The Acer Guy Forum » General Discussion
Does Acer support actually read the questions sent to them?
(16 posts)-
Posted by: Starnamer
MemberWhile I would accept that many of Acer's support team try hard to solve problems, I must say that it strains credibility when, in answer to the question ...
What does the Acer 'MyLaunch' program and the Acer 'Quick-Launch Area' button in IE do?
I get a reply which starts....
-----------------------
Thank you for contacting Acer UK. I’ll be happy to assist you…I would request you to perform recovery before that i would advise you to back up your data.
It sounds like it may be advisable to perform a system recovery on your machine to rule out that the problem is a software related one.
-----------------------
That is, the response to someone asking what a program does is to suggest they reinstall the system!!! How on earth does that explain what the 'MyLaunch' program does?!?Posted 2 years ago # -
Posted by: Peter
ModeratorJust call their regular support line to ask them. There's no need to actually call the premium support line.
Also, there "may" be documentation in the laptop manual that came with the unit.
If you call tech support you'll get a generic script that the people are forced to follow. Unless of course you ask to get elevated to their supervisor. But for a general question just give them a ring on their regular phone line.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Posted by: TechieDiva
Moderator@Starnamer
Looks like SimplyAcer.com has no direct relation to Acer. Their About Us page (http://www.simplyacer.com/About+Us) shows the actual company is Xenex Technologies Limited.
That points to this URL.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Posted by: Starnamer
MemberThey must have some kind of partnership agreement as they are using Acer's name, but I agree they are a separate company. As afr as I can see, just a sales outlet.
My point is that they say support should come from Acer, presumably as part of the partnership agreement.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Posted by: Michael Walsh
Key Master@Starnamer - customer support is always a thorny subject.
In Acer's case, it's the subject of much debate, and more than one side to the story.
So let's get a few things sorted out.
First Acer does not sell anything to the general public. It has a 100% indirect business model (the exact opposite to Dell) which uses the power and flexibility of channel distribution to ensure low stockage, high turnover and fast delivery and which means you're always buy through a retailer - never via Acer.
Here, like TechieDiva said, SimplyAcer is owned by:
Xenex Technologies Limited
90 New Town Row
Birmingham, England B6 4HZ
United Kingdom(http://www.whois.net/whois/simplyacer.com)
All resellers have their own returns policy. SimplyAcer (which uses the Acer name for SEO purposes) states the following:
What should I do if I suspect my product is faulty?
Before we can authorise a return, you would be required to contact the specialist technical helpline team on the numbers below. Please provide them with detailed descriptions of the issues you are experiencing, along with details of any error messages you have come across. They can then diagnose the problem, and can then either provide you with information to resolve the issue over the phone, or will provide you with a reference number for you to pass to ourselves.
What happens next?
If the technical team believe your item to have a fault within 7 days, they will ask you to contact us and will usually provide you with a reference number. Once we have this, we will provide you with a return number, and then arrange to collect the item from an address you specify.
We will then bring it back into our testing center where it will be assessed by our qualified engineers for faults. Should a fault be found, we are happy to provide you with a full refund or a brand new replacement.
If a fault is not found, you will be liable to shipping charges and the unit will be returned to you via courier.
What if my unit is over 7 days old?
If your unit is over 7 days old from the date of purchase until the date you register the fault with the manufacturer, you will need to contact the relevant manufacturer at the number below:
They will arrange to bring your unit into one of their service centers where it will be assessed, repaired, and then sent back to you. If your product features a ‘collect & return’ warranty, there will be no charges associated with this procedure.
In short: get in touch within 7 days from purchase and we'll deal with it directly. Over 7 days, contact Acer support.
As to whether or not Acer actually read the questions sent to them, I wish I could answer, but your account seems to have done a good enough job already. :-(
Still, we're here and we listen...
Posted 2 years ago # -
Posted by: Starnamer
MemberThanks for the summary of how support works.
However, my original point was that I'd submitted a question asking what a program (MyLaunch) did and the reply was "please perform a system recovery". It's not clear how this would answer the question as to what the MyLaunch program should be used for.
To me, this seems to be a 'boilerplate' response along the lines of "for any query about software, the first action is to perform a system recovery".
In fact, I still don't know what advantage using MyLaunch is supposed to provide over simply using Internet Explorer since I still haven't found any explanation as to what it does.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Posted by: Michael Walsh
Key Master@Starnamer
"However, my original point was that I'd submitted a question asking what a program (MyLaunch) did and the reply was "please perform a system recovery". It's not clear how this would answer the question as to what the MyLaunch program should be used for."
There's no argument against that point really... :-(
Posted 2 years ago # -
Posted by: jarnoldsr
MemberWell let me tell you I was one of the unfortunate ones that purchased one from Circuit City Acer Aspire 5920 that lasted a little less than a year. The motherboard is toast. After reading blogs about this I have found out this is a common problem and if I would have known and nobody does the amount of support from
Acer I would never purchase a product from them. In no way can the tech support people even read the stuff coming in you get generic stupid responses that tell you that you are out of warranty when you are not and for you to call the Pay based tech support. Well if a tech support person on the phone can replace my motherboard he is pretty good. I can't believe anybody would purchase one of these products based on this. They dump off on the dealer whoever the lucky one is and they rake you over the coals and Acer gets off scott free. Well not this time you pissed off the wrong person, if you have a product that is or has known to have problems its your name on the front of it. The website says nothing about warranty's legnth or anything just mail to an address lol.... that is funny.Posted 2 years ago # -
Posted by: acerstar1
Member@Starnamer
I am of course sorry to hear of the experience you have had trying to contact our support teams and obtain a resolution. I would like to be given the opportunity to discuss this with you direct and see if I can shed light on the issues at hand.
I can of course contact you if you would be kind enough to provide details, alternatively I can be contacted via Acer Escalations Team on 0845 146 1900.Kind Regards
Acerstar1Posted 2 years ago # -
Posted by: Starnamer
Member@Acerstar1: To be honest, I just gave bothering.
- I never have found out what benefit the MyLaunch program provides above just using IE.
- Since upgrading to Windows 7, the Cinedash volume control doesn't work properly and I don't expect Acer will ever release a fixed driver/application. I managed to find a workaround that the endpoints cause the volume to track up/down to it's just about usable.
- I never did get a proper reply about failure to recognise the 2nd HDD on a system restart. I can't afford to send the laptop away for what I am told is likely be at least a month with no guarantee that Acer would admit it was a problem and every likelihood that I'd be charged for an Acer engineer examining the PC.
- The latest is that I ordered a spare part from Acer Spares 5 months ago (2 months after I bought the laptop) and am now told that the part is obsolete and cannot be supplied.
Overall, my experience of Acer support has been very poor and I doubt I will ever buy an Acer laptop again. I certainly don't recommend them to anyone now. This is a shame as initially the machines seem so good, but the after sales support seems non-existent.
Regards
Posted 1 year ago #
Reply
You must log in to post.