I had been having trouble with my computer for some time. I finally decided to give in and order a new computer. I did some research and found that both Dell and Alienware had systems that were rated high, received good reviews for their support and were priced fairly equal for similar machines. I decided to give Alienware a shot. That was a BIG mistake! I have never had such TERRIBLE customer support during the ordering process and before the system shipped. If the support prior to the system being shipped is this bad, I can’t imagine what you get after you have the machine and they have your money. The notes below are the ACTUAL notes I took for myself during the whole process. Believe me when I tell you that they are quite mild compared to the things that actually happened. The conversations I had with sales and customer support led me to believe that neither really had a clue as to what was happening, and that was when I was talking to someone I could actually understand.
11/3/03 (monday) - order placed. Called alienware to confirm order (as requested by website). Had to call back twice because my order hadn't made it from the website into the reps database. Total time before confirmation possible: 2 1/2 hours. During order confirmation, I asked the rep to confirm that it was an SATA drive TWO times and was told both times that it was. Rep took my credit card information and said he was charging my card. I said ok. Moments later he said the charge went through ok. was told it should take 10 days to build,test, and ship.
11/4/03 (tuesday) - received email from alienware about order status. Email (and website) said that the order was in phase 2. Phase 2 is:
Phase 2: (Order is currently processed)
Your order has been verified and is currently awaiting payment processing. While in this stage we are authenticating any credit card and/or payment information for security purposes. Please understand that this phase is necessary as it will protect you the customer from any fraudulent transactions. We observe very strict security guidelines and hope you can appreciate our efforts.
If the rep successfully charged my card while I was talking to him on the phone, why I am awaiting payment processing?
read email from alienware describing order. Noticed drive was ATA100. Called alienware again and had them change the drive to SATA (for an additional $20). Was informed at this time that it's actually 10 "BUSINESS" days, not just 10 Days to ship.
11/5/03 (wednesday) - entered phase 3 late in the day (est).
11/6/03 (thursday) - still in phase 3 as of 7:24pm est. According to Citibank website, my credit card was charged on 11/3/03 for $1821.
11/7/03 (friday) - finally entered phase 4. At this pace, there is NO way they will make their 10 day ship date.
11/8/03 - 11/9/03 - no change. They must not work on weekends.
11/10/03 - went from phase 4 to phase 9. WooHoo! The machine is actually being built. It only took a week to start building the machine.
11/11/03 - No change. They must not be working due to the federal holiday.
11/12/03 - Stage 10. They are now testing my new machine.
11/13/03 - Still on Stage 10. It must be a long process.
11/14/03 - Stage 11. Boy this wait is painful. My current machine is dying a slow painful death and I'm the one feeling the pain. PLEASE get me my new computer!
11/15/03 - No change.
11/16/03 - No change. Maybe I SHOULD have bought the Dell XPS instead just so I could get the damn machine faster. Dell claims 15 days to ship, but they always ship early and I don't think their "Days" are business days, I believe they are CALENDAR days. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since I ordered this system.
11/17/03 - No change. Just how long DOES it take to run diagnostics? Phase 11 reads:
Phase 11: (Production: Phase #2)
Your system is undergoing the second stage of the Alienware® 200-point quality control process. This phase is the most crucial stage. We perform a series of grueling tests that push the hardware components in your system to the very limit. This phase is especially important because it is here where the system either passes or fails. If it does fail, it will automatically go to one of our diagnostic technicians to identify any problems before we ship it to you. If the system doesn't pass our performance metrics, we will build it from scratch again. Perfection takes time!
Maybe my system failed and their doing it over? I can't imagine that they can't run a burn in over the weekend since it entered this stage on a friday. I am far too much of an "Instant Gratification" person I guess because this wait is killing me.
11/18/03 - It's STILL in phase 11. I wonder if it failed testing???
11/19/03 (Wednesday) - It's now been at least 10 business days. Called alienware to find out what is going on. I was told it's going to ship "Tomorrow or Monday". I guess they don't ship on Fridays??
11/20/03 - Sent support an email trying to find out what the heck is the hold up!
11/21/03 - Received response email stating:
Mr. Jones,
Thank you for contacting the Order Status Team.
I would like to apologize on behalf of the whole Alienware Staff for this delay.
I can assure you that we’re putting forth our best effort to see that your order gets delivered as promptly as possible.
Best regards,
Maria Jose Lopez
Customer Service Dept.
Status Check Team
Alienware Corp.
11/24/03 - It's STILL in phase 11. I've had it. I'm calling them right now and CANCELLING this order!!
Boy did they try back peddling and saying "Oh no no... we're still within the time frame." YADDA YADDA YADDA.
"Your machine is going to ship tomorrow"... Yep... Sure it is. And it was going to ship last Thursday and it was going to ship today.
Done. Had it.
I had to tell them AT LEAST 3 times that I had HAD it and I wanted my order cancelled and the charges refunded.
The order has been cancelled and they said the credit card would be refunded but that it might take "a few days". I'm
calling citibank and having them note my account with this information.
12/2/03 - The charges still have not been reversed. I have now called Citibank to dispute the charge.
12/2/03 - I just received an email that my order has moved to Phase 12!!! How did an order I cancelled a WEEK ago move to the next phase?? I called ALienware and they claimed that it didn't get cancelled properly in their computer and had now shipped. They advised me to refuse shipment from FedEx and to allow it to be sent back to them.
FedEX was not the ONLY "F" word used in this conversation! They said if I changed my mind, I could just sign for the system and take possesion. I told them if I hadn't had such a horrible experience with them that I might have, but I was afraid of what kind of support I would get after I had the system if their support before hand was THIS bad.
12/3/03 - FedEx attempted delivery and I wasn't home. They marked it as "Refused" and returned it to sender. I'm guessing since I didn't actually see them to refuse it that Alienware notified them that they should return it. Anyway, the computer was returned to Alienware.
12/29/03 - I called citibank to check on the status of my dispute cases. The $20 case has been refunded and is now a closed case. The $1821 case is still being investigated.
12/29/03 - received an email from Alienware dated 12/23/03 (I've been on vacation and just got around to reading it).
Your Cancellation Order for the Invoice#:105445 was received. RMA#:834565
1/8/04 - Called Citibank to find out the status of my dispute claims. They are all resolved. Alienware finally made them permanent credits. PHEW! What an experience that was!
So, that’s it! It took from 11/3/03 until 1/8/04, over TWO MONTHS, to get through all that. And it took from 11/24/03 until 1/8/04 for them to make the credit to my credit card that they said would take “a couple of days”. All in all, it was an EXTREMELY frustrating experience and I will NEVER do business with Alienware again!