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Dell to Buy Alienware?
An anonymous reader writes "Well, looks like rumors are flying, and Dell may have bought Alienware according to an article on cnet.
It really would fit Dell well. They are the last big manufacturer not to use AMD, and this would fill that void. Acquiring this company would also help them grow their business to where they want it to be ($80 billion anually). One can only hope that Alienware support and hardware won't be ill effected by this acquisition."
"One can only hope that Alienware support and hardware won't be ill effected by this acquisition." Whoa!..Alienware has so many post purchase CS complaints...Hell its hard to even talk to a competant rep once you get your laptop/desktop..When i ordered mone in November 18, 2005...and the did not get it to me until January 31 2006..Thats a little bit of a problem..You actually think Dell buying them out will help this..Maybe the will help with the 8 Stuck pixels that my laptop came with, that Alienware CS is still insisting that they will not replace the laptop for, because it is not center of the screen..When has it ever been ok to release a completely faulty product!
~~"Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong." ~~Dennis Miller
All the while lining the pockets of good ol' Mike Dell.
I'll keep building my own, thanks.
Curb CO2 emissions: Kill yourself today!
http://www.cnet.com.au/desktops/pcs/0,39029439,400 61082,00.htm
A local Dell spokesman has effectively denied rumours that it's acquired rival PC vendor Alienware, suggesting that all speculation should be taken "with a grain of salt".
Sex is not the answer. Sex is the question. Yes is the answer.
Alienware support??? You're kidding, right? Have you ever spoken to Alienware support? Over the 15-16 times I had to call up (my video card on my desktop replacement heated to the point of bubbling) I found myself wishing I could deal with Dell.
When 2 of my keys fell off on the 4th day I owned the laptop, the CS Rep (Juan) informed me that he couldn't replace the keyboard because it was more than 3 days old, but he "off the record" suggested superglue to me.
I think that could alienate the customers ;-)
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
It'd fit with the whole aliens-abducting-cows thing.
...sorry.
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
I wrote the first story backing up Rahul's blog here:
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=30043
and then got more info the other day that also backed up the CNet and AMDZone versions, so I wrote this:
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=30289
Then the new CNet 'backpedal' piece came out, and it looks like someone is spreading hardcore FUD. So, I spent the morning tracking down rumors and leads, calling sources to see who their sources are and the like.
Short story, the sources are not talking to each other, and contrary to the CNet implications, it is not a grand plot by Rahul. I was told last week that it is a done deal, and nothing has changed that view since, but a lot has bolstered it.
The tepid denials (A friend of a guy who knew someone from Dell Australia) and the like are not what I would call good evidence. I have talked to three people who gave me some very convincing evidence about the purchase.
All that said, take it with a grain of salt, but when you start hearing about anouncement dates, it may be more than smoke and mirrors.
-Charlie
Here's how we get good support from Dell:
First we buy the higher-end support options from Dell.
Second, and most important, we take the Dell Certified Service Engineer Exams. There is a cost to this, but by keeping Dell-Certified Techs onsite in our own organization we never have to sit on the phone while someone with less ability (or even no clue at all) tries to 'diagnose' the problem. We find the problem, order the part, and Dell ships it or sends a install tech the next day.
Granted, we're a large organization with 20,000 or so systems, but the Dell Cert process is only a few hundred dollars and would pay even with a few hundred systems.
Moderation in All Things... Especially Moderation - gurutc
I had a alienware sentia laptop. after 1 year and 4 months (1 year warranty) the laptop totally died on me. So I call up to get out of warranty repair, I was expecting to pay. After playing the phone support game with a couple of their techs it came down to:
-Model is discontinued, and they have 0 parts for this model.
-They have no competitive upgrade, I would have bought a newer laptop if they would have given me something for the old one.
-Alienware said "sorry" and referred me to a company in CA who does laptop component repairs.
At this point I sent it to the company in CA who said the MB was totally shot. they gave me some money for the case and the LCD and shipped me my hardrive back.
Hopefully Alienware can learn a few things from Dell on how to support their products.
A totally disatisfied customer.
In regards to Alienware's horrible customer service, I've got to weigh in. Last year I bought a laptop from them expecting a 15" 4:3 screen as pictured on their website when I ordered it. It took over a month to arrive, and what I got was a 15" widescreen with a 1680x1050 resolution -- I'm a young guy with decent vision (with corrective lenses) but this was too damn small for me and not what I ordered.
Add to that my X, C, and V keys were DOA, and when I powered up the computer it informed me the CMOS battery was dead. Alienware advertises extensive power-on load testing -- if any of that were true, they would have found and corrected this problem as soon as they tried to power it up! Additionally the video card and wifi drivers were not installed, so their marketing B.S. about fine-tuning drivers for you is just that.
To top this all off, I had to pay a 15% restocking fee to return my laptop for a refund. That was a $4k machine. Even after their false advertising as to the laptop design and absolutely no in-house testing -- despite the falsified testing sheet that came with it -- I lost $600 to them and it was two full months until I got the 17" Gateway laptop I now have. And it runs great.
So maybe Dell will bring some credibility to Alienware, because it's totally bullshit. Do some Googling and you'll find hundreds of stories like mine.
Shaun