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Technology Stocks : Gateway (GTW) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jet.Screamer who wrote (6936)	12/12/1998 10:59:00 AM
From: Kip518	Respond to of 8002

Jon, since we're into GTW storytelling, I'll counter with mine. Every new computer I have bought for myself, family, and office for the past eight years has been a Gateway (amounts to about 30 computers). I nearly always buy the top of the line desktops available at the time. I loved the GTW marketing model, the technical options available on each machine, especially the price AND the technical support. When I was converting machines from DOS to Windows 3.1 I spend hours on the phones with tech with one software problem after another. They were great. Lately, however, for my last 4 machines, I've started have serious hardware problems. My home machine, which is just over a year old, has had the mother board, the power system, and the modem replaced. My new office machine (G6) arrived in the box with a failed hard disk! My wife's machine lost it's CD drive after 6 months. Now, everytime GTW tech support was great. I have no complaint. Parts were replace without charge, even in-home tech service (for motherboard). But, frankly, I can't take it anymore. Two months ago, I ordered my first Dell (for the office). The comparable GTW model offered a bit more for the same money, but I just didn't want to deal with bad hardware anymore. My assumption is that price competition is eroding quality. GTW seems to be most vulnerable to this trend, although, Dell & CPQ can't be far behind. I want to stay a GTW customer, but that seems unlikely. Kip

To: Jet.Screamer who wrote (6936)	12/12/1998 4:28:00 PM
From: yard_man	Respond to of 8002

>>If you want to argue who gives the worst customer service then as far as I am concerned it is Microsoft.<< Who's arguing, Jon -- MSFT is the worst. There is also a valid point to be made concerning GTW having to support other vendors stuff -- but that's who they are an integrator -- they should be ready to support what they sell. I have heard stories where folks got good customer service from GTW, but I have heard a lot of stories from folks who have been screwed as well. Just out of curiosity -- was your machine pruchased for home or office and was it part of a purchase of a number of machines or just one? Now concerning GTW providing resources to troubleshoot someone else's product -- if GTW cannot troubleshoot it or refer the customer to someone who can -- they should seek another vendor for the product -- IT IS NOW PART OF A GTW PRODUCT -- I expect they will not look to other vendors because the way that GTW has made money is by using inferior parts. Parts that fail much more often than those used by DELL for instance. If GTW didn't do this, they couldn't compete, IMO.