Replacement Alienware 15R3

Sir/Madam,

My name is Ayush Agrawal and I am undergraduate student of BITS Pilani. I am a long-time Dell customer. In fact, All the PC’s and Laptops in my family are mostly from Dell. I needed a laptop this time which would be able to handle my intensive gaming and Machine Learning requirements. So naturally I chose to buy an Alienware 15R3 because it had the best technical specifications available in Indian market and it was very portable. In May, ’17 I bought an Epic Silver 2.80Ghz Alienware 15R3 (Service Tag ) worth Rs. 2,13,500 to replace a four year old 15″ HP Pavilion n203TX which merely costed around Rs. 45,000.

Immediately I had problems with the unit because it had a defected screen. I called the support centre and the laptop was finally serviced and its 1080p Screen replaced. Nothing much because it’s “usual” for new laptops to get a defected screen.

Just a few weeks had passed and there was another problem with the laptop, the speakers began crackling. I called again and the diagnostics took around 2 hours just to realize that the speakers were faulty and had to be changed. The laptop was again serviced and the speakers were changed. Still, it’s completely fine. I bought a laptop costing more than 2lac rupees just to get it under repairs every other day. Fine!

Again, there arose a problem. The windows seemed to be faulting and going under the start-up loop every time it was turned on. So, I called again. The customer support tech associate this time completely formatted my entire laptop this time just to “check” whether there was a problem with the bootloader or not. Formatted my entire data!!!! Not even just the C: Partition, all the partitions and drives were formatted. I had GBs of ripped music, application installs, etc. along with my critical documents which I lost. My laptop has 2 drives, one SATA Hard Disk and one SSD. The windows was installed on SSD and I used the other drive as a backup drive but the tech support guy asked me to format both my drives without even asking if I had any Windows installation backup or not. After formatting he asked me if I had any. Wow man, WOW. I didn’t, so he requested me to arrange for a backup and he’ll the next day. Okay! There was some error in the boot table and he got me to a new Windows 10 installation.

Again a problem. The heating vent seemed to be malfunctioning and the core temperatures were reaching around ~100 degree Centigrade and the laptop seemed to shut down abruptly with the “blue screen”. I called the tech support again and she asked me to do some diagnostics. The other day, responsible parts were ordered for change. Done! MY ENTIRE HEAT VENT WAS GOING TO BE CHANGED. Normal huh? Today, the vent was changed and the temperatures are good now. But now, the laptop is hanging too much when I am doing some graphic intensive stuff or using some software. The 2nd best laptop available right now in Indian market which costed me a ton load of money was lagging and hanging. Good.

I just want to make this one comparison: HP Pavilion; 4 years old, just Rs. 45,000, still works. Alienware 15R3; costs Rs. 2,13,500, failed within 4 months, tried repairing under Premium Support, laptop still causing problems.

If I had known this was about to happen, I would rather have bought an Apple MacBook and a Razer Core than this laptop. This laptop has caused me enough headache and is still giving me a hard time. I sometimes get so frustrated with its performance that I literally want to throw this into a dustbin. This is not what I expected from Alienware. Everybody says it’s the best but from my experiences…..I don’t think so.

Below are the unique tracking numbers and service request numbers of my complaints. Have you seen these many just for one laptop?

 

Unique Tracking Numbers

 

<<#5418138-27962627-35601864#>>

<<#5418138-27991007-35639251#>>

<<#5418138-28017917-35675657#>>

<<#5418138-28048151-35716174#>>

<<#5418138-28068207-35743709#>>

<<#5418138-28133024-35826016#>>

<<#5418138-28167328-35872387#>>

<<#5418138-28351901-36120584#>>

<<#5418138-28430670-36223391#>>

<<#5418138-28430670-36223660#>>

<<#5418138-28581807-36426110#>>

<<#5418138-28430670-36306462#>>

 

Service Request Numbers

 

SR#: 

SR#: 

 

I am most disappointed by this experience which I related. Within four months, this laptop had so many problems that a normal laptop doesn't have for years. You have a serious problem with your support process and procedures. I request you now to either replace this DEFECTIVE LAPTOP or provide me a cashback. If someone at Dell does not resolve this pronto, your company will lose not only my future purchases, but also my purchase recommendations to graduate students, professors, and support staff at BITS, Pilani. I hope you that you being an Indian, know about this college and the reputation it carries. That laptop is a TOOL, not merely a product. So, to sell me a defective laptop, and then destroy the data it manipulates, is to negate it’s very utility. This laptop is supposed to be the best for gaming, so these defects (each and every single one of them) nullify the most important reason for its existence and my purchase. I know that Dell doesn't have a return policy and that it can only change the defective parts. But when the entire laptop is made up of faulty parts then how many times should I ask for service and how many times are you going to repair it. My college’s campus is big and every time I had to get the laptop repaired, I have to get it from my room to the college’s main gate. I don’t have time to deal with such nuisances and I think neither do you. I don’t want to do things which are necessary but neither of us would like. I can't wait for long time now, either you replace the Laptop or I have to go for legal action through consumer court / media.

 

Sincerely,

Ayush Agrawal