I Sold MANY Gateway Computers
May 20 '02
The Bottom Line Follow the points I make and choose which computer is best for YOU, whether it be Gateway or another company.
I've worked for Gateway for the past two years and I quit. I worked at a call center, there are now three in all of the United States. Let me explain what goes on there, what to avoid, a the truth about the Gateway brand.
To begin with, Gateway is a computer company which started off in the northern Iowa/South Dakota area by a man named Ted Waitte. Ted is the guy with the pony tail you may see in the 'talking cow' commercials. He began the business with a few people in a barn, and became a very successful business man.
Gateway multisources all of its hardware. All parts of the computer are from various companies and are put together on an assembly line according to your specifications. GATEWAY IS A MAIL ORDER COMPANY ONLY! The stores are showrooms and service centers. You can walk in to a store with your old computer and have it serviced, depending on the warranty you selected when you bought the machine. YOU CANNOT GO INTO A STORE AND BUY A PC AND WALK OUT WITH IT. Many people think that they are able to do this to perhaps save shipping and handling costs, but you cannot. The stores can best be described as petting zoos.
The biggest competitor Gateway has is Dell. Do not be fooled by either company, they are both selling pretty much the exact same computer. When Dell advertises free shipping, it is worked into the price of the computer. For example, recently Gateway had a commercial on for a computer for $599 and Dell had one for $699 with free shipping. The components of each machine were identical, the shipping and handling costs for the Gateway were $99.00.
What you MUST watch out for is sales reps trying to oversell you. I'll give an example. If you call into Gateway and want to find out if you qualify for financing, it is just a two minute phone application and the results are usually back in about 3 seconds. Maybe one of each 10-12 applicants get approved. The sales rep (as they are trained to do) is going to try to sell you a computer which maxes out your credit limit. They'll give a monthly payment estimate that may sound great. Just remember that the plan they quote is usually for a 48 month contract. THEY MUST READ YOUR CREDIT LINE, WHO FINANCED YOU, THE INTEREST RATE AND YOUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS. If you are declined for credit, they must read the names of the banks who decline you. The declining banks send written explanation of the reasons you were not approved within 7-10 business days, via mail.
The trick to buying a PC at Gateway is knowing what a good fit is for your family. Most of Gateway's business is done with the average household looking for a new replacement system or their first computer. The sales advisors at Gateway are trained to sell a person as much software and hardware as possible, because they are 'spiffed' on what they sell. The sales reps work on a commission basis only. I made about $80, 000 last year doing this. The average is about 55 or 60 thousand. The turn around is very heavy because the pressures to sell are tremendous.
The first thing you need to know before you call into Gateway is what you will be using your system for. You can't call in and expect a top of the line system for $700.00. Most people use computers to get online and do light word processing. If this is the case a lower class Pentium 4 or a 1100mhz to 1200mhz celeron system will do the trick. Celeron computers have their components 'on board.' In other words, it's hard to upgrade them because things like a sound card and a video card are integrated on the motherboard. Pentium 4 systems give you many more options for upgrading. I'd recommend a lower class Pentium 4 system in most cases. It will last longer. Gateway DOES NOT SELL athlon chips anymore and DOES NOT SELL Pentium 3 desktops anymore. You must go with Celeron or Pentium 4 if buying a new desktop.
Gateway used to offer 3 year warranties on most of their system. Three year warranties went down to a standard one year so that Gateway could be more competitive than Dell. And upgrade to 3 years with lifetime phone tech support is only $119...more than well worth the purchase after the first year of owning the computer. The costs of technical support without this type of warranty is outrageous.
When talking to a sales person, they'll try and upsell you because they get so much of what they sell. Training with Gateway, online classes, printers, cameras, scanners, gaming software, educational software..it's all available. Make sure you KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING when purchasing a computer. Ask for the bottom line price without any "Addons" and then ask how much each extra addon is. For example, ask the amount of the printer, the amount of the children's software package, the surge protector, the upgraded warranty..whatever you may be wanting. Then ask for the exact amount of the shipping and handling and the taxes. Get your calculator out and do the math along with the salesperson.
It's VERY important to get the salesperson's name and extension. That person is the ONLY one who can change your order. All the salespeople work on commission and must make a certain quota and closing percentage. In other words, they must sell so many computers in relation to the calls they take. If you call into Gateway and just hit 'sales' because you want to talk to someone immediately with no intention on buying a computer, you are damaging that person's closing percentage and you'll still have to go through the proper channels to achieve your goal. If you've ever run into a rude salesperson because you've selected sales and wanted tech support, this is the reason why.
The best way to get information about Gateway's current products is by internet at www.gateway.com. Once you get an idea of the features and the abilities of a product, you can call 1-800-Gateway and have your questions answered. The top things to remember are:
1.) Get the price of EVERYTHING including any software or peripherals, training, and hardware, shipping/handling and taxes.
2.) Get the name and extension of the person you speak to. Don't just call back and talk to anyone, that is giving someone else money that another person worked for already. Also, if there is a problem you'll want to deal with just one person.
3.) Don't be upsold. Make sure that you want everything you're getting. If it's something 'you may use later,' you probably won't.
4.) Shop for peripherals like printers/scanners/cameras at places like Best Buy or Circuit City. This way you don't have to pay shipping/handling charges which can be pretty bulky. They'll all work with whatever computer you buy, and it's best to get USB connections which are the wires going from your peripheral to your computer. It's faster and more common.
5.) Research before you buy. If it's price you're looking for, and most people are, Gateway is usually the least expensive for the buck.
6.) Make sure you ask about warranty upgrade. YOU HAVE A YEAR TO UPGRADE THAT WARRANTY, but when you do it at time of the purchase it's something you don't have to worry about further down the road.
I hope that this has been helpful and informative.
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