Gateway...DON'T Believe the Hype!!
Apr 25 '00
When I purchased my brand new, made to order Gateway computer in February 1999, I thought that I had made the deal of a lifetime. Well, after about 2 weeks, I did some major overhauling of my thought processes. Now, I will be fair, and say that it is not ALL bad, because after all, I do try to see the good in most products.
My experience with the sales department was absolutely spectacular. And since I knew very little about high tech computers and such, I allowed the sales rep to be my guide dog. I pretty much exclaimed to him that I was sooo excited about finally purchasing a high speed Pentium II computer. He took my excitement and ran with it!! He cheerfully offered all the latest gizmos and gadgets, most of which I didn't understand. This rep, God bless him, had the patience of a saint, and carefully explained each of my questions.
I ended up ordering a 10.2 GB EIDE hard drive, with a Mitsumi 13X/32X CD-ROM drive, an NV3T VIDEO Card with 64 MB RAM and of course a Pentium II 400 MHZ Processor. To complete the deal, I agreed to purchase a 17 inch monitor and, microphone and an Epson Stylus Color 640 printer. And, man, oh, man was I pleased with myself!!
My fabulous new computer arrived via UPS ( no comment) and I could hardly contain myself as I put it all together. This was one of my major concerns prior to committing myself to this purchase. The Gateway sales rep explained that the assembly would be a snap since everything was color coded. I will agree with him here. In less than 30 minutes, I turned on my new toy.
The first thing that I noticed was the ease of use of this computer. It was also extremely quiet, unlike my previous old IBM clone, which groaned and churned and made other such annoying noises. Of course, I wanted to install EVERY program I owned that very night!! That's when the fun began!! The first couple of CD's installed effortlessly. But, then suddenly, the CD Rom drive hissed at me!! Then it growled and I almost ran away from my new system!!
I called the 800, 24 hour technical support line ( I was happy that it was not long distance!!) and could not get through to a live operator...for days!! So, this, by far, is the absolute worse part about my experience with Gateway. Their customer support is the worst I have ever experienced with any company and any product, thus far.
I finally went to their website and emailed them my complaints. They were rapid in their response, and after several email correspondences, they agreed to send me a new CD Rom drive that I had to install myself!! I could not believe that a technician was not going to come and help me!! The operation was a major success, but then 2 weeks later, the multi-functioning high tech keyboard went on the fritz!! Now this was too much for me!! Again with the customer service problems and finally , VOILA!, a new keyboard. By the end of the first month of ownership, I had received a new mouse, 2 keyboards and the CD Rom drive!!!
Needless to say, I am far from pleased with Gateway. Their wonderful commercials are enticing, but over exaggerated. Their sales representatives are knowledgeable and personable. Their customer service and technical support departments are horrid. A total nightmare!!
I do not recommend them and at this point I am very disappointed in my purchase, wouldn't you be??
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Epinions.com ID:
Mimi369
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Member: Miriam Jacobs
Location: New York
Reviews written: 419
Trusted by: 489 members
About Me:
My Name is Not Monkey Girl!
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