Unsatisfied customer

[neo21]

Hi Everyone,

this is a typical "unsatisfied customer" kind of thread, but the story is as true as it is sad thus I would like to share my experience with future Lenovo.com customers.
I am a thinkpad user for quite some time now. Started with my beloved x21 that is still working as a home server. So I naturally fell in love with the new x220. For
the first time in my thinkpad history I ordered a custom configured x220 (although pretty ordinary configuration) directly on Lenovo.com...and that was not a good idea.

When I ordered the x220 the delivery time was stated with "within 8 business days". But when I checked the order status on the next day, it was estimated to ship almost
4 weeks later! Thus I called the hotline and the person told me that they don't know when it will ship and that I should check the order status in 2 days. He said I can
then cancel the order if I want to...and that statement cost me 200 USD!

Lucky me, I had the possibility to buy a x220 in the meantime...which I did, because the expected shipping date of my Lenovo.com order was to far ahead. At that point
I would already be on a business trip abroad and I wanted to use the x220 on that trip. Now, just 3 days after the original order on the very day the hotline guy told me
to check the order status and eventually cancel it if I like...I tried to cancel it...the guy told me it would be able to do it, right? Wrong! Because within 2 days the expected
shipping date changed again. From "more than 3 weeks" to...now...and what the friendly hotline did not bother to tell me was that as soon as the status of an order changes
to "shipped" you won't be able to cancel it anymore...and you will have to pay 15% of the original order value (in my case 200USD)...

So I was upset but thought we are reasonable grown ups and will surely find a solution...Wrong again. Talking to the Lenovo hotline was very stressful. You get the feeling
you are talking with an human answering machine: the hotline personnel continues to repeat the same phrases all over again, regardless to whom you actually talk to. They
all literally read standard answers from the same manual...leading to Kafkaesque dialogs and unnatural awkward conversations.

Long story short: No one was entitled or authorized to find a fair solution for a mishap thats based on a misunderstanding. I would say nobody was willing to show some
kindness and goodwill to keep a long term customer satisfied...they just don't care...at all. This never happened to me in my whole tech life. If you are spending
thousands of dollars year after year for a premium product, that really delivers, then I guess you can expect a similar level of quality on service...customer service!
...technical service is good...had the chance to test that a couple of times
The result of this whole affair is that a long term customer feels ripped off...just to get some 200 bucks...not a good deal for Lenovo in my opinion.

Was I naive to rely on the statement done on my first call, that I will be able to cancel the order within the next 2 days? Absolutely. Could I have checked the terms of
services more closely and thought of a scenario where a delayed shipping date thats more than 3 weeks ahead can be speed up to under 4 days? Maybe. Was I too
eager to get my x220 asap and rushed into a 2nd buy before canceling the original order? Probably.
But a professional customer relationship management would have at least tried to talk like a human being and stopped this mechanic turk approach. The total unwillingness
to not only find a more suitable solution but to actually discuss the affair just showed me that they a) are looking for one time customers and have no clue about the concept
of customer life time value c) that they don't care about false statements made by their own personnel and d) that their hotline and complaint management is just unprofessional
and not on par with their great products.

If I had bought the same machine on Amazon, I would have got a reliable shipping date from day one and cancelling my order would not have included a fee that is based
on the order's total value...it would have saved me a 200 USD...and thats what I am going to do again...not ordering at Lenovo.com but on a trusted retailer website that
knows something about customer support...thanks for listening

Admin message: Loaded poll disabled

[neo21]

@admin

why did you change this title of this thread from "bad hotline" to "unsatisfied customer"??

Admin: You explicitly said 'this is a typical "unsatisfied customer" kind of thread'

I am not an unsatisfied thinkpad user. My issue is the horrid lenovo.com hotline and the really
bad experience I had with it...

And you also disabled the small poll on how other users rate their experience with the lenovo.com
hotline...weird

Admin: While Thinkpads.com tolerates (to at least some extent) users yellling FIRE in the forum, it does not tolerate a user spreading accelerant at the same time. See the Forum Rules of the Road #2.

[dr_st]

Try talking to Mark_Lenovo on the Lenovo forums (forums.lenovo.com). He may be able to help.

[elray]

Lenovo fulfillment is legend for inaccurate shipping info. They don't seem to be concerned.

My last order was received long before I was notified of the shipping delay that didn't happen. Good for a laugh, but I will never order direct from Lenovo if I can't afford the wait or the uncertainty - better to spend a bit more and go through Amazon, Provantage, or other known resellers.

[neo21]

@elray

Wish I knew that before placing my order

But since it seems to happen occasionally I think it is good to state this here publically, thus potential buyers
can make a better decision where to buy their Thinkpads...

[dsvochak]

The lesson to be learned is not that Lenovo has poor customer service. The lesson is: if you only want one machine, don’t order the second before you’ve cancelled the first.

[dr_st]

The lesson to be learned is not that Lenovo has poor customer service. The lesson is: if you only want one machine, don’t order the second before you’ve cancelled the first.

Both lessons are equally valid, and in fact the first one to me seems more relevant.

[ZaZ]

I would add this is a part of just in time manufacturing. They estimate when they're going to build your machines when you order your notebook, but all that means it's their best guess. As parts come in they build units. If your parts come in earlier than expected, then your machine gets built. If not, it gets delayed. One of the benefits of JIT is it allows Lenovo and others to offer much better pricing, but it makes for a more less exacting process. I wish I was so lucky. I ordered the first day and it doesn't look like I'm going to get mine until June at the earliest. I prefer the lower prices and don't mind waiting a couple months.

[dr_st]

I can totally see your point, Fred, and you are likely right. However, I believe the OP's frustration is caused by the abysmal customer service experience and not by the inconsistent shipping date itself.

[neo21]

The lesson to learn is that Lenovo.com customer service is subpar...at least relating to my standards and what I am used to...and that Lenovo's shipping date estimates can change from "4 weeks" to "4 days" within 72h...