). This is ALOT OF MONEY FOR A LAPTOP!!!! We don't want some engineer turning up pulling it apart taking out  key components and replacing them with whatever he can find in his van, screwing it all back together again and pretending we then have a brand new manufactured just for us machine.

Giving us our money back - well fine - if the M17 xR3 was still available on your website we'd take the money and then order another one. Easy! But we can't. You've withdrawn it. So now we've got to spend another £200 to £300. Why should we have to do that.

IF THERE IS ANYONE OUT THERE WHO DOESN'T WORK FOR DELL & THINKS I AM BEING UNREASONABLE PLEASE LET ME KNOW! MY FAMILY THINK I'M WASTING MY TIME & WE SHOULD JUST TAKE THE MONEY AND GO AND BUY SOMETHING FROM AN IT MANUFACTURER WITH A GOOD REPUTATION FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE.

What really irks me is that during the 90's & for business reasons I went to see Dell in Texas. A nicer bunch of people you'd have been hard pressed to find. Proud of their company and what they were achieving in rewriting the rule books for supplying both the home & corporate markets they couldn't have been more helpful. WHAT OH WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THIS COMPANY.  

IF THERE IS ANYONE OUT THERE WHO DOESN'T WORK FOR DELL & THINKS I AM BEING UNREASONABLE PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

Right, well let me start by saying I know how you feel because I have been there myself. In my case it was much worse because I purchased a brand new top end M17x R2 for 3300 euros (about £2860 in October 2010), which didn't work. After 5 months of parts swapping and "next day on-site" service calls that were never respected, averaging at 5 to 7 days wait per visit, Dell finally agreed to give me a new replacement machine. That too had faults but a few parts swapped out eventually gave me a working machine. Total time lost equated to 8 months and the only compensation I received was a headset and mouse.

My case is far from the worst I have read here. Some have been strung along for 2 to 3 years!

But here's why I think you are being unreasonable, not to Dell but to yourself and your son...
Like it or not, Dell have a certain procedure to follow in order to get a replacement machine. That involves swapping out defective components for new ones on a basis of elimination. While this can be highly inconvenient for the customer, destroying his faith in the brand, it does insure that he gets a working machine. And in the event they cannot get the machine to work, they will authorize a replacement complete with new warranty.

They have been quite up-front with you giving you the option of having the machine repaired or being refunded. You want a replacement but their procedure does not allow for that unless all other avenues have been attempted. In the US, a shortcut to this option is to file a complaint with the BBB but in the UK you would probably have to do it through some consumer protection association. Whether you attempt the shortcut or not is your choice however; even if you ended up with a replacement you would still be stuck with Dell, and as you have discovered, it's not the same Dell we were accustomed to doing business with over the last 20 years.

Given that the name of the game has changed, would you not be happier with the refund?

As to letting them repair the machine, they only use new components so I do not see how you would be ending up with anything other than the new machine you originally purchased. If you can't trust the on-site technician then why did you purchase the next day on-site warranty?

Now my personal opinion based on what I would do if I was in your position:
Having done a little research it appears that the M18x R1 is plagued with more than a few issues. Even if I got a replacement R1 I would likely spend several weeks if not months on the phone with Dell tech support and that's not what I purchased a top of the range computer for. In summary, I would go for the refund.

At the risk of upsetting a few other Alienware laptop owners, I'm going to go out on a limb and be a bit brutal now. I do NOT believe the product is better than competitor offerings in this price range. Some are more reliable and outperform their Alienware equivalent. So what is it that makes the average AW buyer want to stick with his product despite all the heartache it gives him? The answer is the keyboard. The pretty light show is not available with any other brands (yet) and psychologically we tend to place a lot of importance in that. Why? Because we are proud of our machines and love the ooh's and aah's we get from those who have never seen an Alienware laptop before. However; the reality is that we grow out of that phase quickly so it's a shame that we get so stuck on owning something that doesn't live up to our expectations.

If your son is dead set on having an Alienware my advice would be to accept the refund and then order an M17x R4. It might still be faulty on arrival but what if you are one of the many who get a perfectly working machine right out of the box? Also, consider that this is the 4th release of the model so they have had plenty of time to refine it ...unlike the M18x which was only launched last year.

Thank you for your well reasoned reply. Indeed as I said at the start of the saga (and probably like so many others) it's only when you run into these problems you find out how many others are experiencing similar or far worse issues than yourself.

My observations/feelings are:

1. If this product was for me I'd just say you Dell and your rubbish quality control, your rubbish global policies and your misleading, unhelpful, uncaring, unresponsive help desk I'm off to a supplier who actually wants my business.' However this is for my child who SO SO wants to show off that keyboard light show to his mates he's saved all his money over all this time and as a parent I feel so sorry for him he now hasn't got what he has worked so hard for.

2. I hear what you say re the onsite stuff but the cover was purchased so if something went wrong in 9 months time ..., not even before you've set the thing up in the first place. Who knows what else is wrong with this machine. If we agree to the visit we are opening ourselves up to your type of experience. No thank you!

3. Tell me, you appear quite well informed on this subject, what do you think (at a similar sort of value/gaming performance) is the right non Dell product to consider?

4. I am SO, SO, SO disgusted with the way we have been spoken to and the spineless eventual response from a support desk who, let's face it have not been entirely truthful with us Texas needs to understand how they are being represented elsewhere in the world.

Let's see where this goes ....

Wow! Putting that out and then doing quite the opposite can't be doing them much good. I'm going to try their Facebook service to see if I can get anywhere with driver support because their policy of providing only 12 months driver support is simply unacceptable.

The same level of customer service and satisfaction should be available everywhere.

Exactly!

3. Tell me, you appear quite well informed on this subject, what do you think (at a similar sort of value/gaming performance) is the right non Dell product to consider?

I think it's best you do your own research with your son, after all, it is for him. I looked at HP, Toshiba, Sony, and Asus. Theoretically, Asus have some of the best gaming machines available but I also had a nightmare experience with their support which burned me so bad I will never buy from them again. I worked for HP's warranty department and was consistently instructed to scam customers. After 3 months I couldn't stand it any longer and left. Needless to say, knowing how they work on the inside also turns me off buying from them although printer support is 100% better. Toshiba have a nice gaming laptop. Like the Asus and Dell XPS range it has a backlit keyboard but in one color only.

Some people here will recommend Origin. That would be fine if you lived in the US but as you don't it's pretty much a non-starter as they do not have an international service contract. There are others. MSI comes to mind but I doubt they would interest your son. I think at the end of the day it will come down to Toshiba, Asus, Dell, or Alienware. Like I said earlier, if the keyboard is a key consideration then give the M17x R4 a look. He will not really notice any difference in the screen size and it comes with the very latest Ivy Bridge processors and Nvidia 3D.

The biggest problem you are up against, and this is just my opinion, is that most other manufacturers require you to send the laptop back to their lab in the event of a problem. Downtime is usually claimed to be 1 week. In reality it extends well beyond that. Nightmare support experiences can be found with every manufacturer however; most have plenty of really satisfied customers ...including Dell. Dell's on-site service is what kept me with them all these years. It can't be beaten ...unless they don't turn up, and that happens all too often!

7League, there are several other companies with the keyboard effect emerging, I saw the DigitalStorm one the other day, which is kinda like the AW one www.digitalstormonline.com/gaminglaptoploadx17.asp, but not UK really :(

On subject :)

In the UK, and the options for me was...

http://www.Malibal.com is an option with EU servicing (still needs to be shipped), and

www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk still needs to be collected (but its included) and

www.pcspecialist.co.uk/.../vortexIII-17 still needs to be collected and

web.eurocom.com/.../ec_model_config1(1,214,0) MEGA MONEY but insanely powerful options.

finally msi sager etc you have http://www.xoticpc.com/ which still needs shipping back to base.

I could have bought from any of these, my M18x R1 was just shy of £5,000 $8500), but the Dell warranty was the final selling point, I haven't really dealt with Dell Consumer support for 5 yrs prior to December 2011, when they was based in Ireland. I did (and do) deal alot with Dell Business which is a breeze and flawless, and honestly I expected Dell Alienware to use the same quality for support. This isn't the case, and Consumer Support is really sucky!

Aside from all Dell's faults which blew up in my face in Dec 2011, they do eventually get it right, and they effectively bribe you, lets not beat around the bush, they upgrade your system and comp you like no other company I have known. This is what I pay for, because I know after I have fought my way through the call centres it will be repaired and when all else fails, I'l get a brand new machine which will have bells and whistles on it.

Now Dell may not like these links, but my final recommendation is still battle on with Dell :)

jezzabUK,

I have emailed the Euro Social Outreach Services team.

Update - The Dell Twitter technician is still awaiting a response from you.

you are not the only one who has suffered something bad from dell. my story goes back to august 2011 where i happily spent my savings in a PREMIUM ALIENWARE gaming laptop. it gets shipped to me properly. and within 7 days its hard disk crashes. and dell refuses a replacement unit. then the system starts giving me random BSOD. and finally after 8 months of struggle dell accepts to give me a replacement. now here comes the funny part. I am given a new and improved m14xr2 and bang! it does not even start once!! i call up dell and they say sorry sir we cant replace a replaceed machine!!. wow!! now is it my mistake that i bought an alienware from u people?

ok next they send a technician to repair it with a new mobo!! imagine a brand new machine teared down!! and when he opens it up he sees an important part missing!!! haha!. dell is so careless..it missed a part in its brand new system. now again he replaced the mobo. and bang the system is still not working... well i dont know if i am lucky enough to get my money back... i suggest take your money and go for some other gaming gig instead.

Hi Chris & thanks for the message.

I'm confused (& not for the 1st time).

1. Yes I have just opened my mail/twitter & there is a message asking for my contact details. Am just about to provide those but surely, if Dell are so highly organised all anyone in Dell should need is either an order number or express service number! @dellcares already has that info.

2. My observations are as follows:

a) No one in Dell actually wants to talk on the phone to customers. From the very  beginning my only option phone wise is to be sent to India then onto Bratislava where I am not told the truth, I am  when I am promised a phone call I'm sent some email from someone whose messed up & is now trying to worm their way out of actually properly addressing the issues. Perhaps Dell are in the wrong business - teflon based products might be more appropriate.

b) It astonishes me no-one from Dell has made any attempt to ascertain who I actually am. I could have responsibility for corporate computer purchasing, I might have 5 other children who all want alienware laptops, I could be a journalist currently penning my story for a national newspaper but does anyone care? No. It's a fingers crossed job in the hope I'm no one important and I'll just go away.

c) Someone or some group within Dell would have recognised they actually need to do something to ultimately save their business. A quick bit of research through the web, these forums and elsewhere would indicate to me not much has changed.