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Customer Service Question

Post Date: 2009-05-12
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aaronevil View Drop Down
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Posts: 86 		  Quote aaronevil Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: Customer Service Question
    Posted: 12 May 2009 at 5:52am
So, I usually do a lot of research before buying a high dollar item from a company and I didnt do as much this time because a friend suggested DS. I already purchased a computer that is in the early stages of the process but I am a little concerned about the Customer Service experience. I have been reading reviews (3rd party sites as I assume most people that visit these forums are fans) and I have come across quite a few dissatisfied customers. My main concern isnt really with time for build or time in transit. My concern is with proactive communication on their end.
 
Does anyone have experience with them letting you know in advance that there may be a delay or a problem was found? I dont like to have to call them to find out why they are taking longer than expected. As far as I am concerned, when it says 5-10 days to ship I assume it means 5-10 business days from the day I make my purchase to the time it leaves the warehouse. Any additional time, I hope, would be communicated before that 10th day or on that 10th day (if day 10 was the day the issue was found).
 
Are these instances rare or is it a pretty common thing?
 
 
BTW no review has led me to believe the system will be less than expected. I just put a high value on customer service since that is the reason I stopped buying from CyberPower. I love a lot of what CyberPower offers but I cant do business with those guys anymore. Hell, half the time I was onsite I could barely find someone to help me. I stood in their office for an hour one time before someone came out to help me.
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Bill the Cat View Drop Down
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Posts: 1150 		  Quote Bill the Cat Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 May 2009 at 8:51am

Like any smallish company, Digital Storm's customer communication procedures are not perfect. However, when there have been "failures to communicate" with me in the past, I've always felt that it was because DS people were super busy building the best systems that that can. They probably don't respond 100% of the time, but when you do get a hold of them, they almost always actually fix your problem. If I have to call a second or even a third time, I don't mind having to make the effort and taking a little responsibility for getting my problem solved.

Particularly with the infant failure rates of today's computer components, I don't see how anyone can accuately predict when a particular computer will be finished. All you can do is calculate an average. Do not count on you system being delivered on schedule. If it is, consider it a lucky surprise. If your system doesn't arrive when you wanted to, you should have orderd it sooner.
 
Everything DS does is a delicate balance of cost, quality, and schedule. With the cost set relatively low and the quality set insanely high, the schedule becomes the dependent variable. Sometimes the schedule has to slip.
 
Although Cyberpower's reviews do seem to have improved somewhat lately, you can't seriously compare DSO's reviews to "those guys".
 
Just my humble opinion.


Edited by Bill the Cat - 12 May 2009 at 8:53am
3.6 GHz E6850,       4 GB RAM, GTS 250,   TJ9, Win 7 64-bit
4.4 GHz i7 3930K, 16 GB RAM, GTX 670, 550D, Win 7 64-bit
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aaronevil View Drop Down
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Posts: 86 		  Quote aaronevil Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 May 2009 at 9:01am
I appreciate the response. A little bit more information I should have given. I should speak primarily about email communication since I work 15 hour night shifts and will rarely (if ever) be able to call during their normal business hours.
 
I agree with what you said about ordering it sooner if I wanted it sooner. To be honest I wasnt looking to buy a new PC but decided too when my other one died (used it as an excuse), so I am not needing it too soon. Still trying to get cyberpower to call me back about getting it fixed under warranty.
 
Anyway, more feedback is appreciated. Specifically any issues you encountered and how it was dealt with.
 
Hopefully the DS guys dont mind. I think hearing about the issues and the resolution is a lot better for me than only hearing "they rox." Every company runs into issues with orders now and then, its how they deal with it that speaks volumes.
 
 
As a side note, I have been a repeat customer of CyberPower since 03 and have purchased 4 PC's for myself and numerous others from them. My experiences with them have been nothing but possitive until these last 2 PC's. Seems the quality of the products and the customer service went down. I have had this PC for a year and a half, maybe 2 years and a laptop from them for about the same amount of time. Both have had issues and I am now fed up with their customer support so I started asking friends of mine about sites to custome build PCs. My best friend suggested this site which is why I made a somewhat blind purchase. I trust his judgement.
 


Edited by aaronevil - 12 May 2009 at 9:05am
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Bill the Cat View Drop Down
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Posts: 1150 		  Quote Bill the Cat Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 May 2009 at 10:43am
Aaron(Evil?),
 
From time to time, folks in you situation (long work hours and/or awkward schedules) pop up here with problems. I sympathize. Historically, it seems like email is the weakest communication channel. Have you tried contacting Sarah directly at [email protected] instead of the Customer Service page?
 
Back when I ordered my first DSO machine, the wait time was more like 30 days. People in these forums (myself included) would become frantic as the weeks passed. Ah, the good old days.... Things have gotten somewhat better since then.
 
Ordering any boutique built high end computer is a crap shoot. If your machine gets a good bag of parts and is built by a tech who is having a good day, then the machine (even a Cyberpower) just sails through on schedule. If the UPS gods then look the other way, it works great when you get it. Some fraction of the machines built by any company aren't so lucky. How the company deals with that situation is what separates the good from the bad. Given the opportunity, DSO fixes those problems.  I've had a small handful of issues with my machines over the years. DSO has taken care of all of them. But first, you do have to get their attention.
 
Now Harleyman; there's a guy who's had issues, and he's still here.


Edited by Bill the Cat - 12 May 2009 at 10:49am
3.6 GHz E6850,       4 GB RAM, GTS 250,   TJ9, Win 7 64-bit
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aaronevil View Drop Down
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Posts: 86 		  Quote aaronevil Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 May 2009 at 11:36am
Well, no communication is needed yet as the PC was just ordered on friday. I just wanted to know personal experience. Sounds like most of it is good and I will definitely contact Sarah if I need assistance via email.

Just out of curiosity, how long have you guys been purchasing via DSO?
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Bill the Cat View Drop Down
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Posts: 1150 		  Quote Bill the Cat Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 May 2009 at 12:34pm
Originally posted by aaronevil

Just out of curiosity, how long have you guys been purchasing via DSO?

Well, according to the side bar Aug 27, 2007. I don't really remember that far back... The first machine arrived at the end of September.
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Posts: 77 		  Quote lgm25c Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 May 2009 at 12:40pm
Hey aaron,
 I work a lot of long night shifts too, so I can relate. Ouch
Did you kmow that DS is located in CA? With them being on PST (and me being on EST) I was able to phone them at times convenient to me.
 
My history with DS is short - first system approx. 3 months ago. My build went through as promised with no problems. I received it in 13 days after ordering it. 
  As to customer service issues, I made 2 phone calls thru the whole process. One of those times I had to leave a message, and got a return call the next day with my answer.
 
I know others haven't been as "lucky", but one has to consider DS's workload at any given time. Many customers contact DS numerous times over their order, and a lot of these contacts are about making changes to their build.
 All of that is fine, but it adds to their workload which will slow everything down.


Edited by lgm25c - 12 May 2009 at 12:47pm
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Sarah View Drop Down
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Posts: 879 		  Quote Sarah Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 May 2009 at 12:53pm
We do our best to keep our customers up to date on what is going on with their systems. Our ship dates are estimations, however we monitor every single computer and know exactly how many days each computer has been with us, so we do our best to stay on schedule.

That being said, if you ever need or want more information, shoot me an e-mail, I am more then happy to help you out.
Sarah
If you have sales questions, please contact [email protected]

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Alex View Drop Down
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Posts: 16314 		  Quote Alex Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 May 2009 at 1:53pm

As of right now, we don't have a system in place to notify customers if orders fall behind schedule because it would consume too many resources. We have to dedicate our resources in helping customers and building/testing systems.

We do provide stage updates that give the customer an idea of the progress of their purchase. We are working on a notification based system that we would like to release in the future.
 
Until then, you can always call or send us a message for a status check and we are more than happy to help!
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aaronevil View Drop Down
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Posts: 86 		  Quote aaronevil Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 12 May 2009 at 7:31pm
Ironically, I received a call from Digital Storm today (Eric or maybe Erik with k) and they were very helpful. I was notified that the RAM I ordered was back ordered and that I could either wait for it or switch to something they have in stock. I asked the rep what he suggested and made an informed decision based on his knowledge and my own. Great stuff.

Luckily I got a call right as I was laying down (9am PST) otherwise my fiance would have been a deer in the headlights.

Also, I totally dig the community DS has going here and am very happy to see that they actually post responses to customers and read threads. I dig it so far.
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Zardoz8719 View Drop Down
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Posts: 543 		  Quote Zardoz8719 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 13 May 2009 at 7:37am
@ Bill the Cat...  Without going into all the nitty gritty...line by line analysis...just wanted to say GREAT responses...and insightfull information...in your posts above--couldn't agree more!!!  Ermm Ermm Ermm
 
And, not to leave anyone out...particularly, Alex and Sarah...it's always "heartening" to see your quick responses to situations/questions within the forum--MOST APPRECIATED and professional.  LOL 
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Bill the Cat View Drop Down
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Posts: 1150 		  Quote Bill the Cat Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 13 May 2009 at 10:09am
Originally posted by Zardoz8719

@ Bill the Cat...   GREAT responses...
 
 
 
Shucks, everybody knows all that stuff already. It's just a long winded way of saying take a deep breath and relax.
 
Originally posted by Zardoz8719

Alex and Sarah...it's always "heartening" to see your quick responses to situations/questions within the forum--MOST APPRECIATED and professional.  LOL 
 
Couldn't agree more....
3.6 GHz E6850,       4 GB RAM, GTS 250,   TJ9, Win 7 64-bit
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Posts: 543 		  Quote Zardoz8719 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 13 May 2009 at 12:24pm
 
That maybe so...but, it NEEDS to be repeated periodically...less we forget!  Reminds me of the line..."everything I needed to know I learned in kindergarten"  Big%20smile
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Posts: 1150 		  Quote Bill the Cat Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 13 May 2009 at 1:48pm
Yeah well, I didn't catch on until 7th grade.
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Zardoz8719 View Drop Down
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Posts: 543 		  Quote Zardoz8719 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 13 May 2009 at 3:10pm
Originally posted by Bill the Cat

Yeah well, I didn't catch on until 7th grade.
 
So, maybe, it should say: "I learned everything I needed to know--BUT THAT  Shocked  --in kindergarten"  Embarrassed
 
For those who skipped "kindergarten"...
 
--Share everything.
--Play fair.
--Don't hit people.
--Put htings back where you found them.
--Clean up your own mess.
--Don't take things that aren't yours.
--Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
--Wash your hands before you eat.
--Flush.
--Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
--Live a balanced life--learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and
     dance and play and work every day some.
--Take a nap every afternoon.
--When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
--Be aware of wonder.  Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup, the roots go
     down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all
     like that.
--Godlfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup-
    -they all die.  So do we.
--And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned--the
     biggest word of all--LOOK.
 
"Everything you need to know is in there somewhere.  The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation.  Ecology and politics and equality and sane living."
 
"Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm.  Think what a better world it would be if we all-the whole world-had cookies and milk at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap."    Smile


Edited by Zardoz8719 - 13 May 2009 at 3:42pm
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Alex View Drop Down
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Posts: 16314 		  Quote Alex Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 14 May 2009 at 12:32pm
Ermm
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aaronevil View Drop Down
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Posts: 86 		  Quote aaronevil Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 14 May 2009 at 5:08pm
A little customer service update. We (being my fiance and I) inquired about the A17 laptop and "James" was the rep we spoke with. We didnt have a lot of questions, mainly just compare what we have now to what the A17 offers. He was very helpful and a few hours after speaking with him we called and made the purchase. My only issue with the laptops is they are not customizable. WYSIWYG laptops. I would have upgraded the video card on the laptop but for what my fiance will be using it for (LOTRO) 512MB should be fine. I just like things to be as scalable as possible. James also said he was going to throw in a couple games. Im not sure which games because I was sleeping when she called to make the purchase. Either way, cool dude, great service.
 
As for the desktop and the time frame issue I was speaking about... we made the purchase last friday night (after normal business hours) and today it went to step 6. I like the fact we get e-mails automatically when the steps progress. Hopefully if there is an issue and they need to keep it longer we will get an email update as well. So far I have been very impressed with the service and can now see why everyone is willing to pay more. 3-year warranty mixed with the killer customer service = awesome.
 
Oh, and I like the fact they respond to the community in multiple forums on multiple types of threads. I like people to be people even when they are also running a business.
 
Kudos!
 
Next update when the desktop/laptop come in.
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