Dell/Alienware worst company there is

[gus6464]

Before Christmas, I ordered an Alienware 15 R2 and the process went smoothly. Took them 3 days to build and 1 week to arrive. When I open the laptop everything looks good until I get to windows and find out that a ton of keys on the keyboard do not work.

Call customer care and this is where it all goes downhill. I call the Alienware support hotline and I'm on hold for 1.5 hours. Finally get someone and then give him my service tag. He then proceeds to tell me that I have "premium support" and that he can't help me so I get transferred somewhere else and I am on hold for another 45 minutes. Only Dell would have the audacity to call this premium but nevertheless I get the "premium" person on the phone.

Explain to him my problem and says he can exchange the machine but I have to wait 3 weeks for the new one. I ask him why do I have to wait that long if the website says ships in 3 days for build and has no answer. He says he can return the non functioning laptop and I can reorder from site if that will be faster. I agree to that and puts me on hold for a minute. Then comes back and tells me that he can't do the return and has to transfer me to a different department. Then comes back and says the department is closed for the day and I have to call back.

Tomorrow I'm just going to send this garbage back and go with another company.

 

[Arachnotronic]

Tomorrow I'm just going to send this garbage back and go with another company.

Good; vote with your dollars!

What are you eyeing instead?

 

[TeknoBug]

Yeah I wouldn't touch Alienware within an arms reach, Dell's business laptops are good though- I used to like their consumer Inspiron line but they're not that great anymore unless you get that 2-in-1 model.

 

[Commodus]

This is the thing that bugs me about Dell, and many Windows PC vendors in general: this decision to cheap out on support, and decide that different product lines get better support than others.

Every PC a company makes always deserves the best support. You can pay for an extended support period, but you shouldn't have to pay extra just to get someone who can properly answer your questions. It's one of the big reasons why I keep using Macs. They might not always have the best specs for the money, but 15 minutes with a knowledgeable tech (including at retail) beats hours with techs who don't know anything beyond their call script.

 

[Stuka87]

I really like Dell's enterprise branch. Servers, business laptops, etc. Great experiences there, and I like my Dell Precision laptops.

But Alienware has gone down a hole since Dell bought them. And Dells consumer branch sucks.

The only computer OEM with good support is Apple (in my experience) when in comes to the average person wanting support.

What are you looking at now?

 

[JeffMD]

Tis sucks that their support is so bad. On the flip side you probably could have easily popped out the keyboard and had them overnight you a new one. I don't think you were wrong in returning the laptop though. I loved my 1505e because it was the first laptop I spent some money on and I made sure it had the upgrades I knew it needed to have to be a good laptop, like their best screen and ati/nvidia video. These days they aren't nearly as configurable and most of the LCD options available suck balls, so I rarley consider dell any more.

 

[JWade]

I have an Alienware 13, I had a similar problem with the keyboard. I chose to do their online diagnostics test for it. what the test was typing in a box with all the keys. half of them didn't work. I submitted the results to them, they sent me a new keyboard fedex and I switched it out myself, no problems anymore.

I agree though, shouldn't have to have problems with a new laptop with non-functioning keys on the keyboard. other than that problem, haven't had any with my 13.

 

[MongGrel]

I really like Dell's enterprise branch. Servers, business laptops, etc. Great experiences there, and I like my Dell Precision laptops.

But Alienware has gone down a hole since Dell bought them. And Dells consumer branch sucks.

The only computer OEM with good support is Apple (in my experience) which in comes to the average person wanting support.

What are you looking at now?

Highlighted pretty much says what I was going to mention anyway from anything I have ever read.

Have never owned one myself, but I have read reviews of many things over the decades.

 

[Puffnstuff]

There's no way that a broken laptop should've been shipped to a customer and I would definitely return the unit for a full refund.

 

[gus6464]

I have an Alienware 13, I had a similar problem with the keyboard. I chose to do their online diagnostics test for it. what the test was typing in a box with all the keys. half of them didn't work. I submitted the results to them, they sent me a new keyboard fedex and I switched it out myself, no problems anymore.

I agree though, shouldn't have to have problems with a new laptop with non-functioning keys on the keyboard. other than that problem, haven't had any with my 13.

So I take it this seems to be a common issue with Alienware? The thing that bugs me the most is how their support handled it. If you are this bad on a brand new laptop how are you a year down the road if I have another issue.

The only reason I went Alienware is because I have had excellent support from the Latitudes I order at work. All our servers are Dell as well and their support always takes care of us. I would figure their top end consumer brand would have the same level of support as their business side but the joke's on me I guess.

I once had the battery of a coworker's Latitude crap out while he was on a business trip in central america. I contacted Dell and they had a support agent meet him where he was within 12 hours with a new battery.

 

[gus6464]

Good; vote with your dollars!

What are you eyeing instead?

Have no clue at this point. I have looked at MSI and Asus but none are spec'd like the Dell for the price.

 

[HeXen]

Xotic PC was good to me, kind of slow on the build and testing though.

 

[gus6464]

Xotic PC was good to me, kind of slow on the build and testing though.

Thanks for the info. I am looking at the MSI Ghost Pro with upgraded 950 Pro NVME from them. Price is very similar to the Alienware.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Every company is somebody's worst-in-the-world. I've dealt with product support for probably a dozen different manufacturers, and have come to the conclusion that if I'm calling tier 1 tech support, I'm already resigning myself to pain.

Much better to purchase from a brick and mortar so you can just return/exchange factory-defectives.

Too bad about your particular experience though.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Thing about this kind of experience is that once it happens you will be hard pressed to shake it. This reminds me of the chevy vs ford argument and if you've had a great experience with a particular brand you will be happy with it. I've only purchased one alienware laptop and didn't require any rma service so I cannot comment about how good they are or aren't. The OP should definitely send it back for a full refund.

 

[abekl]

Thanks for the info. I am looking at the MSI Ghost Pro with upgraded 950 Pro NVME from them. Price is very similar to the Alienware.

I can vouch for MSI's gt72s lineup. I have two and nary a problem to be found.

 

[lakedude]

I've been hating my MSI GT-70 but for software reasons, not hardware. MSI shipped systems with bad software and it took a long time to figure out that one needed to remove some language packs and run a SFC scan on a freshly installed system else it took forever to start up or shut down (especially shutdown, like hours). It would say "Configuring Windows Features" forever.

Hardware wise my MSI is awesome. I especially like the matte screen.

Now that the software issues are sorted out I'm enjoying the system, especially after slapping a SSD in there.

 

[Arachnotronic]

Have no clue at this point. I have looked at MSI and Asus but none are spec'd like the Dell for the price.

I have an MSI GS60 Ghost Pro and it is a great machine. Probably worth looking into something like that; I really like MSI and will probably stick with them for gaming laptops in the future.

 

[gus6464]

Went to check out the MSI ghost pro with the 4k screen yesterday and I was quite impressed. The keyboard feels great as well. Overall I found be to be better built than the alienware. Think this is the one I'm picking up.

 

[abekl]

Went to check out the MSI ghost pro with the 4k screen yesterday and I was quite impressed. The keyboard feels great as well. Overall I found be to be better built than the alienware. Think this is the one I'm picking up.

Ther ghost pro is a good buy. But just so you know, the GT72S Dominator G is 100 dollars less, and is the same as the ghost except for it not being 4k and 17" instead of the Ghost's 15" display

 

[justin4pack]

Can vouch for xotic pc. I ordered a sager gaming laptop from them. Support was good even after the warranty expired.

 

[abekl]

Can vouch for xotic pc. I ordered a sager gaming laptop from them. Support was good even after the warranty expired.

xotic pc isd trustworthy, but they take a long time to build and ship systems. If your system doesn't require customizatin, then I'd look elsewhere to buy it.

 

[Face2Face]

Stinks you had to deal with that mess.

I have to say, I love my little Alienware Alpha. For the money it's the perfect couch gaming PC that can hide behind the TV. I had to call support one day for some help with A Hivemind UI issue, and the support was actually pretty good. They logged into my Alpha and fixed the issue pretty quickly.

 

[Blue_Max]

Not a big fan of ASUS anymore for the exact same reason and experience. They had so many laptops where the trackpads went crazy but they refused to acknowledge any flaw on their end and would demand $100-200 to repair it. Not as long on the phone, but phone guy didn't make even the slightest effort to come to a better solution.

 

[gus6464]

So this is quite funny. I sent the POS alienware back 2 weeks ago. They received it last Thursday per UPS tracking. So today I still have yet to see a refund on my amex for the purchase. I call Dell to see what's going on and they proceed to tell me that it takes 3 weeks for them to process the refund. I have never returned anything to where it takes 3 weeks to refund. What are they smoking over there?

So ended up calling amex and doing a chargeback.