Re: Gateway Technical Support -- PCTECH

When we purchased one of our divisions, we inherited a Gateway laptop.
Turns
out that one of the swappable drives was bad. I called Gateway for a
price on a new one and was told that I would have to send the laptop in
for repair. I tried to explain that I was talking about the drive
itself, not the slot the drive went into. The lady I was talking to said
that Gateway could not sell me a drive and the laptop had to be sent in.

I did finally manage to get a drive for the machine and it is now
corporate policy to not let a Gateway into any of our 14 divisions.




> message: 7
> date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 12:25:08 -0500
> from: "Chuck Lewis" <clewis@xxxxxxxxxx>
> subject: RE: [PCTECH] Gateway Technical Support
> 
> I would say LOL if it wasn't so pathetic. And it ACTUALLY got worse ! I
> took
> a deep breath and typed a nice reply:
> 
> Original Message Follows:
> -------------------------
> 
> Tate,
> No offense my friend but I think you misunderstood my problem. I only
> mentioned password because I was SURPRISED to get that prompt since I 
> Was expecting to get the OS Installation display. As I noted:
> 
> "... it came up prompting me for my password and started up fine." I
> implied
> there that all was well since I said it started up fine. I should
> probably
> have noted I entered my password but, again that was implied since it
> started. Sorry for any confusion.
> 
> My concern(s) is:
> 
> (1) with the fact is said it had no OS and it did (and as noted, that
> went
> away)
> 
> (2) It is trying to find a DHCP server when it first boots.
> 
> Any ideas on this ?
> 
> Thanks :-)
> 
> Chuck
> 
> And I get THIS back !
> 
> Hello Chuck,
> 
> Thank you for your e-mail.  I understand that your computer is trying to
> find a DHCP server when it first boots.  
> 
> Unfortunately, I am unable to offer support for this type of issue.  
> Please understand that Gateway technicians have not been trained on 
> every possible software title or hardware component. Gateway technicians
> can
> assist you with the removal or installation of any hardware or 
> software purchased from Gateway.  Due to the magnitude of information 
> that would need to be learned, Gateway technicians are not trained on 
> all the advanced features of computers.
> 
> I think you will find that online newsgroups and message boards are very
> useful for providing the answer for which you are looking.
> 
> For Microsoft products, you can use Newsgroups found at the following 
> address to post your question and in a day or so, you should get a 
> response. 
> 
> http://support.microsoft.com/newsgroups/default.aspx
> 
> If your question pertains to a software title or hardware component that
> is
> not from Microsoft, you might check to see if the company that made 
> the product has an FAQ section, tutorials, or a message board you can 
> use to find a solution for your question. 
> 
> Another option is calling Answers by Gateway at (800) 229-1103, 
> available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
>       
> If you do not have a credit card, you may also contact Answers by 
> Gateway at (900) 263-4899.  The fee for this number is $2.95 per minute 
> and is applied to your regular telephone bill.
> 
> Gateway offers a choice of pay per minute support services.  You may 
> purchase a rechargeable pin at prices ranging from $1.08 to $1.64 per 
> minute or you may pay on a per call basis for the time you spend on the 
> call at a rate of $2.95 per minute.  We accept Visa, MasterCard, 
> American Express and Discover. 
> 
> Option 1 allows you to setup a rechargeable pin account.  By choosing 
> this option, you are given a pricing menu with the following selections:
> 
> Pin Option 1 - 120 minutes at $1.08 per minute for a total price of 
> $129.00
> Pin Option 2 - 60 minutes at $1.32 per minute for a total price of 
> $79.00
> Pin Option 3 - 30 minutes at $1.64 per minute for a total price of 
> $49.00
> 
> Option 2 allows you to pay on a per minute basis for time spent on that 
> call at the rate of $2.95 per minute.
>  
> For questions regarding billing issues with Answers by Gateway, please 
> call (877) 352-2716, if you used the 800 number above.  If you used the 
> 900 number to contact Answers by Gateway, please call (701) 355-3910.
> 
> I sincerely hope one of the two options above provides the information 
> you need.
> 
> I have documented this correspondence in Service Request Number 
> 2-1822334683 in our contact tracking database.  Please use this number 
> in the future if you need to contact us again regarding this issue.
> 
> Please reply to this message if you require further assistance with this
> issue.
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> Carrie
> 
> Unreal...
> 
> I emailed them back:
> 
> All due respect but SOMEONE there HAS to understand that there is some
> problem with this thing booting and apparently not finding the hard drive
> at
> first. It goes after the DHCP and when that fails (as it should because
> we
> are not using it as a network station) it goes ahead and boots into
> Windows
> just fine.
> 
> No one can comment on this ?
> 
> I can guarantee you that this is jeopardizing us ever buying anymore
> equipment from Gateway.
>  
> Thanks :-)
> 
> Chuck
> 
     
Thanks,
Terry