Need Advice about second dead PC from Falcon Northwest

PinataUT said:
Having read the whole thread, I feel like I'm reading something written by Patty Hearst. You were screwed and you took it. And went on about how wonderful they treated you.

Ghandi would have sued these dipsticks. Non-violence <> inaction.

Shortlist for new computer: Maingear, VM, Pugent, and AVAdirect. Off the list: FalconNW. Falcon mishandled this spectacularly.
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At least I learned a lesson. I'll make a better decision next time, hopefully. I just feel like it's CRAZY not to have just bought the computer back from me, in essence. It would have made things a LOT easier, I'd imagine.

The PC has been making a very odd noise lately, and smelling a bit funny (like burned toast), so it may be time to finally retire it. I took it "off the market" for sale, because I don't want to sell anyone a lemon.
 
I recommend you writing a review on resellerratings.com. I has more exposure than HardOCP may have. Maybe one of us can do the write up for you cuz you are a little too nice.
 
C.Norris said:
I recommend you writing a review on resellerratings.com. I has more exposure than HardOCP may have. Maybe one of us can do the write up for you cuz you are a little too nice.
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I apologize for the delay in my response. The processor was overheating, and it took me a while to find a repair shop.

I'm not looking for "exposure" -- I don't want to hurt Falcon in any way. They decided not to do the right thing, and then to try to LOOK like they were doing the right thing after it was already too late. That's their decision.

Karma will catch up with them, but it won't be by my hand. :)

Thank you for your concern, though.
 
lol

Dude, you are way to nice.

I would have ripped them a new one. I have little patience for companies who try to screw me over.

Almost every single time I call a customer support number, I end up talking to a manager, and if the company is big enough, getting the number for corporate. :D But I get what is owed to me, if not more. :cool:
 
You're paying for a working product. Never accept less than that. THEY are supposed to make it right for YOU.

That being said, I will never ever recommend or purchase FNW.
 
edgeprod said:
At least I learned a lesson. I'll make a better decision next time, hopefully. I just feel like it's CRAZY not to have just bought the computer back from me, in essence. It would have made things a LOT easier, I'd imagine.

The PC has been making a very odd noise lately, and smelling a bit funny (like burned toast), so it may be time to finally retire it. I took it "off the market" for sale, because I don't want to sell anyone a lemon.
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Sell it for cheap then and mention it might be a lemon... point to this thread.
 
xxpigxx said:
lol

Dude, you are way to nice.

I would have ripped them a new one. I have little patience for companies who try to screw me over.

Almost every single time I call a customer support number, I end up talking to a manager, and if the company is big enough, getting the number for corporate. :D But I get what is owed to me, if not more. :cool:
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The awkward thing is ... denying me the refund or a fair amount of money back came from Kelt, the President. :(
 
Symon14 said:
You're paying for a working product. Never accept less than that. THEY are supposed to make it right for YOU.

That being said, I will never ever recommend or purchase FNW.
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I'm sorry to hear that you're soured on the company. My experience was likely not representative of the "usual" experience. At least, I hope not.
 
I'm pretty amazed by this story. I feel bad for you. I didn't count up how much extra money you've sunk into this system but it seems like ALOT.

I fought Toshiba for 2 years on a lemon TV. I went through two of them. The first had a lovely little screen jitter that constantly faded and brightened the picture ... the 2nd just went DOA. They sat in repair shops for months at a time. I was polite through all of this ...perhaps too polite. Finally, I wrote up some letters describing the timelines of my experience, every contact, and every issue. After sending the letters to various people (i.e. headquarters, district rep, etc), I had one last phone call with one of the higher-ups in customer service. They told me, simply, that I had no recourse and simply needed to wait for the repairs to be complete. I felt pretty defeated at that point. Three weeks later, out of the blue, I got a phone call to arrange a pick-up of my TV, and they were reimbursing me the entire purchase price (around $2,400). Turns out one of my letters had landed on someone's desk who gave a rat's ass.

So, I'd first suggest to anyone who faces these kind of problems to document everything. Every phone call. Every contact. Every problem. Be polite but insistent.

Your situation with Falcon NW seems beyond the pale. People in these forums will remember this post and look elsewhere for their purchase.

Would have been better for Falcon just to do the right thing in the very beginning.
 
I still think you were way to nice. Its times like this for why we have the right to sue. Not for all the other stupid crap but to protect yourself.
 
stabilep said:
I still think you were way to nice. Its times like this for why we have the right to sue. Not for all the other stupid crap but to protect yourself.
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I think I'm finally to that point.

I called a couple of local attorneys, and they want a $2,500 to do it ... I'd get back about that amount, likely, so it'd be a wash, but it'd be satisfying. Of course, if I lose, then I lose another $2,500.

At least Falcon won't get away without a penalty of SOME sort -- be it time, money, or publicity. I won't ever be Mr. Mean Guy, but I'm tired of being Mr. Nice Guy.
 
yeah but you can be nice but firm. Plus see if you can get an attorney who you won't pay unless you get paid fromt eh settlement and you can factor that into the lawsuit. Also factor the cost of the system itself, and any part you bought, and time as well. talk to your attorney and see what they think is a fair amount you can get.
 
What are the status of the components? I'd be willing to work out a price with you if you're still interested in selling. I have spare components for all of the components in that system, so I could go through one by one and test each one individually in my workstation and figure out where the problem lies. This would take some amount of hours though so my offer wouldn't be what it would be for a new system, but at least you would be getting some money.

On the other hand, even if most of the parts turn out to be lemons, this wouldn't really be a surprise. I wouldn't ask for any money back from you, once it's off your hands then I'd take full responsibilty for whatever problems it may or may not have.

PM me if you're interested. :)
 
Hvatum said:
What are the status of the components? I'd be willing to work out a price with you if you're still interested in selling. I have spare components for all of the components in that system, so I could go through one by one and test each one individually in my workstation and figure out where the problem lies. This would take some amount of hours though so my offer wouldn't be what it would be for a new system, but at least you would be getting some money.

On the other hand, even if most of the parts turn out to be lemons, this wouldn't really be a surprise. I wouldn't ask for any money back from you, once it's off your hands then I'd take full responsibilty for whatever problems it may or may not have.

PM me if you're interested. :)
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Unfortunately, everything is working 100% right now, because I shelled out for new parts. :( Thanks, though.
 
Still nothing in the "customer satisfaction" department, unfortunately.

It's got a very odd problem with the video cards losing signal now.

I'm going to give up, and trash the piece of crap.

Any suggestions on a company that cares about their customers? I'm all ears.
 
Korrd said:
Newegg.
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I'm looking for more of a boutique builder than, say ... me. ;)

The problem is -- dealing with Falcon was such an utter NIGHTMARE, I need someone who will honor their warranties and put the CUSTOMER first. I need to get a working system, no ifs, ands, or buts, if something goes wrong. Not the run-around and end up with just a dead PC.

Is Alienware good in the customer service department?
 
I think it's fair to say that your experience with Falcon was atypical of any boutique vendor, even Falcon themselves. I think it's also a fair assessment that this should have played out much differently, and would have with someone else at the helm (I can't shake the feeling that a lot of what went wrong could have been resolved by a more aggressive advocate (no offense to you)).

More to the point, this exercise aside, I think Falcon's reputation is on par with the other boutique shops like Alienware, VoodooPC, etc., and you'd be just as likely to get a bad apple from any of them. That said, I know review sites sometimes do undercover evaluations of these companies and their support departments, so a little research may be in order. My personal experience with them is nonexistent, though even taking your tale into account I'd say Falcon would still be first on my list.

I understand your desire to go with a prebuilt machine for support purposes, but I have to wonder if it'd be easier and more convenient to build it yourself. Barring that, you could also look into Puget Systems, iBuyPower, Velocity Micro, WidowPC, or OverdrivePC (again, having no experience with any of these myself).

Hopefully someone can put their weight behind one of these brands to narrow the choices down for you.
 
Korrd said:
I think it's fair to say that your experience with Falcon was atypical of any boutique vendor, even Falcon themselves. I think it's also a fair assessment that this should have played out much differently, and would have with someone else at the helm (I can't shake the feeling that a lot of what went wrong could have been resolved by a more aggressive advocate (no offense to you)).
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I feel like ... after multiple system failures, and their COMPLETE inability to get me a working system, they should have just refunded me. I even offered to take a MUCH lower amount than I paid, due to depreciation. They wanted to hear NONE of it. It was easily solved, IMO, and now I have a semi-working system that isn't useful for gaming, and is just a very expensive web browser.

Korrd said:
I understand your desire to go with a prebuilt machine for support purposes, but I have to wonder if it'd be easier and more convenient to build it yourself. Barring that, you could also look into Puget Systems, iBuyPower, Velocity Micro, WidowPC, or OverdrivePC (again, having no experience with any of these myself).
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The unfortunate thing is many companies like NewEgg require the faulty part to be sent back before they'll send a replacement. They also require ME to troubleshoot the issue, rather than determining it themselves. My schedule simply doesn't allow for this if the failure happens when I'm slammed with work.

Korrd said:
Hopefully someone can put their weight behind one of these brands to narrow the choices down for you.
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Hopefully so. I'm looking for someone, specifically, who has had a support issue, like a drive or card dying. Having a replacement the next day, and not having to wait for months like I did in this case, would have saved me tons of dollars in lost business income.
 
Tell you what. PM me. We'll order the parts and I'll build you a monster PC. I'll drive it out to you personally and we'll verify that everything is working perfectly (and it'll look like a VoodooPC with origami wiring and whatnot). I promise the fans will spin too :D

Of course I'm halfway joking. Even if I were going to buy a pre-built (which I never would), FNW is off my list. You need to quit apologizing for them. They screwed you. Period. Good customer service means your system worked 100%. They never delivered that. Period.
 
ugapug said:
Tell you what. PM me. We'll order the parts and I'll build you a monster PC. I'll drive it out to you personally and we'll verify that everything is working perfectly (and it'll look like a VoodooPC with origami wiring and whatnot). I promise the fans will spin too :D

Of course I'm halfway joking. Even if I were going to buy a pre-built (which I never would), FNW is off my list. You need to quit apologizing for them. They screwed you. Period. Good customer service means your system worked 100%. They never delivered that. Period.
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I'm actually beginning to wake up to that. I went out of my way to defend them, they knew it, and the screwed me anyway. I'm very seriously considering a small claims suit. They leveled a veiled threat at me when I mentioned it, so now it's become something of a principle thing.

Thanks for your advice, though.
 
cleve said:
oh the whining goes on six months later.
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Your a total dick.

To edge, I'd take them to small claims no doubt about it. You spent $3,000 on that computer and they leave you with a dud? Unacceptable. Best of luck sorting this issue out.
 
anvl said:
Your a total dick.

To edge, I'd take them to small claims no doubt about it. You spent $3,000 on that computer and they leave you with a dud? Unacceptable. Best of luck sorting this issue out.
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Thanks. I'm thinking it's the only choice. I'm going to see what I can find out about the process.

In the meantime, I'm still looking for suggestions for a company that is customer-focused. The budget is $7,500, looking for something fairly nice.
 
edgeprod said:
Hopefully you'll never experience anything like this.

Do you have something useful to contribute, or no?
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I just read this entire thread. Seriously, grow a fucking pair. Everyone has been telling you from the start that you need to take some sort of action to get them to do their job and you refuse to take the advice.

Why the hell are you updating this thread? It's clear that you're listening to nobody that has posted, thus far. Yes, your situation sucks, but you're the one making it suck.

People aren't giving you advice on what to do just to make you seem like a prick to FNW or to make you give up your 'morals.' Simply put, it is all that you can do in this situation to yield the positive outcome that you paid for and deserve.

For what they deserve, take people's advice. Call them up and get pissed, complain to the BBB, and sue them. You've waited this long, they deserve all three.

As to suggestions, AVA Direct and Velocity Micro are good bang-for-your-buck machines. VM can probably do higher-end for cheaper than most boutiques.

If you want top-of-the-line, best of the best, Maingear is where it is at.
 
mrjminer said:
I just read this entire thread.
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Perhaps you might consider doing it again, based on your reply. Maybe only the latest posts escaped you. I get "fatigue" as pages go on myself. I'm not longer worried about Falcon -- they ripped me off, I see it now. I wanted to give them EVERY benefit of the doubt, but they just kept pissing on me, then laughing about it.

Falcon made it pretty clear on the phone that they intend to make my life very miserable if I sue. The threat was THINLY veiled.

I got scammed, it's clear. I'm ready to move on. I'll check out Maingear, thanks for the suggestion.
 
Take your 7500 bucks. Use it to hire a lawyer. Make THEIR lives miserable. Get your lawyer to publicly decry them.

OR


Go to Maximum PC and file this with the Watch Dog. You'd be surprised how fast a company will get in line when they get called out in a national publication read by millions.

Seriously, how in the hell are they going to make your life miserable if you sue? I would be spending the money to hand deliver that piece of shit back to them - possibly rectally.
 
ugapug said:
Seriously, how in the hell are they going to make your life miserable if you sue? I would be spending the money to hand deliver that piece of shit back to them - possibly rectally.
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They made some significant threats, but it might be worth it. I get angry every time I see an ad for them.
 
edgeprod said:
They made some significant threats, but it might be worth it. I get angry every time I see an ad for them.
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I dont know much about the whole "sueing" process or much about the legal system but its not like they can really counter-sue you for much (if anything) i dont think... anyways Im sure if you search through resources and talk to several lawyers, they will diagnose your situation and will do it for "free" unless u win. Maybe the attention of a REAL lawyer will make them change their mind..
 
cleve said:
oh the whining goes on six months later.
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You're hardly an asset to [H]ard|Forum, maybe you should find another forum to post.

edgeprod, you should try to make their life very difficult, make sure they have a bad name on the internet, threaten them with legal action, it will make its way to the news section of this site, Digg it and there you have it, they have a bad name.
 
RoBo said:
edgeprod, you should try to make their life very difficult, make sure they have a bad name on the internet, threaten them with legal action, it will make its way to the news section of this site, Digg it and there you have it, they have a bad name.
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All I ever asked for was a working PC, or my money back. I feel like karma is probably going to bite them in the future, I probably won't need to help that along.
 
The point is that you should have done something about this months ago. You have received excellent advise from many people already. My advise was harsh but it is to make you ANGRY enough to do something about it. I guess it worked. Did not mean to upset other folks so i do apologize. I think best advise would be to write to maximum PC as was posted by another and also to get a lawyer involved.
 
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