Every week my order gets delayed.

[keithbeaks]

From the update side I do think it should have happened earlier and organically.

The timeframe, you don't want the PC"s to be built hastily and by people with no experience or expertise.

Still taking orders, of course they should be. Every custom pc builder is and they're all saying two weeks minimum. Some quoted me 4+. Some are still saying delivery will be 4-5 days, well I phoned up to check and was told to ignore that. Yet it states on the website this is allowing for covid19 and the impact.

It seems a lot of people have all ordered at the same time.

 

[miz]

I'm here waiting from the 2nd June till their estimated delivery 6th July a total of 33 days (could take even longer) Covid 19 was a week extension probably but doesn't really change the date it would arrive on the 30th June. They've been on pre-production for 15 working days and I estimate my self they'll be out of it by the 30th of June.

Edit: 4th June (Waiting from)

 

[mikey77]

Just received this email from pc specialist. Should i believe it or should i expect more than that?



Good afternoon



Thank you for getting in touch with us regarding your recent order and I am sorry to hear that there might be a slight delay with this one. Upon looking into your order I can see that you are currently on the 7th working day of the estimated 12-14 working days quoted at the time of ordering. Please note that the build time is only an estimate however we are generally able to fulfil most orders within the time stated. All orders remain in the pre-production phase as this is, if you like the "holding stage" whilst we comply with the estimated build times. I would estimate that your system will be with you by the end of next week/early the week after that.. When your system is built it will be placed straight onto a testing bench where it will be tested overnight for 12 hours. Providing there are no issues during that time it will be dispatched the next working day. Once the system is built the process is really quick and generally it’s no more than a couple of days before you get it. I hope this clears things up for you and that you have a little better of an understand as to how our processes work.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Waiting from the 2nd (ordered) of June till 6th July a total of 33 days for the pc to arrive.

Edit: 4th June (Waiting from)

So that’s only 20 working days which is pretty good.

 

[ubuysa]

Just received this email from pc specialist. Should i believe it or should i expect more than that?



Good afternoon



Thank you for getting in touch with us regarding your recent order and I am sorry to hear that there might be a slight delay with this one. Upon looking into your order I can see that you are currently on the 7th working day of the estimated 12-14 working days quoted at the time of ordering. Please note that the build time is only an estimate however we are generally able to fulfil most orders within the time stated. All orders remain in the pre-production phase as this is, if you like the "holding stage" whilst we comply with the estimated build times. I would estimate that your system will be with you by the end of next week/early the week after that.. When your system is built it will be placed straight onto a testing bench where it will be tested overnight for 12 hours. Providing there are no issues during that time it will be dispatched the next working day. Once the system is built the process is really quick and generally it’s no more than a couple of days before you get it. I hope this clears things up for you and that you have a little better of an understand as to how our processes work.

Which part do you not believe? What they say there is their standard practice, the only bit particular to you is that you're on the 7th working day. In the current difficult climate that's not very long I'm afraid.

Via Tapatalk

 

[snaggletooth]

To be honest, the above reply is the almost word-for-word response that I got about a week ago. I'm now on day 21 of pre production and it's no further forward. Twice I have contacted PCS, and gotten a different reason on both occasions; the first time it was "we have got everything but we're a bit behind, sorry" and the second time it was "we're waiting for your graphics card, sorry, should be any day now". That was a week ago today.

The thing is, it's not the wait that's the problem. I can understand that with the whole COVID thing. It's the complete lack of communication over a near £3k product and the never-ending lead time that's become an issue. Why am I having to contact them? Why aren't they in touch with me? I run a business with a 7-figure turnover and I would never allow my clients to pay for a product three weeks ago, in full, and not contact them if things were running behind. I'd never see them again if I did, that's for sure.

Interestingly, I went on eBuyer just now and found all the exact same parts that are on my order, in stock and apparently available for delivery within 24 hours. I've used eBuyer before and have no reason to doubt this. Added to which, there are several 'bundles' included with the products that actually give added value - such as an additional free M.2 SSD, and a free £80 headset - and the value of the parts is actually less than the cost of the order from PCS.

I do not believe that building PCs is rocket science; you put the parts together in the correct order, ensure you're properly grounded and that everything fits correctly and that's pretty much it. If it fires up and runs, chances are it's going to be OK. Corsair PSUs are warranted for 10yrs; most other parts are warranted for at least 12 months. I have built PCs before many years ago on this same basis.

So I've ordered the parts, all of which are expected tomorrow, June 24. In the event that my order is built, tested and shipped today I can of course cancel the parts or the order, but the lead time and complete lack of communication has become unacceptable at this point.

So, I'm happy to see which turns up first.

Edit: added to which, when I ordered all the parts were in stock apparently, and 97% of orders were being shipped within 28 days. Now, the parts are still apparently in stock on the configurator, but now only 66% of orders are being shipped in 28 days, or to put it another way, nearly 1/3rd are taking longer than 28 (working) days.

 

[Wolff]

If it helps anyone I had an email yesterday about estimated build date.

Date ordered: 1st June
Estimated build start time: 5th July

Now just hoping I can get it within 40 days of order, wish I knew this before purchase, reluctance to build my own has bitten me.

 

[keithbeaks]

To be honest, the above reply is the almost word-for-word response that I got about a week ago. I'm now on day 21 of pre production and it's no further forward. Twice I have contacted PCS, and gotten a different reason on both occasions; the first time it was "we have got everything but we're a bit behind, sorry" and the second time it was "we're waiting for your graphics card, sorry, should be any day now". That was a week ago today.

The thing is, it's not the wait that's the problem. I can understand that with the whole COVID thing. It's the complete lack of communication over a near £3k product and the never-ending lead time that's become an issue. Why am I having to contact them? Why aren't they in touch with me? I run a business with a 7-figure turnover and I would never allow my clients to pay for a product three weeks ago, in full, and not contact them if things were running behind. I'd never see them again if I did, that's for sure.

Interestingly, I went on eBuyer just now and found all the exact same parts that are on my order, in stock and apparently available for delivery within 24 hours. I've used eBuyer before and have no reason to doubt this. Added to which, there are several 'bundles' included with the products that actually give added value - such as an additional free M.2 SSD, and a free £80 headset - and the value of the parts is actually less than the cost of the order from PCS.

I do not believe that building PCs is rocket science; you put the parts together in the correct order, ensure you're properly grounded and that everything fits correctly and that's pretty much it. If it fires up and runs, chances are it's going to be OK. Corsair PSUs are warranted for 10yrs; most other parts are warranted for at least 12 months. I have built PCs before many years ago on this same basis.

So I've ordered the parts, all of which are expected tomorrow, June 24. In the event that my order is built, tested and shipped today I can of course cancel the parts or the order, but the lead time and complete lack of communication has become unacceptable at this point.

So, I'm happy to see which turns up first.

You can always buy parts cheaper yourself, than it will be to pay a company to build it surely?

Do you sell products?

 

[snaggletooth]

Well you'd think so, but at the time I ordered it was actually cheaper to buy the entire rig on here than build it myself, which is why I ordered it from PCS.

Edit: yes, I do sell products.

 

[ubuysa]

You can always buy parts cheaper yourself, than it will be to pay a company to build it surely?

Do you sell products?

If by products you're asking whether PCS sell parts then the answer is no. Except as upgrades to existing builds.

Of course you can build it cheaper yourself. If you know exactly what you need, which components work with which other components, what common pitfalls to avoid, and you're able to do your own hardware troubleshooting, then it makes more sense to build it yourself. That said, even those experts on here who clearly could build their own PC, choose to buy from PCS.

 

[keithbeaks]

If by products you're asking whether PCS sell parts then the answer is no. Except as upgrades to existing builds.

Of course you can build it cheaper yourself. If you know exactly what you need, which components work with which other components, what common pitfalls to avoid, and you're able to do your own hardware troubleshooting, then it makes more sense to build it yourself. That said, even those experts on here who clearly could build their own PC, choose to buy from PCS.

That's what I thought. But most people wouldn't do a good job, YouTube videos or not, and might even damage an expensive component?

I'm happy to spend more, because I don't know what I'm doing and don't want to try with something like this.

 

[snaggletooth]

I'd quite happily pay a bit more for someone to build it and have their warranty in place, of course. In the first instance, I was both paying them for it and the parts were costing less than they would do had I bought them direct, so that's even better. But that's not my issue; it's the lack of communication over the build time, and the fact that we're now 7 (working) days over the initial estimated build, which was 12-14 at the time I ordered in mid/late May.

Regardless, if the parts turn up tomorrow it's no problem and I'll no doubt enjoy the build. I am most grateful to everyone's help on the forum with my initial build questions and requirements and their assistance since. I've moderated forums before myself and it's generally a thankless task with little or no reward so you have my respect and thanks for that. However at the moment I think it's possible that your loyalty to the PCS brand is a little misplaced, because there can be little doubt that their customer service is, at the moment, not particularly impressive.

 

[Tony1044]

You can always buy parts cheaper yourself, than it will be to pay a company to build it surely?

Do you sell products?

Indeed. You aren't just buying a bunch of parts. You're paying for:

The expertise that ensure the parts you picked are actually compatible with one another (so the effort that goes into the configurator)​

The expertise of putting those parts together​

The warranty - you send your unit back without having to diagnose if it's a motherboard, CPU, GPU, RAM, HDD, SSD etc yourself, strip it down, box it up and send it back: You send the whole unit back and the company do all of that diagnostics work;​

The support - your whole unit is supported​

As well as other small bits and pieces.

 

[ubuysa]

At a guess, I'd say it was the secon half of that sentence that they were questioning " currently on the 7th working day of the estimated 12-14 working days quoted at the time of ordering"....I believe that 7 working days ago when the order was placed, the lead time was more than this no?

I think the 12-14 days estimate was from the automated system which has caused all the upsets and which seems to have been temporarily abandoned in favour of the manual emails they're doing now.

The single problem that it seems that most people have complained about is not the actual build time, it's the clearly wrong and constantly changing build estimates. Some people have even said that if PCS had said up front that it was going to take 30 working days they'd have been better able to decide whether to buy and if they had, they'd have had better expectations on how long they'd have to wait.

The problem that PCS have had, and IMO it's of their own making, has been a failure of management to appreciate soon enough that the automated build estimating thingy was churning out fantasy times. Perhaps they were over-focused on how they were going to keep working given the COVID restrictions that they must of necessity operate under? That's no excuse though.

Having temporarily abandoned the automated build estimating thingy however, PCS now have to start from the ground up, in zero time, within the COVID restrictions when many (all) of the back-room staff are working from home, to devise a new method of providing more realistic build estimates. This new method has to be realistic above everything else, and that takes time to sort out. Time to devise and agree, time to implement, and time to enact.

I realise that you can't please all of the people all of the time, but PCS have at least appreciated their mistake and put measures in place to improve communication during the current emergency. What they're doing is not going to please everyone but the mark of a good company is not one that never makes mistakes, it what they do about their mistakes that matters.

 

[keithbeaks]

I'd quite happily pay a bit more for someone to build it and have their warranty in place, of course. In the first instance, I was both paying them for it and the parts were costing less than they would do had I bought them direct, so that's even better. But that's not my issue; it's the lack of communication over the build time, and the fact that we're now 7 (working) days over the initial estimated build, which was 12-14 at the time I ordered in mid/late May.

Regardless, if the parts turn up tomorrow it's no problem and I'll no doubt enjoy the build. I am most grateful to everyone's help on the forum with my initial build questions and requirements and their assistance since. I've moderated forums before myself and it's generally a thankless task with little or no reward so you have my respect and thanks for that. However at the moment I think it's possible that your loyalty to the PCS brand is a little misplaced, because there can be little doubt that their customer service is, at the moment, not particularly impressive.

I agree with the communication and I think PCS should really take that on board. It's one thing to listen but they have to really understand. I'm happy enough with the new five day updates and my new build date. Those emails should have happened sooner yeah.

You, I and those after seem to have ordered at the absolutely worse time and that's industry wide.

 

[keithbeaks]

Indeed. You aren't just buying a bunch of parts. You're paying for:

The expertise that ensure the parts you picked are actually compatible with one another (so the effort that goes into the configurator)​

The expertise of putting those parts together​

The warranty - you send your unit back without having to diagnose if it's a motherboard, CPU, GPU, RAM, HDD, SSD etc yourself, strip it down, box it up and send it back: You send the whole unit back and the company do all of that diagnostics work;​

The support - your whole unit is supported​

As well as other small bits and pieces.

Absolutely. I'd add the forum has saved me money and improved my build and understanding so much as well.

 

[nick_123]

OK, so a quick update. My system has entered build today. I am/was on working day 22 (21 if you take into account the bank holiday) - ordered on 25/5/20. I have been keeping a keen eye on stock levels and I don't think anything i've selected will cause further delays.

Obviously you can not extrapolate my experience over to your builds however it gives you an idea of where they are in terms of
the queue for PC's.

Edit - it seems that once it hits 'build' it has actually been built. It is now in test.

 

[WhiskyMac]

I agree with the communication and I think PCS should really take that on board. It's one thing to listen but they have to really understand. I'm happy enough with the new five day updates and my new build date. Those emails should have happened sooner yeah.

You, I and those after seem to have ordered at the absolutely worse time and that's industry wide.

I'd be happy with a weekly update if they could send me one. Afraid I'm still in a big black hole regarding any insight as to potential build timelines.

OK, so a quick update. My system has entered build today. I am/was on working day 22 (21 if you take into account the bank holiday) - ordered on 25/5/20. I have been keeping a keen eye on stock levels and I don't think anything i've selected will cause further delays.

Obviously you can not extrapolate my experience over to your builds however it gives you an idea of where they are in terms of
the queue for PC's.

Edit - it seems that once it hits 'build' it has actually been built. It is now in test.

Their average still at 25> days so think you were perhaps on the lucky end of the spectrum

 

[nick_123]

Their average still at 25> days so think you were perhaps on the lucky end of the spectrum

To be completely fair to PCS, I spoke to them over live chat last week and they guided to this week as a build date. Perhaps some luck, but my point was that you have at least some visibility over where they are in the queue.

 

[WhiskyMac]

The naivety of some people, my gosh. If people really need stuff explaining to them then it's not worth the time. They are a systems integrator, it is not one kid in his bedroom building a computer as soon as the parts arrive, its a commercial business dealing with both trade orders and customer orders on a massive scale. What do you expect them to do, employ one builder per order?

Sometimes people don't always come across clearly on a forum especially when frustrated or triggered. Nobody is going to expect them to employ a builder per order so no need to be flippant. However the consumer facing business will always need to be better at providing information - and PCS have had some issues over the last couple of weeks, that's just a fact.