Hey everyone. This is quite a lengthy review of my experience with Acer so far.

What simply sparked me to write this was that so many erview sites gives Acer the thumbs up when it should really give them thumbs down.

The reason being? Well, my experience with Acer ever since I bought my Tablet PC from them has been an utter disappointment. That's an understatement by the way. Words cannot describe how appalling their product and their after sales service has been.

Where to begin? Well, when I bought my Acer TravelMate C111TCi in October 2003, it came incomplete without its battery. Me being a novice at these things, I thought I would double check with Acer themselves so I rang them up (which was no easy task - it took at least 20 minutes before I got through to someone) and they said that their should have been a battery in the box. So I just explained to them that I had spent £100 on a new battery because their wasn't already one in the box. They apologised for it and they said they would send me one. 2 weeks later a package arrived. I thought it would be the battery, but to my disappointment they had sent me a Clock battery instead! It was one of them cell batteries that you get in a watch! So I went straight back to the phone and called them up to tell them their had been a mix up. Only this time I simply couldn't get through to them. So I e-mailed them instead. It took a few days to get sorted out but after about a week the proper battery arrived.

I thought that all would be OK now. And everything was OK until December arrived. The hinge that kept the Tablet PC screen stable at the side became loose and no longer held the screen in place. I wasn't too happy that after only 3 months of use the build quality of the machine was already letting me down. I went through the same procedure again only I tried to get support over email instead because knowing it was Christmas time it would be busy...it's busy everywhere. It was early December but they refused to help over e-mail and simply told me to ring the support line. I was left with no choice but to do so. After waiting the usual 20 minute queue I finally got through to someone and told them what was wrong. Booked it all in for a collection which was next day courier service. The guy on the other end told me it could take as long as 2 weeks to get it fixed. If only it did! I gave them two weeks to fix the product before sending an e-mail to enquire about the status of the repair. I didn't even get a reply. I got a reply the following year however in January. At that point it had been 5 weeks since I had sent the laptop in for repair! Which is simply outrageous under any circumstances. It should not take 5 weeks to repair a hinge on the side of the laptop. I made complaints and enquiries as to why it took so long. Most of them were ignored. They simply sent a letter out the following week with a formal apology. That was the last time that I hoped that I would ever have to deal with Acer support again.

Only to my dismay another hinge broke. The catch that held the screen attached to the base of the laptop snapped right off. I couldn't believe it. I honestly could not believe how poor the build quality was. I questioned my own use of the product itself and wondered to myself, was I mis handling the product? Well, everything else still seemed to be working, it was only the parts that I used often that were breaking such as the hinge which allowed me to transform the laptop in to a Tablet PC and the latch which is used to secure the screen to the base....aspects of a laptop which should be able to handle constant usage. So I went through the same procedure of getting it repaired. Surprisingly it only took 2 weeks to get it fixed, which is a reasonable amount of time. About a month later however, ANOTHER fault was found. I don't know when the fault happened because I hadn't used the Firewire since it was sent in for repair, so it could have been damaged when it had been sent in. But anyway, the firewire wasn't working. I did the usual tests and it was definitely not working. So after spending another 20 minutes trying to get through on the support line, I finally managed to get a Case ID and got it booked in to be taken away again. This time it took 4 weeks to get it repaired. When I got it back I did a thorough check this time to make sure it was all working. I wasn't surprised at the fact that the product had ANOTHER issue. You would think that I would be completely annoyed by now, but it was just expected. Acer had managed to fix the firewire port but they had also managed to do something else at the same time. They managed to switch the processor for a lower spec model. It was now only running at 900MHz! This is a 1GHz model, OK, so it's a 100MHz difference, but if I had wanted a 900MHz model I wouldn't have paid that extra money to get the 1GHz model instead! This time it was the last straw. I wrote back to the Customer Services department asking them why this had happened and what they were playing at. They seem to me like they're a company that doesn't know what they're doing! I also demanded a refund....which in my situation doesn't seem like a un-reasonable request considering what had happened.

Several days later, the customer services rep that I was dealing with said that the refund request had been declined and that she had forwarded details of what has happened with the processor to the technical team. That was four days ago so I wouldn't expect a reply for at least another week.

And that is my experience so far with Acer. I thought that it is my duty to make sure that you are aware of my experience. You can do what you like with it.

I did some calculations recently. Out of the 10 months since I've had the TravelMate C111TCi it's been away for about 11 weeks. That's about 3 out of the 10 months, so in fact I've only really had it for 7 weeks...the other 3 weeks, Acer has been prodding and poking it.

Thanks for reading.

I've replied to your other threads but thought you might catch this one. Please PM and We can talk.

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Layne P. Heiny / Administrator for Tux Reports Network

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I'm sure Acer corporate offices will want to know what happened so they can make sure that this does not happen again. You can find the proper contact information at http://global.acer.com/. Talk to your regional Acer office and let them know that you are dissatisfied.

You will need to provide:

serial number,
case numbers from time of contact, and
names of people with whom you spoke.

This time you will want to talk with corporate customer service.

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-- Lora Heiny

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OK. Acer Global Headquarters are in Taiwan. And unfortunately I do not understand the language they use in Taiwan nor does my Internet Explorer browser able to display the information on the www.acer.com.tw web site properly. I have already spoken to Acer UK Customer Support which got me nowhere. According to them I am not entitled to a refund and the query about the processor being switched has been 'passed' to the Technical Team and if they go by what I know about their Technical Team already, they are completely useless because it will take them at least 2 weeks to rely, they're incapable of replying any quicker. I can also predict what they will say as well. They will give me that telephone number again (0207 365 2486) to book it in for repair, an Irish bloke has always answered on the other end (maybe they outsource? or maybe they just hire one person to do their tech support - wouldn't be surprised if they did). And then I will be without the tablet PC for another 4 weeks before it is returned and theirs no guarantee that they haven't broken something else in it or changed something that they shouldn't have or worse comes to worse, they switch the processor for the EXACT same one, all are possibilities with Acer - you may think that's laugheable or un-realistic but with Acer it's something that CAN and probably WILL come true.

Simply disgusting and when it comes to apologies, you'll never ever hear one. When it comes to escalating a query to the next level, completely impossible. Theirs no customer support telephone number, only a technical support one who can help by booking your product in for repair, they can't do anything else. They have no power. And it's impossible to talk to someone who does have some power or is at a senior level. I e-mailed customer support asking for details of which manager the customer rep talked to and how I can contact him. That was on the 13/07/04 and she's yet to reply. You would expect that my query would receive some priority. But nope, Acer don't know how to do that.

What a joke. If any of you work for Acer, then leave, cos why would you want to be a part of a company like that?

The acer global operations for your area is:

Acer UK Ltd.
Poyle Road, Colnbrook,
Slough, Berkshire SL3 0QX
England
Tel: +44-(0)1753-699200
Fax: +44-(0)1753-699201
http://www.acer.co.uk
support@aceruk.co.uk

Is that the number you are trying to use?

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Layne P. Heiny / Administrator for Tux Reports Network

Please do not send private messages requesting technical support. Place your request in the proper forum and hopefully someone can help you.

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I have tried that number and it's only a swichboard number. When I called to ask them if I could speak to customer services they simply gave me the tech support number which I have already. The email address I have been using is customer_support@acer-euro.com will it make a difference?

Lora can give us the difference but she was suggesting corporate customer service and maybe that is distinct from product support. She can answer.However, we are located in the U.S. and things are different.

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Layne P. Heiny / Administrator for Tux Reports Network

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Spike5792 - I am appalled at what has happened to you.

Did you buy direct from Acer or from some other shop? You should have taken it back to them or contact Watchdog or something.

However, I have to say that I bought a C111TCi just over a year ago, it's been fantastic. My battery started playing up after 2 months, I rang the Tech Support number and in 3 days I had been sent a new battery. After 10 months use, the mouse button came loose and the latch at the top of the screen which can be used to shut the laptop or make it into a tablet, broke. Again I rang up, like before I was connected in less than 5 mins, they did tell me 2 weeks and it was back in around that time. Everything was fixed and I simply rang back to confirm what they had done, I was through in 3 mins and suprisingly they corrected a minor fault I never knew about (nor did it affect my laptop perfprmance).

Perhaps you have just had a lot of bad luck, I cannot really comment. I have been very fortunate to have had exemplary service from the UK office and cannot fault them. I do understand what you say about the build, the laptop is fine but it never gives a "feeling" of being "solid", this is despite never having a "major" issue. Would I buy one again or recommend it? Yes to both, because it is an excellent tablet, though I wish I could do a part exchange for a C300 - bigger screen, more power and AMAZING battery life.

The biggest drawback is the battery on the C111TCi, I always thought Centrino chips ensured a much longer life but I never get more than 2 hours or so. I have read that the C300 can offer between 7-12 hours!! Though the problem with the C300 would be the weight, if anyonef rom ACER is reading this, could you not make a 12" or 13" tablet that is as powerful and well equipped as the C300 but not much heavier than the C111Tci?

Plus I have tried to dual boot with Suse, I have installed it (I am very new to Linux) but do know how to configure it so I can use it as a tablet, or the pen, or the modem and above all the wireless !

Ismail

I have an Acer C100 which I bought within second of them being in this country (UK) Day 1: catch broke (the one for closing and securing screen to base) I bougvht it from PC World, who immeaditely sent me a new machine and gave me time to transfer my stuff etc. Week 1: Catch broke again. And again as above.

By now I am being exceptionally careful with this catch, so when atthe end of the 1st month it went again, I was not impressed. Rang PCWorld and was passed on to Acer. I asked if this was a design fault and was told no, it must be my useage of it! Sent it back (naively I had expected that they would replace as PCWorld had done) and it was away about 2 weeks. This is my only computer so I was a bit lost without it and I was on their case to make sure it was returned asap.

About 2 months later, guess what...........it broke again!! Again as above, returned in 2 weeks. I asked to speak to someone who would take my complaint and to cut a long story short, I never got anyone.

About 6 months ago, yes you guessed it it broke again!! And now I just live with it broken!

So, my opinion of Acer (at least in the UK) is that they are not really interested in feedback and providing a service that customers feel valued by. My opinion of the C100 - I love the tablet bit (because I am dyslexic and being able to just scribble is brill) but I will seriously consider wether to buy Acer again when I upgrade.

Layne's right - the U.S. offices are different business wise and apparently stucture wise also from what you're describing in the U.K.

My suggestion is to politely contact Acer U.K. (yes, as you've done before), explain your situation, and ask for suggestions. If the person says, "I don't know," then just ask - again very politely - who will know. It's OK to ask for a supervisor. It's OK to talk to the operator to ask who handles reporting of these issues. I'm sure Acer would want to know what you're expericing because they are trying to provide strong customer support.

You have a few different issues. I know the battery being missing in the first package was bothersome. However, it is not directly related to the situation you are trying to have resolved at this time. After the hinge resolve was presented, your request for a "like for like" replacement is a service issue (and perhaps a misinterpretation by an Acer employee).

Sorry it took me so long to reply here. I've seen your thread in other places and think that the previous suggestions about using words like "lemon" to describe your tablet are appropriate.

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-- Lora Heiny

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I know it's a bit late joining this thread (I've only just joined the forum).
I don't suppose you read PcPro magazine do you ? They have just published a review of tablePC's including the Acers and and I'm sure they would love to hear your tale of impresive customer service.
They have a Helping hand section that gets involved in this sort of issue - from what i've seen in their forums they have a reasonable success rate.

Thank You all for your input on Acer machines. I was excited about the great reviews I had read and actually considering purchasing one. Even if the support problems were anomalies, I need a machine whose hinge won't snap with normal use. Sounds like I should avoid Acer machines.

I know this is an old thread but I have had the worst experience with Acer. I bought a notebook (couldn't afford a tablet PC quite yet) and it dies within 4 days. After getting it back it died again in 2 weeks. It has since been lost in shipping.

You can read about the entire experience and even leave your own on the website I created to draw sells away from Acer.

As the OP said their customer service (I am in the US) is horrible. The link to the site is in my signature, feel free to read my story and tell me yours. I wrote to the president who is located in the European office.

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