Gateway Consumer Reviews - Page 4

I purchased a high-end Gateway at the end of January. The first hint of trouble was a 30-day delay in getting the system despite customer service stating that it was "almost ready". If it had ended there, I would have been a happy camper. Unfortunately, the computer has never worked since it arrived. When I enabled the Crossfire cards, the machine crashed and, after working with Gateway Support, had to be rebuilt. The tech support rep advised me to not enable CrossFire (why would you buy a machine with high-end graphics cards that can't be used???).

Over the past few months, I've had to rebuild the machine 6 times. I've tried updated drivers, different combinations of drivers, and different installation sequences but they the end result is the same - a quad-core machine that is slower, less stable and has worse graphics than my 5-year old computer.

I've been working with computers as a hobby and professionally for more than 20 years. I LOVE computers and technology and am generally very good at troubleshooting. However, I'm at my wits end. Despite multiple calls to Gateway, ATI (the video card maker), and complaints to the consumer protection agencies of three states, I can't get Gateway to refund my money or replace the video card (since it seems to be at the center of the problem).

My latest attempt has absolutely nothing on a clean install (number 6) except for Norton Internet Security and the game I'm using as a test program. The video is still horrible, performance is poor, and the machine crashes multiple times per day (even when idle - sleep is disabled). The machine is so bad that I can't use it because I have no confidence that it won't crash and I'll lose what I'm doing and the performance is poor. It just sits under my desk while I use my old machine to write complaint letters. Not exactly a good use of money. This was my third - and last - Gateway machine.

NEW JERSEY -- About 1 & 1/2 months ago I e-mailed Gateway tech. support to order a video card for my computer. I gave them serial #'s, part #'s, customer #'s, but I still ended up with a part that was incompatible with my system. (There has been nothing done to my system to change it - and everything originally came from Gateway on the same order). I finally got around to taking my processor to my computer shop for them to install the card and was told that the card was the wrong speed and also my monitor plug would not fit into it.

When I called Gateway this morning I was transferred back and forth from tech support to customer service. Although everyone freely admits they sent me the wrong thing, they would not refund my money and insisted I purchase something in exchange. The problem was, they no longer make that v card. They wanted me to get a different card about the same price as the wrong one and then also buy a new cord so it would work.

After buying this new cord they informed me that I would have worse resolution on by monitor (because of the new cord). Of course I said no. Then they said there was another card that would work . But it was a lot more expensive. After 75 minutes on the phone the manager told me he was doing me a favor by offering me these 2 options and that they were the only two options I had.

TO SUM UP - They sent me a completely wrong item. -- Because I did not return it within 15 days, they would NOT refund my money - They insisted I exchange it for the correct part HOWEVER they no longer stock the correct part (even though it is their brand computer) and insisted I buy a more expensive combination of products that would give me a worse picture on my monitor or a significantly more expensive part.

I chose NONE OF THE ABOVE and told the manager, RYAN, that Gateway would not get another penny of my money. I had originally paid 50+ dollars for the wrong part. To get something from Gateway that would work I would have had to spend a lot more than that. I went back to my local computer shop and he got me the exactly correct part for $39.95. Money well spent.

First of all, let me start with a statistic. Only 1.5 - 3% of Gateway customers EVER HAVE TO CALL GATEWAY after they buy. Now out of this about 50% have technical issues, 33% have customer service issues and the remaining 17% call to order upgrades and other things for their system.

Now, 0.75 - 1.5% of Gateway customers call for technical support. How many of these customers call for something that they caused? Half of them. Now we have .0375 - 0.75% of customers call for technical issues concerning their parts or software. Not to say that this is a small amount of people as a whole, but this is a SIGNIFICANTLY low percentage of people calling for technical issues.

Also, a person with a bad experience will tell 100 times as many people as someone with a good experience. So you never hear about the people that buy a computer and it works for 10 years because they expect it to. Have you ever heard someone say, "Oh, my god! You are never going to believe this, my computer has worked good for five whole years!"

Sorry about the longwindedness, but it needed to be explained fully. Customer service and technical support can only do so much. It is up to the customer to read a copy of their warranty info. If it says that they will not cover accidental damage unless you purchase accidental damage protection, you shouldn't get mad when they tell you it will be 649.00 to fix a laptop you broke.

As far as the toll support that Gateway launched for systems purchased after 01/01/2005, this is also part of the warranty. Customers were complaining that the warranty prices were too high, this was how Gateway cut the costs. They do have GPA (Gateway Priority Access) available that has a toll free number and gives you a few other extra things like next day shipping on parts and onsite part install dispatching. To sum up, type Dell Sucks, IBM Sucks, etc... and you will find unsatisfied customers with every company. Wake up, when people can complain, they do, a lot.

I paid for a backup cd for my Gateway 550GR, because that I downloaded a virus on my computer that damaged the system32 file. As anyone knows if that file is damaged or destroyed you cannot load up Windows at all. So in order to repair it I need the backup disk for the computer for the computer to pull that file and repair it. Well, I didn't have the backup disk, so I called Gateway to get the disk that I was supposed to have when I got the computer, but never got it from Tigerdirect when I ordered it. I thought oh well. But, my sudden need for the product of the backup cd to run my computer or reformat my computer is needed. I paid for the backup cd for $20.00.

This was June 27th. It's now July 13th and no Disk. I called 1 week from the time I ordered it to find out what is going on. They told me I should get it by Friday. I didn't get it by Friday, so I called again. They said that for some reason that it wasn't sent out. So they would have to escalate it. I waited a little bit longer, and still no disk. I called them again. They said there was no response to the escalation so they would have to do another escalation to find out what is going on. Well, time passed again and still no disk. I decided to start calling them every day. Now there was another escalation done. If anyone is keeping track this is the 3rd escalation.

In over 2 weeks, for just a couple of disks. The last call I did was today and they told me to wait until Friday which is going to be 3 weeks. I asked if they have the item even in stock. They told me, "yes" every time. Now, since I paid for this product and they say they use FedEx to ship things, I do believe it doesn't take FedEx 3 weeks to deliver things. They deliver them right away. When I called them today and asked was the disk even sent out. Each and every time they tell me, "No". I want to know what is going on with them. They sell products and software to consumers, take their money and don't want to deliver it. I believe this is theft.

I will wait until Tomorrow to call them. If there is nothing being done I will have to report this issue to the Better Business Bureau, and may have to speak to the my attorney general about this. I do not blame Gateway for me downloading a virus. But, I do blame them for the poor service of getting me my backup CD's. This is terrible. I will never buy a Gateway again. I will create my own computer from now on, or possibly start up my own company.

PORTLAND, OREGON -- A word of caution to anyone considering buying a Gateway PC or any product from this company for that matter. I am currently suing Gateway for fraud and conversion of property related to an incident that occurred almost one year ago.

When I brought my PC into their service center to fix a continuing crash problem I told them that nothing was backed up, that I had "IRREPLACEABLE" data on the system and that before they did anything to contact me to arrange a backup of the hard drive. This was written on the service order paperwork. Instead, Gateway performed NO diagnostic work on the PC, simply removed the hard drive, sent it back to their scrap pile, and replaced it with another. All this in order to save money on "no fee" warranty labor time on the service tech.

In the ensuing discussions I had with Gateway middle management I was basically told that they were having issues with their service centers of not performing diagnostic work as promised. Needless to say they did not back up the hard drive and I lost EVERYTHING... pictures of my newborn son, financial info, professional contact info, etc. So, they sell a PC with a service warranty.

In order to obtain that service they require you to sign the service agreement that attempts to absolve them of all responsibility NO MATTER THEY DO TO YOUR PC even if they completely ignore your instructions!!! It's not surprising they closed down all their service centers. And to make the deal even sweeter I am getting the typical stonewalling obstructionist behavior from Gateway in obtaining discovery information throughout the arbitration process. Which brings me to another word to the wise.

Don't proceed with arbitration. The system is stacked against you and the arbitrator seems to have more sympathy for the corporate player than the little guy. After all his bread and butter comes from arbitration agreements with the big corps. Get a good lawyer and sue the hell out of them in district court. Are there any attorneys out there who are interested in a class action suit? Lesson is... Don't ever buy a Gateway product. Bury these crooks and force them to fold!!!

We own a Gateway computer (about 2 years old). We knew it was not under warranty, and therefore, have not contacted Gateway regarding the problems we've been having. Last week Gateway CALLED US. They inquired about how the computer was running. We proceeded to tell them of the numerous problems. This was obviously a solicitation call because the caller then told us that they had had several customers with similar problems.

So Gateway had compiled a bundle of software that would take care of all the problems we were having. He assured us this would remove all the viruses/highjackers and so forth that were creating havoc with our computer and it would keep them out. He also informed us it was 'refundable... less a restocking fee'. We agreed to purchase the $60 bundle of software. The package came from Gateway in Millington, TN. We attempted to install it two days later. It won't even install.

Contacted Gateway Customer Service/Technical Support and after numerous calls to them and being on hold for hours and being cut off several times, we were finally told that our computer is not under warranty, so there's nothing they can do to help us. I explained that THEY CALLED US and solicited this software telling us it would take care of all the problems... we didn't call them looking for it. I felt they should either refund our money or provide technical support to get the software installed. But according to CS, they owe us nothing.

Now we have a $60 bundle of software here that we can't even install, and can't return because we opened it in order to attempt to install it. This was an extremely deceptive and misleading sales technique. We've already contacted BBB and will do everything within our power to prevent Gateway from being able to do this to others. We will never purchase another Gateway computer and we highly encourage others to think twice before doing so.

1/4/05. At the beginning of October 04, ordered a 5200x with some bells and whistles. After two or three days the computer was freezing up and giving program not responding windows. After spending many hours on the phone with various techs, who either seemed to have less knowledge than I or a great deal of difficulty understanding me, one person jumped off the phone 5 times obviously asking for help from a supervisor.

When I expressed my difficulty in communicating with him and asked to speak to a supervisor, his supervisor was in a meeting. He tried to send me a part to fix it myself and I refused. The part did get delivered in two weeks. I decided to ask for a replacement within the 15 days you have to return. This caused great trouble for all customer service people other than the ones at a level I was told was "corporate". I was told I would be sent another computer of exactly the same type and some stickers to place on the boxes to be returned.

When the new computer came it did not have the same operating system or the same sound card. I called to speak to my original sales person, Jayden who never returned my calls. So I was given her manager's extension and the extension of the manager's manager, neither of whom ever called back after a few massages were left.

Finally got hold of one customer service person who said she would send more stickers for return and a new tower w/o having to send back the LCD monitor. The new computer tower she assured me would have the original computer's exact specifications, and yes, you guess it, the last tower I received was also wrong.
At this writing I have waited a week and after numerous calls to Gail, badge **, I have received no call back after she assured me that she would call my cell, since I was not at home, to confirm a part would be sent along with a tech to install the part and program which was absent from this computer.

She had assured me in our conversation that she was "internal Gateway" and this problem would be taken care of quickly w/o sending anything back. This is my second Gateway computer purchase and my family members also own Gateways and only the Millennium operating system on my last computer was a problem. But I would not recommend buying a Gateway at all for the myriad of difficulties I have had with the support of their product.

Last summer (after saving to purchase a new computer) I decided to give Gateway a call. I had purchased a computer from them three years earlier, and outside of some user mistakes, had fairly good luck with it. The one issue I had was resolved quickly and with no hassle. So, I called up and set up a system that I liked (more RAM, larger HD, more modern) and was set to buy when the rep asked me how I would like to pay. I told him that I would pay with check by phone, and they agreed that my choice was just fine.

I then gave the rep my check number, the account and routing number and prepared to receive my computer about a week later, which was fine. The next day I got a call from Gateway saying that there was an issue with my check. Confused, I asked them what the problem was. They told me that while the money was in the account, they were skeptical if I was really the owner of the account.

After assuring them that I was, and laughing slightly at their "issue", they asked if I could use a credit card or a bank card. I told them no, that I was happy paying with check by phone, and they told me that I would have to get a money order or a cashier's check in order to purchase the computer.

I told them to have a good day, that I was not going to buy from them, and then went to a local computer store, where the owner built me a great computer with a three-year warranty (which I have only tested once, and found that they stood behind it) and made a customer for life.

So, thank you Gateway, for refusing to take my $3,000. In the end, I got a very good system, and if I have any issues, I can call and talk to the guy who actually built the thing. Sometimes what we don't get winds up being the very best deal of all.

Oh, and by the way, I was able to get ahold of a supervisor of sales down there, after I got my other system, and explained in detail what I had done. They were rather upset, assured me that they would take my check (lovely, NOW they suddenly want my money) and that they would send me some free stuff if only I would reconsider. To this I said, "no", but wished them a really great day.

Two weeks after purchasing my Gateway computer, my husband wanted to copy some photos to a disk. It was then we discover the door for the CD etc. would not open. We tried to exchange it a few days later, but found the dealer obviously did not have faith in the product. They gave us 16 days to do returns. We were at 18. They said take it up with Gateway.

Gateway offered to trade it for a USED computer or repair it. One hour on the phone with a man who could not say the letter v therefore could not get my email address correct. I had a ship code to get the computer sent to Texas for repair. Went to shipping place. They did not accept the number. Need a different one they said. Another hour on the phone with a phonetically challenged man, instructed to drive 30 minuets to a facility that would ship, using this number and a new one.

Got the computer back a week and a half later. The quick turn around was impressive until I tried to put a disk in to check the repair. Would not open still. No repairs had been made. Forty five minutes on the phone with someone who could not tell me why computer had not been fixed. They said, "Ship it back and we will see if we can fix it this time." Livid is not even enough to express my disgust and frustration with Gateway.

It is so good to see that Gateway is so consistently bad. I purchased my PC in the year 2000. That was the worst experience ever. We purchased it because Gateway had a store in State College PA. What a mistake!!! They didn't know what they were doing and shortly after buying they closed the store. Customer Service was Terrible. There were times I was on the phone for hours trying to get help. Most of the time I was talking with people I couldn't understand because of language barriers. At least I got to travel the world over and never leave my home!!! I just needed someone who could speak ENGLISH!!!

Finally after a lot of frustration I turned to a friend that knows a lot about computers. He completely rebuilt my computer. The only thing that is Gateway is the shell and the monitor. It has been wonderful since. I am ready to get a new computer and was even considering another Gateway figuring they probably fixed all their problems!!! I must have lost my mind!!! BOY AM I glad I found this web site. Thanks to all you folks - I certainly will never never never consider Gateway again. 10+ Years is a long time to have such a consistently bad record.