Customer support services update

[Smoggyuk]

Dear Customer

We would like to update you in relation to our current support situation and how we are dealing with our existing backlog of orders.

Firstly, we sincerely appreciate all the patience you are giving the team and hope you stick with us until we can resume normal service.

Since the Coronavirus outbreak we have seen a large increase in demand for our systems and due to this our support services have been stretched significantly. Due to this increase in demand it has been a challenging time, but we are working as hard as possible to clear our backlog and ensure that e-mails, webmails and phone calls are taken and appropriately responded to.

Right now, our e-mail response times have fallen far behind our usual target time but we are working hard to clear the backlog and respond to your queries. If you require immediate support it would be best to contact our support services by phone. The issue here is that our call times are also far longer than usual but rest assured we are working to reduce the wait times and give you the attention that you require.

If you are looking for email support, response times may not improve for another 2 weeks so please aim to avoid duplicates throughout this time as this will help us to recover our position. If an e-mail has been sent, it will be answered but will simply take longer than usual.

Our production team has also lost some ground over the Xmas period as orders have remained strong throughout, while production has been closed for bank holidays. Our focus is to catch up as quickly as possible to reduce our lead times while also ensuring the safety of our staff. The current time frame for most orders from order to dispatch is 4 weeks.

Please note - all NVIDIA 3000 orders and AMD 5000 orders are exempt from our automatic update system due to the shortage of these components and their unknown availability.

There is a global shortage on these products and we are pushing on a daily basis to secure as much stock as possible. We respect that some customers are confused about their position in the queue and how long they are expected to wait. It is difficult for us to provide an ETA as we have little visibility on how much stock we will receive until it is made available to us, as weekly allocations can vary between 0 units to hundreds, if pockets of stock free up. Due to this we are unable to provide an accurate ETA on these products but can assure you that all orders will be fulfilled by order date.

We plan to update customers directly regarding specific product shortages in further detail in the coming days.

We would like to thank you all for your patience and understanding of the current situation and the challenges that we are facing. It is a difficult time that has required a number of new processes as our support team gets used to working from a home environment. We are seeking new staff for all departments to improve on our current service level.

If you have recently placed an order with us we apologise for this drop in our usual standards and will do all we can to improve our position promptly. We value and appreciate your custom.

Take care and have a fantastic 2021.

 

[Smoggyuk]

I would also like to note that if you have received a build date from our automatic system that suggests March, please ignore this as it is an error. We are working on this to provide a more accurate automatic update service.

 

[Cobblers]

Ordered a new desktop on the 5th Jan, this morning I receive my first update email giving an indication as to when the process may be completed by. Today the order has gone into pre-production.

Just wanted to say I am pleased with the "automated" responses. Keep up the good work PCS.

 

[DeletedUser]

Thank you for providing the update @Ghosthud

Regarding phoning, it is a triple-edged sword for those without inclusive phone bills etc....a one hour queue hold costs around £9 (operator dependent of course...just what it cost me when I phoned in October)

 

[Smoggyuk]

Thank you for providing the update @Ghosthud

Regarding phoning, it is a triple-edged sword for those without inclusive phone bills etc....a one hour queue hold costs around £9 (operator dependent of course...just what it cost me when I phoned in October)

That is quite costly, and we apologise for any customers in this position, we wish we had an alternative method in place to support this type of situation, but we can only be as inclusive as our services allow. I am lucky to have these numbers included with my price plan and I could not imagine the shock of an increased phone bill at the end of the month.

The only comforting information I can provide is that PCSpecialist will not let a customer’s order go ignored, we have methods in place to phone a customer if changes need to be made to help progress it. Our call back system has been used regularly and we do have staff performing this task daily to keep customers in the loop if adjustments are required.

Ultimately all orders will be completed, but the unsurety for some comes directly from stock ETA and current chip shortages.

 

[Nivek]

I have a question if you don't mind about prioritising the older orders that have an AMD 5000 series CPU with one of the new GPUs (AMD RX 6000 series or Nvidia RTX 30 series).
Since it is unlikely that both of these (CPU + GPU combo) would be in stock at the same time, are you "allocating" a CPU/GPU to the oldest orders so that they can progress more quickly?
For example, my order - a 5900X with a RX 6800 XT (ordered both on launch day) - Would lets say a 5900 X be "allocated" to my order so that once the 6800 XT comes back in stock my order could go straight into building, or vice versa?

Or is it the case that once you get the 5900X's in stock they are immediately assigned to the oldest orders which have all other components currently in stock?
My concern with this approach is that there is a big element of luck involved in that both the CPU & GPU need to come into stock at the same time for it to progress to building.

 

[Harag]

I have a question if you don't mind about prioritising the older orders that have an AMD 5000 series CPU with one of the new GPUs (AMD RX 6000 series or Nvidia RTX 30 series).
Since it is unlikely that both of these (CPU + GPU combo) would be in stock at the same time, are you "allocating" a CPU/GPU to the oldest orders so that they can progress more quickly?
For example, my order - a 5900X with a RX 6800 XT (ordered both on launch day) - Would lets say a 5900 X be "allocated" to my order so that once the 6800 XT comes back in stock my order could go straight into building, or vice versa?

Or is it the case that once you get the 5900X's in stock they are immediately assigned to the oldest orders which have all other components currently in stock?
My concern with this approach is that there is a big element of luck involved in that both the CPU & GPU need to come into stock at the same time for it to progress to building.

First, thanks for the update @Ghosthud, much appreciated.

I too was wondering the above, as I ordered 5900x and a 3080 end of Nov when my gaming pc died, It makes sense to do orders where the order is just one of those items, but that can lead to my order being well delayed because the 5900x was put in another order, then stock of 3080 come in, they will be no 5900x for me, so I'll have to wait longer, in the mean time the 3080 stock is going on other orders. Catch 22!

I know how difficult that must be, personally I'm happy to wait a month or 2 longer because it's a machine I want to last me 5+ years.

 

[Bhuna50]

That is quite costly, and we apologise for any customers in this position, we wish we had an alternative method in place to support this type of situation, but we can only be as inclusive as our services allow. I am lucky to have these numbers included with my price plan and I could not imagine the shock of an increased phone bill at the end of the month.

The only comforting information I can provide is that PCSpecialist will not let a customer’s order go ignored, we have methods in place to phone a customer if changes need to be made to help progress it. Our call back system has been used regularly and we do have staff performing this task daily to keep customers in the loop if adjustments are required.

Ultimately all orders will be completed, but the unsurety for some comes directly from stock ETA and current chip shortages.

Great to see some updates on this and PCS position.

@Nursemorph is right regarding phone plans and also even those with it included (such as Virgin Media landlines) have a limit of 60 minutes per 'free' minutes call then it starts charging.

Is it possible that if someone has waited the hour that an opportunity is given for them to leave their name and number for a call back but it maintains their point in the queue so the call come back when it would have been answered? (just a suggestion to look into as I know some companies phone systems allow this).

 

[ubuysa]

Note to all: I've deleted some off topic posts (related to phone calling rates etc.) because we need to keep this thread strictly on topic, partly because it's a sticky (and they need to stay on topic) but also because it contains some very useful PCS Customer Care information.

Please stay strictly on-topic in this thread.

 

[GreyDog]

I appreciate the update regarding the position on the 3000/5000 series, but as a consumer the lack of transparency related to my "own" order causes me concern.
I have been in pre production 47 days and would appreciate "more information" relating to my order to enable me to make informed decisions on either keeping my order placed or cancelling it.

Happy to discuss via DM in private

 

[ubuysa]

I appreciate the update regarding the position on the 3000/5000 series, but as a consumer the lack of transparency related to my "own" order causes me concern.
I have been in pre production 47 days and would appreciate "more information" relating to my order to enable me to make informed decisions on either keeping my order placed or cancelling it.

Happy to discuss via DM in private

This point has been raised many times before in other threads and there is little point in raising it again here. @Ghosthud has explained the situation very well in his postings here and elsewhere.

 

[GreyDog]

I appreciate the update regarding the position on the 3000/5000 series, but as a consumer the lack of transparency related to my "own" order causes me concern.
I have been in pre production 47 days and would appreciate "more information" relating to my order to enable me to make informed decisions on either keeping my order placed or cancelling it.

Happy to discuss via DM in private

I would like to add here that I have received communication from PCS and whilst it does not give me a queue number or date, it does allow me to make a more informed decision about my order, thank you to the staff of PCS for responding.

 

[Cobblers]

I received two update email today, both essentially saying the same thing. First one didn't include a potential build date estimate, the second one did though. Not sure whether the two were needed, all I want to know is whether the estimated build time will get longer or shorter.

Only saying for future consideration.

 

[Citrus_9]

I received two update email today, both essentially saying the same thing. First one didn't include a potential build date estimate, the second one did though. Not sure whether the two were needed, all I want to know is whether the estimated build time will get longer or shorter.

Only saying for future consideration.

Not getting notification - don't like. Getting notifications - don't like.

Seriously, things are changing so quickly, that neither PCS, nor their supplier know the time frames. So what's the point in doing magic and guessing?

About two notifications - I could guess that it may have been the last minute's decision - to include some estimated date. No harm in two emails and ridiculous even complain (or even mention) about it, knowing how challenging business are living these days. There too many things changing at the same time - hard to adopt so quickly.

So, please, sit down and wait like other good boys and girls. Read books, watch movies to kill the waiting time and you won't notice when your pc arrive! Better than looking through the window all day every day, waiting for a delivery van to stop by your house

 

[Cobblers]

Citrus, so we don't take this thread off topic I'll send you a DM instead.

 

[ubuysa]

Citrus, so we don't take this thread off topic I'll send you a DM instead.

Thanks for that. As this is a sticky thread (because it contains useful information) please be sure to stay on topic.

 

[LJP]

Is there a way to find out what position in the queue you are to receive your specific part (for me 3070 & 3600XT), and receive an update once our position has been updated?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Is there a way to find out what position in the queue you are to receive your specific part (for me 3070 & 3600XT), and receive an update once our position has been updated?

No, please read through the stickies on the forum. You will receive updates when your build goes into the build stage and beyond.

 

[ubuysa]

I've just deleted a whole bunch of off-topic posts. We can't have sticky threads like this being filled by 'when will I get my build' questions. Since my earlier pleas to stay on topic have largely been ignored I am locking this thread.

 

[Smoggyuk]

Unfortunately, I have not been active on the forums recently. We are being hit extremely hard with the incoming workload.

My official job description does not include looking after the forums, but I thought I would take time out of my shift to help with customers. This is because I do really care for the customers that are stuck not knowing what is happening with their orders.

At the same time, I would like to stress that the NVIDIA 3000 series situation is bad. It has always been bad, and we are still receiving customer complaints and request for queue positions when this has explicitly been denied in the past.

I do want to take the time to appreciate the customers that have kept their orders and appreciated all communications that we can provide. We have sent a larger format email over the last couple of weeks giving customers the rundown of the situation and with bullet pointed solutions included.

It is a tough pill to swallow knowing that a lot of you have thousands of pounds sitting on orders that have no specific ETA. I could not imagine doing that myself and it is why I am also waiting for 2H 2021. With Intel prepping Alder Lake, it is going to get interesting.

PCSpecialist WILL communicate when suppliers provide arrival ETAs for components. For now, we are still in the same position as manufactures cannot keep up with demand. This causes most stock to be paper based and ordered on the assumption that they can eventually fulfil demands. This is the same everywhere across the UK and of course the globe.

Again, your time will come. We cannot explicitly tell you when this will happen, but we will surely provide the typical build, testing and dispatch dates for your order when available.

PCSpecialist do not see the benefit of many of our competitors as we solely operate as an outfitter. We have many logistical hurdles and an overseeing production queue that ultimately decides when a machine is built. If you order from a component reseller, they have a much easier time focusing on providing queue information, this is because it is a singular item with a singular order date. They can provide estimates based off this knowing that minimal interference will occur as they do not have to factor in many other important components to complete an order.

I am starting to sound like a broken record, but this is the situation we are in. We cannot change the process and we cannot offer queue positions for items that DO NOT have an ETA.

Take care everyone and we appreicate all the support you are giving us.