5/5

posted Oct-18-2003

Why did I go with Falcon Northwest?
1. They don't put you on hold like Dell, Micron, Gateway, do.
2. You phone call doesn't end up someplace in India with someone barely speaking English.
3. It is true, I haven't been able to get through, to a live tech both times I called, but after I left a message, each time the call was returned by them within 15 minutes!!
4. They are local!! They operate out of Medford, OR and I am in Vancouver WA. Frankly I am tired of everything running out of NY. I have developed a very bad taste for companies in New York. It feels like NY is full of "businessmen" who are creative at getting your money, and selling you cheap parts.
5. The tech has spent 46 minutes with me on the phone, helping me configure best possible system (for my needs). He never rushed me, was very patient, answered every question with crystal clarity (this was extremely refreshing, almost felt guilty for keeping him on the phone this long).
6. Up until today I have never head of them. I read about them in this November's issue of PC world, checked them out on line.
7. I had for a long time tracked Alienware PCs. I heard of, and looked into Hypersonic PCs. I called each company and spoke to sales depts. (all have thick accents, which cautioned me. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against people with accents, it's just I so want someone who can fully understand my requests, and not have to repeat over and over and have to re-phrase, just to get a point across). After intense research online (today), I think I've made the best choice when I decided to give my business to Falcon Northwest. I can't wait for my Exotix painted case, AMD Athlon 64 FX-51 configured as Raid 0, to get put together and shipped.
8. Now, if I can just find a good way, to justify to my wife, spending $6000 on a PC that didn't even include a monitor (since I already have a 21” LCD Viewsonic monitor).
9. I’ll keep you posted on the continuous progress of this order. Stay tuned for more.
10. So far 10 out of 10. Way to go folks at Falcon Northwest!!!
Sergey.

This review was modified by xakep on November 03 2003 01:23:02 PM

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5/5

posted Jun-16-2003

Micron, was my very first computer I purchased (in March of 1998). It was a Pentium III 300 MHz with a 4GB SCSI hard drive, and a 16mb video card (old times ha?) LOL. This system worked very well. Since I was very new to computers, I have made lots and lots of phone calls to Micron. On average I was on hold for 30 to 45 minutes. Sometimes as long as 1.5 hours (this is not an exaggeration). They must've been very busy. At one point Micron implemented a phone system, to where you call in, you can be on hold for up to 15 to 25 minutes, and then automated systems tells you that there is high volume of calls to please call back, and it would hang up on you. That was an extremely frustrating experience. I think they got enough outrageous feedback, that they discontinued this practice. On to my PC... Along with the Desktop, I purchased a 19" Hitachi monitor (which was the best monitor to date) of course it costs $1000 just for the monitor alone!! Most of the times, my issue was resolved. Couple of times, the issue could only be resolved by reinstalling the OS (win 95b at the time). At one time this computer failed to boot to desktop, and after unsuccessful troubleshooting, micron decided it was a faulty motherboard. This was about one year into my ownership of this system. This system came with a standard 3 year manufacturer’s warranty. Micron sent a technician to my apartment, who came in and replaced a motherboard on my PC. I was very, very pleased with them. A year later, my CPU died, where again, my computer wouldn’t boot. I was asked to pack the system up and send to micron. A week later, I received a completely different system from micron, this new system was a refurbished model, but it was double of everything I originally had. For example it was a Pentium III 600MHz, with a SCSI hard drive of 9 GB, 32 MB video card. I was in seventh haven. The only concern I had that maybe the refurbished system may crap out in no time. Well, to this date (mid 2003) it is still running strong. In fact a year and a half ago, I sold this PC to my brother and he is still running it, no problems with it WHATSOEVER!! My Micron was an incredible machine. If I hadn't started building my own CUSTOM systems, I'd still be purchasing from Micron. They are ONE SOLID COMPANY!! I recommended Micron to a friend of mine and he went ahead and purchased a system from Micron late 1999, he still has this system to this date, (it is a Pentium III 450 MHz system) no problems and no failed compnonents ever!!

This review was modified by xakep on June 16 2003 03:14:43 AM

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1/5

posted Jun-12-2003

Here is the invoice from Apple: (for a G4 17” powerbook)

Buyers Name: My name was here
Web Order Number: some numbers were here
Apple Sales Order Number: 7005226383
Apple Delivery Number: numbers went here
Apple Customer Number: and again numbers
PO Number: last set of numbers


Dear Apple Customer,

The following products shipped on 05/30/2003. Transit time will depend upon whether you have chosen standard or premium freight options. If your order is shipping standard freight, it should arrive within 2 - 5 business days of shipment.

Product # Product Description Qty Ext Price
________________________________________

_________________________________________________
Z05M01M9W PBG4 17.0/1GHZ/1024/60G/SD/AP/BT/LL 1 3,599.00
With the following configuration:

Z05M_B_PROC 065-3719 1GHz PowerPC G4
Z05M_C_MEM 065-3723 1GB DDR RAM - 2 DIMMs
Z05M_D_HD 065-3716 60GB Hard Drive
Z05M_E_OD 065-3718 Super Drive
Z05M_F_KIT 065-3713 Country Kit/Airport
Z05M_G_OS 065-3712 Keyboard/Mac OS
_________________________________________________

The above products have been shipped to:

My address was here


Carrier Name: FEDERAL EXPRESS
Carrier Tracking Number(s): tracking number was here

You can also check your tracking numbers at:
http://www.fedex.com/us/

For orders shipped Monday through Thursday tracking information will
be available on the carrier sites 12 to 24 hours after shipping.
For orders shipped Friday through Sunday tracking information will be
available on the carrier sites by the following Monday evening.

If your attempt to track this shipment on the carrier's web page is
unsuccessful, please contact your Apple Sales Support Specialist for
assistance.

If a partial shipment was authorized, additional items may ship
separately. This is a record of shipped items only.

Thank you for shopping at Apple.

If you have any questions concerning your order, please call us at
(800) 676-2775 Mon-Fri 8am-9pm, Sat-Sun 9am-6pm CT


Ordering was not easy from apple store. It took 3 tries before I was able to order my 17” laptop. Same problem as with Dell. Sales people are not knowledgeable about the product they sell. Big loss for the company (especially for those interested in making "the switch". Finally I came across a girl in tech support of all places, who was very knowledgeable answered all my questions (first time mac user) and off I went placing my order. The only grudge I have with her (and since she wasn’t in sales dept, she may not have known this), she didn’t tell me that once you “customize” your system, it is apple’s policy that it can not be returned!! Of course I found that out when I went to return this absolutely beautiful sexy machine. When the sales rep looked up my order number, he immediately told me that I can not return this laptop, because it was customized. The only part that was "customized" was an extra module of memory. The standard would be 512 mb, with 1024 mb of RAM, this instantly became a CUSOMIZED system. It outraged me, I said “you guys never told me that it was your policy, and this smells like a rotten egg”. He said not much he could do. I went on to request to speak with a supervisor. This guy proceeded to tell me the same thing. After a heated debate, he finally said that he is going to make an exception for me, but charge me a 10% restocking fee. TEN PERCENT, equals to $350!!! That was unheard of!! The only policy I was made aware of at the time of the purchase is that I had to return this laptop in 10 days or less. I wanted to return it after only 2 days!! I finally agreed to his proposal, (at this point I knew I knew that the Macintosh system, way too cumbersome for me). I mean, something as simple as browsing all your pictures in a given directory required of me to write a scrip, I was told by their tech support, that although they couldn’t tell me on the phone what that script was, I was invited to their online forums where I could post my questions, and surely someone was going to provide the script. Who said macs were capable of everything and then some compared to a PC? Compete BS. Anyways, I am $350 short as a result of apple misrepresenting their policy.
I would love to buy a laptop that has the same design that this 17” beauty had. Maybe Sony will put out something similar. When they do, the first order is mine!! You can count on that!!

This review was modified by xakep on June 14 2003 06:12:49 AM

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5/5

posted Jun-12-2003

I ordered a laptop from these guys. It looked suspiciously cheap. I called them up with a toll free number they had provided on their website. A sales rep (who spoke english) answered the phone, after a brief conversation, it sounded like this was a legitimate company. I placed my order for a laptop that would cost (similar configuration as alienware.com, hypersonic aviation, etc) between $3500 and $4000. My laptop was only $1950. That’s with a 16.1” UXGA screen (1600x1200), 3.06 Pentium 4, 1024 mb RAM, (you get the picture). I’ve had this laptop for 3-4 days. Thought it was a little bit on the noisy side, and ran a little hotter, then I wanted it too (well, dah, it was running a desktop 3.06 CPU) and decided to return it. I though, OK, this is where the real test starts. Expecting a lot of hassle, I dialed the same phone number. After I stated my reasons for returning a laptop, they provided an RMA, and on its way the laptop went. The only downside, they take 4-6 weeks to credit your account. Personally that doesn’t bother me. This returning experience was far more pleasant, then trying to cancel an order with Dell, that hasn’t even shipped!! Way to go internetishop.com. You are great. Keep up the good work. I will most definetly recommend this webiste and this comapny to my friends. Off I go to spreading the good word about InternetIshop.com

This review was modified by xakep on June 12 2003 05:06:11 PM

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1/5

posted Jun-12-2003

What a nightmare. I ordered a laptop on line. I choose to have the unit delivered overnight. Was charged just a few bucks short of $100, come to find out, it will take them 2 weeks (15 days to be precise) to build the unit. Call customer service rep. They (dell) have the most screwed up phone system I have ever encountered. Toll free number that was listed on the invoice, (after going through 5 or 6 prompts) tells me that this number is no good, and I have to dial a different number. After dialing the new number and going through all the prompts, I get a rep on the phone. He helps me and clarifies that shipping will be overnight, but the unit hasn't been produced yet. After 2 days since the order was placed, the unit finally goes into production, by then, I have driven to Fry's and picked up a Fujitsu notebook. Call Dell again to cancel my order, only to encounter more nightmare of automated phone system. Had to dial the number several times, just to finally figure out which prompt will lead to a live technician. Three times, during prompting, I am told that they have not received my prompt (all the while I am frantically pressing the same number on my keypad, when their system recognized the input). Finally, I get some terrorist on the phone, (or at least he had the same Arabic accent of the people who blew up the twin towers and caused other disaster around our nation). This guy, after a brief conversation, confirms that my order has been cancelled. I follow up with a question, “Well, which order? There were two orders, one for a laptop and one for a surge protector.” He then tells me he can't cancel the laptop because it has already been input to production. But he has cancelled the $20 surge protector. What an asshole!!! Would you tell someone their order has been cancelled, when there still is an order for $2500 that you “weren’t able to cancel?”. Very bazaar situation. I then tell him, “Well, hello, I need to cancel the laptop too.” He says he doesn’t have the authorization to do that because the unit is in production already. He then proceeds to tell me that all I have to do is wait for a laptop to come to my door, refuse the delivery at that point, and when the unit comes back to Dell, they will make a credit to my account (another terrorist activity where they try to rack up the s&h bill for the company). He says I don’t have to worry, because the company will pick up the shipping and handling charges. I tell him this is an absolute absurd. Why not stop the production and save money on shipping and handling charges both ways!! He tells me there is no other way. I asked him to give me someone who speaks English and who DOES have the authority to cancel the order. After a brief hold, another terrorist comes on. Tells me he is a floor supervisor. I said “wait a minute, you sound exactly like the guy I was on the phone less then 2 minutes ago, I can’t really tell if you are the same person.” He says “you can take my badge number”. I said “I don’t want your badge number, I just need you to cancel my order”. He immediately tells me that he can not cancel this order since it has already been SHIPPED. I get outraged, “where the heck did you get the idea that the unit has been shipped? I was just told it is in PRODUCTION being manufactured right now. Did you even look at my account number?” He the pauses, “wait a minute sir, let me double check your order”, after a few seconds he says your order has been cancelled. I said “wait a minute, you are a supervisor, you come on the phone, you immediately proceed to tell me that you can’t cancel my order, because it has already shipped, and you haven’t even taken a look at my account?”. He says, “we had to confirm with another department, sir”, I said, “BS, I just told you the unit is in production according to Dell’s website order status link, and that’s what you just looked at, you @#$W$#!!!!
“Is there anything else I can help you with sir?” he proceeds to ask, I follow up with the same question, “are you telling me that my $2500 order and my $20 order have been completely cancelled”, he says “yes”. I told him I would never want to do any business with you again. And wish him well. I feel bad about a company that tries to make a profit and benefit the people by providing jobs to the community, but after encounters such as this one, I would not ever want to go back and order from Dell. I have in the past ordered from Sony, internetishop.com, and those were a much, much more pleasant experiences. You get a live rep in less then a minute, and they speak English, and answer all your questions. If Dell continues to employ these terrorist, whose only interest is to destroy an America business (and lives), Dell, will ultimately loose, and their stock will plummet from $32 bucks to maybe $0.30 cents!! I would think you would put your brightest people in sales department, these are the people that transmit the image for the company and that’s what we (the consumer) use, to formulate our perception about a given company.

This review was modified by xakep on June 12 2003 04:49:51 PM

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5/5

posted May-16-2003

Excellent shipping time. WOW!!! Thanks a lot
Product wasn't damaged, brand spanking new, just the way I like it. Thanks KnowledgeMicro!!!

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1/5

posted Jan-08-2003

I tried calling these people. They hung up on me 3 times (just as soon as I notified them, that this conversation will be recorded). It was a no brainier. After the 1st time, it became fun to try to get them to hang up again, and after a second time to see if they are consistent in their practice of hanging up on their first time customers who are interested in purchasing a product (in my case it was going to be a Sony DCR-TRV950). These people are nothing but a COMPLETE SCAM. If after reading this review you go and place an order with them, you are lacking some brain cells (no offense).
Complete morons. I am surprised they have stayed in business more then 3 days, and why didn't they get shut down by responsible parties in NY, is beyond my level of comprehension. Maybe you can figure this one out. When you do, please let me know.
Sergey.

By the way they wouldn't even tell me their name. I can't tell you whom I spoke with, other then every single time a male picked up the phone and had an middle eastern descent type accent. Go figure!! Must be the brothers of the terrorists that caused the 9/11. Cowards!!

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