I bought a laptop at walmart

rafael

Ok I bought a laptop at Walmart then a month later it slowed down and quit working, Walmart won't honor the manufacturers warranty so I was wondering what I should do, should I take it to best buy and see what they can do?

Esh

Shouldn't the manufacturer honor the manufacturer's warranty?

badpoet

What manufacturer is it? Just because Wal-Mart says they aren't honoring the warranty doesn't mean the manufacturer won't.

rafael

It's a gateway, and the Indian guy I have talked to has gotten my info wrong 12 times when I called in. So sending it in that way is out.

amateurhour

First off, it is in no way whatsoever Wal-Mart's responsibility to take care of that laptop. With certain vendors, they're actually required not to accept returns on computer hardware because it HAS to go through the manufacturer.

If it's a Gateway, call their support line and be persistent and they'll cover it if it's under warranty. If it slowed down from a hardware failure, they'll repair or replace it. If it's because you got a virus or something or loaded 30 toolbars in Internet Explorer, they're not going to help you.

If you called and got someone on the phone you had trouble dealing with, then call back and get someone else on the phone.

What do you mean by "it slowed down and then quit working..." are there any error messages at boot?

see317

What about online support? You should be able to have an IM conversation with a support rep if your system is still in warranty. No misunderstandings, and they can't get your info wrong.

bowen

They'll still get your info wrong :-\

rafael

see317 wrote: »

What about online support? You should be able to have an IM conversation with a support rep if your system is still in warranty. No misunderstandings, and they can't get your info wrong.

No laptop, no Internet.
As for error messages windows won't boot, and it won't accept the recovery discs it prompted me to make when I first used it

Darkewolfe

You're posting on the internet...

see317

Darkewolfe wrote: »

You're posting on the internet...

You ever try to hold an in depth technical conversation over IM on a smart phone?

Anyway, to the OP, is there anywhere you could go to get access to the internet on a real computer? A library maybe? Don't know where you work, but maybe you could get in early and dial into the gateway support site from there?

amateurhour

Or just call Gateway again...

I mean I'm not trying to bitch at the OP or anything but I don't get the whole "I had trouble talking to an Indian who couldn't understand me and vice versa" thing. Call back and if it bothers you that much just demand to be transferred to someone who speaks better English, or a US call center. They still have those too, they're just less staffed and usually for VIP business support.

It sounds like you called Gateway once and had a bad experience, so call back again and get someone else on the phone. They're obligated to fix your machine if it's a hardware issue so keep at it until you get someone who can properly give you an address to send the thing to, and properly get your address to send you a mailing box (make sure they pay for shipping if it's under warranty)

Dhalphir

amateurhour wrote: »

If it's because you got a virus or something or loaded 30 toolbars in Internet Explorer, they're not going to help you.

This is my gut feeling.

ceres

Okay so the bottom line here is that only the manufacturer can honor the manufacturer's warranty, and you have decided you don't want to call them back because you had to repeat yourself a lot the one time.

Have you tried emailing them? You may be able to work it out via email. You have to get in contact with them and work with them one way or another. There is no other recourse. You just have to keep trying with them.

I'm honestly not sure what you're looking for here.

rafael

I called a number of times, they refuse to forward me. Will bestbuy send it in or help me in some way?

rafael

And as for an email, I have no computer right now, my laptop was the only one.

minirhyder

So how are you on a forum right now?
If you can post on a forum, you can send an email.

As for BestBuy, Geeksquad can fix it for you, put you'll have to pay them.

bowen

Why would bestbuy help you? You bought this at walmart.

You didn't call them because they wouldn't refuse to forward you.

rafael

I'm using my brothers iphone

a5ehren

Try calling during sane US hours (10-4 probably) to get someone in the US. Gateway definitely has US-based phone support centers, so there should be some way to get in touch with them. You can maybe try the Corporate Support line here and if nothing else they can bridge you over to a consumer rep that can probably help.

Best Buy won't be able to help you. This issue is entirely between you and Gateway.

Inx

bowen wrote: »

Why would bestbuy help you? You bought this at walmart.

You didn't call them because they wouldn't refuse to forward you.

Best Buy's Geek Squad will service computers you didn't buy at Best Buy, but it costs a good chunk of change.

kime

Go to the library to use a computer?

ceres

Best Buy will certainly help you, but you will pay quite a bit for their time.

kuhlmeye

A couple of things about Best Buy. They will not honor manufacturer's warranties. At all. They will be happy to first charge you $70 to diagnose the problem, and then whatever else they will charge to actually fix the computer. This is probably a minimum of $100. If you take it to Best Buy, be ready to spend around $200 to get anything done to it.

What you need to do, if you haven't already is call 866-539-3901, Gateway's warranty support line. When you call, be sure that you can clearly communicate what the problem is, and how it got to that point. If you get somebody in a foreign call center, be sure you speak clearly with good enunciation. When they ask for your information, spell it using some sort of phonetic alphabet (A as in Apple, B as in Bed, etc.) so they know for sure what letters you are saying. They will probably ask you to go through some basic troubleshooting steps before they issue a warranty repair ticket. It will be frustrating, but don't just give up. It's way better than spending $200 to maybe get your computer repaired properly.

Good luck.

bowen

Oh I thought he was just going to bring it to best buy to try and warranty it.

rafael

I said it once I'll say it again, the people I get either give me the runaround or don't understand me. They tell me they sent a shipping label but I never get one.

Esh

rafael wrote: »

I said it once I'll say it again, the people I get either give me the runaround or don't understand me. They tell me they sent a shipping label but I never get one.

Keep trying or take it into Best Buy. There're your options.

kuhlmeye

If you are really dead set against Gateway's customer support, take it to Best Buy. Just be prepared to spend some money.

Also, did they send a shipping label through the mail, or through email? Also how long ago? Either way, call them and let them know you never got it. You should be able to correct your email/mailing address and get a new one sent out.

Veevee

Also, being rude or condescending to the person who is trying to help you will make them want to not help you. This can be done by "accidentally" miss-typing an address or email. It's bad customer service, but it happens. By your responses here, I can just imagine you doing something stupid like "I don't want to talk to any of your turban wearing foreign idiots. Get me an american now!" which will do the exact opposite of what you want.

MichaelLC

Acer Inc.
Tech Support and Customer Service
800-816-2237

Acer America Corporation
333 West San Carlos Street Suite 1500
San Jose, CA 95110 (408) 533-7700

Dr. Frenchenstein

i thought it was Gateway?

Satsumomo

ACER owns Gateway since 2007 so it should work.

Horus

Also Facebook is a good way to get your voice heard.