HEXUS.right2reply
Brian M. Joyce, Senior Vice President Alienware Europe got in touch and had this to say:Dear HEXUS staff and readership,
After speaking at length with Paul and David regarding this regrettable episode, I’d like to share with you Alienware’s position on the events and opinions surrounding it.
The first thing to note is that the review of PCs is not as simple as some might think, for either side. A great deal of effort is required to ensure that the reviewer’s requirements are met. This is important as, no matter how objective the reviewer or publication, there is an inherently subjective element to every review. In order to avoid misrepresentations, it is vital to manage both sides’ expectations correctly. Unfortunately, there were a series of miscues leading up to the review of the Area-51 7500, and the result was disappointing to Alienware. This prompted a review of our internal procedures with the objective of eliminating any such miscommunications in future. At no point was any decision made not to send further review systems to HEXUS.
Similarly, it is not now and has never been Alienware policy or practice to, “only submit products to publications which will write nice things about ‘Alienware’.” Any statement suggesting Alienware takes that type of approach is simply untrue. Alienware products and services stand on their own merit. Over 60% of our sales come from word of mouth through family or friends. That wouldn’t be the case if the product were consistently misrepresented.
HEXUS has an obvious and laudable commitment to journalistic integrity. Their dedication to the topic explains the somewhat emotional exchange following the comment that, “That was and remains Alienware's global marketing strategy from the beginning. We're hardly alone.” That comment was intended as a reference to the fact that any organisation’s objective is to represent its product in the best possible light, which, it is important to emphasise, is not mutually exclusive from representing products fairly and accurately.
Alienware sincerely regrets this miscommunication and the negative perceptions engendered by it for both Alienware and HEXUS. We are both committed to learning from this and look forward to further reviews of Alienware products on HEXUS
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