I ordered the workstation online on September 16th. We waited almost 3 weeks to receive the machine. We were disappointed to learn once we removed it from the box that it only had a single processor installed. When I ordered online, I had chosen dual Opteron processors, but it was determined with an Alienware sales rep I spoke with on the phone that because of a glitch on the online system (you can not hit any "back" button while ordering), the system was built with only one.
After additional phone calls to Alienware I was able to purchase the second processor and have that shipped out to install myself. Another week passed before the second CPU was shipped.in the meantime, the computer sat in our office - it was not even turned on as we needed the dual processing power to run the advanced 3D animation jobs.
I was dismayed to find that all that was shipped was the CPU itself, in a simple envelope - not even an anti-static bag. Almost all companies I had previous purchased CPUs from included the heatsink and fan with the CPU purchase and also had anti-static protection around the CPU plastic enclosure.
Over 4 weeks from first ordering the machine, we attempted to boot it up. What came up instead of the Win XP64 welcome screen was an error message that OS files were missing or corrupt. Unable to get around the error, or even boot to safe mode, I made the decision to reformat the main hard drive as we needed to get the machine into production on the jobs we had. I am an experience computer tech and have been putting togehter and repairing systems myself since the early 90's.
After formatting the main hard drive and reinstalling the operating system I thought the machine would be free of errors. I loaded it up with our software and we attempted to begin using the machine. Bear in mind that we only installed Win XP64 certified software and external components.
We began having problems on day 2 of using the machine. On boot up, the Win XP64 welcome screen would hang, unable to fully boot. I attempted a number of ways to first determine what was causing this and then fix it. Finally, I instructed one of our designers to call the Alienware tech support and explain the problem. My designer was on the phone for approximately 3 hours, attempting in vain many of the same things I had already attempted to fix the problem.
Tests were run on hardware, etc. The last items the tech had asked my designer to perform rendered the computer absolutely useless to us - unable to boot at all. The next day I phoned Alienware again and explained my dissatisfaction with the system in general, and asked that the problem be resolved as quickly as possible. We had already begun to lose money on the jobs that we had planned for this workstation. I was told that the system would have to be shipped back for repair.
I was given an RMA # and a FedEx pick up notice. We waited more than 10 days to receive the machine back. All that was noted on the Computer Repair-Customer Receipt was that the, "failure was duplicated", "repaired", and "other O.S. Corrupted".
This could have been preformed right here, by myself, without having to ship it back to Alienware.in fact, this is where we started: with missing O.S. Files and my formatting of the hard drive and reinstalling the O.S. Obviously this did not fix the problem initially, and if no hardware changes had been made and the same O.S. Disk installed, it would leave one to believe the same problems would begin again.
In addition, when the system was sent back, I included a detailed letter as to what was happening and what had been done already and specifically asked for a detailed response and to install a fresh O.S. Neither of which happened.
All this aside, after receiving the shipment today we removed the computer from the undamaged box to find the metal casing was damaged. The left, bottom of the case side barely fits on the tower as it is smashed in - meaning this machine had been dropped from a height.
Obviously, this was not FedEx as the box was our original box and was completely undamaged/smashed. I can not believe that an Alienware employee would damage a system so obviously and then simply box it back up and ship that same damaged system back to us as "fixed". We did not bother to turn it on - simply took photos of the damage (enclosed) and boxed it right back up again.
We are now approximately 10 weeks from the time we originally purchased this machine and have not been able to use it.
I spoke with Christopher Warner on the phone today who refused to offer a refund - all he offered was to replace the damaged case. I stated that since the computer had obviously been dropped (to cause such damage to the case) that at the very least he could offer a brand new system. He refused. He also mentioned that our ONLY option was to either keep the machine or send it back for a new case.
We simply refuse to continue to do business with Alienware and demand a complete refund of our original purchase price for the computer that never functioned properly and the additional CPU that is currently installed in the computer: An amount of $4603.26.
We have reported Alienware to the Miami Better Business Bureau.
This case has also been documented by mailing via FedEx a similar letter and photos of the case damage to Alienware's Agent of Service, Nelson Gonzalez.
We are also in the process of contacting local Miami news stations that handle Consumer complaints and rip offs in hopes they will want to run a story on how this company operates and rips off its customers.
Sherry
Costa Mesa, California
U.S.A.
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