DSLRUsers.com

In the past it's been a privilege for me to sing the praises of ASUS as a manufacturer of laptops.

Sadly, this is no longer the case, and their so-called tech support department ... suffice to say that if I wanted to get bad service, I would have bought a Dell. And if I wanted to be disrespected by the manufacturer, I would have bought a Sony.

Asus are no longer one of my suppliers, and my three month old notebook will be, at some point in the very near future, be going back.

Putting it very simply .... they are installing a new style of ethernet card that is not backwards compatible with some network devices.

As this is my laptop ... I intend to use it ... away from home. Go figure! That means wireless internet, for which I use Unwired through Exetel.

On every other laptop that I have, except this one.

Although the ethernet card otherwise works fine, this, for me, is a deal breaker ...

When I first became aware of the problem, I submitted an online fault report. Their website promises a 48 hour turnaround.

This was in June, btw.

Some ten days later I called their so-called local support, because I'd nothing.

Local support told me that this was a known issue. So ... why is it not documented anywhere?

I asked for a callback. I'm still waiting for that callback.

A few days later I tried to follow-up my initial submission. Nothing happened.

And a few more days down the track, I submitted a whole new submission, referring to the original one. Again .... nothing happened.




Finally, yesterday I received, in reference to my initial lodgement, advice from them that I should call them to arrange to bring the computer in and have it repaired.

So ...

I make the call, spending a few minutes on perma-hold waiting for the "next available operator".

I speak with their person, who takes my details, looks up stuff on their system (I presume) and thus is able to understand the problems I'm seeing.

he confirms thatr the problem should be able to be addressed, and gives me a job number.

So ... it's about a 20 minute drive, I go in .... and I (eventually) get told that ...

this is a known issue, and it's not their problem.


Wrong answer. *

Lousy (lack of) service.

And now they have disrespected me by wasting my time, on top of all of the other delays in doing this.

Sorry, ASUS, but you've just cost yourself a multi-repeat customer.

I am unimpressed.

I am unhappy.

And I'm going to tell a whole lot of people about this.

Shame really, the correct answer was very simple, but they really don't seem to have a clue.

Sorry to hear of your troubles Gary. This isn't the issue, and they CERTAINLY should have fixed this for you, however IF you are otherwise happy with the lappy, couldn't a usb wireless device plugged into it solve this problem? Of course, this shouldn't be required, but perhaps it's the 'only' (now) feasible option?

My next question is what will your next laptop be if it's not an ASUS?

Geoff wrote:My next question is what will your next laptop be if it's not an ASUS?

ALDI..

Sorry Geoff, I couldn't resist!

Paul wrote:

Geoff wrote:My next question is what will your next laptop be if it's not an ASUS?

ALDI..

Sorry Geoff, I couldn't resist!

Well...

I'm sitting here on a wire-less network on the ALDI lappy, STILL going strong

I couldn't resist...EITHER

I'm also in the market for a new lappy.

I've been very happy with my current ASUS - a 17" W2V. Solidly built, yet surprisingly thin and light for a 17". Luckily I haven't had to deal with their customer "support".

I'm looking at a 13.3" or smaller this time around (mated to a big external LCD). The current ASUS line-up isn't all that attractive. Their cheaper range feels too "plastic" when compared to the W2V, and their premium line-up are all covered in leather (not my taste, unfortunately).

What I have looked at so far:
- Sony's SZ premium range - WAY overpriced but well built and spec'ed. Santa Rosa upgrade not available in Aust yet.
- Macbook (not pro) - under-spec'ed for the price. There's an Apple event on Sept 5, so maybe the Macbook range will get the Santa Rosa upgrade to bring it in line with their Pro brothers?
- Dell - I think they've finally got it right with their new XPS M1330. Well priced and very well spec'ed (4Gb RAM standard!), and build quality is, surprisingly, semi-decent. Really bad supply issues at the moment and Dell customer support is almost as bad as ASUS.

Still to look into HP/Fujitsu/Lenovo.

Ben

Gary, sorry to hear that. A year or so when I got a screen replaced they were alright

Bad support is only applicable to an instance in time. I have had bad support from Nikon and I have had brilliant support - the same with Sony, Samsung, and many others.

The simple point is that if I was to refuse purchasing products from companies giving bad support - I would have nothing

Geoff wrote:Sorry to hear of your troubles Gary. This isn't the issue, and they CERTAINLY should have fixed this for you, however IF you are otherwise happy with the lappy, couldn't a usb wireless device plugged into it solve this problem?

The workaround is a USB-Ethernet adapter, into the Navini. I have one, but that's simply not the point. This is not a lightweight lappy, and my expectation is that it should .... work.

It doesn't.

I carry enough shit around already, and I'm wanting to carry less, not more. I've actually had it for just on three months now, and I have yet to get it fully configured to my needs.

And ASUS's attitude defies description: at them moment I can say that you can choose ASUS, or you can have customer service; the two are mutually exclusive.

Rest assured that I'm not prepared to let this - or ASUS - rest.

And no, I'm not overly impressed with this box. It came with Vista, and there's problem #1. But it's just not an impressive box. It's .... just a laptop, and where the delivery of a new lappy should excite, this is just one big yawn.

It simply does nothing particularly well, it does some things not so well, and, as noted above, it is simply incapable of doing some things (that it should be doing) at all!

Vodka wrote: Dell customer support is almost as bad as ASUS.


Ben

I live in the sticks and I have had pretty good support from Dell. I know that others have had bad support but I can only relay my own experience. I've had 2 problems with my Dell laptop and both were fixed no problemo. I live 250 k from the nearest Dell tech and it was next day on site fix on each occasion under some service plan I have. First problem may have been self inflicted...laptop keyboard, adjacent liquid refreshment...you get my drift. Second problem was a graphics card meltdown.

Vodka wrote:I'm also in the market for a new lappy.

I've been very happy with my current ASUS - a 17" W2V. Solidly built, yet surprisingly thin and light for a 17". Luckily I haven't had to deal with their customer "support".

My old one is also an ASUS, and I couldn't be happier with it.

Except that it's now three years old, and showing its age.

And about a5 months ago I needed to deal with their customer support, and again, they were exemplary.

Sadly, they';re now an example of how to not run a customer support department.

I'm looking at a 13.3" or smaller this time around (mated to a big external LCD). The current ASUS line-up isn't all that attractive.

No it isn't, and there's another part of the problem.

I'm thinking that I too will go for a smaller screen than before, as much as I love the 15.4 widescreen.

- Sony's SZ premium range - WAY overpriced but well built and spec'ed. Santa Rosa upgrade not available in Aust yet.

It's a Sony. If you think the laptop's overpriced, batteries run to one third the cost of the box, and the box ... is very poorly built.

- Macbook (not pro) - under-spec'ed for the price. There's an Apple event on Sept 5, so maybe the Macbook range will get the Santa Rosa upgrade to bring it in line with their Pro brothers?

Macbook is where my thoughts are as well at the moment - but the word I've heard is that for this upcoming event, it's iPods, and maybe one new pc.

- Dell - I think they've finally got it right with their new XPS M1330. Well priced and very well spec'ed (4Gb RAM standard!), and build quality is, surprisingly, semi-decent. Really bad supply issues at the moment and Dell customer support is almost as bad as ASUS.

And they're less than honest too. I don't buy Dell or Sony, and ASUS are now being added to that list.

We've been running Boot Camp and Bioshock on the 17" Macbook Pro today (Dad's seen it) and I'm really impressed, although I think that both the monitor and mouse could be a hell of a lot better.

Very happy that you have announced this on a public forum, especially when admitting that you used to be an evangelic customer.

Completely different to stuff that you see on web forums these days, where people shout Nikon and Canon as if they are teams in a world cup final, and won't allow a word against their "team".

So many companies love shooting themselves in the feet when it comes to dealing with customers. Even as a Mac user I have left Mac shops thinking they need to go and learn more than a few things. It should be drummed into anyone dealing with the public that they lose more money making enemies than shelling out a small amount on whatever.

Nnnnsic wrote:We've been running Boot Camp and Bioshock on the 17" Macbook Pro today (Dad's seen it) and I'm really impressed, although I think that both the monitor and mouse could be a hell of a lot better.

The 15" is the one to get as it has the better backlight, meant to be the best screen of any laptop at the moment:

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/conten ... -8741-9027

The screen on the 15" doesn't surprise me, actually. So far as we can tell from playing with it (my brother -- who works with me -- and I), the 17" screen isn't evenly lit and doesn't feel as good.

A shame the regular Macbook's come with such junk video chipsets, too.

Nnnnsic wrote:A shame the regular Macbook's come with such junk video chipsets, too.

Yeah thats true - when I bought it it was one of the few things it was behind the Pro with. 2GB of ram later it is nice and fast for my needs.

Heath Bennett wrote:Very happy that you have announced this on a public forum, especially when admitting that you used to be an evangelic customer.

If people think that they can screw me around, they're sadly mistaken.

I have never been one to accept second (or third) rate service, and I sure as hell am not going to start today.

So many companies love shooting themselves in the feet when it comes to dealing with customers. Even as a Mac user I have left Mac shops thinking they need to go and learn more than a few things. It should be drummed into anyone dealing with the public that they lose more money making enemies than shelling out a small amount on whatever.

Exactly.

And it costs so much to gain a customer ... it is so relatively easy to keep one once you have him.

Macbook Pro.

norbs wrote:Macbook Pro.

Nice (I'm using one to write this message) but it's not going to suit my needs, being way too big.

We're talking 13" screens ......

Shame they don't make Tablet Mac's... otherwise I'd be seriously tempted... provided it didn't run on GMA...

At this point in time, ASUS are, IMHO, about the same, in terms of customer support, as Dell.

That is not a compliment by any stretch of the imagination.

They are rude to their customers.

They are difficult to contact.

They frequently fail to return promised phone calls.

Their products are nowhere near the quality that they used to produce.

Did I mention that, having told me that they had a fix for the problem I was experiencing, I visited with them for over an hour, only to be told that they had no fix? They wasted my time, and my resources, and I am still waiting on their apology!

That's not simply unprofessional - that's the mark of a bunch of cowboys!

They refuse to accept that a fundamental design fault that renders a portable largely useless (unusable in portable mode) is a flaw in the product.

They fail to recognise the value of a repeat customer. In so doing they will probably now lose a whole lot of customers.

I have previously been a champion of their products. If I ever see another ASUS product, it will be too soon, and at this stage, I am no longer able to recommend that anybody waste their money on an y product made by this mob of unprofessional ....

Come on Gary, tell us what you really think. Don't hold back.

http://www.dslrusers.com/viewtopic.php?p=319688#319688

I take it that was an update Gary? Not a favourable resolution from a company that should respect it's customers.

Maybe they are trying to lose customers and go broke for tax reasons.

Killakoala wrote:I take it that was an update Gary? Not a favourable resolution from a company that should respect it's customers.

Maybe they are trying to lose customers and go broke for tax reasons.

Steve,

Yes, an update.

I've been tryong for several weeks to get a satisfactory resolution.

Hell, I've been trying for several weeks to just get a callback - their primary phone is answered by an answering machine, with a message that basically seems to say "identify yourself, and if we feel like it, we'll get back to you."

Needless to say, nobody ever does.

But I'm a resourceful lad, and I have a number of means of ensuring that I can connect with the people I need to connect to.

When they finally get back to me, there's no apology for even the inconvenience to me - and the loss of money/time wasted in their offices waiting for them to just tell me to go away - and so, with that as their attitude, I feel duty-bound to let our members know of this.

They're in many ways similar to Maxwell in that they seem quite content to lose existing customers and the business that those customers may bring.

As you know, it's way more difficult to attract new business than it is to keep existing customers, and so this is just plain stupidity on their part.

Still, not my problem, except that I've got a near new ASUS laptop sitting at home that I feel totally pissed off about.

Off to the Fair Trading department next.

I've been having a similar problem too. Issue with an Asus laptop, filled out the online form to report the problem with the 'promise' of a responce within a couple of business days . . . that was about 2 - 3 months ago. Had to call about 3 times before i was able to get onto a human without waiting for 20+ minutes. i got better service than that for the Dell that i had previously (difficulty in understanding english / indian aside).

Gary,

gstark wrote:

norbs wrote:Macbook Pro.

Nice (I'm using one to write this message) but it's not going to suit my needs, being way too big.

We're talking 13" screens ......

I was fairly convinced to get the MacBook 13" model.

I have just recently gone over that decision, MacBook or MacBook Pro. In physical terms, the MacBook Pro will take up more area on your desk but not that much more. The MacBook Pro is thinner then the MacBook. The MacBook Pro is only 114g heavier or 5oz depending which one you prefer. The Pro has:

-better keyboard, back light in low light
-better screen
-chasis is aluminium, better feel to it
-can expand to 4Gb of memory
-better video card
-some other extras, but to me the above made the choice the MacBook Pro.

I was replacing an ageing Toshiba 12" laptop, which I had been very happy with.

sorry to hear about your bad experiences with ASUS and good luck in getting a satisfactory resolution,

If you go with a Mac, wait till Leopard is released in October, ie OS X 10.5, is released, then you get it pre-installed. Mind you, Adobe said not all their apps run on 10.5

cheers,

André

Hi Andre,

In the interim, I've bought myself a 13" MacBook, and I'm very happy with this box. I wanted the smaller/lighter system purely for portability purposes, and it handles portability far better than any windows notebook that I've used.

And there have been plenty, of many brands.

There some elements of elegant design, much of which you might expect from Apple, but until you own one you don't actually appreciate.

I've installed Fusion, and have a full XP installation available, and thus far - after two weeks - I've only experienced a couple of very minor issues.

And it runs Windows far better than the ASUS POS that I'm trying to return to its makers.

Been following this quite closely. I'm almost convinced to jump to the Apple side as well. It seems kinda odd to buy an Apple but mainly use it for Windows though.

Two Apple "events" have past... still no Santa Rosa 13" Macbook. Might head down to the nearest Apple store to check the size of the 15" Pro.

ASUS, you've lost another customer.

Ben

I have been using a 12inch Mac Powerbook for over 3 years...... This unit has been on lots of aeroplane rides and many K's in a motor car. I have not been very gentle with this unit, but it keeps on working...... the only problem which has been fixed in later models or an upgrade, is the harddrive is a tad small at 80gig....... I also carry an 80gig usb exterinal lacie brick when shooting for file storage....... would love the new 15 inch but the 12 inch just keeps working........

big pix wrote:the only problem which has been fixed in later models or an upgrade, is the harddrive is a tad small at 80gig

I bought the 120G model, and I expect to exhaust that in the medium term.

What I though was interesting is Apple's marketing of the two higher-end 13" macBooks ... the 120G model is white, and costs around PP1900. The 160G model is black, and costs around PP400 more.

And from my investigations, those are about the only two differences. Paying an extra PP400 for an extra 40G did not (and still does not) seem like good value to me.

Bloody marketing BS!

The factory upgrade in the smaller model costs less, but they told me it takes several weeks to "build".

I need to investigate, at some future time, the way to crack open a MacBook, so that I may install the appropriate upgrade within a reasonable timeframe and for a reasonable cost.

My last four or five laptops have all been of the larger screen variety, and while I love the extra real estate, I decided that for travel and use in the studio, the smaller screen might be the way to go.

In the studio, the smaller unit fits under a bench top, which makes it more usable.

And in a plane, the smaller screen means that it's easier to open despite the passenger in front of you reclining their seat. That's always been an issue for me.

And it seems to handle sleep mode way, way, way, way, way better than Windoze, which, quite frankly, doesn't.

Vodka wrote:Been following this quite closely. I'm almost convinced to jump to the Apple side as well. It seems kinda odd to buy an Apple but mainly use it for Windows though.

Two Apple "events" have past... still no Santa Rosa 13" Macbook. Might head down to the nearest Apple store to check the size of the 15" Pro.

ASUS, you've lost another customer.

Ben

”Apple's new 15-inch MacBook Pro. You know, Santa Rosa platform, LED backlighting, and new nVidia 8600M GT graphics.”

Quote from Engadget[/b]

Thanks Chris. I know the Macbook Pro range is already on Santa Rosa. I was hoping the 13" Macbooks will get the upgrade soon.

Anyway, if the 15" Pro isn't that much bigger/heavier than the 13", I might go for that instead. Big jump in price, but there's a lot more stuffed into the laptop.

Ben

gstark wrote:Bloody marketing BS!

don't you know that the CPU goes faster in a black case

I need to investigate, at some future time, the way to crack open a MacBook, so that I may install the appropriate upgrade within a reasonable timeframe and for a reasonable cost.

Pretty easy to do actually and the re-install is pretty straight forward as well. Plenty of info around for the DIY.

Sigma, Canon and now Apple, you are being adventurous

cheers,

André

radar wrote:

gstark wrote:Bloody marketing BS!

Sigma, Canon and now Apple, you are being adventurous

cheers,

André

....... what next...... Chardonnay on the front porch watching the sun set.....

gstark wrote:I need to investigate, at some future time, the way to crack open a MacBook, so that I may install the appropriate upgrade within a reasonable timeframe and for a reasonable cost.

This should be enough to get you started:

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/MacBoo ... ve_DIY.pdf

http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45292


--Chuan

big pix wrote:

radar wrote:

gstark wrote:Bloody marketing BS!

Sigma, Canon and now Apple, you are being adventurous

cheers,

André

....... what next...... Chardonnay on the front porch watching the sun set.....

Sounds like mid life crisis to me

Interestingly, as a frequent traveller, i also made the choice to buy a lightweight small form factor notebook as my 17" Toshiba was just too heavy. So i ended up buying a Dell XPS 1210 which has a 12" screen and an amazing battery life. It's the first Dell i've ever owned and i did have to think long and hard at getting one of that brand.

I just hope the battery doesn't catch fire and burn down the plane i am flying on.

Good luck with the Apple Gary.

hangdog wrote:This should be enough to get you started:

Indeed.

Along with the 250G drive I just bought for PP231.

Killakoala wrote:Good luck with the Apple Gary.

Thanx Steve.

It's already done its first trip - it accompanied me to HK, and was very easy to use in the plane.

Hell, I was even able to place it into a seat pocket before takeoff, so that I didn't have to grab a bag and find it after we were aloft.

gstark wrote:

hangdog wrote:This should be enough to get you started:

Indeed.

Along with the 250G drive I just bought for PP231.

And done, and very painlessly too.

gstark wrote:And done, and very painlessly too.

That's an advantage the MBs have over the MBPs: disk drives are very easy to replace.

Cheers
Steffen.

Steffen wrote:That's an advantage the MBs have over the MBPs: disk drives are very easy to replace.

Yes, but so much less power.

I just reviewed a Macbook Pro 17" and... want one... but I'll go the 15" and wait till January for the new models.

Nnnnsic wrote:

Steffen wrote:That's an advantage the MBs have over the MBPs: disk drives are very easy to replace.

Yes, but so much less power.

Haha, for sure! But so much less money, as well.

I just reviewed a Macbook Pro 17" and... want one... but I'll go the 15" and wait till January for the new models.

My wife's got one, and if I liked laptops I'd want one, too. But it's a fair number of screws you have to undo before you get to change the HDD.

That said, the disassembly procedure up to that point is trivial compared to ingenuity required to pop open a Fujitsu LifeBook...

Cheers
Steffen.