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Alienware Refusing Customers As Thieves
ChrisPaget writes "Thinking about buying Alienware (now owned by Dell)? Think again. After buying an almost-new Alienware laptop on eBay, I've spent the last week trying to get hold of a Smart Bay caddy to connect a second hard drive (about $150 for $5 of bent metal). Four different Alienware teams have refused to even give me a price on this accessory, instead accusing me of stealing the machine since I didn't buy it directly from their eBay store. They want me to persuade the eBay seller I did buy it from to add me as an authorized user of his Alienware account — they have no concept of 'ownership transfer' and instead assume that if you're not in their system, you must be a thief."
Imagine if the same was true for cars: Guy fixing your car: "Sorry mate...can't fix this....seems like you bought it from another human and not from a huge company".
Say NO to unpaid Internships!
The monster cable of pre-built PCs
With Alienware's prices, I often wonder who is the thief.
One of our offices needed a couple of PC's and I ordered two through Alienware - everything went through fine and they were set to arrive two weeks later.
Three weeks after I placed the order, Alienware informed me that they hadn't built or shipped the computers because I had asked that they be shipped to an address other than the CC billing address.
I'll never do business with that company again.
"Make it idiot proof, and someone will make a better idiot."
Did the vendor include the original invoice? That should work.
Can't understand their 'fix' of adding you as user of the original owner's account, though. Surely goes against the basic rules of CRM.
While we're on the subject of 'ownership transfer', note also that under most EULAs, you should also buy the software all over again...
I had to buy some plastic components to repair a Dell laptop a while back, so I searched online and got a list of the part numbers I needed. I called someone working for Dell in India, and got the total price I'd need to pay to buy the stuff directly from them [after having the phone rep try to sell me RAM or something]. Turns out I saved a bit by buying everything online.
Thinking about buying Alienware (now owned by Dell)?
Nope. They are vastly overpriced for what they are and I'm not in a habit of paying extra for computers because of the way they look.
Four different Alienware teams have refused to even give me a price on this accessory, instead accusing me of stealing the machine since I didn't buy it directly from their eBay store.
If that is true then I agree it's crazy. I noticed that they were asking for a warranty number and I've never heard of a computer manufacturer refusing to SELL you a part unless you have a warranty number. However, is it at all possible that the support people were misunderstanding you and thinking that you wanted the part for free, under warranty? I know it's four different people and you explained it to them, but it is perfectly possible that all four are complete idiots and didn't even bother listening fully to your explanation of what you wanted.
Negative moral value of force outweighs the positive value of good intentions.
Why did the former owner not transfer his alienware account to you?
Sounds like the one ripping you off is the original seller, much like if you bought a car and he didn't transfer the title.
Then again...why do you need an alienware account in the first place?
This the correct answer and any consumerist bloggers should pick up this story and INVESTIGATE properly to report their findings. (I do not advocate merely copying stories as it is both immoral and pretty dangerous if it turns out you are reporting incorrect information as is increasingly the case where people use Wikipedia as an authoritative source for information, for example.) Each and every one of these cases need to be brought to light so that either the company capitulates under the burden of public knowledge or the knowledge of the public makes them better consumers and can better avoid such vendors and their practices.
Unless you have money to burn or zero skill at assembling a PC yourself, I recommend putting together your own machine.
How does one just put together a laptop? Last time I checked, laptop motherboards and cases hadn't been standardized to that point.
I'm a pro, and have built systems for.... well, longer than the lifespan of many newer Slashdot readers. Unless you like breaking equipment, wasting money, and climbing up a very steep learning curve, I recommend you buy a modest machine and spend your time instead on learning programming. The hard-won lessons of how to gracefully install or replace a heatsnk without getting silver heat sink paste into your memory slots, and to always buy a bag of those thumbscrews, what order the memory modules need to be installed, how to bundle your cabling and keep the airflow clear, how to get hard drives mounted given the knuckle-biting layout of screwing in some disk drives, etc., are a _complete_ waste of useful time for many people.
Alienware is, admittedly, pretty silly. Buy a refurbished Dell machine at their outlet or on Ebay, and spend your money on upgrades when you need them.
You act like all of that stuff is difficult, you must work for Geek Squad?
No - if their concern is valid, you tell them where you bought the computer, provide serial numbers and so forth, they take any number of actions, including:
1. Working with law enforcement - if the thing was stolen, you're either out or you have a civil case against the thief.
2. Transfer the record to you
You're right to look at the social side of the issue - but go a step further - technology can solve this particular problem.
Pathological kinda promises Path + Logical - but instead, you get stuck with pathetic.
Lots of laptops sold on eBay are stolen property. If the one you bought was stolen, then the original owner may have reported it stolen, which means the serial # is in a database that Dell maintains of "hot" laptops. No Dell-authorized repair company will work on them.
To their credit, though, they put the database online so you can see if a serial # is in there. Anyone considering buying a Dell laptop on eBay should look up that laptop's serial number first to see if it's stolen. Caveat Emptor.
I was. I had to fix one of their overheating, POS DVR/WMC's for a customer and it turned out it was under someone else's name from the beginning of the ordering process. It was very lengthy, and very difficult to figure out the original purchaser and their information. Until we had it, they would NOT honor warranty (even though they were perfectly capable of checking the serial number) or even quote prices for parts or labor.
Never again.
I had a sucky sig.
I bought two Alienware computers. One for my wife and one for me. Both being avid gamers, we loved them. I managed to spill water in mine though, and severely damanged it. Of course, this was completely my fault and no reflection of their system.
However, their handling of the replacement is. I shipped the laptop and called a few days later to ensure that they had received it, to which they claimed they had. Two weeks from the time I sent it in I had still heard nothing, so I called them, at which point they claimed to have never received it. I managed to misplace the shipping paperwork I had because I believed the laptop had showed up, etc...
They accused me of lying and having never sent in the laptop until I was able to get replacement paperwork, etc. from the post office. The reality was that they had misplaced it in their shipping warehouse. So after the two week delay I then had to wait 6 more weeks for the out of stock part to come in so that they could replace it.
And so, with prompt service, and considerate customer service like that, who needs anyone else.
I don't know... I can build a new system in 30min tops if I have the components on my bench and they all are OK. I take probably more to have them ready for production. Depending on the destination I stress test them for at least 24h. After that clean install, clone and be on your way.
And I would advice every one to do this. I enjoy building my computers from parts. It takes me more to chose the right components than to build them.
Take it like a puzzle and enjoy it. And don't worry even if you brake something you are still paying less than buying a DELL.
I see this trend on slashdot and I can't understand it. People saying if you make more then xx$/h you should buy that and don't bother to do it yourself. I would say to you... damn you sleep probably around 8h/day think about all that wasted money.
Or smart enough** to understand economies of scale.
** i.e., smarter than yourself, apparently.
This is pretty much one of many scenario's where people would mock the tin foil hat crowd when they get all hysterical about companies/government keeping too much data on them. In this case in the pursuit of "customer service" (read marketing opportunity) they also get to turn every second hand product (MBA's may translate that to "missed sale") into a ticking time bomb. Forget the warranty, you can't get it fixed at any price.
Sounds like a job for the attorney general and/or the FTC. Not that you can get their attention.
Platform advocacy is like choosing a favorite severely developmentally disabled child.
as is increasingly the case where people use Wikipedia as an authoritative source for information, for example.
Yeah that's right, an article with references couldn't possibly be trusted if it's on Wikipedia, but we'll trust everything from the media, blogs, and random commenters on a forum without question...
Further reading indicates this is very hard to prosecute, and requires actual attempt at concealment. So, aside from South Carolina or somesuch, you appear to be right :)
Quite right, I am selling a powerbook g4 with a bad optical drive fror $225 today.
THATS ALL IT IS WORTH. Yet I see the same computer on Craigslist / ebay for much
much more. Lots of people try to pump the value with illegit software installs
(CS4, FINAL CUT PRO!, etc.....), but we all know how much those are worth.
I always found ebay completed auctions are a good measurement for market
value (a tiny bit inflated but pretty accurate). I sell my stuff locally instead
for cash, no shipping, no paypal fees, no ebay fees (they really fckin rape you nowdays).
And, unless your seller can provide original receipt, you should assume it is
a stolen machine.
and lastly : ALIENWARE ?????
cmon now.....
music lover since 1969
I bought a refurb alienware laptop several years ago from a 3rd party. It worked ok, but one of the keys would stick. They wouldn't sell me a new keyboard, because I wasn't a direct customer, even though it had the Alienware markings all over it. I found who the real manufacturer was of the chassis, and they said I have to talk to the retail outlet (Alienware). I tried to go through the 3rd party, who sold a lot of refurb Alienware stuff, and they couldn't get a new keyboard.
Alienware said I could use a USB keyboard instead. Ummm, this was a laptop, that I carried for work. I didn't want to carry a keyboard too, just so I could use my laptop.
I also tried to get the second drive carrier, which turned out to be almost the same as the story said. It would have taken an act of god, and a virgin sacrifice to even hope to get one.
In the end, I suffered with the bad keyboard for quite a while. Finally on one work trip, it overheated and died. The hotel's A/C was broken, and I had to work in the middle of the night (with it 90+ degrees in the room).
I weighed my options. I had this really neat looking laptop that I couldn't do anything with, or try to beg Alienware to fix it (good luck there). I was out of country, and the exchange rate was great then, so I bought a new PC and LCD monitor, and worked from the hotel for a month like that. I went home for a week before the next 1 month job at the same site, and bought a HP laptop. Actually a HP Pavilion zv6000. That was about 3 years or so ago. I'm still using the HP, and I've put it through more abuse than the Alienware ever saw. So far it's been to 3 countries, and more US cities than I can even begin to count. I even did a live stream with a Verizon air card, 2 USB cameras, and a GPS receiver, for the length of I-10 (California to Florida) in the middle of summer. Come on, hot car, long drive, laptop sliding in the passenger seat. It never hit the floor, which was good. I left it running on my porch in Florida for 6 months straight, so I had a terminal to read my mail on, and it never failed, regardless of humidity, heat, or anything. My only complaint since then? The HP draws a lot of power, and I popped the fuse in my power inverter.
I've bought a few replacement parts for the HP, more out of want than need. I need part of the case now, because my laptop bag fell off a luggage cart, and cracked some plastic. That was easily found on eBay for about $30.
For those making car analogies and saying "the ownership should have been transferred, blah, blah", I work on other people's cars as a hobby. I've bought all kinds of parts, and never have I been asked to prove that the car was "mine", or that I was an authorized repair person. I walk into the store or even dealership and say "I need part .... for a ....", and they had it to me. The ONLY part that's ever required any sort of proof was a factory reproduced key for a lost key, so the owner has to go with registration in hand to get it. That hasn't stopped me from buying replacement ignition and door locks with new keys. I could steal your car, buy new locks, and it would be mine (without legit plates, obviously). I've even had my car towed, without any proof that it was mine. My word of "It won't start, tow it to here please" and a cash payment has always been enough. Maybe that's because I'm a fine upstanding appearing citizen, but those who know me know better. :) No, I wouldn't steal a car, but still.. A $40,000+ car is worth a hell of a lot more than anything Alienware has to offer.
Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.