Ordered a laptop from Gateway, they instantly gave me a shipping estimate and delivered it a week earlier than the given estimate. Price was the best when compared against similar laptops from competing brands (HP/Dell/etc), and so far I have had no issues with my laptop so can't comment on their returns/repairs process. But I have to say I'm overall very satisfied with my purchase, and seeing the amount of negative feedback here prompted me to write my take on ordering from Gateway, as it was nothing but positive.

This was the laptop MX7525. Had trouble with the screen. Sent it back 2 times. They got it right the second time. Right after it went off warrenty the power button went out. Paid $250 to have it repaired. It lasted about three monthxs. Now the screen it starting to go out again and the power button is going bad on me. Their customer service was good. With a fast turnaround time. The computer is a lemon.

this is the worst company in the world. I bought a notebook from them, they quoted me 1500 dollars for a repair. THAT COST MORE THAN THE NOTEBOOK DID! They were very unprofessional. The Warranty is shit, as well as their AC Adapters I had to continually buy because they broke after the first month. Never buy from Gateway. NEVER.

I Bought a Gateway FPD2185W from a reseller that promised me that Gateway would sell me an additional 2 year warranty. Gateway refused to sell me the extended warranty. So I had a $600 monitor with a short 1 year warranty. Of course the monitor went bad a few months out of warranty and I now have a $600 piece of junk. Gateway refused to replace/ repair the monitor even if I paid for the repair.  
Gateway has turned into another skid row company that misleads the customer. Live and learn.

This review was modified by its author, Jazzpicker308, on 11/4/07 11:08 PM.

Gateway misleads consumers by indicating a "deliver by date" then doesn't deliver. My computer is now scheduled to arrive 3 weeks later than promised, on a date I will be out of town for Thanksgiving. I think Gateway should provide some form of customer incentive for this since they are responsible and I have already paid for the computer in full. When asked, Gateway said they would be happy to delay my order even further so it would arrive after I returned but said they would not provide any further incentive for the delay in delivery as I had already been given a student discount (which one either qualifies for or doesn't and which has nothing to do with their failure to meet delivery expectations) and their "off the top" discount, which they advertised and offered. Update 10/30: Attempt to cancel order. Now Gateway says computer is "ready to be shipped" even though I got a message from another Gateway person saying it would be ready next week. Now they say delay is due to me "paying in advance" which put a hold on the order. Plus, it will take 7-10 days to refund my money IF the order hasn't already been shipped. Then I will have to wait till they receive it back and process it which will result in another delay.

This review was modified by its author, rlindsey, on 10/30/07 5:17 PM.

My order had been for a simple pair of headphones. Gateway had the best price, listed the item as in stock, and had the shipping method I needed to get the item on time (I needed to get it in no more than 7 days). Naively I beleived that a company as well known as Gateway wouldn't make such horrible decisions about customer support and item status displays. After making the online purchase with 2 day delivery and being given an estimated delivery date of 7 days, I sat back and waited. They began processing the order, and sent me emails confirming that it was being processed. Everything looked normal, and the processes seemed well made.  
 
I wasn't naive enough to just leave it alone. A day before the item was slotted to arrive, I checked the status of my order. It was still sitting in "Processing", instead of shipping. This concerned me, because 2-day shipping would probably require the item to be in transit by that time, right?  
 
Thankfully, unlike so many other stories here, I emailed customer support and actually received curtious, intelligent support. They told me my item now had an estimated delivery date of about 25 days from the current date.  
 
My order was too time sensitive to wait, so I asked to cancel. They said that was too bad, because if I didn't cancel they would list my order as "priority level" now. Curious, but not stupid, I asked them if that meant they would now ship the item for free. They responded that this meant they would "do everything they could to ensure the item would reach me by the new estimated deliver date", which was still 25 days away. So, basically, they would still charge me full price for the item, and the 2-day shipping charge, and I wasn't even guaranteed that I receive the item.  
 
After taking a minute to search ratings for Gateway, I let them know how dissatisfied I was with their methods of doing business, and referred them to this site in hopes that they would work to improve themselves. They did eventually offer me a $10 in-store credit if I were to continue with the order (after much questioning on my part as to why I shouldn't cancel), but why would I want $10 towards an item that's going to take 2 months to get here, and will probably be broken anyway?  
 
My cancellation is still in process, and I hope it goes through sucessfully...  
 

DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS COMPANY!!!!! We have had our computer repaired 4 times and finally got a replacement which, when I took it out of the box, was defective as well. Each time they "fix" the computer they make sure to format the hard drive so you loose all your data nd have to reinstall all your applications. Their customer support is the worst I have ever dealt with and they make no attempt to make the customer happy. ONCE THEY GET YOUR MONEY YOU ARE SCREWED!!!!!

Gateway has a very bad customer service. They stink!!!!!!! I order my gateway c140x on September 2– 2007 , the next day I call to add a printer to my order and they told me that the system was broken. Today sep 13 2007 ,11 days later they still processing my order; which means that my order still in the factory!!!!!!!!! In fact my made my order on the 5 not on the 3rd.  
If any body is planning to buy a product from gateway I recommend some Advil for the pain they will make you suffer. Not only that!!!!!! If you intend to cancel the order no they will tell you that the only person that can cancel your order is the person that sold it to you. In my case that person was never working when I called!!!!!! I really give gateway a big F!!! In the customer service subject. In fact today I spend almost 20 minutes trying to speak with one of the representative and no one answer the stupid phone.  

I have a quote on a FX530XV for $2003.17 on the 20th of Aug, 2007. Gateway refuses to honor this quote. Instead, they bait and switch and generally give you the run around if you try to press them for the quoted price. The first sales agent Tyson (the sales reps have aliases), blew me off after telling me he would talk to his manager and call/email me back. He didn't and never intended too according to a second sales rep I talked to today (Judge). I have gathered that Gateway had no intention of making a killer offer, but instead hide behind their policy regarding quotes("Sale subject to Limited Warranty and Terms & Conditions agreement. Prices, promotions, specifications, availability and terms of offers are for U.S. end users only, not resellers, distributors or non-U.S. purchasers, and may change without notice or obligation. Prices exclude shipping, handling and taxes. Prices reflect all discounts, coupons and other promotions set forth above. Gateway cannot be held responsible for pricing or other typographical errors and reserves the right to cancel orders that result from these errors") so that they can refuse to honor quotes if they so desire. Anyway, I will not purchase a Gateway product in the future. This was the first time I had considered doing so and I feel it was a mistake. In the end quoted prices mean nothing at Gateway.

I purchased my Gateway laptop in April of '06. I loved the look of it and the 17" screen (although the glare was a bit tricky). In less than a year, I've had to replace the power cord, (twice), the keyboard & constantly keeping up with screws that are falling out of the bottom. The left mouse key is loose & hardly works anymore. I also noticed 2 dark spots that appeared on my screen (which makes working on graphic projects troublesome). I have tried many times (unsuccessfully) to get it replaced. I've had Toshiba, & Dell laptops over the years, & combined never had these kinds of hardware problems. This is my first and LAST Gateway product and tell everyone who says, "Wow that's a cool looking laptop", not to as well

I'll never buy another Gateway product again. I purchased a laptop for my son to take to his Freshman year of college. The hinge popped off after a week. Notified Gateway: They told us to notify the seller (Best Buy) Upon doing so, we were told to notify Gateway. Sent the laptop back...they took weeks and weeks to repair it and get it back to us. Got it back, the hinge popped AGAIN...(Note, with the hinge breaking, it damages the laptop screen frame, this wasn't a simple hinge problem, it was a total design problem.) I had taken advantage of Best Buys no interest for 3 months promotion, so I took it to the store, dumped it with the store manager and walked out. That was last summer. Best Buy is still trying to get the money for that laptop from me. Maybe they should start hounding Gateway for it. Gateway and Best Buy BOTH dropped the ball on this purchase. I am a business owner myself, and I redirect ANYone who talks of making a purchase with either company.

Nobody can top my case!! My previous Gateway desktop (on warranty) broke down 6 times so finally on March 20, they agreed to take that one back (which they did) and send me a brand new system - Every two weeks they would push the delivery another four weeks, and I have yet to receive the system. When asked to issue a refund for my old system, they say it was purchased more than 30 days ago, and they cannot issue a refund, but yet cannot fulfill the new order - it has been more than three months now and I have been without a working computer for six months.  
 
Here are some snips from their CS:  
 
They blame the warehouse move from Mexico to Tennessee, and "one of the benefits to the change in the manufacturing and shipping facility is a more centralized shipping."  
 
How is this helping my case? It is making it worse.  
 
"I am confident that you will (find?) it worth the wait."  
 
No computer is worth a almost four month wait. In fact, the system is already out of date even before I receive it.  
 
I have contacted their head CS, and he is delegating this stuff to their non-knowledgeable, rude CS people. On the phone the "Executive Customer Service" rep said that I would have to wait for the computer, and that they are having shipment issues with most of their desktops. So I asked the rep to see what orders are being fulfilled and send me one of those, and she said "It is not my job to tell you what orders are being shipped." So I asked what her job is at "Executive Customer Service" and not received a good answer. They are really good at insulting the customers over there.  
 
I've had it with these people, and actually retained an attorney and paid him to pursue this. He has already sent two letters and we are going ahead and filing a claim with Cook County (Chicago) under "Consumer Fraud" since they have not been able to fulfill the delivery date 4-5 times already.  
 
I wrote two letters to their CEO stating that:  
1. I do not have my old computer (which broke down anyway)  
2. I do not have my new computer  
3. I do not have a refund (they say it is impossible)  
 
So I am out almost $2000 and without a computer! How on earth are they still in business? In fact, I hope they go under after they give me a computer back.

Bought laptop on line, ordered Office 2007 software which came uninstalled. The temp 30 trial version was installed and that told me 2007 versions are not compatible with Office 2003.  
Gateway customer service was terrible, sending me to Microsoft and refused to let me return the unopened, sealed CD, which was no bargain to begin with. I have purchased three Dells in the past and will never again buy Gateway. I don't care what country customer service is in, I only care they try to help.

I purchaced a factory refurbished computer from TigerDirect and I have no complaint there. However when I recived the computer the Motherboard was not working properly. I sent it back to Gateway and they returened it but it had been damaged in shipping. While this may not have been entirly there fault the fact that they gave me a very hard time about getting the unit fixed is. Finally after two weeks of talking with them they agreed to repair the unit. I sent it back, but when it was returned it had not been fixed at all. After much arguing on the phone I got them to agree to fix it but they actually told me that if it comes back un-fixed again I can always send it back a 4th time. Today I received an empty box from them. I am simply amazed at the incompetance that Gatway exhibits.

This review was modified by its author, kopinsk5, on 6/15/07 10:41 AM.

I ordered a new Gateway PC on 5/7/2007 via the web from Gateway's webpage. When I saw the estimated receive date of 6/5/2007 I wasn't happy but I decided to wait it out. After the first week my order was still "processing". I emailed and was assured by customer service that my order was moving along and that it was just their order tracking system that was showing incorrect information. This went on for nearly four weeks, each time I was assured by customer service that my system was indeed being built and there would be no delay in me receiving my order. I had paid for 2 day air shipment so last Friday (6/1) should have been my ship date. I emailed again and asked for my tracking number. I was then given the excuse that their plant was being relocated from Mexico to Tennesse and that was causing problem with tracking their orders. I emailed them back and demanded to be contacted by a supervisor with my current status in hand. I received another email from their "team lead" who stated that he "just received an update and that my order was indeed going to be delayed". I wasn't born yesterday...."just found out"? Please. He said there was a new delivery date....but neglected to tell me WHEN that was. I had to email again and ask what the new date was going to be. They replied and told me my new estimated date of delivery was July 2nd. That would make it nearly 8 full weeks from my order time. I wrote them back on Saturday June 2nd and cancelled my order. To date (6/5) my order still says "processing", even though I cancelled it three days ago. I'm calling my credit card company this morning and blocking an approval by Gateway because I don't believe they're ever going to cancel my order. I was a past customer but I will never do business with them again.