My Nightmare with pcspecialist.co.uk

[benotton]

id hazard a guess that we are talking to a 12 year old.
it?

So you're saying that if i was a 12 year old, my points would be less valid? I'm pretty sure anyone reading these posts and my blog can tell i'm more mature than someone (i.e you) throwing around insults because my opinion differs to yours. Your experience with PCS may have been a good one. Mine however was not satisfactory. Less than satisfactory.

Well I have read your blog, despite the somewhat childish title. It is always frustrating when something you have looked forward to lets you down and you seem to have lost your sense of proportion and are lashing out at all and sundry. I'm unsure what you intend to achieve other than p*ssing off the people named in your blog. PCS have a great reputation and numerous awards and I cannot figure why you think your blog will dent that in any way. Yes none of it should have happened, but as usual with this sort of issue, errors are heaped on errors as people try to do the right thing under pressure. You do have a legitimate complaint, no doubt of that, but I think you're going about things the wrong way to get it resolved satisfactorily. I'm sure PCS don't want disgruntled customers any more than you want to be one.

I don't doubt their reputation, but there are always 2 sides. My experiences maybe extreme and very unfortunate, but my blog records the facts that PCS are not perfect like so many of this forums believe. And where they have fallen short in testing and quality control, they've failed to rectify the problems with superior customer service like any company who value their customers should.

And yes, my URL may be childish, but it's short and sweet and gets my feeling across in an instant.

 

[rontuo]

I don't doubt their reputation, but there are always 2 sides. My experiences maybe extreme and very unfortunate, but my blog records the facts that PCS are not perfect like so many of this forums believe. And where they have fallen short in testing and quality control, they've failed to rectify the problems with superior customer service like any company who value their customers should.

And yes, my URL may be childish, but it's short and sweet and gets my feeling across in an instant.

I for one am not disputing your bad experiences or your genuine grievance, I just don't see how your actions help in any way whatsoever and I am advocating a rethink on your part. Clearly PCS are not in the business of upsetting customers, and their overwhelming testimonials and awards show this. However being combatative with people who are trying to help (and I'm sure they are trying to help) is never very productive despite how good it makes you feel, they are just employees after all and are not paid for you to vent your spleen on. I'm afraid your best bet is to put the past behind you and approach it anew and try and get it sorted ASAP, it is the shortest route to making everyone concerned, including yourself, happy.

Nonetheless, good luck on getting it sorted out, I hope you have your system back to good health in the shortest possible time.

 

[Gishank]

Whilst you may of had a bad experience with PCSpecialist, creating a blog in an effort to tarnish PCSpecialists reputation (and advertising the blog everywhere) is not the right thing to do. The attitude of the blog and your way of going about 'complaining' does make you seem very childish and that you're providing a very one-sided part of the story of what happend. Computer hardware is very touchy and can have dorment issues that don't crop up during initial testing, there are many many happy PC Specialist customers (myself being one of them) whom have never had an issue. There are also people whom have unfortunately had issues, but they've got them resolved (do searches of the forums).

I decided to read your blog to get a better grasp of your situation; however it would appear that you were rather unhelpful as the PCSpecialist team attempted to help you resolve your issue. Some notes on this I picked up from your blog.

1) The folk at PC Specialist provided you with instructions on how to further test your system and narrow down the problem to a specific RAM stick. You stubbornly demanded that you wanted all of your RAM replaced. I am personally surprised that PC Specialist gave in and complied with your request, afterall - it costs them money to replace hardware.

2) You noted miscommunication between PCSpecialist internally and Yodel; mistakes happen. They're only human. Think of it this way, if the guy who e-mailed you knew there was RAM in stock but that RAM was just used in the building of someone elses PC then naturally the RAM is no longer in stock.

3) PC Specialist not being able to provide a concrete estimate on when the RAM would be in stock or how long it'd be till you have the replacement RAM. To be honest, I don't see anything wrong with that... Afterall they can easily order more of that paticular RAM but experience a high demand which complicates things, if they make promises it'd just lead you to more disappointment should an issue occur.

4) Although you may of recieved the RMA e-mail, it seems like more of an assumption that you'd recieve the the RAM the next day, it can also be assumed that most companies do 'bulk' transfers to the couriers as to cut costs and time, it'd be a logistical nightmare to transfer every item to the courier in my opinion and a waste of time. Though I don't know how they work, it is an assumption - like you made one

5) You experienced issues with Yodel. It's not really PCSpecialist's fault if you experience an issue with Yodel. Yes, PC Specialist does use them as a courier but no courier is perfect and there will be people whom experience issues with couriers no matter how good they are. Generally most people don't have issues with Yodel but they have no need to come to the forums and praise Yodel for their good work. hehe.

Just thought I'd state my random opinion on this situation.

 

[benotton]

I for one am not disputing your bad experiences or your genuine grievance, I just don't see how your actions help in any way whatsoever and I am advocating a rethink on your part. Clearly PCS are not in the business of upsetting customers, and their overwhelming testimonials and awards show this. However being combatative with people who are trying to help (and I'm sure they are trying to help) is never very productive despite how good it makes you feel, they are just employees after all and are not paid for you to vent your spleen on. I'm afraid your best bet is to put the past behind you and approach it anew and try and get it sorted ASAP, it is the shortest route to making everyone concerned, including yourself, happy.

Nonetheless, good luck on getting it sorted out, I hope you have your system back to good health in the shortest possible time.

I do appreciate your remarks and advice, and it might not seem like it but with the employees at PCS i've spoken to i've been nothing but polite and courteous. This is just my last ditched effort to apply some kind of pressure in getting this resolved ASAP. And to warn future customers about what potentially can happen.

 

[benotton]

I decided to read your blog to get a better grasp of your situation; however it would appear that you were rather unhelpful as the PCSpecialist team attempted to help you resolve your issue. Some notes on this I picked up from your blog.

1) The folk at PC Specialist provided you with instructions on how to further test your system and narrow down the problem to a specific RAM stick. You stubbornly demanded that you wanted all of your RAM replaced. I am personally surprised that PC Specialist gave in and complied with your request, afterall - it costs them money to replace hardware.

This is a moot point. When I RMA'd the RAM (which would cost nothing to PCSpecialist, as they would have manufacturers warranty) They asked for ALL 8GB of RAM back, so even if i had bent over and spent 6 hours testing each stick of RAM on my 1 DAY OLD pc, I'd still of had to send ALL 8GB back.

2) You noted miscommunication between PCSpecialist internally and Yodel; mistakes happen. They're only human. Think of it this way, if the guy who e-mailed you knew there was RAM in stock but that RAM was just used in the building of someone elses PC then naturally the RAM is no longer in stock.

Mistakes do happen. Human error does occur. Is it satisfactory to not bend over backwards once this initial error has been made, to keep your customer happy? no it's not. This isn't just 1 incident that's occured, it's a string of inadequacies.

4) Although you may of recieved the RMA e-mail, it seems like more of an assumption that you'd recieve the the RAM the next day, it can also be assumed that most companies do 'bulk' transfers to the couriers as to cut costs and time, it'd be a logistical nightmare to transfer every item to the courier in my opinion and a waste of time. Though I don't know how they work, it is an assumption - like you made one

An assumption I made on expectations given to my by PCS. I'm using my blog as a lesson to people as to no make my mistakes by doing, as you said, assuming that what i'm being told is the truth.

Thanks for reading my blog and your input on it.

 

[Stappa]

I sympathize Ben,My SSD RMA took 3 weeks+ to turn around,but that was because PCS didn't stock it any more.....But with your ram.....PCS stock alot of ram modules, I would imagine so I would expect a RMA of 7 days max??? its fair to say thou that most peeps(vast majority I'd imagine) do not have these PC faults/issues....but when a issue arises PCS are as effective/ineffective as all their PC manufacturer rivals in RMA times etc(a friend of mine had real probs with cyberpower,I've had issues with Dell and Mesh etc)....all in all 4 weeks+ to receive new ram(prob the most stocked item)is beyond a joke??

 

[tom_gr7]

So lets cut a long story short, Which ram did you get in the first place? Are you getting different ram? Do you now have the ram?

 

[benotton]

So lets cut a long story short, Which ram did you get in the first place? Are you getting different ram? Do you now have the ram?

Hi Tom,

I paid for 8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X T1 DUAL-DDR3 2133MHZ, X.M.P (4 x 2GB KIT).

I've been advised that I'm receiving this RAM and that i'm receiving another kind of RAM (G-Skill something), verbally by different people on the PCSpecialist support line.

I've not had confirmation (in writing) if I am getting a different make of RAM.

I also still do not have my RAM. And have been advised by Yodel after their failed delivery on friday I might not be able to get it until Tuesday. (Why not Monday?! I'm unsure.)

 

[Pete]

Genuinely i believe that PCS are a good company, despite that i'd also say; they are for the most part all humans and you do have a valid reason for being unhappy with them. From reading the odd similar thread (which are still on this forum) i'd say a member of PCS will reply with more apologies, what happened and a way forward.

I would only add that had you tested the RAM to being with, either by physically swapping out (trial and error) or as suggested software test, you might have only been waiting on one stick of RAM, but that's pure speculation and neither here nor there at this point. best of luck !!

edit : i'm also unconvinced as to yodel but as others have said is there a better alternative?

 

[benotton]

I would only add that had you tested the RAM to being with, either by physically swapping out (trial and error) or as suggested software test, you might have only been waiting on one stick of RAM, but that's pure speculation and neither here nor there at this point. best of luck !!

After finding out the RAM was out of stock, i did more diagnostics (after which I did on day one) and narrowed it down to only 4GB as faulty, so i continued to use 4GB in my PC. However to RMA the RAM as they were in packs of 8GB i needed to send ALL of the RAM back to PCS... so i did not speculate at it. It's simply their procedure when RMA'ing RAM.

edit : i'm also unconvinced as to yodel but as others have said is there a better alternative?

I'm unsure as to this, as I've only delt with Yodel through PCS, and like i said earlier they intially were good and delivered on time. But then obviously follow up deliveries they were rubbish.

I'd only advise PCS used a company which could actually contact their drivers while in the field and provide more accurate ETA's, rather than making customers wait 2.5 hours after finishing a 9 hour shift at work, on the false promises of delivery.

I have no suggestions on companies as I don't deal with many courier companies.

Thanks for your messages of luck, i hope i get some soon, too

 

[NMEBowen]

i have to say though your choice in ram was a bad one since 2133 is full of bugs and extremly unstable if you had asked anyone on this forum before purchase we would have advised you against the purchase of it. if you had gone for the 1600mhz it would have been unlikely that any problems would have arisen and be using your pc at this moment problem free.

 

[benotton]

i have to say though your choice in ram was a bad one since 2133 is full of bugs and extremly unstable if you had asked anyone on this forum before purchase we would have advised you against the purchase of it.

There were limited choices with my build, and that was the highest end ram available. if it's buggy and unstable, surely PCS shouldn't be supplying it.

 

[NMEBowen]

they supply it because there is a demand for it but as i said if you had posted your proposed spec on the forums you could have been advised against the purchase of it and saved alot of trouble.

 

[benotton]

they supply it because there is a demand for it but as i said if you had posted your proposed spec on the forums you could have been advised against the purchase of it and saved alot of trouble.

I think you're missing the point.

I work in the IT field and understand faulty hardware can occur. Waiting 30 days for replacement parts isn't acceptable.

I understand better than most people how fragile components can be and how they can get damaged in transit or by other means, but replacing them should be a priority if they're found to be faulty.

By posting my spec on the forum as you say, would of solved nothing in speeding up the delivery of my working RAM. No matter how unstable or buggy it may be.

 

[Frenchy]

So you're saying that if i was a 12 year old, my points would be less valid? I'm pretty sure anyone reading these posts and my blog can tell i'm more mature than someone (i.e you) throwing around insults because my opinion differs to yours. Your experience with PCS may have been a good one. Mine however was not satisfactory. Less than satisfactory.

I never said I thought u were 12 because of your opinions, I did however mention that your blog posts have childish names and make you seem like a 12 year old. I have also never said that PCS are perfect, nor have I said that your experience with them is any less valid than someone with a good experience.

If you had come on, as I said previously, and discussed it in an adult manner then many people on here would have read your blog / post and been able to use that information in making their own decisions about purchasing from PCS, however I honestly don't think many people will bother reading it.

You keep mentioning that your URL is short and sweet and gets your feeling across, it also makes you look like a child and instantly puts people off reading it.

 

[Frenchy]

There were limited choices with my build, and that was the highest end ram available. if it's buggy and unstable, surely PCS shouldn't be supplying it.

PCS supply anything that meet with standards, however 2133 MHz ram is unstable and always has been, spend a tiny bit of time reading around and youd realise this, but it does give those who really need it the option if they wish to go for it. However as NMEBowen said if you had come on here or read reviews in all honesty you would most probably not have ended up going for it. For someone whos in the IT industry you surprise me by not doing your research first, seems like common sense to me really.

 

[UndeadJack]

I think you're missing the point.

I work in the IT field and understand faulty hardware can occur. Waiting 30 days for replacement parts isn't acceptable.

I understand better than most people how fragile components can be and how they can get damaged in transit or by other means, but replacing them should be a priority if they're found to be faulty.

By posting my spec on the forum as you say, would of solved nothing in speeding up the delivery of my working RAM. No matter how unstable or buggy it may be.

My phone is broken and I am waiting 2 months for it to get repaired/replaced depending on the damage it had (build errors) I'm not crying on Motorola's support forums or complaining. 30 Days for high demand RAM is nothing. People are waiting MONTHS on MONTHS to get 6990 and 590 orders fulfilled. Your blog posts are incredibly one sided and you are flaming a PC company with a brilliant track record for lack of stock (from high intl. demand) and a bad delivery company experience saying it is incompetence. Somebody is used to getting their own way...

 

[benotton]

I never said I thought u were 12 because of your opinions, I did however mention that your blog posts have childish names and make you seem like a 12 year old. I have also never said that PCS are perfect, nor have I said that your experience with them is any less valid than someone with a good experience.

If you had come on, as I said previously, and discussed it in an adult manner then many people on here would have read your blog / post and been able to use that information in making their own decisions about purchasing from PCS, however I honestly don't think many people will bother reading it.

You keep mentioning that your URL is short and sweet and gets your feeling across, it also makes you look like a child and instantly puts people off reading it.

If it's put you off reading then don't, it's just for peoples reference who want to see a bad experience of one of PCS's customers.

PCS supply anything that meet with standards, however 2133 MHz ram is unstable and always has been, spend a tiny bit of time reading around and youd realise this, but it does give those who really need it the option if they wish to go for it. However as NMEBowen said if you had come on here or read reviews in all honesty you would most probably not have ended up going for it. For someone whos in the IT industry you surprise me by not doing your research first, seems like common sense to me really.

You seem to keep going off my point? Where did i complain about the RAM Make/Model in general? I'm not. Have I complained about it's instability? No. My issue is with faulty RAM i recieved and experienced problems with it ON DAY ONE, and 30 days later I haven't recieved ANY new memory. Just to reiterate, i've not complained once about the type or performance or instability of the ram. Does that make sense to you now?

My phone is broken and I am waiting 2 months for it to get repaired/replaced depending on the damage it had (build errors) I'm not crying on Motorola's support forums or complaining. 30 Days for high demand RAM is nothing. People are waiting MONTHS on MONTHS to get 6990 and 590 orders fulfilled. Your blog posts are incredibly one sided and you are flaming a PC company with a brilliant track record for lack of stock (from high intl. demand) and a bad delivery company experience saying it is incompetence. Somebody is used to getting their own way...

Hi Undeadjack, sorry to hear about your phone. Did you send it back on the first day of receiving it as faulty? Maybe if you were 'crying on their support forums', you've had a working phone sooner? 30 days of waiting for the most commonly faulty piece of hardware is nothing? man you have low expectations. Did your phone cost £2,000+? Don't try and compare your problems to mine when you're obviously not bothered about your issue.

 

[UndeadJack]

Hi Undeadjack, sorry to hear about your phone. Did you send it back on the first day of receiving it as faulty? Maybe if you were 'crying on their support forums', you've had a working phone sooner? 30 days of waiting for the most commonly faulty piece of hardware is nothing? man you have low expectations. Did your phone cost £2,000+? Don't try and compare your problems to mine when you're obviously not bothered about your issue.

my phone cost £600 when I got it and I put it straight on RMA. 1 month warranty wait is standard practice for most warranty/RMAs. Also crying on a forum does nothing. If you get it shipped off you are put in a queue of people. The forums aren't even connected to the repair centres. I am very bothered as I send up to 7,000 texts per month and a hell of a lot of emails. I am currently using my blackberry 9650 and miss my phone as the 9650 has a small keyboard - It is killing me). I know your £2,000 baby is currently rendered unusable and that is a serious pain but that isn't the fault of PCS. the 2133Mhz RAM sticks are in high demand and getting them in is difficult. Patience is a virtue.

 

[PCS]

This is just my last ditched effort to apply some kind of pressure in getting this resolved ASAP.

For all those following this thread, I have responded to benotton in one of his other threads complaining about the issue here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forum...How-reliable-are-these-guys&p=88701#post88701

As for the comment quoted above, you are going about your "last ditched effort to apply some kind of pressure" in completely the wrong way. By throwing your dummy out of the pram we're not going to pick it up and put it back in your mouth. When you grow up and write us a letter of complaint we will respond to you in an apologetic and mature fashion.

I would like to request that you remove your URL signature links. Our forums are open for discussion, and we leave both positive and negative comments for all to see, but your blog is a one sided story. You're online right now, so I'll give you until this evening to remove it. If not, I'll ban you from our forums.