It’s rather ironic that Acer is approaching the number 2 top computer maker spot and I am posting a my story about how horrible my experience with their support has been. I actually meant to finish this last weekend but it’s a little late, yet the timing couldn’t be better.
This story actually begins last October. My wife bought me an awesome laptop, a Gateway M7315-u with a 250GB hard drive and 4GB of RAM. You can only imagine how happy I was, as any guy that received a laptop as a gift will tell you. Things were going well, until the following March, when my right arrow key just fell off. I snapped it back on, so no big deal.
Last month, the problem with the right arrow key happened again. The key would not stay on. I didn’t really feel up to calling Acer (whom is responsible for the support on Gateway products) so I sent them an email instead, asking them to send me a replacement keyboard so I can switch it out, and that I was an A+ Certified technician and was qualified to make the repair. I couldn’t believe the response I received back. Here is a quote from that response:
“Please be inform that According to Acer warranty policy. We are not able to send replacement keyboard.
Please note that I can place a depot repair for this issue. However According to the information provided I found that this issue is occurred due to the miss use of the product and you have to pay for the service, the payment is via credit card.”
Excuse me?! What right do they have of accusing me of damaging my laptop without any proof? The truth is, I took great care of my machine. Afterall, it’s not every day a guy gets a new laptop as a gift. There’s no way I’d let anything happen to this thing. I sent them a nasty-gram back and here is a quote from the response I had received:
I apologize for the mistake in the previous mail. Ignore the previous mail and consider the new one.
As per our records your system is In Warranty.
Jeremy, I understand that you need a replacement keyboard.
Please be inform that According to Acer warranty policy. We are not able to send replacement keyboard.
Well, that’s getting better. They realized that they made a mistake by accusing me. No big deal. Wait a minute, they can’t send me a replacement keyboard? Why the heck not? There are three problems with that. First, I am a college student that takes online classes. I cannot be without my machine. Second, I am certified to make these kinds of repairs. Third other computer manufacturers (such as Dell) have no problem sending out replacement parts such as laptop keyboards. (Please let the records show I actually contacted Dell’s warranty support team and confirmed this). Acer is in the business of selling computers that end users will rely on, and they need to understand that.
A few more emails went back and forth, but I gave up and decided to contact the Better Business Bureau by filing a complaint online. (www.bbb.org). After about a week or so (I can’t remember how long the turn around was) I was contacted by Phillip at the corporate customer care department. I figured *finally* I would be talking to someone with some common sense. Apparently not, as the entire conversation was nothing but him telling me that he could not assist me at all. I told him that I would make sure that the complaint stuck and that he lost a customer forever. He didn’t mind about either point.
I received an email from the Better Business Bureau that contained Phillips response to the complaint. In it, it said that he made an attempt to assist me and to have me send it in. At no point during the conversation did he make any offers or any attempts to assist me whatsoever. Even if he did ask me to send it in, I made it very clear that I am unable to do so. The online college I go to has something for me to do at least three days out of every week, and I have to read and study on the days that I don’t have assignments do. Ugh! I went ahead and sent a response back to the BBB letting them know that the response I received from Acer was less than satisfactory. (I’m still waiting for Acer’s response to my latest post to the BBB).
Anyway, it gets better. I went onto Acer’s support site and tried to look up my warranty. I wanted to find out if there was some sort of special warranty I could get that would enable me to get the support I required. In fact, I figured I would just extend the warranty on my laptop for a few more years and maybe even purchase accidental coverage in case my son ever got a hold of it. My serial number (when entered into Acer’s support site) contained no option to extend the warranty at all. No worries, I thought. I figured I would just go to Gateway’s support site and try there. My serial number was not recognized on their site at all. I was at work and multitasking anyway, so I figured I would chat with a Gateway support representative while I handled my own support calls. Here are some of the highlights.
I explained that I was contacting support to find out why my serial number didn’t pull up on the site. The rep asked me why I was asking, and I went ahead and explained the situation about my keyboard. Here is the response I received:
“Jino_GWSI378 says: Jeremy, I verified your records and found that you have contacted us several times with the same issue, keyboard. And the previouse technician have found that it is a CID issue. You will be charged for the repair.”
I thought it was already established that the button falling off my keyboard was not my fault and they have no proof otherwise? I guess they never excused me in the first place. To be a smartass, I asked him how they came to that conclusion. In response:
“Jino_GWSI378 says: Previous techinician found that it is a physical damage and you will be charged for the repair.”
I asked him again how that determination was made. The rep got confused and I went through the whole speech about having to send it in and basically (in so many words) they don’t trust their users in replacing anything on their machines. Anyway, what really got me was when I asked about extending my warranty. If you thought I was furious before, check out the response:
“Jino_GWSI378 says: Gateway stopped selling extended warranties, I apologise for the inconvenience.”
WHAT?! That is absolutely ridiculous! I have not heard of a single computer maker that doesn’t allow you to extend the warranty on a machine. Needless to say I am NEVER purchasing another Acer or Gateway product again. This story still doesn’t have a conclusion yet as I am still fighting this battle. Who knows, maybe I will update this story with the conclusion once it reaches one.
What is your horrible support story?
Jeremy is a Certified IT Technician that blogs at ITNewsToday.com in his spare time. He has over ten years of industry experience, and studies the IT industry every single day. Jeremy has become an open source enthusiast over time and is studying for his Linux+ certification. He lives in Waterford MI with his wife Krystal and son Alan.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider
Hi Jeremy!
I have just been through Acer Hell myself! I have been a certified computer engineer for over 15 years and worked with numerous companies for repairs. Acer has to be the worst experience I have ever had, and I am never recommending them again to any of my clients. They are making the same mistake that all the PC companies do when they get too big for their britches…poor customer service and lousy outsourced tech support. They will eventually go the way of Gateway and Dell as they fell from their top rankings the very same way.
Best Regards, Ron
My experience began on their website which is impossible to find anything of merrit concerning legacy product software or even basic bootable BIOS. They are apparently trying to sell their wares with programmed obsolescense! The gatekeepers of their tech support groups are rabid at following scripted instructions without listening to customer needs or considering caller requests. Most of them can barely speak English anyhow. I think that we as consumers must somehow speak loud and clear to these giant, impersonalized corporations, that we will not tolerate poor service after the sale, and if they don’t change their approach, we will begin to boycott all Acer products. Even though they are worldwide, I think they would suffer business collapse without the consumer base of America. I did finally get some satisfaction by calling their tech repair center in Temple, TX; and leaving a message to have a tech call me back on the issue I was experiencing. They did call back and gave me the solution after working through it together. This is one more case of what happens when you outsource all your customer service and tech support! No amount of cutting costs in this area will save a company profits, or their reputation. They should look at the L.L. Bean model to understand how a longstanding company of integrity and service succeeds.
Thanks for posting your problems and I hope you find solutions. If it’s any consolation you are not alone in Acer hell.
What was wrong with your Acer product? Was it hardware or software related?