Scan 3XS - Constructive Criticism

[Rufass]

I'll try and keep this constructive. It may prove useful to others considering purchases from Scan 3XS, though this is only my experience.

First a potted history:

I ordered my 3XS system on Sunday 25 January, the website quoted me a delivery date of Tuesday 27th. I thought this was unrealistic so I phoned on the Monday and was told that this was indeed wrong and that I should have noticed the website told me this. Well to be honest I did notice, hence the phone call but, not knowing your business inside out I wasn't sure if in fact you could deliver, the website was quite specific about the dates, making me wonder if perhaps you had a ready built sytem in stock. You didn't, fine, though I did later get an automated email apologising for how late the system was versus that delivery estimate. Go figure.

In the meantime I asked a question regarding the high CPU temperatures quoted in a Hexus review. I didn't get a reply so I chased that and then, on 3 Feb got into a protracted argument about the lousy customer service I perceived I had received in relation to the copious promises all over the website re. the Scan 'Mindset'. In short my beef was that, 7 working days after my initial order, all I had received in the way of updates were replies to my questions -- which had had to be chased to get. The initial insinuation that these replies were updates was, frankly, insulting. Anyway, this time consuming exchange seemed to have a galvanising effect and the order chugged on to the point where out of the blue I received a despatch notice the night before delivery (11 Feb). Obviously this left me no chance to arrange for anyone to be in so I checked the couriers website on the day of delivery and saw they'd left a note, I phoned the depot and arranged to collect. I went to the Bristol depot and was told the courier had gone back and left it with a neighbour )I don't think they are supposed to do this?). Sat in Bristol rush hour for 3 hours, got home, unpacked the system and fired it up.

Initially it wouldbn't boot, after several attempts I got into the OS and it crashed several times. I stopped that by updating the GFX and monitor drivers but still had a very flickery screen which I eventually resolved by updating the GFX BIOS.

All good then? Unfortunately not. The system periodically crashes and a Windows Update appears to have been repeatedly failing. I spent a night googling the update errors in an attempt to resolve them (perhaps installing further updates will resolve the crashes?) to little avail. At about 1.30am I call it a day and log a support call with Scan.

The replies to the support call agree that Windows Update problem is a common one. Unfortunately I am unable to agree with the rather sweet assertion made in the email, to whit: 'I am sure MS will sort it in a few days as they are usually pretty good at these things' as the link in the email you sent, proving it was a common error, showed that the first comment relating to this issue was logged in September 2007 ...

Still, not having anything better to do I have followed the other advice and spent the best part of an evening running Prime95 and Memtest (having downloaded ISO and created CD). Memtest crashed on the first pass and froze everything but has run OK since.

I guess this just leaves me with a poor customer experience and a PC that crashes and won't install updates. I will just have to share your confidence in MS turning this around in a few days and that the updates resolve the crashes.

This is the constructive criticism:

- If your website gives misleading delivery dates: fix the website.

- Do not suggest that the above is the customer's fault.

- If you say you keep the customer informed then keep the customer informed.

- Do not infer to an annoyed customer that eventually replying to queries is keeping him informed.

- Do not infer that the customer has given you a wrong phone number when you have already rung him on it once.

- Do not use City Link.

- Do not ship systems without the latest BIOS and driver patches.

- Do not ship systems without the latest OS updates.

- Do not fool yourselves that customers running diagnostics constitutes support.

I hope that posting this on the forum as well as the 'The Word' section of the website may focus our minds.

Many thanks

Rufass

[PeterStoba]

[Rufass]

I can post all the correspondence if that will help?

[Rufass]

Just for variety's sake, some of the errors from the Event Viewer:

The ubiquitous:

Installation Failure: Windows failed to install the following update with error 0x80073712: Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista x64 Edition(KB961260).

Along with numerous variations on:

Windows Servicing failed to complete the process of changing update 961260-92_neutral_GDR from package KB961260(Security Update) into Staged(Staged) state

and ...

Windows Servicing failed to complete the process of changing update 961260-119_neutral_PACKAGE from package KB961260(Security Update) into Staged(Staged) state

Some more:

Event filter with query "SELECT * FROM __InstanceModificationEvent WITHIN 60 WHERE TargetInstance ISA "Win32_Processor" AND TargetInstance.LoadPercentage > 99" could not be reactivated in namespace "//./root/CIMV2" because of error 0x80041003. Events cannot be delivered through this filter until the problem is corrected.

Unable to initialize the security package Kerberos for server side authentication. The data field contains the error number.

A timeout (30000 milliseconds) was reached while waiting for a transaction response from the SysMain service.

A timeout (30000 milliseconds) was reached while waiting for a transaction response from the TrkWks service.

The entry <C:\USERS\ADMINISTRATOR\APPDATA\ROAMING\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\START MENU\PROGRAMS\CYBERLINK POWERDVD 8\READ ME.LNK> in the hash map cannot be updated.

Context: Application, SystemIndex Catalog

Details:
A device attached to the system is not functioning. (0x8007001f)


After a crash:

The previous system shutdown at 23:46:33 on 16/02/2009 was unexpected.

[Koolpc]

I am sure that Scan will arrange to collect your PC and sort it out for you mate. That's the least they can do as you have only had it a few days.

[Chris P]

Rufass

Thank you for the feedback...

Our System support team will respond tomorrow to explain the points raised and ultimately resolve all of your outstanding issues.

Best Regards

[Rufass]

Rufass

Thank you for the feedback...

Our System support team will respond tomorrow to explain the points raised and ultimately resolve all of your outstanding issues.

Best Regards

You're welcome.

The phone number you have for me is good but I will be driving to/from/at work from 7-7 so can't guarantee I'll be able to answer it between those hours but I will be able to check emails, if you want to speak to me in person keep trying. If you need me to actually be with the PC then I'm generally in from 7pm.

Cheers

[Philipp]

Rufass

Thanks for your constructive criticism, I am sorry for the problems that you have encountered with your 3XS system,

I will ensure that a member of our support team contacts you tomorrow to resolve them.

Thanks

[Ben @ Scan]

Hi Rufass

We are sorry to hear you are still having issues with the 3XS System

I have emailed you a reg file fix that we are hoping will resolve the windows update issue, (this has been created in house and is only for Scan 3XS systems).

I have looked into the ordering process and below is an outline of the entire process

25/01/2009 - System Ordered Online (Sunday)

26/01/2009 - Sent Email Confirming that we have received order and it would be checked and built in 10 Working days (10th Feb)

26/01/2009 – Customers Email regarding CPU temperature

28/01/2009 - Email response from 3xs concerning CPU temperature

03/02/2009 - Received email from customer saying he has had no contact

03/02/2009 - 3XS Tried calling customer to advise to check his spam box but no answer and no option to leave a message

03/02/2009 - Emailed Customer explaining we have tried to contact and that the system will be booked into build and given 3xs Systems provided direct contact number

03/02/2009 - Build Date 05/02/2009 Emailed to customer and asked customer Which Partitions required

03/02/2009 - Customer emailed to state he still hadn’t got emails in spam filter wanting to escalate further

03/02/2009 - Address emailed to escalate the issue and also 3xs Systems Telephone contact number provided again

03/02/2009 - Customer emailed in wanting to possibly cancel the order

03/02/2009 - 3XS Systems Email offering assurance and asking customer how he wants to proceed

03/02/2009 - Customer advised of Partitioning he requires

10/02/2009 - Overclocking Settings confirmed after full QC and Prime tests and entered in Query

10/02/2009 - System Shipped for delivery on the 11th February as stated in Email 03/02/2009


Looking at the notes between yourself and Phil in 3XS there have been times where our emails dont seem to have got to you and

we have at these times also tried to call you without success, I have noted that the email you sent this morning came from a blackberry maybe this could have been the communication issue?

We are not trying to shift blame regarding the communication but there has clearly been some issue somewhere between ourselves and your email server/provider, we log every single email that is sent to customers and the above breakdown I have compiled is from these emails.

We are sorry that you feel we have not given you the service that you would have expected and that we have not lived up to the 3xs mindset.

The error code 0x8007001f may well relate to Windows Media Encoder and once the updates are installed this should be resolved

We can arrange an onsite engineer as per my email to you this morning to change the memory , the reason we ask you to test with memtest is to try and resolve the issue without having to get the system back.

Our systems are fully updated via our 3xs server here to the latest windows updates that are available that week, hardware updates are never installed as these can cause issues with systems, we use the hardware manufacturers latest driver updates.

We use the latest bios that we have tried and tested and is working best at the time of the system build and software

Please confirm via the query system or to my personal email the address and a direct contact number where our onsite company can contact you to confirm the date for the onsite visit

If you would prefer we will arrange to collect the sytstem and look into the issues here as a priority for you and can arrange to collect it tomorrow?

Ben Smith
3XS Systems Support Manager

[Rufass]

Hi Ben,

Your breakdown more or less matches my perception with some important differences.

Your email of 26th looks to have been in response to my call that day querying the delivery date, it has an OLQ reference at least. Either way I got it and never said that I didn't.

Your response on 28th was a reply to a direct question and had to be chased through the portal to get. So it took two days and two attempts to get that email. It mentioned that I would hear from you again shortly. I didn't.

I heard nothing until I chased it again on 3rd Feb when I was given this guff about my spam box. I had had every email you sent me. I had had to contact you to get them. There is no issue with my spam filter.

You tried to phone me twice. The first time I was on a confernece call and explained this in one of the subsequent emails that day, the second time you obviously misdialled because you accused me of giving you the wrong number despite the fact you'd rung the same number before and it had rung.

This has been the problem: I chase you, you reply, you blame my spam filter for my belief this is not how you say it is going to be:

Simply put, we want to give you guided information throughout the ownership of your system. From placing the order to after sales, we want you to have full visibility of what's going on and ensure that our staff and procedures keep you updated at all times.

Nothing in my order seemed to happen until I chased it.

This is infuriating and getting us nowhere.

When I get home I will post the full correspondence of 3rd February, the actual differs somewhat from your version.

Right, PC:

Thanks for the offer of the onsite visit, what hours is that available? Unless it's after 7pm then I will run the registry fix you've sent me first and then run memtest for 10 passes which I guess should take 6 or 7 hours?

[Philipp]

This is infuriating and getting us nowhere.

Rufus,

I have apologised time and time again for the confusion caused, we also agreed to draw an amicable line under the matter and proceed with the system order.

I understand you are still having problems with the system and I can sympathise with this, the problems however will be resolved we will not just leave you with them.

Apart from fixing the obvious problems and having apologised for the confusion caused on my part what more do you want us to do?

Regards

[Rufass]

Apart from fixing the obvious problems and having apologised for the confusion caused on my part what more do you want us to do?

Fixing the problems is what I'm most interested in.

I'll answer what else do I want by asking you a question: why do you ask for feedback on your site?

N.B. I was editing the above post when you read it, I dunno if you've seen the bit about the visit?

[Philipp]

Fixing the problems is what I'm most interested in.

I'll answer what else do I want by asking you a question: why do you ask for feedback on your site?

N.B. I was editing the above post when you read it, I dunno if you've seen the bit about the visit?

The problems will be fixed; Ben and his team do a cracking job ensuring that any problems with a system are resolved ASAP and with as little disturbance to the end user.

Feedback I believe is necessary for any company to keep in touch with there customer base, Scan welcomes any feedback and we offer a number of ways for this to be done, the very fact we have a open forum were end users can post any feedback good/bad proves this.

You have posted your feedback and we welcome this, points you have raised have and are being looked at, my reason for quoting "This is infuriating and getting us nowhere." is because I agree. I just fail to see how a long drawn out thread is going to help in anyway.

You are free to post whatever on the 3XS System forum (apart from breaking Hexus rules) after all you are a valued 3XS customer, I am truly sorry that you are not currently happy with the service/system you have received the problems with the system will be fixed and the problems with the service have been apologised for if there is anything more I can do please let me know.

I will let ben know that you have edited your post he will be able to assist you further.

Best Regards

[Rufass]

The problems will be fixed; Ben and his team do a cracking job ensuring that any problems with a system are resolved ASAP and with as little disturbance to the end user.

Feedback I believe is necessary for any company to keep in touch with there customer base, Scan welcomes any feedback and we offer a number of ways for this to be done, the very fact we have a open forum were end users can post any feedback good/bad proves this.

You have posted your feedback and we welcome this, points you have raised have and are being looked at, my reason for quoting "This is infuriating and getting us nowhere." is because I agree. I just fail to see how a long drawn out thread is going to help in anyway.

You are free to post whatever on the 3XS System forum (apart from breaking Hexus rules) after all you are a valued 3XS customer, I am truly sorry that you are not currently happy with the service/system you have received the problems with the system will be fixed and the problems with the service have been apologised for if there is anything more I can do please let me know.

I will let ben know that you have edited your post he will be able to assist you further.

Best Regards

What I'm getting at is that the point of asking for feedback is to address areas where things aren't working. Twice now I have highlighted that your process was not keeping the customer informed, both times the finger has been pointed at my email account; completely missing the point I was making.

In a nutshell I suppose what I'm looking for is some sort of response that indicates how you are changing things so that customers do not wait indefinitely for a response until they chase it. At the moment your responses don't even seem to acknowledge that there is an issue here -- that you seem to consider any email you send to be keeping the customer informed, regardless of the derivation of that email, suggests you will have this problem again. Just to reiterate: the emails you send in response to a question (and that have had to be chased) and the emails directly susbsequent to a threat to cancel don't count as 'keeping the customer informed'.

[Mossy]

We take all your comments and feedback as a very important part of improving the services at Scan. Diiferent systems and logistics are in place and ongoing to improve the overall experience when purchasing 3XS systems and components. Ben has simply listed the communication we have sent since you have placed the order for your system with Scan it is no way trying to shift the blame but simply pointing out that communication has been there although you feel it has not been to the standard you require. We pointed out that it may be a problem with your email provider I have a blackberry myself and on some of my email accounts mail delivery can be late usually the web based accounts. If you look at most of the feedback on the 3XS forums you will see most customers have praised the level of communication between our Sales team and systems department hence the reason we have questioned if there was an issue at your side.

In regards to the automated emails upon ordering your system it clearly states "Please note:
If you have ordered a SCAN 3XS system, please note the delivery time may be up to 10 working days. We will endeavor to build the system and have it dispatched as soon as possible. Please await a call from us to confirm the exact despatch date."

I hope this explains the issues you have clearly and we do recognise your criticism

Best Regards

[Rufass]

We take all your comments and feedback as a very important part of improving the services at Scan. Diiferent systems and logistics are in place and ongoing to improve the overall experience when purchasing 3XS systems and components. Ben has simply listed the communication we have sent since you have placed the order for your system with Scan it is no way trying to shift the blame but simply pointing out that communication has been there although you feel it has not been to the standard you require. We pointed out that it may be a problem with your email provider I have a blackberry myself and on some of my email accounts mail delivery can be late usually the web based accounts. If you look at most of the feedback on the 3XS forums you will see most customers have praised the level of communication between our Sales team and systems department hence the reason we have questioned if there was an issue at your side.

In regards to the automated emails upon ordering your system it clearly states "Please note:
If you have ordered a SCAN 3XS system, please note the delivery time may be up to 10 working days. We will endeavor to build the system and have it dispatched as soon as possible. Please await a call from us to confirm the exact despatch date."

I hope this explains the issues you have clearly and we do recognise your criticism

Best Regards

How many emails did you send me where I had not contacted you?

I waited 6 working days from the order before chasing as I had had no updates that weren't a reply to a specific question and the order seemed to be going nowhere until I did. Even with the chasing it still took 13-14 working days -- not up to 10 -- though I honestly wouldn't have minded had any delays been explained to me and I had not felt it was just sitting there. My main concern was trying to ensure someone would be in for the delivery, as it turned out that was impossible because the confirmation of the despatch date came the night before delivery.

Anyway, off for long commute home, will start memtest when I get in.