Velocity Micro Problems - Reasonable Next Steps?

[jmclane]

I commend you for making them somewhat stick to their warranty rather then buying their way out of it. Yes $2100 would buy you a decent machine, but there's a principle here that's beyond money, and I'm glad to see you are aware of that.

Aww man, don't hold me to any big principles. I'm just flipping coins.

 

[bmango]

So what happened to the on-site service that you paid for?

 

[jmclane]

So what happened to the on-site service that you paid for?

We've tried that several times and something else is wrong that hasn't yet been identified. It's not realistic at this point to continue down that road. More senior VM techs need to take a direct look.

 

[Rabid Badger]

lol....way to jump to conclusions

did you NOT read Velocity_Micro's post shortly after that???

That person is not an employee of Velocity Micro, they are a "Former" employee and apparently a disgruntled employee with some sort of personal Vendetta against the company.

besides i really don't think that is Velocity's style to pull something like that.

Learn to read. I never said that vegatyme was a VM employee. She admitted that she was a former VM employee and that she was directed to this thread "by a competitor".

Why would a competitor take the time to show a forum thread to a random ex-VM employee unless their intention was to use them to influence the opinion of the members of that forum?

Are you always this slow to catch on?

...on a different note, is this forum always like this?? lol. I signed up on it today because a friend told me it's a good place for tech info and i click "New Posts" and this one shows up with like 6 pages or more of replies...man what a soap opera!! ((I think i need some popcorn for this))

I'm an avid gamer and pc enthusiast myself, i look forward to many interesting conversations here

Well I think its time for some COD4...

-ciao-

-Darkon

This forum is packed top to bottom with industry professionals and knowledgeable enthusiasts, though I'm not really sure what you'll add to that.

And don't sign your posts, it's against forum rules.

 

[athlon1.2]

So what happened to the on-site service that you paid for?

It's going to be hella expensive for them to have a tech come out and then stress-test the system for 24+hrs because I damn sure hope that's what VM does to the system after they re-build it.

 

[Rabid Badger]

I'm just going to add one more thing here since Velocity Micro can't themselves:

2 rebuilds?

3 motherboards?

Does the term PEBKAC mean anything to you?

 

[RangerSVT]

I'm just going to add one more thing here since Velocity Micro can't themselves:

2 rebuilds?

3 motherboards?

Does the term PEBKAC mean anything to you?

Does common sense ring a bell to you? I sure hope you never run a company, telling the customer that it's their fault for their $2,500 machine failing on them, will leave you with one pissed off client...Not to mention he's not certified to do the repairs, VM is, which is why VM failed when they did not enforce the customer to send the machine back. They played the game, and in the end, got (excuse my words) fucked over.

 

[Rabid Badger]

Does common sense ring a bell to you? I sure hope you never run a company, telling the customer that it's their fault for their $2,500 machine failing on them, will leave you with one pissed off client...

It most certainly IS his fault. He refused to ship the machine back to get repaired by qualified techs after he broke it and paid the price. And no, I'm not saying VM should tell him it's his fault, that's why I did it for them.

Not to mention he's not certified to do the repairs, VM is, which is why VM failed when they did not enforce the customer to send the machine back. They played the game, and in the end, got (excuse my words) fucked over.

They most certainly did. They had a customer that was obviously incapable of fixing the problem himself and refused to send it in, they did the best the could under the circumstances and this thread is what the get for their trouble. Ridiculous.

 

[RangerSVT]

It most certainly IS his fault. He refused to ship the machine back to get repaired by qualified techs after he broke it and paid the price. And no, I'm not saying VM should tell him it's his fault, that's why I did it for them.



They most certainly did. They had a customer that was obviously incapable of fixing the problem himself and refused to send it in, they did the best the could under the circumstances and this thread is what the get for their trouble. Ridiculous.

Oh, OK, great explanation , let's move along please

 

[jmclane]

Does the term PEBKAC mean anything to you?

Not that you matter, but it's idiotic to make such presumptions in the face of all of the contradictory evidence previously disclosed. Two of the mother boards had known problems identified by the tech before leaving my house. The other board had problems very similar to the current board, which were identified by the tech before leaving my house. The original machine blue screened very soon after its first boot. It's ridiculous to assert that I magically caused those problems. I went through every tech directed process and procedure before each of the two rebuilds.

I've been using PCs since 88 and have never had problems like this. I built old x86 machines on several occasions through high-school and college (granted much less sophisticated hardware and software). I don't work in the industry, and I simply have other obligations which for a long time have made continued tinkering unrealistic such that I just want to out-source it to more competent persons. I'm not trying to push any limits. I can assure you I'm as technically adept as any layman out there and with absolute certainty haven't caused the problems.

 

[jmclane]

Does the term PEBKAC mean anything to you?

Moreover, we've agreed to return the machine, and so as to avoid any future problems and to expedite resolution have agreed to the partial refund for the returned machine. I hereby grant VM the discretion to NOT pay that refund if they are able to identify any problems that I caused to the machine.

By Rabid's logic I would have in effect had to cause those same problems repeatedly after each of the build, rebuild, re-rebuild, and replacement of the motherboards. I'm not even sure what I would or could have done after each of those instances, but if Rabid has some suggestions, or maybe wants to recount from his own experience, I'm happy to entertain them.

 

[Rabid Badger]

Moreover, we've agreed to return the machine, and so as to avoid any future problems and to expedite resolution have agreed to the partial refund for the returned machine. I hereby grant VM the discretion to NOT pay that refund if they are able to identify any problems that I caused to the machine.

By Rabid's logic I would have in effect had to cause those same problems repeatedly after each of the build, rebuild, re-rebuild, and replacement of the motherboards. I'm not even sure what I would or could have done after each of those instances, but if Rabid has some suggestions, or maybe wants to recount from his own experience, I'm happy to entertain them.

There are numerous things a tech could have done (and on a machines 3rd trip to the factory, probably would have done) to get your machine up and running, including testing each part individually in and out of the case.

Out of curiosity, did you try connecting the computer to a different outlet/circuit? There is one outlet in my house that if I plug my laptop into it, I get warnings that the power supply isn't providing sufficient power, but when I go into the living room and plug it in there are no issues.

If I had to guess I'd say your problem is caused by one of the following:

Bad power (see above)
Bad PSU
A improperly seated video card cooler
A problem with the ports in the case that plug into the motherboard

 

[Velocity_Micro]

Sometimes computers just break. Everyone that's ever owned one knows that it comes with the territory. J has agreed with me that the karma around this issue is not good, and we're going to part ways ammicably. In the end, he spent two years with a flaky computer, we lost our shorts in the refund. Nobody won anything in this ordeal, and we'll never really know or agree why. It's a worst case senario for all sides, and I really hate that we didn't give the experience he plunked down his money for originally. At least we were able to settle it finally.

Now's time to go back to talking about cool PC technology, like the Q9450 we have in stock! (Yes, the first in the world!)

 

[WhiteGuardian]

Sometimes computers just break. Everyone that's ever owned one knows that it comes with the territory. J has agreed with me that the karma around this issue is not good, and we're going to part ways ammicably. In the end, he spent two years with a flaky computer, we lost our shorts in the refund. Nobody won anything in this ordeal, and we'll never really know or agree why. It's a worst case senario for all sides, and I really hate that we didn't give the experience he plunked down his money for originally. At least we were able to settle it finally.

Now's time to go back to talking about cool PC technology, like the Q9450 we have in stock! (Yes, the first in the world!)

I know this isn't the best place to post this, but since you blocked pms I just wanted to give a few suggestions.

I like VM's new configuration page alot, but if you think about it, those that are buying from boutiques want as less trouble as possible when buying a PC. Because of this reason, I think VM should offer a bigger selection on monitors and keyboards/mouse, people that are too lazy to build by themselves would want everything to come in 1 package, and having to choose between a 17 inch monitor and a 22 inch $350 monitor along with 2 VM brand keyboard/mouse isn't very fulfilling.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[magoo]

There are numerous things a tech could have done (and on a machines 3rd trip to the factory, probably would have done) to get your machine up and running, including testing each part individually in and out of the case.

Out of curiosity, did you try connecting the computer to a different outlet/circuit? There is one outlet in my house that if I plug my laptop into it, I get warnings that the power supply isn't providing sufficient power, but when I go into the living room and plug it in there are no issues.

If I had to guess I'd say your problem is caused by one of the following:

Bad power (see above)
Bad PSU
A improperly seated video card cooler
A problem with the ports in the case that plug into the motherboard

I would venture to say YOU havent read this whole thread and are steppimg in here just to bash the OP. Back on page 3 of this thread, the OP paid an electrician nearly 200 dollars to check his house circuits. He also paid VM a premium for "on-site" service, which he expected would resolve his problems.
Before you accuse someone of something, its appropiate to take the time and read the WHOLE thing.
This guy has been through alot, and been very patient. VM is trying to solve his problems.
Enough said.

 

[Darkon]

Now you know why [H]OCP is so sweet. Here, you can actually meet and talk to members of the industry. VM is only one of them. I know that Crucial and Corsair have reps over in the memory forum. Maingear and Puget also had reps check in.
Oh, and there was a great ruckus a few months back over a PSu review with Tagan. THAT was awesome.

Plus, the tech support here is amazing. If you posta questions in the right forum, youwill get several answers within a few hours.


Why I bought a lifetime subscription last night. I'm here enough that contributing $15 was easy. Well... plus I just sold a bunch of crap on Ebay...

lol. Yeah it seems like I will be checking this forum pretty frequently.

Reading through some topics here I see there are all kinds of people here. Your helpful knowledgeable people willing to help, all the way to people who think they know everything and want to try to express their opinion to you forcibly lol. And even people who are here just to bash people, incite stuff and stir up things...but i guess thats what gives us interesting topics

..ahh it reminds me of the old school days of MUDs and the forums / bulliten board systems that accompanied them. (especially Major MUD..ahh old school text based games that required reading skills and use of imagination)

I may be alone here but i liked them a lot

 

[Darkon]

Learn to read. I never said that vegatyme was a VM employee. She admitted that she was a former VM employee and that she was directed to this thread "by a competitor".

Why would a competitor take the time to show a forum thread to a random ex-VM employee unless their intention was to use them to influence the opinion of the members of that forum?

Are you always this slow to catch on?



This forum is packed top to bottom with industry professionals and knowledgeable enthusiasts, though I'm not really sure what you'll add to that.

And don't sign your posts, it's against forum rules.

well damn bite my head off why don't you. I never saw anything directly in that post, I was taking it the way it sounded by reading it. Sorry if the way it was typed gave off a completely different impression, not my fault.
And for some reason I don't know if i buy the fact that a competitor planted vega into this forum, they might just be using that as a viable excuse once they were busted and their cover was blown, but who knows I've seen some people do some shady stuff before, especially companies.

And before you bomb me thinking i have nothing of value to bring to this forum that is a weak assumption on your part, you haven't read enough of my posts to know, nor do you know me in person because you don't know who i am or what i do

However, I can assure I am quite knowledgeable about a lot of things, I have been building PC's for quite a while, most everything i learned myself. As well as being interested in all types of technology and being a big "Techie" myself, i have gained much information and knowledge over the years just by picking up things due to my interest and fascination in them. I guess you'll see in future posts to come.

and sorry about signing the forum, its habit. The clan forums and other forums I'm on, I always sign it so it's a hard habit to break but I am sure i can accommodate the rules of this forum and not do so.

Look forward to some interesting conversations here.

 

[aethelwulf]

Moreover, we've agreed to return the machine, and so as to avoid any future problems and to expedite resolution have agreed to the partial refund for the returned machine. I hereby grant VM the discretion to NOT pay that refund if they are able to identify any problems that I caused to the machine.

I think that you made a good decision here. Considering today's prices, I think you got a very fair deal and you can now build a machine that is new, comes with a warranty (hopefully this one will be more useful), and will be faster than your old computer. Just an examples I took 5 minutes and put together at AVA direct:

CUSTOM COMPUTER, Core™2 SLI™ DDR2 Performance Series System $2147.12 $2147.12
ROSEWILL, R5604-TBK Black Mid-Tower Case, ATX, 500W PSU, Steel
ASUS, P5N-E SLI, LGA775, nForce 650i SLI, 1066MHz FSB, DDR2-800 8GB /4, PCIe x16 SLI /2, SATA RAID 5 /5, HDA, GbLAN, FW /2, ATX, Retail
INTEL, Core™ 2 Duo E8400 Dual-Core, 3.0GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB L2 Cache, 45nm, 65W, EM64T EIST VT XD, Retail
G.SKILL, 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz CL5 (5-5-5-15) SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
eVGA, e-GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 650MHz, 512MB GDDR3 1900MHz, PCIe x16 SLI, DVI /2, HDTV/S-Video Out, Retail
eVGA, e-GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 650MHz, 512MB GDDR3 1900MHz, PCIe x16 SLI, DVI /2, HDTV/S-Video Out, Retail
SEAGATE, 500GB Barracuda 7200.11, SATA NCQ 3 GB/s, 7200 RPM, 32MB cache
RAID, No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
SONY, CRX320EE Black 52x32x52-16A DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo Drive, OEM
MITSUMI, Black Internal 1.44MB 3.5" Floppy Drive
LOGITECH, X-230 Black 2.1 Speaker System, 32W RMS (2x6W + 20W), Retail
SAMSUNG, SyncMaster™ 245BW Black LCD Monitor, 24" TFT WUXGA, 0.27mm, 1920x1200, 400 cd/m², 3000:1, 5ms, VGA+DVI
LOGITECH, Cordless Desktop® MX™ 5000 Laser Keyboard & Mouse, Black, USB PS/2, Retail
MICROSOFT, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64-bit, OEM
WARRANTY, Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)

http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_configurator.asp?PRID=7044

It's a little more than your refund after taxes and shipping, but you could also build a really nice machine for less. If you don't want to worry about being in the know, call them up, and I am confident that they will guide you through the buying process to the right hardware. Good luck!

 

[shaunh20]

I think that you made a good decision here. Considering today's prices, I think you got a very fair deal and you can now build a machine that is new, comes with a warranty (hopefully this one will be more useful), and will be faster than your old computer. Just an examples I took 5 minutes and put together at AVA direct:

CUSTOM COMPUTER, Core™2 SLI™ DDR2 Performance Series System $2147.12 $2147.12
ROSEWILL, R5604-TBK Black Mid-Tower Case, ATX, 500W PSU, Steel
ASUS, P5N-E SLI, LGA775, nForce 650i SLI, 1066MHz FSB, DDR2-800 8GB /4, PCIe x16 SLI /2, SATA RAID 5 /5, HDA, GbLAN, FW /2, ATX, Retail
INTEL, Core™ 2 Duo E8400 Dual-Core, 3.0GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB L2 Cache, 45nm, 65W, EM64T EIST VT XD, Retail
G.SKILL, 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz CL5 (5-5-5-15) SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
eVGA, e-GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 650MHz, 512MB GDDR3 1900MHz, PCIe x16 SLI, DVI /2, HDTV/S-Video Out, Retail
eVGA, e-GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 650MHz, 512MB GDDR3 1900MHz, PCIe x16 SLI, DVI /2, HDTV/S-Video Out, Retail
SEAGATE, 500GB Barracuda 7200.11, SATA NCQ 3 GB/s, 7200 RPM, 32MB cache
RAID, No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
SONY, CRX320EE Black 52x32x52-16A DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo Drive, OEM
MITSUMI, Black Internal 1.44MB 3.5" Floppy Drive
LOGITECH, X-230 Black 2.1 Speaker System, 32W RMS (2x6W + 20W), Retail
SAMSUNG, SyncMaster™ 245BW Black LCD Monitor, 24" TFT WUXGA, 0.27mm, 1920x1200, 400 cd/m², 3000:1, 5ms, VGA+DVI
LOGITECH, Cordless Desktop® MX™ 5000 Laser Keyboard & Mouse, Black, USB PS/2, Retail
MICROSOFT, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64-bit, OEM
WARRANTY, Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)

http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_configurator.asp?PRID=7044

It's a little more than your refund after taxes and shipping, but you could also build a really nice machine for less. If you don't want to worry about being in the know, call them up, and I am confident that they will guide you through the buying process to the right hardware. Good luck!

He's right, AVADirect is the best out there IMO, call them and ask for Stephen Seaman as he was my salesman and he knows his stuff. My only complaint about my system is there aren't enough hours in the day to enjoy it!

 

[jmclane]

Thanks aethelwulf and shaunh20- I appreciate the suggestion.

 

[BrinNutz]

He's right, AVADirect is the best out there IMO, call them and ask for Stephen Seaman as he was my salesman and he knows his stuff. My only complaint about my system is there aren't enough hours in the day to enjoy it!

Imagine that guy's name if he was in the Navy...


Seaman Stephen Seaman....

Sorry, I couldn't help it, guess it's the fact I'm in the Navy

 

[avadirect]

He's right, AVADirect is the best out there IMO, call them and ask for Stephen Seaman as he was my salesman and he knows his stuff. My only complaint about my system is there aren't enough hours in the day to enjoy it!

Actually, Stephen ended up pursuing his original career in financing so we wish him best of luck.

The newest addition to our team is Chris Mundy's (our Director of Technical Support) brother Joe. Joe is great: loves gaming, loves PC hardware and is in a rock band so he is def a cool geek. I am thrilled to have him aboard and I am sure most of you will get to know him in near future.
Regards,
Misha Troshin
Sales Manager, CEO
888.363.1051 direct

 

[RangerSVT]

AVA > Velocity Micro

All the way

 

[shaunh20]

Imagine that guy's name if he was in the Navy...


Seaman Stephen Seaman....

Sorry, I couldn't help it, guess it's the fact I'm in the Navy

Haha, yeah I thought of that too when he told me his name, what if he was in the Navy?? I thought it was just me and heck, i'm not even in the Navy!

Sucks to hear that Stephen is gone Misha, he was a great salesman for you guys!!

 

[grooverider]

Very long time lurker, first time poster. I never registered because my questions were always asked/answered by someone else Anywho, I figured after reading this thread, I would like to chime in and express that I know exactly how the OP was feeling during all of this.

Approximately 1 year ago, my computer suddenly died. I had a Shuttle for almost 3 years, and I was trying so hard not to get a new computer to the point that I had my case off and a fan was blowing on my CPU/Hard drive because the thing overheated so much. Besides the fact I got atleast 2-3 blue screens a night my computer finally just died, and it was time. This led me to give up and purchase a new PC. I have always bought the most expensive PC I could afford because I like it to last 2-3 years or so, without upgrades if I can help it (unlikely nowadays). I had a major project for school, so I couldn't wait to order one online from a botique which would have been my first option. I went to Best Buy. This is when I became more familiar with Velocity Micro.

I purchased a mid level pc $2100+ tax, etc. computer from Best Buy which was seemingly well built. I had to have it now, and I really did not want to buy it from Best Buy but I figured that Velocity Micro had good reviews, I could take the risk. The components inside were decent, the RAM was pretty cheap, and the hard drive/video card were mid level for 1 year ago (500 GB sata, 8800GTS 320mb). But this is Best Buy we are talking about as well, so they tend to order entry level stuff. I got it home, everything looked good. I had a nice piece of paper saying so and so technican worked on it and made sure everything was OK.

Then everything went to hell. 2 weeks later, I turn on the computer to hiss, pop, buzz, then the computer shuts off. I'm a System Administrator/Help Desk at work, so I deal with this crap all the time. I buy a computer at home from a vendor so I do not have to deal with the same crap I do all day at work..at home. I pop open the case, everything was neatly wired. It appears some sort of damage to the PSU/motherboard was done, due to faulty components, etc. I did notice from the first day I booted the computer up, that there was minor issues which bothered me from such a meticulous company:

1. 2 Screws just floating around the case
2. What appeared to be (I know it sounds wierd) a booger wiped on the inside of my case
3. Poorly seated video card and RAM, I reseated these before I booted the PC up
4. Random bluescreens, no windows updates, and outdated drivers

I want to mention is I had powered on this PC about 3-4 times in the 2 weeks I had used it, so this was rather shocking to see this electrical smoke and what not come from the computer after the 3-4th bootup.

I call up Velocity Micro. I get a receptionist. I tell her my issue, she sends me to a techs voicemail. I do not get a call back. I call back 1 hour later, same thing. I call back 1 hour later again, same thing. I decide to email them. I receive a response in approximately 6 hours. I'm told that I should consider taking it back to Best Buy since it has only been 2 weeks. I return to Best Buy. They tell me since I did not get their extended warranty, and it has been 15 days (their return policy is 14 days), I'm SOL and I will need to send it back to the manufacturer. I get pissed off. 15 days and $2100+ later this crap happens. I call back Velocity Micro. They basically tell me there is nothing they can do besides send the computer back to them, and Best Buy will do this for me if I bring it into the Best Buy store. I say fine. I return to Best Buy, and explain that this better be fixed, and the Geek Squad guy tells me they will send it back to the manufacturer. I decide, fine, I'll deal with this crap. In this whole process the Geek Squad manager was a complete 100 percent moron. I told him what was wrong with it and they thought it was a bad hard drive...riight, bad hard drives make sparks out of the PSU and motherboard. I bring my PC in, fill out the paperwork, and leave to return home and email Velocity Micro.

Velocity Micro then emails me back and says Best Buy will NOT send it back to them but their own "manufacturer" to fix my computer. OK, let me get this straight, Best Buy won't even send it back to the manufactuer that MADE my computer but will send it to some generic crap company they have doing warranty work for them? BS. I was really fuming at this point, since the Velocity Micro rep told me it would be sent back to THEM. I email the same person I have been emailing all along at Velocity Micro and told them this was an absolute terrible experience. Why would they even tell me to take the computer back to Best Buy for warranty work if it was not going to be sent back to them? I drop it, and decide I will fume and wait. I emailed Velocity Micro because everytime I called them all I got was voicemail for the techs, or I was put on hold forever.

1 week goes by, no contact. 2 weeks go by, no contact. 3 weeks go by, no contact. I call up Best Buy, I get an "Agent" of the Geek Squad. They do not know where my computer is, or what is happening. I ask to speak to the manager. They are busy and will call me back. I wait about 4 hours, and I call back. I get another "Agent", and I finally get through to the manager. They don't know where my computer is. They tell me my motherboard was on back order, and to give it a few more days. I do so, then call them back and get the same run around. They tell me this time my PSU is dead. I say fine. I call back 1 day later, they said, this is wierd, every new part we have placed into this computer has not worked. I told them that this computer was not acting right since I got it. Eventually, 27 days later, Best Buy HAS LOST MY COMPUTER. How convienient since they couldn't fix it to begin with. They don't even know where it is. I tell them, this is absolutely ridiculous, and I want my money back. The manager told me it is not their issue, and for me to pound sand basically. They won't even give me my money back..or exchange it for another computer. I had to THREATEN them with a lawyer because they tried to tell me that "lost items are not our responsibility"...are you KIDDING ME? I basically ended up getting a store credit. So I end up buying a crappy notebook and selling it on ebay, losing about $350 and all my time invested because of terrible support all the way around, and of course Best Buy wants to give me store credit rather then a refund because they would lose money. I just give in and take it because I was tired of this whole ordeal with no computer.

I sent my tech person back another email at Velocity Micro and told them (BTW their name is the name of song by Toto), this was the worst experience I have ever had. For being such a high end botique company, why would they align themselves with such a half-assed company like Best Buy whose only goal is to drive profits and sell high end items with maximum profit, while leaving customer service secondary (unless your ready to buy something, then they are your best friend.) Unless you buy Best Buy's highly inflated service contracts which employees get in the neighborhood of 40 percent off of, you are treated like a number.

I do not hold Velocity Micro as much at fault as Best Buy's Geek Squad during all of this, but I do think twice before buying a Velocity Micro a second time. Why? I was treated like a number when I called them, was put on hold repeatedly, and Velocity Micro should have known what kind of jerk off company Best Buy was before getting involved with them. It seems everytime I called I got the impression of "Oh your a Best Buy customer..please hold"

I would seriously think twice about selling your stuff at Best Buy, Velocity Micro, because it just soils your name. People who give terrible support, bad experiences, know NOTHING about computers or how to help a customer, just make your company look bad because of guilty by association. I'm not saying Velocity Micro is a bad company at all..but I'am saying by being aligned with Best Buy it does not make your company look better either from my point of view.

Sorry for the long rant.

 

[shaunh20]

Very long time lurker, first time poster. I never registered because my questions were always asked/answered by someone else Anywho, I figured after reading this thread, I would like to chime in and express that I know exactly how the OP was feeling during all of this.

Approximately 1 year ago, my computer suddenly died. I had a Shuttle for almost 3 years, and I was trying so hard not to get a new computer to the point that I had my case off and a fan was blowing on my CPU/Hard drive because the thing overheated so much. Besides the fact I got atleast 2-3 blue screens a night my computer finally just died, and it was time. This led me to give up and purchase a new PC. I have always bought the most expensive PC I could afford because I like it to last 2-3 years or so, without upgrades if I can help it (unlikely nowadays). I had a major project for school, so I couldn't wait to order one online from a botique which would have been my first option. I went to Best Buy. This is when I became more familiar with Velocity Micro.

I purchased a mid level pc $2100+ tax, etc. computer from Best Buy which was seemingly well built. I had to have it now, and I really did not want to buy it from Best Buy but I figured that Velocity Micro had good reviews, I could take the risk. The components inside were decent, the RAM was pretty cheap, and the hard drive/video card were mid level for 1 year ago (500 GB sata, 8800GTS 320mb). But this is Best Buy we are talking about as well, so they tend to order entry level stuff. I got it home, everything looked good. I had a nice piece of paper saying so and so technican worked on it and made sure everything was OK.

Then everything went to hell. 2 weeks later, I turn on the computer to hiss, pop, buzz, then the computer shuts off. I'm a System Administrator/Help Desk at work, so I deal with this crap all the time. I buy a computer at home from a vendor so I do not have to deal with the same crap I do all day at work..at home. I pop open the case, everything was neatly wired. It appears some sort of damage to the PSU/motherboard was done, due to faulty components, etc. I did notice from the first day I booted the computer up, that there was minor issues which bothered me from such a meticulous company:

1. 2 Screws just floating around the case
2. What appeared to be (I know it sounds wierd) a booger wiped on the inside of my case
3. Poorly seated video card and RAM, I reseated these before I booted the PC up
4. Random bluescreens, no windows updates, and outdated drivers

I want to mention is I had powered on this PC about 3-4 times in the 2 weeks I had used it, so this was rather shocking to see this electrical smoke and what not come from the computer after the 3-4th bootup.

I call up Velocity Micro. I get a receptionist. I tell her my issue, she sends me to a techs voicemail. I do not get a call back. I call back 1 hour later, same thing. I call back 1 hour later again, same thing. I decide to email them. I receive a response in approximately 6 hours. I'm told that I should consider taking it back to Best Buy since it has only been 2 weeks. I return to Best Buy. They tell me since I did not get their extended warranty, and it has been 15 days (their return policy is 14 days), I'm SOL and I will need to send it back to the manufacturer. I get pissed off. 15 days and $2100+ later this crap happens. I call back Velocity Micro. They basically tell me there is nothing they can do besides send the computer back to them, and Best Buy will do this for me if I bring it into the Best Buy store. I say fine. I return to Best Buy, and explain that this better be fixed, and the Geek Squad guy tells me they will send it back to the manufacturer. I decide, fine, I'll deal with this crap. In this whole process the Geek Squad manager was a complete 100 percent moron. I told him what was wrong with it and they thought it was a bad hard drive...riight, bad hard drives make sparks out of the PSU and motherboard. I bring my PC in, fill out the paperwork, and leave to return home and email Velocity Micro.

Velocity Micro then emails me back and says Best Buy will NOT send it back to them but their own "manufacturer" to fix my computer. OK, let me get this straight, Best Buy won't even send it back to the manufactuer that MADE my computer but will send it to some generic crap company they have doing warranty work for them? BS. I was really fuming at this point, since the Velocity Micro rep told me it would be sent back to THEM. I email the same person I have been emailing all along at Velocity Micro and told them this was an absolute terrible experience. Why would they even tell me to take the computer back to Best Buy for warranty work if it was not going to be sent back to them? I drop it, and decide I will fume and wait. I emailed Velocity Micro because everytime I called them all I got was voicemail for the techs, or I was put on hold forever.

1 week goes by, no contact. 2 weeks go by, no contact. 3 weeks go by, no contact. I call up Best Buy, I get an "Agent" of the Geek Squad. They do not know where my computer is, or what is happening. I ask to speak to the manager. They are busy and will call me back. I wait about 4 hours, and I call back. I get another "Agent", and I finally get through to the manager. They don't know where my computer is. They tell me my motherboard was on back order, and to give it a few more days. I do so, then call them back and get the same run around. They tell me this time my PSU is dead. I say fine. I call back 1 day later, they said, this is wierd, every new part we have placed into this computer has not worked. I told them that this computer was not acting right since I got it. Eventually, 27 days later, Best Buy HAS LOST MY COMPUTER. How convienient since they couldn't fix it to begin with. They don't even know where it is. I tell them, this is absolutely ridiculous, and I want my money back. The manager told me it is not their issue, and for me to pound sand basically. They won't even give me my money back..or exchange it for another computer. I had to THREATEN them with a lawyer because they tried to tell me that "lost items are not our responsibility"...are you KIDDING ME? I basically ended up getting a store credit. So I end up buying a crappy notebook and selling it on ebay, losing about $350 and all my time invested because of terrible support all the way around, and of course Best Buy wants to give me store credit rather then a refund because they would lose money. I just give in and take it because I was tired of this whole ordeal with no computer.

I sent my tech person back another email at Velocity Micro and told them (BTW their name is the name of song by Toto), this was the worst experience I have ever had. For being such a high end botique company, why would they align themselves with such a half-assed company like Best Buy whose only goal is to drive profits and sell high end items with maximum profit, while leaving customer service secondary (unless your ready to buy something, then they are your best friend.) Unless you buy Best Buy's highly inflated service contracts which employees get in the neighborhood of 40 percent off of, you are treated like a number.

I do not hold Velocity Micro as much at fault as Best Buy's Geek Squad during all of this, but I do think twice before buying a Velocity Micro a second time. Why? I was treated like a number when I called them, was put on hold repeatedly, and Velocity Micro should have known what kind of jerk off company Best Buy was before getting involved with them. It seems everytime I called I got the impression of "Oh your a Best Buy customer..please hold"

I would seriously think twice about selling your stuff at Best Buy, Velocity Micro, because it just soils your name. People who give terrible support, bad experiences, know NOTHING about computers or how to help a customer, just make your company look bad because of guilty by association. I'm not saying Velocity Micro is a bad company at all..but I'am saying by being aligned with Best Buy it does not make your company look better either from my point of view.

Sorry for the long rant.

Wow, from one bad computer to the next, you certainly have some bad luck and you certainly have 100% of my sympathies!!

 

[solaris54]

I dont know why Velocity Micro has aligned themselves with Best Buy and Circuit City. The employees there dont even know anything about the Velocity Micro product or even try to sell it.

Personally I would buy directly from Velocity Micro.

 

[ditzilla]

I'm 4 months into trying to get my computer working right - and of course paying the bill every month. And I did order direct. I also had to reseat my video card. It was in there and it was working, but it was somehow on just a bit of an angle, found that out when I tried to put the DVI adapter on it. Mine ended up going back for a rebuild.

Called Tech support 3 times between the Friday night I got the computer and Saturday afternoon for the first problem I found. And had to keep calling and emailing. That's when it was finally decided that the mobo in the original just wasn't the right one for my needs and it was called in for a rebuild. When it came back there was a screw, a black half-round zip tie and 2 white E without the middle - zip ties floating around the bottom of my case. I'm sitting here looking at them, I took it all out and left it on my puter desk.

Still isn't working right, still fighting with the soundcard and drivers, got lag, hangups, entire thing "freezing" with like, 2 windows open, sudden CPU usage going to 100% and won't even respond to C/A/D - have to hit the reset button, all the while getting windows error messages ... the new computer's slower than my 1 1/2 y/o "vanilla" GE 1000. I keep my computers as clean as possible both physically and running a/v and spyware scans, defragging, disc cleanup, etc., I don't "abuse" them, not a ton of programs, no toolbars or other ilk, I'm not a heavy gamer, nothing's overclocked.

So, for me it's calling Tech support again (I've lost count of the times I've called) and seeing if they've gotten the report from the onsite tech who was here and saw some of the weird error messages, etc. ... and getting the replacement front headphone/mic panel put in because there's something wrong with that!

The onsite tech has replaced the mobo in my older computer with NO problem and I'm 100% comfortable with him doing so, as he does know what he's doing. The weird thing with the older one is the floppy drive refuses to work - 2 different drives, 3 different cables. It just won't work. More of a small annoyance than anything at this point.

I was SO happy with my older VM, that's why I decided to go with another and why I always used to recommend them to anyone looking for a new computer.

Don't want to go into the entire saga, it'd take too long. Plus I posted some of it other places here and on RR. VM Phone tech support has been great (especially the night people!), the onsite tech they've sent me is also great. But even he said last time he was here that he'd never had to come back to a private home so many times - and all for legitimate problems.

 

[magoo]

Hey, mclane..............whats going on with your computer saga......just curious?

 

[azuros]

Very long time lurker, first time poster. I never registered because my questions were always asked/answered by someone else Anywho, I figured after reading this thread, I would like to chime in and express that I know exactly how the OP was feeling during all of this.

Approximately 1 year ago, my computer suddenly died. I had a Shuttle for almost 3 years, and I was trying so hard not to get a new computer to the point that I had my case off and a fan was blowing on my CPU/Hard drive because the thing overheated so much. Besides the fact I got atleast 2-3 blue screens a night my computer finally just died, and it was time. This led me to give up and purchase a new PC. I have always bought the most expensive PC I could afford because I like it to last 2-3 years or so, without upgrades if I can help it (unlikely nowadays). I had a major project for school, so I couldn't wait to order one online from a botique which would have been my first option. I went to Best Buy. This is when I became more familiar with Velocity Micro.

I purchased a mid level pc $2100+ tax, etc. computer from Best Buy which was seemingly well built. I had to have it now, and I really did not want to buy it from Best Buy but I figured that Velocity Micro had good reviews, I could take the risk. The components inside were decent, the RAM was pretty cheap, and the hard drive/video card were mid level for 1 year ago (500 GB sata, 8800GTS 320mb). But this is Best Buy we are talking about as well, so they tend to order entry level stuff. I got it home, everything looked good. I had a nice piece of paper saying so and so technican worked on it and made sure everything was OK.

Then everything went to hell. 2 weeks later, I turn on the computer to hiss, pop, buzz, then the computer shuts off. I'm a System Administrator/Help Desk at work, so I deal with this crap all the time. I buy a computer at home from a vendor so I do not have to deal with the same crap I do all day at work..at home. I pop open the case, everything was neatly wired. It appears some sort of damage to the PSU/motherboard was done, due to faulty components, etc. I did notice from the first day I booted the computer up, that there was minor issues which bothered me from such a meticulous company:

1. 2 Screws just floating around the case
2. What appeared to be (I know it sounds wierd) a booger wiped on the inside of my case
3. Poorly seated video card and RAM, I reseated these before I booted the PC up
4. Random bluescreens, no windows updates, and outdated drivers

I want to mention is I had powered on this PC about 3-4 times in the 2 weeks I had used it, so this was rather shocking to see this electrical smoke and what not come from the computer after the 3-4th bootup.

I call up Velocity Micro. I get a receptionist. I tell her my issue, she sends me to a techs voicemail. I do not get a call back. I call back 1 hour later, same thing. I call back 1 hour later again, same thing. I decide to email them. I receive a response in approximately 6 hours. I'm told that I should consider taking it back to Best Buy since it has only been 2 weeks. I return to Best Buy. They tell me since I did not get their extended warranty, and it has been 15 days (their return policy is 14 days), I'm SOL and I will need to send it back to the manufacturer. I get pissed off. 15 days and $2100+ later this crap happens. I call back Velocity Micro. They basically tell me there is nothing they can do besides send the computer back to them, and Best Buy will do this for me if I bring it into the Best Buy store. I say fine. I return to Best Buy, and explain that this better be fixed, and the Geek Squad guy tells me they will send it back to the manufacturer. I decide, fine, I'll deal with this crap. In this whole process the Geek Squad manager was a complete 100 percent moron. I told him what was wrong with it and they thought it was a bad hard drive...riight, bad hard drives make sparks out of the PSU and motherboard. I bring my PC in, fill out the paperwork, and leave to return home and email Velocity Micro.

Velocity Micro then emails me back and says Best Buy will NOT send it back to them but their own "manufacturer" to fix my computer. OK, let me get this straight, Best Buy won't even send it back to the manufactuer that MADE my computer but will send it to some generic crap company they have doing warranty work for them? BS. I was really fuming at this point, since the Velocity Micro rep told me it would be sent back to THEM. I email the same person I have been emailing all along at Velocity Micro and told them this was an absolute terrible experience. Why would they even tell me to take the computer back to Best Buy for warranty work if it was not going to be sent back to them? I drop it, and decide I will fume and wait. I emailed Velocity Micro because everytime I called them all I got was voicemail for the techs, or I was put on hold forever.

1 week goes by, no contact. 2 weeks go by, no contact. 3 weeks go by, no contact. I call up Best Buy, I get an "Agent" of the Geek Squad. They do not know where my computer is, or what is happening. I ask to speak to the manager. They are busy and will call me back. I wait about 4 hours, and I call back. I get another "Agent", and I finally get through to the manager. They don't know where my computer is. They tell me my motherboard was on back order, and to give it a few more days. I do so, then call them back and get the same run around. They tell me this time my PSU is dead. I say fine. I call back 1 day later, they said, this is wierd, every new part we have placed into this computer has not worked. I told them that this computer was not acting right since I got it. Eventually, 27 days later, Best Buy HAS LOST MY COMPUTER. How convienient since they couldn't fix it to begin with. They don't even know where it is. I tell them, this is absolutely ridiculous, and I want my money back. The manager told me it is not their issue, and for me to pound sand basically. They won't even give me my money back..or exchange it for another computer. I had to THREATEN them with a lawyer because they tried to tell me that "lost items are not our responsibility"...are you KIDDING ME? I basically ended up getting a store credit. So I end up buying a crappy notebook and selling it on ebay, losing about $350 and all my time invested because of terrible support all the way around, and of course Best Buy wants to give me store credit rather then a refund because they would lose money. I just give in and take it because I was tired of this whole ordeal with no computer.

I sent my tech person back another email at Velocity Micro and told them (BTW their name is the name of song by Toto), this was the worst experience I have ever had. For being such a high end botique company, why would they align themselves with such a half-assed company like Best Buy whose only goal is to drive profits and sell high end items with maximum profit, while leaving customer service secondary (unless your ready to buy something, then they are your best friend.) Unless you buy Best Buy's highly inflated service contracts which employees get in the neighborhood of 40 percent off of, you are treated like a number.

I do not hold Velocity Micro as much at fault as Best Buy's Geek Squad during all of this, but I do think twice before buying a Velocity Micro a second time. Why? I was treated like a number when I called them, was put on hold repeatedly, and Velocity Micro should have known what kind of jerk off company Best Buy was before getting involved with them. It seems everytime I called I got the impression of "Oh your a Best Buy customer..please hold"

I would seriously think twice about selling your stuff at Best Buy, Velocity Micro, because it just soils your name. People who give terrible support, bad experiences, know NOTHING about computers or how to help a customer, just make your company look bad because of guilty by association. I'm not saying Velocity Micro is a bad company at all..but I'am saying by being aligned with Best Buy it does not make your company look better either from my point of view.

Sorry for the long rant.

I am sorry but i have to respond tho this....

I agree with you completely, and to those who work for BB here i am sorry, but I would never, ever, in a million year take anything of mine, or allow a family member to take anything to best buy's geek squad. They are over glorified high school students pretending to do IT, and giving people who really do it a bad name.

As for your issue, there is a lawsuit pending with best buy over this same thing, you should look into it, because they should have fully reimbursed you for the product since they lost it, and you can show proof that they had custody of your item.

As for the whole velocity micro stuff, this seems to be a rash of it going on more and more, there are other vendors out there who will treat you better and i would suggest looking into them. This is why i have built my own pc for years now and will never buy a prefab one again.

 

[magoo]

Mr. Mclane, what's the scoop?

Anything happening with your computer??? Just curious.

 

[FadedSpark]

Mr. Mclane, what's the scoop?

Anything happening with your computer??? Just curious.

Seriously. Updates FTW! Randy? Mclane? Other VM lurkers? Updates?

[/sadpanda]

 

[aethelwulf]

Seriously. Updates FTW! Randy? Mclane? Other VM lurkers? Updates?

[/sadpanda]

The issue was pretty much sorted out. The OP took the 50% refund, only thing to update is what he did with the cash

 

[magoo]

The issue was pretty much sorted out. The OP took the 50% refund, only thing to update is what he did with the cash

Last I read he was sending the computer in for service???? Am I wrong???? Read post 3-13-08; then if it wasn't fixed he was going to apply the 50% refund to another computer or just bail out with the money??? Right?

I am not trying to beat a dead horse, I was just interested to see if VM found anything that could have been fixed or repaired.

 

[jmclane]

We agreed to send the machine back. I'm ashamed to say I havent done that yet. I've been in and out of the country for the last three weeks on business. The weekend I was back I had too much to catch up on and didnt get to pull my music library off, which is quite large.

VM said they would send the check when they got the machine so I wasnt overly concerned, but they sent the check anyway. I promise I won't deposit it until the machine has been delivered.

 

[shaunh20]

We agreed to send the machine back. I'm ashamed to say I havent done that yet. I've been in and out of the country for the last three weeks on business. The weekend I was back I had too much to catch up on and didnt get to pull my music library off, which is quite large.

VM said they would send the check when they got the machine so I wasnt overly concerned, but they sent the check anyway. I promise I won't deposit it until the machine has been delivered.

When they get that machine they should read it last rites, put it in a shallow grave, throw salt on it and then burn it.

 

[SS_Wehrwolf]

Just notify the Better Business Bureau... write a letter to the attorney generals office of your state, if enough people have complained they WILL look into their practices based on complaints.

All in all, youve had the system this long, id expect a full refund from them at this point in time. If VM was going to step up and stand by their machines, this is the only way they would be able to do it. Its costing them to much money for repairing it, and its causing you nothing but headaches. Id look for a legal way to resolve this if they kept pissin on the fire.

Now take into account, do bad things happen with regards to failures? of course, its technology, it wasnt all that long ago that we didnt even have computers widely available like we do today. Personally though, id try to get my money back, and i mean ALL of it if the problems you described are accurate. YOU are the consumer here, you dont have to appease a damn thing they say or "Try" to do for you. If you are unsatisfied, get your money back legally if they wont stand up and give it back to you, like any good company who really cares would.

 

[AaronP]

Just notify the Better Business Bureau... write a letter to the attorney generals office of your state, if enough people have complained they WILL look into their practices based on complaints.

All in all, youve had the system this long, id expect a full refund from them at this point in time. If VM was going to step up and stand by their machines, this is the only way they would be able to do it. Its costing them to much money for repairing it, and its causing you nothing but headaches. Id look for a legal way to resolve this if they kept pissin on the fire.

Now take into account, do bad things happen with regards to failures? of course, its technology, it wasnt all that long ago that we didnt even have computers widely available like we do today. Personally though, id try to get my money back, and i mean ALL of it if the problems you described are accurate. YOU are the consumer here, you dont have to appease a damn thing they say or "Try" to do for you. If you are unsatisfied, get your money back legally if they wont stand up and give it back to you, like any good company who really cares would.

You fail miserably at reading threads, seriously you do.

 

[shaunh20]

Just notify the Better Business Bureau... write a letter to the attorney generals office of your state, if enough people have complained they WILL look into their practices based on complaints.

All in all, youve had the system this long, id expect a full refund from them at this point in time. If VM was going to step up and stand by their machines, this is the only way they would be able to do it. Its costing them to much money for repairing it, and its causing you nothing but headaches. Id look for a legal way to resolve this if they kept pissin on the fire.

Now take into account, do bad things happen with regards to failures? of course, its technology, it wasnt all that long ago that we didnt even have computers widely available like we do today. Personally though, id try to get my money back, and i mean ALL of it if the problems you described are accurate. YOU are the consumer here, you dont have to appease a damn thing they say or "Try" to do for you. If you are unsatisfied, get your money back legally if they wont stand up and give it back to you, like any good company who really cares would.

You need to read the thread again and then edit your post.

 

[magoo]

Thanks for the update Mr Mclane.
Glad this all worked out, in a twisted sort of way.
I guess at least you know the electricity to your house is ok.