Short answer - yes
a) the laptops are fine
b) if there are any problems, PCS will look after you.
Much longer answer - you only know how good a company really is when things go wrong.
I bought a Vortex in May 12. It was my 3rd PCS machine - 2 earlier desktops still going strong, despite one now being almost 8 years old now. That one could do with a new power supply now - the fan's getting a bit rattly.
Right from the off, the keys on the left hand side of the keyboard needed a firm, vertical shove to get them to register. particular the 'S' & the 'D'. A more thorough QC check might have picked it up, but it's only really very noticeable when typing in full flow, because different keys need different pressures.
This laptop doesn't get intensive use, but it is in use pretty much every day, so sending it back was always going to be an inconvenience. So I lived with it as it was, cursing occasionally when I had to go back yet again & insert missing 's's into a piece of text.
Then at the beginning of this month, I plugged in an ethernet cable, which I do from time to time when I want to shift a lot of data about in a hurry. Nothing. No connection. Tried a different cable. Still nothing. Different port on the router. Different router. Still nothing. Ok, now I really will have to get this thing fixed & the warranty is about to expire (except for parts - still 2 years to go).
So after a glance at the Calls Waiting page, a quick call to PCS Tech Support to explain both problems. It took Jack about 30 seconds to diagnose the ethernet problem - the driver had gone walkabout for some reason. Followed his instructions for another 30 seconds & that's the first problem sorted.
No argument about the keyboard - send the laptop back & we'll swap it. Which is just what I had been trying to avoid, of course. However, about once a year I have to go up to Holmfirth - last year I collected the laptop on that trip. Could I drop the laptop in on this year's trip? No problem, said Jack - come early & we'll change the keyboard for you.
So a year to the day after the laptop was first build, I dropped it back to PCS at 8.35am & went off to my next call in the area. About 9.30am I get a message to say it's ready for collection. I picked it up mid-morning. Excellent service so far.
It's not quite the end of the story. For some reason as yet unknown, the Nvidia graphics card was now no longer recognised. Another quick call to Jack & he sends me the link to download the latest driver. Sorted.
Nobody gets it right first time 100% of the time. It's the way they react when things go wrong that marks out the companies that you want to go back to. PCS in general & Jack in particular couldn't have been more helpful in working with me to sort the problems out in a way that was convenient for me.
I work in customer service for a software company (which explains why I know nothing about hardware!), so I see things from both sides. We approach customer service the same way that PCS do. Too many companies view customer service as a necessary evil - they do the absolute minimum they think they can get away with. It's very refreshing to deal with a company who view customer service as a part of their overall product offering.
What I completely forgot to do was ask if PCS could still supply a new power supply for my ancient desktop - order 90641 if anybody cares to look it up. I would have collected it at the same time (I think I could just about manage to swap a power supply myself).
a) the laptops are fine
b) if there are any problems, PCS will look after you.
Much longer answer - you only know how good a company really is when things go wrong.
I bought a Vortex in May 12. It was my 3rd PCS machine - 2 earlier desktops still going strong, despite one now being almost 8 years old now. That one could do with a new power supply now - the fan's getting a bit rattly.
Right from the off, the keys on the left hand side of the keyboard needed a firm, vertical shove to get them to register. particular the 'S' & the 'D'. A more thorough QC check might have picked it up, but it's only really very noticeable when typing in full flow, because different keys need different pressures.
This laptop doesn't get intensive use, but it is in use pretty much every day, so sending it back was always going to be an inconvenience. So I lived with it as it was, cursing occasionally when I had to go back yet again & insert missing 's's into a piece of text.
Then at the beginning of this month, I plugged in an ethernet cable, which I do from time to time when I want to shift a lot of data about in a hurry. Nothing. No connection. Tried a different cable. Still nothing. Different port on the router. Different router. Still nothing. Ok, now I really will have to get this thing fixed & the warranty is about to expire (except for parts - still 2 years to go).
So after a glance at the Calls Waiting page, a quick call to PCS Tech Support to explain both problems. It took Jack about 30 seconds to diagnose the ethernet problem - the driver had gone walkabout for some reason. Followed his instructions for another 30 seconds & that's the first problem sorted.
No argument about the keyboard - send the laptop back & we'll swap it. Which is just what I had been trying to avoid, of course. However, about once a year I have to go up to Holmfirth - last year I collected the laptop on that trip. Could I drop the laptop in on this year's trip? No problem, said Jack - come early & we'll change the keyboard for you.
So a year to the day after the laptop was first build, I dropped it back to PCS at 8.35am & went off to my next call in the area. About 9.30am I get a message to say it's ready for collection. I picked it up mid-morning. Excellent service so far.
It's not quite the end of the story. For some reason as yet unknown, the Nvidia graphics card was now no longer recognised. Another quick call to Jack & he sends me the link to download the latest driver. Sorted.
Nobody gets it right first time 100% of the time. It's the way they react when things go wrong that marks out the companies that you want to go back to. PCS in general & Jack in particular couldn't have been more helpful in working with me to sort the problems out in a way that was convenient for me.
I work in customer service for a software company (which explains why I know nothing about hardware!), so I see things from both sides. We approach customer service the same way that PCS do. Too many companies view customer service as a necessary evil - they do the absolute minimum they think they can get away with. It's very refreshing to deal with a company who view customer service as a part of their overall product offering.
What I completely forgot to do was ask if PCS could still supply a new power supply for my ancient desktop - order 90641 if anybody cares to look it up. I would have collected it at the same time (I think I could just about manage to swap a power supply myself).
