m15 R3, 2 months part backlog, horrible service

Question

My name is Sunny, and this is my experience with buying a new Alienware Laptop and the issues revolving around customer service, and the 'warranty' that you get.  I have purchased an Alienware m15 R3 online in Summer and it has arrived starting of August. One month in, around September 19th, one fine day the camera and microphone stop working. They were working the night before as I was on MS Teams using them, and the next morning they stopped working. Note that it has been about 2 weeks after the Dell 30 day return policy.  I do not even play games on this machine. I use it for work purposes, and it never leaves my desk. Literally prime condition, I gently tap the keys, and still have the lamination around the screen border that they gave you. So I think it's probably a update or driver issue, something software related I can fix. After uninstalling/reinstalling drivers, trying every possible thing from my knowledge as I am a Software Engineer. I decided to contact Dell Technical Support. The calls kept getting cut off or the voice quality was really poor, but I finally managed to find someone who was willing to help. This person hopped on a call with me for 3-4 hours. We tried all the same things that I have tried. Then tried to reimage or boot the machine up again, which we did. He waited for me to save my files beforehand. The camera and mic were still not working, and he concluded that it was a hardware issue and that I needed to replace my LCD panel on September 19th. This is what he said following the call. The parts will come in 1-2 days to the technician, and he will contact me next week to fix it. I was satisfied, and I let my clients know I will not be able to access teams or speak for a week.  'Hi  Sunny, As discussed over the phone, we have determined we need to send an onsite technician to repair your system. Here are all the details to make this process as smooth as possible: 1. The parts will ship directly to the technician within 24-48 hours.  2. Once the parts have been received, the onsite technician will call you to schedule the service.  3. Please take into consideration that the onsite technician will need a space to work on the PC. (Example: a well-lit, flat surface with a towel to protect the system from scratches.' A week has gone past, and I check the status on the 'Online tool' that they have. They always say parts said to arrive to technician and usually have the date within 2-3 days of today. But it moves back by one every day. Today is October 22nd, and the estimated date says October 23rd. I look online the status of the service number says 'Closed' but the Dispatch is still 'Open,' confused on why it was 'Closed' I called Tech Support again, and was notified that this was out of protocol, and some agents close the case after talking with the user instead of waiting. So this new person did some new service request and merged them. I had then asked about my case, and the status of the parts. He had notified me that the parts are taking time, but have been shipped, and said they will first arrive in some Chicago warehouse, where then they will be shipped to the technician near me. He estimated sometime next week, based on what the 'Online Status tool' said, which I have stated just moves the date back more and more. So I wait some more, and still the estimated date keeps moving back by one day every day. I finally contact support again, and another person says the parts are in backlog. And it is uncertain when it will arrive, but at this time the 'Online Status tool' said October 8th, so he said most likely next week. I then frustrated asked what is the maximum date I would have to wait. He said 'October 30th' as Dell has a 30 business day policy for fixing or we can look at alternate options then. I said fine, and continued waiting. I use this as my work laptop, so I had to buy an external mic, and my camera still does not work, so I had to use my phone. Which I lost a lot of respect from several of my clients for me being unprofessional. Now it is October 22nd, I somehow managed to contact the same person again, and he has stated parts are in backlog, and it could be estimated Nov 10th. *Note the online status tool still moving up by one every day October 23rd is what is estimates now *   I was really frustrated, I said to him he has stated that October 30th was the last day for them to fix my machine. I said what are the alternatives. There is only one alternative, which is to exchange my brand new no problems mint condition machine for a 'Refurbished machine.' This brand new machine that I spent $2000 on, and barely used, he wanted me and suggested me this was the best option, to exchange it for a refurbished machine or to just wait for the parts which he 'Estimated' Nov 10th now. I want my refund for this machine. But he said there is a 30 day policy, so no refunds over and over.  I had stated that I do not want to exchange my machine for a refurbished machine as the refurbished machine will probably be more used, keys wise display wise, and condition wise, or it might have some problem later on, and I'm in the same cycle with customer support again. So he said my only option is to wait for the parts. I had 100% faith that the parts won't arrive by Nov 10th, and I told him this, he said I don't have any other options but to just wait for the parts. So I will probably just wait for the parts indefinably. Waste of $2000. Brand new laptop suddenly has problem with mic and camera, conveniently after the 30 day warranty timeframe.  Hardware problem, when I never moved my laptop an inch from my desk in that month. And it has been over a month, now, and Nov 10th almost 2 months I have to wait, and still use my phone for my meetings at work. Very frustrating. I am done with Dell support, and just want to return this machine for my refund. I had asked this on Sep 19th itself, but since he guaranteed the 1-2 days to receive parts, and the other agents kept saying 'Oh sometime this week or next week' I delayed it.  Now they want me to wait forever indefinitely for the parts even though they are going past the 30 business day policy for fixing they have in their terms.  This post is not enabling me to upload pictures. But I took several, about 30-40 of our conversations, and how the Online tool just moves the estimated date back and back, and how none of the agents can give an exact or even close date to the parts. I will I had never bought this laptop, and I want to return it for my refund, as I think this is a tactic Dell uses to keep customers chained once they buy and pass that 30 day return date. So I'm left with the only option of waiting forever.

crimsom · Answer

Hi @SunnyFirstAlienware similar experience. Half way through first year RTB warranty and told to send 17 R5 in for repair. Returned four working days later without repair and technician saying need replacement main board, but not interested in fixing Dell manufacturing quality control problems.

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