FN-FORUM: Aria Technology .........

date posted 18th August 2003 17:19

"Heads Up"

I recently had to purchase the various 'parts' for a new PC and,
following a recommendation on the list a couple of months or so ago, I
had a look at Aria Technology (http://www.aria.co.uk).

I ordered a fair amount of stuff from them and felt it may be useful to
give some feedback to the folks on the list :

In their favour :

1. Prices seem pretty good - I found a couple of items cheaper
elsewhere, but overall I don't think I could've got a much better deal.

2. Delivery of the orders I placed was prompt - arrived mid-morning the
next day

3. Their hot deals (change regularly) are pretty interesting, but need
to be grabbed promptly - a couple of the items I wanted were hot deals
one day, and then when I got to placing my order, they weren't any more!

To their detriment :

1. I placed my order over the 'phone as I wanted some technical
'reassurance' that I was ordering the right things. I asked the guy if
the heat sink/fan I'd chosen was suitable. He assured me it was. In
actual fact I didn't need it as I'd ordered a P4 processor that came
with it's own custom heat sink & fan. I had to return this item which,
had it not been for (2) below, would've cost me money!

2. The case I ordered had several faults, most of which didn't become
apparent until most of the kit had been installed. To their credit they
agreed to replace the case the next day, but insisted that the faulty
one had to be collected at the same time - this meant I couldn't take
things out of the faulty case and slap them straight into the new one
(being a non-technical type person I'd have preferred to 'mirror' the
changeover).

3. The second case that was delivered also had a fault - once again,
this didn't become apparent until I'd re-built the wretched thing! The
drive bay door lock is faulty. Aria's initial solution was to send me
another case ..... NOT! After some pressure they agreed to let me have
a replacement door, but only after they received the faulty one back.
No matter how much I complained, they would not budge. They agreed they
would cover the carriage cost of the return, but were resolute in not
sending the replacement door out first and collecting the faulty one at
the same time. I spoke to their Sales department and told them they'd
get no more orders from me if they didn't see sense, but they claimed to
have no influence over customer support. I asked to speak to the Sales
Manager, and apparently they don't have one and the MD is filling this
role - and he doesn't take telephone calls. The Customer Services
Manager wasn't available and "wouldn't talk to me even if he was".

I did actually manage to repair the lock to the extent that it sort of
works - it's not ideal but it's a lot less hassle than removing the
door, trekking to the Post Office, sitting with a semi-naked PC for a
week and then attaching another door (the door has wiring into the main
chassis so it's not a straightforward process).

So, I'm not impressed with Aria's post-sales support - not so much the
fact that they won't remedy problems, but the fact that they take such a
short-sighted attitude towards customer care.

Rant over .... I'd be interested though to learn if anyone else has had
good or bad experiences

Kerry