Gateway Support
Gateway has undergone a major transformation lately. The company was one of the original direct order companies on the market but now they only sell through retail outlets. They also have dropped selling to the corporate markets and pretty much only sell to consumers. Have all these changes also affected how they support their products? Find out in my profile of Gateway's Support department.
Included in the profile I list the various avenues that users have for support, some published ratings of the their product support, tips and advice. In addition, there is a survey for users to rate their experience with Gateway's support. Previously, the votes were evenly split between excellent and poor but more votes are starting to come in on the lower end. If you have used their support, please add your opinions in the survey and share your experience..
How would you rate Gateway's support?
Comments
Called Gateway about an error message from their software (EZTune) that came bundled with a 24-inch LCD monitor I bought at BestBuy. I called the 800 direct tech support number and listened to music for 30 minutes. A bored voice answered and after I told him where I bought it, he told me to call the Retail Support number.
After more music and phone games. I finally I got an agent who told me that my product serial number was invalid (it’s not), and that Gateway does not support software. I asked them how the CD that installs EZTune got their name on it. The agent told me to call IBM because the monitor is connected to a ThinkPad.
This experience does not speak well for Gateway and may explain why their stock price is in the ditch.
I’m a desktop support technician for a business supporting about 500 computers. For PCs we were previously exclusively with Dell. The switch to Gateway for our laptops has been atrocious. The actual hardware is very cool. The company is not. We endured delay after delay in getting the hardware. The problems we had have only partially been resolved. The actual support service is okay. Compared to Dell it’s bad, but we’ve had such good experiences with Dell that I’m probably a bit biased. Their online chat support is okay for basic hardware problems. Broken screen, broken dvd, dead harddrive. For anything more complex, they don’t have the knowledge to help and you’ll have to use the phone.
Recently they’ve sold their primary support to an outside company which may help, or may hurt this.
I Love MY Gateway
Its Had Problem Like The Hardrive But They Shipped Me Out One For 75. Hold On A Credit Card PAYED FOR SHIPPING AND HANDLING Then I Just Used The Prepaid Shipping Labels To Ship The Defective One Back And They Took Off The Hold, Took Only All Togather 8 Days.
Their Technical Support Is outstanding Have You Read About Or Heard About DELLS TECH SUPPORT!!!!! You Better Be Glad Their Based In The U.S And Take The Time To Answer Questions..
I LOVE GATEWAY.
1. EZTune software on the CD shipped with the monitor is for XP, you will have to download the drivers from EZTunes for Vista.
2. Had a chat with Dell support and its like talking to babies,
3. Drivers are not always available. But you can download them from other locations like http://aloricateamryan.proboards67.com/
I bought my son a Gateway notebook for college and paid extra for the best warranty. It locks up and is not usable. Gateway has filed chapter 11 and MPC has taken over. I am getting no help what so ever. Call the phone numbers and it refers me to a web site that refers me to the same phone number. I had to rent another notebook that is costing me $26 a week.
In response to J Grant:
I’m assuming that you purchased one of Gateway’s previous business class laptops with the Pro support contract. Gateway is not in Chapter 11 as they were purchased by Acer. Gateway’s business systems division were sold off to MPC in 2007. MPC has recently filed for Chapter 11 and they are the ones that support Gateway’s business systems. Details about this can be found at Gateway’s Professional Transition Page.
Gateway has had my P172XFX Laptop since Dec 18 2008. They claim the part, LCD screen, is on backorder. I payed for the at home + extended warranty. But I could have bought the part and had it repaired myself by this time. Support is in no way helpfull or assuring that they will fix or return my laptop.
Oh my!
I got what I thought was a great deal in Mexico on a Gateway computer at Sam’s Club. The OS and all software was in Spanish which wasn’t a huge surprise. I contacted Gateway asking for the OEM version of the preinstalled software in English. I don’t read or speak Spanish.
Their response:
Thank you for contacting Gateway. I apologize for the inconvenience that you have experienced. As for your concern about the Recovery Discs for the computer in English, please be advised that since the system was purchased in Mexico, you need to contact Gateway Mexico for further assistance. Gateway is a regional company; as such, each region is responsible for providing parts, service, and support for products sold in their region. I hope this clarifies.
My response
I am sorry, but this will not solve my problem. Gateway Mexico’s website is in Spanish and I don’t read Spanish. So I am assuming that your company expect me to use my $1500.00 computer as a doorstop because of your regional differences. I have worked for regional companies and all region supports each other which benefits the company.
What is the big deal sending me the software in English, I am not begging for it, I am willing to pay.
Customer:
I do not read or speak Spanish. I apologies but i am getting frustrated after trying for the past 2 days to resolve this issue.
This continues for awhile session was closed without issue resolved.
I was in the situation when I sent the product it was under warranty, but they took so long it expired. After contacting the Better Business Bureau I was finally able to reach a human to their “corporate line”: 800-395-3817. Use it, at least so that a human answers instead of a machine hanging up on you.