Desperately Seeking Assurances

[dersta]

I am starting to get a 'bit twitchy' regarding my order that I placed on 01/05/12 and would like some TLC and comfort from the lovely people that facilitate these forums to console me.

When I start to get twitchy about something that Ive ordered or done then I start to think about what my options are regarding the issue and in the past have bailed out to save myself from possible heartache and financial loss. You see, I think that purchases of this type tend to come from heart rather than the head as the need for a new pc and one that has some of the best hardware available at the time stats to niggle until you finally give in and order without using the head to apply rationality to the decision.

I am looking at '16th working day of pre-production' and have had no communication regarding my pc build from PCS at all, except when I rang them to query the status of my order and the GTX 680's at which I chose to upgrade to the 4gb version to speed up the build of my pc at extra cost to myself.

Having viewed these forums everyday since I placed my order I have read many posts regarding delays and poor comms from PCS and I think that some of them are justified. I have also contributed to the posts as well to add my opinions and added some lighthearted and informative posts.

But to get back to the reason for this post I think that the processes at PCS are hindered by the following:-

Not enough pc build engineers to satisfy orders.
Not enough customer service staff to communicate with their customers.
Poor order status screen lacking information and relative details.
Insufficient buying power to secure enough stock to satisfy orders.
Poor pc configuration screen ( does not highlight products that are out of stock )
The order status guide is meaningless and innacurate ( Pre-Production - It is quite normal for orders to remain at this status for several days. )

Here are the things that I think that people come to and order from PCS for:-

Nice looking up to date site with the latest available products.
Easy drop down product configuration menu's.
Easy to navigate site with many build options to suit your individual needs.
Informative forums to back up the company offer with experienced members that provide relative feedback on configurations.
One of the better parcel delivery services from D2D that enables order tracking.
Alternative to uisng the Overclockers site.

I would like to see what other people think regarding the above comments and If I am wrong about any of them I would love to be corrected and informed of why to satisfy my mind and remove any doubts about PCS and the thought of cancelling my order.

Please save me from cancelling and having to start the order process somewhere else and waiting even more time to have a new pc.

Cheers!

Dersta ( on the edge ) lol

 

[keynes]

Not enough pc build engineers to satisfy orders.
Not enough customer service staff to communicate with their customers.
Poor order status screen lacking information and relative details.
Insufficient buying power to secure enough stock to satisfy orders.
Poor pc configuration screen ( does not highlight products that are out of stock )
The order status guide is meaningless and innacurate ( Pre-Production - It is quite normal for orders to remain at this status for several days. )

From previous posts I gather that employing more staff is not a viable option since the number of orders during the year varies and this would increase their cost when not many orders are placed and could translate in higher prices for us. The problem with the GTX 680 is experienced by other retailers and I believe is nothing to do with buying power but lack of supply from Nvidia, in other sites I notice that some versions of the GTX 680 are out of stock. I agree that the information provided in the website could be improved but I am not sure if up-to-date information on stock could be offered when building your spec since many items are involved.
I waited 21 working days for my order and I am a satisfied customer, I can only advice you to be patient and I can guarantee you that the wait will be worth it.

 

[Maestro]

2 reasons:-

GTX 680 CONSTRAINT, its a waiting game im afraid. We are getting cards weekly but supply does not equal demand = delays.
NZXT FAN CONTROLLER - Dealyed and not arriving until begingin of june. Looking at alternatives.

If you want your pc quicker, then change to GTX 670 and remove fan controller.

 

[Buzz]

Hey Dersta.

I can actually totally understand where you are coming from. My own comp took pretty much a month to get sorted. With the status staying at pre production.

The thing is though, PCs are like any other company. Issues happen. People have "off days" and backlogs happen, Products go out of stock etc etc.

Its all well and good for us to say, get more staff or do this or do that, but the end of the day PCs are a company there to make money. There is no way they could resolve all the day to day issues with no hickups.

I ordered some Noctua fans 3wks ago. 1st order took 2 weeks, and was wrong. I contacted the sellers, they sent a courier around not to give me new fans but to collect the wrong ones. So I told em no. I then got a replacement set of fans which again where wrong. I am still waiting for the correct ones.

I do believe Pcs are trying to fulfill the demand they have and while certain things could be changed I agree, like for example the stock issue. If a part is not in stock it could be mentioned on the order page when ordering so you know there is a wait. I dont think their overall service is in anyway bad and their after sales service is prob one the best I have come across, also these forums are very active which is very helpful for us all and I would agree with you that the forums do help PCs sales very much.

As for not enough cust service staff. EVERYTIME I have looked to remind myself of the ph number to post in the forum for someone to call, I check the wait times, and they are rarely high and the calls that are there seem to pass pretty fast. I would however have a dedicated staff member on the web chat support as that never seems to be manned.

Not enough pc build engineers to satisfy orders.

Wouldnt matter how many they have if the stock is not there

Not enough customer service staff to communicate with their customers.

Personally Iv never had an issue contacting them

Poor order status screen lacking information and relative details.

Order screen only updates as the computer stage gets updated. As I found out (and had my own moan and panic over my order) phoning them for a 2min call to find out whats going on does the trick (or post in the forums)

Insufficient buying power to secure enough stock to satisfy orders.

This can never really be black and white thing. If they buy 1000 680s for eg., and from jan - mar they sell all 1000, so for Apr - July they Order 1500 680s to fulfill the orders, but then a new GPU comes out and 680s sales start to fall then PCs must go out and get new GPUs to fulfill orders and then have other stock left over of the 680s from people buying new card. This is obviously just a guess but for reasons like this, Id imagine Pcs have a way of just getting in a decent amount of stock without the risk of being stuck with a load of it. Also when a good product comes out, the world and its dog wants it. Getting stock is not so easy, as companies all get a share of the stock from the supplier. For EG look at the 690s now. 3 shops in Europe have them. 3!!!!

Poor pc configuration screen ( does not highlight products that are out of stock )

I think the configuration screen is actually very good. The ? mark explains with pics all the parts. At the end you are told if all parts are suitable inc if the PSU is wasting your money being to high, BUT FULLY agree the stock issue there should be changed.

The order status guide is meaningless and innacurate ( Pre-Production - It is quite normal for orders to remain at this status for several days. )

Well from my gathering the "pre-production" part simply means what it says. It is in pre-production. This wouldnt change if it doesnt move from here. Maybe they could add comments to peoples accounts, and I moaned in the beginning about some things you have mentioned already, BUT if I order, and they process my order, their computer would register that.

If Pcs go to put my order together, and find a part not in stock, then it wont be obviously moved on so it will stay in pre - production stage. If we where living back a few years, and companies didnt show order status no1 would know any difference, by this I just mean sometimes things are scanned into computers, orders are processed etc etc, but that doesnt mean its all ready to go their end.

An old job f mine, box barcodes where scanned, which meant we had the product in our possession, so if the cust looked on the site they would have seen we had it, but that box sometimes didnt go out or get sorted our end for days/wks sometimes, for many different reasons.

If Pcs process an order it will go on their system, but that order may not be ready to go for weeks yet as they are waiting on parts. I have learned over the years, NEVER trust online order status from any company.

UPS site said my order was out for delivery. Thats it NOTHING else. I rang they said it will be out sometime between 9am and 7pm monday or tuesday............

Anyway, iv waffled enough. In the end, while I agree buying anything online and waiting can be frustrating and nerve wracking, I have yet not had an issue where I actually had trouble. Everything in the end gets sorted, and in the end Im usually happy with my purchase, and in my PC case (not the pc case lol) from PCs I am very happy, and any customer service issues Iv had to deal with they have been very helpful, and if not PCs some kind person in the forums have sorted me out.

So all in all, Id try not to worry if order is taking a little longer then expected. give yourself 1 full month before any panic or stress sets in. If you have a fear simply call them, or post in the forum, or even PM one of the mods of the forum and Im sure they can put you onto the correct person to PM. Staff of PCs do view the forums a lot of the time, so PM'ing one should get a reply, but should go through the official Chanels if you have an issue.

Just my thoughts and waffles.

 

[leea12345]

to be honest i have found pcs very helpful and really good so far. Iwas waiting for a gtx680 but it aint there fault . i decided to change my order to a different graphic card option yesterday and it has been built already and will be here in a few days they say. yes i suspose there could be an email or something when you order to say they may be a wait on certain bits if they aint in stock but really cant fault the service, especially when you compare it to some companys . i actully feel like pcs actually care and there staff have always been helpful . So i would not cancell your order. if you do you may regret it

 

[pagepack]

I think staffing issues is always a fine balancing act. Staff are a major cost to any business and employing more staff for peaks in business is a none starter due to training required and then the subsequent drop in trade requiring you to shed staff, so PCS have my sympathy's in that respect. In terms of stock its a tough one, you could allocate stock on order, but then folk change their mind so much during pre production (me included) that stock levels probably fluctuate by the hour, as well as new stock arriving on a daily basis, and I'm afraid their ETA on components is only as good as information they receive.

Having said that I found lack of information re. pre production frustrating, your staff know where our order is in the queue why cant this be seen on your order page? I also think that fast track orders should have a limit set on the impact they can have on normal orders. Yes, its a nice earner for PCS, but knowing every fast rack order can indefinitely push your order down the build queue can be disheartening.

 

[Maestro]

I will also add a few points to Dersta OP.

Not enough build engineers.
As with any company which sells stuff, we have quiet periods and busy periods. At some points throughout the year our staff are sat twiddling their thumbs, at others they are working as much overtime as possible. So hey, here’s an idea. Let’s go out and employ lots more staff, computers will be dispatched within 1 day (dependent on stock) and you will pay twice as much for your pc. Ah, there the issue you won’t pay twice as much for your pc, you will go elsewhere, wait the 2 or 3 weeks and pay what all our competitors are charging.

Not enough customer service staff.
Same answer as above

Poor order status screen lacking information and relative details.
Tell me another company that provides more info on the status of a customer’s order. We even provide the names of the people who build test your pc. We give you an update at every stage. Maybe, we should use the same theme as above and employ some staff to call up customers and give them a daily update.

Insufficient buying power to secure enough stock to satisfy orders.
This is the best one. Maybe I will just go and find Rumplestiltskin and get him to weave some gtx 680's out of straw. If they aren’t making enough it doesn’t matter if you turnover $1 billion or £1 there will be a shortage. We are one of only a handful of Intel platinum partners and nVidia partner in the UK. As such when a product such as the gtx 680 comes into stock we get allocation. We have had allocation. Its not enough to satisfy demand. Where are you Rumple.

Poor pc configuration screen (does not highlight products that are out of stock )
We don’t highlight products that are out of stock, unless you order a fast track service. You are ordering a made to order pc. You have agreed to our terms giving us 30 days to supply your order. Yes you ticked the box when placing your order saying you had read them. In 99% of cases we deliver within 30 days. In the vast majority of cases we deliver within the approx. guidelines given on our website. Note the word approximate.

The order status guide is meaningless and inaccurate ( Pre-Production - It is quite normal for orders to remain at this status for several days. )
Read below.

I wrote this post in the run up to Xmas last year, but it is still relevant as we are still crazy busy.

When you place your order it is at the bottom of the pile, in terms of the queue to be built. From the moment your order starts processing it is moving up the queue to be built. However during this time we carry out things such as fraud checks. We also make sure we have the parts for your order, and order them if not.

We keep most items in stock, but there will always be a couple of components that are in constraint. Components that have just been released for example. This can affect a particular orders delivery time. Once all this has been done, then your order enters pre-production. The time taken until your order enters pre-production is largely determined by how busy we are. Please note that the approx. lead time that you are provided with when ordering is approximate. This time frame is determined by the average time it has taken to dispatch deliveries over the last two months. Most orders will still be dispatched within this advertised window but it is not guaranteed, it is just a indicator. Some orders will be dispatched earlier than this, and some will take longer.

Pre-production means that all processing of your order, fraud, stock check is complete and your order has been printed by the spec picker (the guy who physically picks the stock of the shelves to be built). Again, this can be a waiting game while your order sheet moves up the pile. Once the sheet is at the top, it is picked and built. The whole process is very fluid, and actual lead times can change daily. We only have a set number of staff, so a surge in orders will cause the lead time to grow, while a quiet week will see it shorten.

As stated above the last few weeks have been extremely busy, which is feeding through to the lead time advertised. A few weeks ago it was 6-8 working days and is now 9-12 or something like that. Traditionally this period of the year right up until Christmas only gets busier, so I would expect the lead time could still grow.
Please however rest assured that we do all we can in such busy periods to deliver your order as quickly as possible. I understand it is a frustrating period waiting for your dream machine.

During busy times such as these we get the team working overtime to keep the lead time down as much as possible. What we cannot do is simply go out and employ more staff on a whim because we have had a busy few weeks. The reason why we are so competitive on price is because we are very efficient and keep overheads down. We have to strike a steady balance on staff numbers because it is not busy week in week out all year round. There are traditional quiet periods.

For those customers who require a PC urgently then there is the fast track service. All checks are done immediately and your order goes straight to the top of the pile.
Finally, I would ask all customers to be patient. Remember the less staff we have to use answering emails and taking phone calls regarding status of order the more staff we can use in production building and testing your computers. If your order is taking longer than you expected then there is a reason for this and you can rest assured it has not been forgotten, but it just simply means we are busy.

 

[dersta]

2 reasons:-

GTX 680 CONSTRAINT, its a waiting game im afraid. We are getting cards weekly but supply does not equal demand = delays.
NZXT FAN CONTROLLER - Dealyed and not arriving until begingin of june. Looking at alternatives.

If you want your pc quicker, then change to GTX 670 and remove fan controller.

I have already upgraded to the GTX 680 4GB graphics card from the 2GB card because I was told that it would speed up the build of my pc, are you now saying that the 4GB GTX 680 cards are out of stock as well Maestro? Because I will definitley be going to cancel my order if it is because I have paid an extra £51.00 for the card and to speed up the build of my pc.

I have not been informed that the NZXT FAN CONTROLLER is out of stock by anyone at PCS so how would I know that?

This is exactly the kind of service that I have mentioned above and to be honest it just isn't good enough!!

Its all well and good saying that you have ticked a box saying that you will give PCS 30 days to complete the order but in all honesty in this day and age it should not take an established company one month to build a pc.
And to say that recruiting more staff to build the pc's and help in customer service will just increase the cost of the pc, how do other companies do it for a similar price? There has to be a minimum level of competence and time scale that it should be completed and if that means it will take a month then in my opionion this it too long to wait.
PCS need to remember that they have taken customers money in good faith and need to provide an adequate service to their customers, rather than adopt the attitude of... we have got your money now you will have to wait for us to build your pc when it suits us.

I can see that my post has created a lot of interest and other people in the same position as myself have made posts as well so I must have touched on some raw nerves with what I suggested was delaying my order, but I notice that no one has mentioned the good stuff about PCS that I mentioned which is strange.

I started reading your replies to this post Maestro but by the time I got to Rumplestiltskin I totally lost interest in what you were saying and chose to disregard the rest of your answer before it got me so annoyed that I rang and cancelled my order immediately.

If I felt a 'bit twitchy' at the start of my post, reading the replies from other people and indeed a member of PCS admin I am even more twitchier about my order so it has done little to console me or give me confidence that my order will be completed before I run out of patience and cancel it.

Im going to sleep on it and hope I wake up with the opinion that PCS are trying to complete my order as soon as possible with the correct products that I ordered.

Dersta

 

[Corfate]

I have already upgraded to the GTX 680 4GB graphics card from the 2GB card because I was told that it would speed up the build of my pc, are you now saying that the 4GB GTX 680 cards are out of stock as well Maestro? Because I will definitley be going to cancel my order if it is because I have paid an extra £51.00 for the card and to speed up the build of my pc.

I have not been informed that the NZXT FAN CONTROLLER is out of stock by anyone at PCS so how would I know that?

This is exactly the kind of service that I have mentioned above and to be honest it just isn't good enough!!

Its all well and good saying that you have ticked a box saying that you will give PCS 30 days to complete the order but in all honesty in this day and age it should not take an established company one month to build a pc.
And to say that recruiting more staff to build the pc's and help in customer service will just increase the cost of the pc, how do other companies do it for a similar price? There has to be a minimum level of competence and time scale that it should be completed and if that means it will take a month then in my opionion this it too long to wait.
PCS need to remember that they have taken customers money in good faith and need to provide an adequate service to their customers, rather than adopt the attitude of... we have got your money now you will have to wait for us to build your pc when it suits us.

I can see that my post has created a lot of interest and other people in the same position as myself have made posts as well so I must have touched on some raw nerves with what I suggested was delaying my order, but I notice that no one has mentioned the good stuff about PCS that I mentioned which is strange.

I started reading your replies to this post Maestro but by the time I got to Rumplestiltskin I totally lost interest in what you were saying and chose to disregard the rest of your answer before it got me so annoyed that I rang and cancelled my order immediately.

If I felt a 'bit twitchy' at the start of my post, reading the replies from other people and indeed a member of PCS admin I am even more twitchier about my order so it has done little to console me or give me confidence that my order will be completed before I run out of patience and cancel it.

Im going to sleep on it and hope I wake up with the opinion that PCS are trying to complete my order as soon as possible with the correct products that I ordered.

Dersta

I understand that you're annoyed how long it's taking to get your order built, so would i be, but unfortunately, there's nothing you can do. Im sure if you cancelled and ordered elsewhere, you'd be running into the same problems with the GPU, as they are in constraint all over the UK. For example, im annoyed with some businesses atm as they keep pushing back the date of when they're getting the orders in for some fans that i had ordered, so i fully understand how annoyed you are (deleted the order and had to buy elsewhere at a higher price.. -.-)

Other businesses can probably hire more staff as they're larger companies, getting more orders from people, so can therefore employ more people. Thats my conclusion anyway

 

[keynes]

Hi Dersta,
I understand your frustration and my comments were only meant to provide reassurance since I experienced something similar with my build. Your comment on "adequate service" is more like a normative statement since many people have different views on what is consider good customer service. In my case I was able to wait more than a month for the build but I also understand other customers would like a quicker service. I hope you get your build pretty soon and let us know how the rig performs, I am confident you will be happy with the new pc.

 

[PCS]

Dersta

We are very sorry that you have lost confidence in PC Specialist - it is never our intentions to cause any distress but I can assure you that the issue with your order is purely related to the GTX 680 - it is in huge constraint. I can see that you have upgraded to a 4GB GTX 680 and this amendment has been completed. Your order is currently the oldest order awaiting a GTX 680 as stock arrived last week and some yesterday. A 4GB GTX 680 has been added to your order and your order will be assembled tomorrow.