A DREAM PC THAT TURNED INTO NIGHTMARE...
Written: Aug 09 '06 (Updated Aug 10 '06)
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Pros: Stellar configuration, attractive case, USB and Firewire up front.
Cons: Unreliable, customer service, customer service, customer service, peripherals are just so-so, big & heavy.
The Bottom Line: Run away from this company and eMachines ... read the review.
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| DENGNY's Full Review: Gateway GX7022E (RBGX7022E) PC Desktop |
Sometimes what starts out as a great dream turns into a nightmare. Such is the case with my newly purchased Gateway GX7022E computer.
I have purchased a lot of stuff from Tigerdirect.com. One computer (an eMachines refurbished PC), motherboards, processors, printers, etc. Mostly for business purposes, but some personal stuff too. So, one day while browsing I came across what seemed to be an unbelievable offer from them … a loaded Windows XP Media Edition PC for $999. WOW! On paper, this PC was ‘off the hook’. Standard equipment was a 3ghz dual core Intel processor, 2gb RAM, Dual Layer DVD writer, DVD-ROM drive, video card, TV tuner, 5.1 Optical Audio output, modem, Gigabit LAN, massive 320gb SATA hard drive, a nine-in-one media card reader, USB ports out the wazoo, and Firewire in front and back. I was drooling.
My one concern, and it really wasn’t a concern it was refurbished. Not such a concern, because a friend and my parents just replaced their 5+ year old Gateway computers. I thought Gateway were quality machines, so why worry about one that’s slightly used and backed by a 90 day warranty? It’s a Gateway, for cripes sake! They’re the 3rd largest computer manufacturer/distributor in the USA. That’s got to mean something right? Well, have you checked their stock price lately? But I digress. Suffice it to say, that I was reasonably confident that anything that goes wrong would be handled in an efficient and timely manner. Yeah, right! Besides, along with the PC I bought a WaCA 24 month warranty for $180 to begin coverage when the 90 days were up. A little insurance and peace of mind, just in case.
Total purchase price … roughly $1230.00, ($1130 with rebate) … not bad.
Anyway I get my PC within a week and I take it home, hook it up, and for 5 days all is well. Not only does it act brand-new, it looks brand-new too. All the little stickers are on the front of the PC telling me it’s an Intel Processor, designed for Windows XP, etc., etc. and there’s one little scratch on it. It’s also performing to my expectations as well. The speakers that came with it are, well, lousy. Certainly not anything worthy of the 5.1 optical digital sound the onboard processor is capable of. And, the keyboard and optical mouse were standard nondescript stuff. But I had my own keyboard and mouse from my previous computers, and I could purchase speakers with an optical input. Minor points to be sure, but that’s where the minor stuff ends and the real issues begin.
Then on the 6th night I push the ‘Sleep’ button on my keyboard and the next day when I hit the Spacebar to wake the computer up, it doesn’t … well, not exactly. I get some cryptic Windows XP message that there are corrupt files and that a restart will restore these files back to their original state. So I did (restart), and it didn’t (restore). As a matter of fact at this time the PC is in the process of starting up, it hits these corrupted files, then restarts itself … again, and again, and again.
But all is not lost … I have a restore DVD-ROM. So I pop the restore DVD in the drive and restart the computer. The restore process starts, and guess what? … During the course of the restore, there’s a problem copying files to the hard disk (roughly at about 15% completed). So, I give it another shot. And again … problem copying files to the hard drive, but this time at a different point (roughly at about 25%). This basically tells me there’s more than likely either a failure of the hard drive, or the hard drive controller (which, is built into the motherboard). Why you may ask? Well, because files are being copied to the hard drive and a different percentage is being reached each time I make an attempt at a restore. If it were some kind of corruption of data on the DVD, then it would fail at the same time every time it reached that point on the DVD. The error would be consistent every time.
At this point I call Gateway customer service and speak to a nice, but technically clueless person. I explain the situation and she informs me that she will send me out a new restore DVD. I’m like, ‘What? … You’re kidding right?’ She says no and that that’s the recommended solution at this time. I politely tell her that the recommended solution is completely wrong and that I’ll bet the farm that it’s a hard drive related problem. But, what am I supposed to do? They basically got me by the … well, you know what I mean, so I relent and I get the disk after 5 days. Guess what? The new DVD didn’t work either. Excuse me while I put my big surprise face on.
Now, I call Gateway again and explain the situation and they say exactly what I originally thought the problem was … hard drive related. They say, okay … we’ll send you a new hard drive. ‘Okay’ I say, ‘but what if it fails again … can I send the PC in for repair to your facility?’ The answer was, ‘yes’.
Another 5 days later, I get the new hard drive. It’s a simple swap and then I run the restore process again (new hard drive & new DVD just in case). Process complete, and I’m on my way again. Well, this time the PC worked for 3 whole days before crapping out but just before this happens, my video card is giving me funny lines when watching a video file or watching TV via the tuner card. Again, I call Gateway and spoke to Daniel (rep #71295). Now, I’m taking detailed notes because I have a sneaky suspicion I'm going to need them. He’s sending me a box and a FedEx overnight slip for me to send the PC to Gateway in Nashville, TN. Two days later I get the box as promised, and the PC goes back. Estimated time of completed repair? … 7-10 business days tops. I check the tracking number on FedEx.com and they definitely receive the PC on 6/29/2006. Date of original order 5/20/2006. So now, I’m out about $1130 (including shipping) and I don’t have a PC. Do the math … that’s over one month.
Wait, it gets worse. Here’s the timeline of my other phone calls (information they gave me is in quotes) …
7/11/2006 – Alan #70937 … Asked for a status of the repair. He didn’t have one. ‘I will initiate an escalation report and send an email to a manager (confirmation # 535104). Please call back on 7/13 or 7/14 … a response and status should be available by then.’
7/17/2006 – Travis #70357 … ‘Wow, this PC has been here a while … let me speak to my manager, they have information available from another database that we don’t have access to. Your PC has been fully tested and they replaced the video card as well. You should receive it by 7/19 or 7/20.’
7/26/2006 – Melinda #70608 … ‘A response to the email escalating this incident was never received. Status is not known at this time.’ I ask to speak to a manager.
7/26/2006 – Eli (manager) … ‘I’ll send another escalation email to the warehouse so that they’ll ship your PC and send back a tracking number. If you don’t receive your PC by 8/2, call for more information.' My response: 'Eli, what makes you think doing the same thing that was already done previously is the right thing to do? You don't really know the status of my PC do you?' *SILENCE* Me again: 'You have no idea where my PC is, what state it's in, what's wrong with it, or when it will be done, do you?' *MORE SILENCE* My response: 'I didn't think so.'
8/3/2006 – Tami #71756 … ‘Your PC is in testing which is the last stage of being repaired. It should ship out any time now’. I ask to speak to a manager.
8/3/2006 – Dan #67125 (manager) … ‘I don’t show that anything was replaced in your system’. I say, ‘what about the hardware failure?’ His reply, ‘We didn’t find anything wrong with your PC. The only thing we did was diagnostics and re-imaging of the hard drive.’ Again I say, ‘What about the hardware failure … surely there must have been SOMETHING wrong with the PC. So I’m basically getting back the exact same PC I sent in to be repaired, but nothing was REALLY done?’ His answer, ‘we didn’t find anything wrong with your PC.’ Again, they have me by the ‘you know whats’. He did however, extend my 3 month warranty to 6 months. Big deal! From where I’m sitting, it should be 6 months from when I get the replacement PC back.
8/7/2006 – I finally receive my PC back from Gateway after over 5 weeks of waiting and phone calls. But wait! It’s not my PC. First of all remember the stickers on the front? They’re gone. Remember the one little scratch? It’s gone. There’s also a thick coating of dust on the main fan. I didn’t have my PC long enough to accumulate that much dust. And if that weren’t enough, there’s no video card, it’s missing, (just the on-board video connector is there) and the TV tuner is missing. Apparently, they don’t actually repair YOUR PC and send you YOUR PC back … they take YOUR PC and swap it out for another PC of the same model …E X C E P T … they don’t bother to check what your original PC had in it and send you another one with the same stuff.
8/7/2006 – Carlos #71242 … ‘Um, I can’t handle this problem here sir. You’ll have to call our corporate office at (801) 401-1199 (Utah).
8/7/2006 – Ronal (manager) … ‘You need to send the PC back to Tennessee. I’ll send you a box and a FedEx slip. Estimated turn around time … 7-10 business days.
8/9/2006 (today) – I received the box and the PC will be returned today. They should receive it by Monday August 14, 2006.
Here we go again.
First, I’ll be lucky to get a replacement for the second replacement by the end of this month. That will put me with a three-month timeframe from the time I ordered my original, to the time I get the replacement’s replacement. In other words, no benefit as of yet from my $1130 purchase.
Second, I have no confidence that I’ll receive a PC that was configured like my original PC, nor do I have any confidence that it will work properly.
Lastly, I don’t have any confidence that if a problem does arise, Gateway Customer Service will be able to handle my problem. C’mon … I need to speak to 11 people (so far) to get service on 1 PC? This is what Gateway calls Customer Service? I know I just paraphrased the timeline above but my general impressions of this whole incident are the lower level customer support people do not have access to all the information necessary to give customers a complete and accurate picture of what’s going on with their repair, or in Gateway’s case, model replacement and therefore they make stuff up. Escalation emails to the warehouse either go unanswered or an inordinate amount of time is necessary to receive a response. When managers don't receive information from the warehouse on their Escalation emails, THEY make stuff up too (it's the only explanation I can think of for getting so much conflicting information from so many different people). Further, managers may have access to additional information, but they have no real ability to immediately rectify a situation or are discouraged to do so. The last two managers I spoke to, I practically begged that they do something immediately (either ship me another PC, or give me my money back). All one did was put an unanswered escalation report in my file. If no one is reacting to an ‘escalation report’ then they have no real benefit. In theory it’s a great idea but in practice, it stinks. The other manager’s answer to my pleas for service was to send me an empty box ... no need to embellish on that little solution, now is there?
Lesson? A good deal may not be such a good deal. Look past the specifications of the PC and the price and consider what you’ll have to go through to get something done in the event of a failure. Remember my parents and the friend that had Gateway computers for over 5 years? Well, yes they both purchased replacements … but they bought Dell and they’re beyond happy.
Advice … Stay away from Gateway and eMachines (same company). They just don’t have their act together when it comes to service. If something goes wrong, you’re in for a frustrating and lengthy ordeal.
Conclusion … It is my sincere hope that someone from Gateway will read what I wrote here, and be appalled enough to make this situation right or forward this information to someone who can. What would make this situation right? Either a PC exactly configured like the one I originally purchased, or better if it’s no longer available. Or, give me my money back. And, I don’t think I’m out of line for asking, no insisting on this. But, I’m dreaming again. That kind of thing doesn’t happen. That’s why there’s a Department of Consumer Affairs, and the courts. It’s not the route I want to take, but I will if I have to. And I’m getting close to the point where I think I have to.
I’ll try to keep you posted and update this review when I can.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 1130
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium
Processor speed: over 1000
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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Epinions.com ID:
DENGNY
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Member: Dennis G
Location: Morris County, NJ
Reviews written: 85
Trusted by: 38 members
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