Velocity Micro, fake customer support

[rockingchairman]

I recently purchased a Velocity Micro desktop to replace my main office computer. I can't yet rate the machine because it arrived with a defective power supply but I can rate the customer service and in my opinion it's terrible. To start they were a full week later in their production time than indicated at order time (took three weeks). When I tried to track my computer in the production process it was virtually impossible. Customer service, assembly and shipping do not appear to have the ability to directly communicate with one another. When I asked my customer support person if he could find out when my machine would be completed, he said, "no, that isn't possible".

So, after I finally got my machine last week the power supply quit within hours of booting the system and I called Velocity customer support. Got a nice enough person on the phone who assured me that they would get me out a new power supply immediately and ship it overnight. Knowing how they are I called yesterday to verify that it had shipped and I got someone else that simply said, no, it had not and that all he could do was read my customer record. The point is he didn't have the ability or the willingness to pick up the phone and call either shipping or assembly and ask why it hadn't gone out. He also informed me that it would be sent two day air instead of overnight and that there was nothing he could do about it.

During the original delayed manufacturing process I sent several emails to the corporate CEO letting him know of my experience and the dysfunction of his customer support. He never got back to me.

My message to readers here is to really think about customer support issues before buying a machine like a Velocity Micro as opposed to a Dell or some other more established company. I have since read a lot of postings by angry and annoyed customers of Velocity Micro who have real issues with the technical competence of Velocity's support group. I have to agree. Don't get me wrong, they've actually got lots of customer support people and I don't think I've had to wait more than 2 minutes for a live person on the four calls I've made to them but nothing happens as a result of calling. It's like fake customer support. All these sounds come out of their mouths but nothing happens. I would not buy another Velocity Micro computer. Beyond the aluminum case it's just off the shelf components, assembled slowly, and poorly supported. We all know that computers are all about time and time saving. If you are a gamer, maybe this doesn't matter. As a business person, my time is everything.

[Rickpa]

It is my experience that Velocity Micro has great after sale support.

I also had a bad power supply........ a bad video card..... a bad floppy drive/USB/Firewire thingy.... and hopefully nothing else.

Velocity Micro is a company that I want to say good things about. When they get a bad review, they always reach out to make it right. I really appreciate this.

They did an incredible wiring job on my machine, which I paid extra for, which was completely hosed when my maladroit fingers put in the new power supply.

I think it's possible that any computer from any maker will come in as a dud or a lemon. I think I bought the proverbial car made on Friday, and perhaps that's how it is for you. I may see about shipping this lemon back, or I may just forgo the hassles. I don't use the floppy, USB, or firewire stuff anyway! Besides, it looks like it's hooked to the motherboard by some strange mojo.

[michaels39]

Velocity Micro was great when they started out,but I have noticed a growing number of complaints since they started to expand and sell their systems at places like Best Buy.It may be growing pains,they may not have enough resources to handle the increased demands for orders and support.I hope they don't become another DELL or HP,there are so few really good builders out there.

[Rickpa]

I have been checking out the reviews for Alienware, and it seems that you're as likely to have a bad experience with them as Velocity Micro. This simply may be a time in our history where cheap faulty parts are such a rule that no matter how high end your machine, you have a good chance of experiencing multiple failures out of the box.

[michaels39]

From the feedback I've seen,Alienware is actually worse than VM,because not only are they lacking in customer support,you're paying top prices to boot.Velocity is more reasonable in price,but they seem to be going downhill a bit in the quality and support departments.For high end machines,the best bet is someone like Falcon Northwest or Puget,though they're pricey.If you're working with a lower budget,AVAdirect or K.C. Computers have good reviews.

[big_rock]

I've been researching a gamer PC for the last four months, with a spring 2008 purchase date in mind. From what I'm seeing, Digital Storm or Maingear are probably two of the best, performance and customer support wise. If anyone is thinking about purchasing a PC, check out [H]Consumer. These guys seem to have their act together when it comes to evaluating PCs. They not only evaluate the PC itself, but they evaluate the total buying experience and the customer support. Their evaluations cover the entire PC price range, from stripped down PCs to top of the line gamers.

[michaels39]

[H]Consumer was a great source for builder reviews,unfortunately they don't do them anymore.Unlike some review sites and magazines,they didn't get systems sent to them free from builders for review,they bought them as ordinary customers to get the real experience that you or I would get.It was the best way to do an honest review,but was also very costly.But you can still get feedback on their forums from members on their experiences with the various builders.And they still do great reviews on individual PC components.

[missythng]

VM has definitely gone downhill in both quality and customer service. I bought my first computer from them about a year and a half ago and got great service, no matter how big or small the problem.

Just bought a new one, waiting for the review to pass and be posted. This experience has been awful. The computer works, but it certainly doesn't work well. Not for what's in it and what I paid for it. And I feel like there's just not the level of care there used to be.

Of course, the person who used to be in charge of tech support has gone to another company, so that's not a good thing.

I think they grew way too fast and have gone "corporate". The bottom line has become more important than the customer.

The only positive about VM is they do use "real" parts, as opposed to most of the big box proprietary overpriced crummy parts - and that includes Alienware (they are owned by Dell after all). Another company to consider if you're looking to buy is Puget. I couldn't afford them ... but right now I wish I'd found a way to come up with the extra bucks.

I too miss [H]Consumer, that's how I found VM in the first place! Their reviews were great, completely unbiased and even I could understand most of what they were talking about. At least they still have their great forum.

[michaels39]

It's not a good sign when good employees start leaving a company,and I've noticed that some who were well thought of by customers of VM have moved to other builders.It's getting increasingly harder to find a reliable builder,at least at a price I'd consider reasonable.I hear a lot of good things about Puget,I'm sure they put out a fine product,but I just can't justify spending $800 more for the same system with the same parts and comparable ratings that I can get from other builders I've researched.VM used to be in that group,but they've really slipped down lately.

[missythng]

Well, I'm still waiting for my review to be posted for VM ... it's been 40 hours, so 8 more to go? I didn't know that merchants could sign up for a service so they could see reviews before they're posted for the world to read. I hope my review gets posted soon. No matter what the outcome, I wouldn't change a word of the original review ... of course I'll add updates but my original feelings and the problems I'm having stand.

Got an email from someone in cust. service at VM last night after she read my review and I replied. Oh boy did I reply - with a soundclip (the onboard audio issue) and pics of the new puter problems and the old puter when it was returned to me after repair. Today we're playing phone tag. I was out for a few minutes, now she's out.

I'm actually considering buying a dell (the ones with XP aren't badly priced) .. I never thought I'd say that. I just don't know if it could stand up to what I need the computer for.

Will wait until I see what VM has to say.