Thinkpads Forum

I sent my malfunctioning T60 to EZ Serv rather than use carry-in. Bad choice - not that there are many good choices.

The problems: two, and minor. Malfunctioning optical drive (not showing up in 'My Computer'; uninstalling and rebooting in Device Manager - no go, removing and replacing, ditto.) And - a little worse than cosmetic - a strange discoloration / opacity on the LCD bezel near the top of the screen (LCD itself seems ok).

The thing made the complete circuit in 48 hours. According to the 'Repair Action Report', the system board was replaced, ditto the optical drive and the front bezel.

Not!

Bezel is the same bezel, easily recognizable. Optical drive still not recognized by system (a 'new hardware' message popped up, and sputtered out. The FRU is dated August 2007; since the T60 itself was purchased in 2006 - ok, it's a 'different' one, if not a 'new' one.

Apparently, no one tests to make sure problems are FIXED before sending back to customer?!

The kindly and smart EZ Serv customer support person I called agreed that this is unacceptable, noting that the technicians currently being hired are, essentially, recent grads of proprietary trade schools who can follow simple instructions, but cannot execute any repair requiring a moment of critical thinking. Apparently, they do not check to make sure problems are resolved before shipping back, and falsify the repair sheets. As for the system board, he noted that - that's just SOP, a catch-all solution; actual diagnostics are beyond them. Assuming there was nothing wrong with my original system board, I'm just hoping that quality of the replacement is not inferior to what they took out. This 2010, and this is ... the new Lenovo.

The customer service rep is sending me an optical drive and an LCD bezel; I'll take them to an authorized repair place and hope for the best. (I'll first try installing the drive myself, but I suspect it's something other than the drive itself or system board.)

Problem number two: When I purchased this machine in April, 2006, I shelled out $288 for a 4 year Thinkpad Protection extended warranty with carry-in service; according to Lenovo, this expires...in 2009. I'm not good at math, but. The customer service guy said that this happens all the time - and that what will happen should I need service after April 2009 is that an 'entitlement' will be requested.

I apologize for the rant, but - I'm really shocked, shocked.

That's unfortunate. I think most of the experiences with EZ-serve are good (certainly mine were). And I don't know what the Customer Service guy is saying - "falsifying records"? I think he was a nut-job! Search for Mark_Lenovo on this forum or on the Lenovo Thinkpads forum - PM him and explain the warranty issue to him. He will want records to support the warranty expiration date but they will fix this - it's a slow process, though - be patient!

sktn77a wrote:That's unfortunate. I think most of the experiences with EZ-serve are good (certainly mine were). And I don't know what the Customer Service guy is saying - "falsifying records"? I think he was a nut-job! Search for Mark_Lenovo on this forum or on the Lenovo Thinkpads forum - PM him and explain the warranty issue to him. He will want records to support the warranty expiration date but they will fix this - it's a slow process, though - be patient!

Thank you, Thinkpadder! No, the 'falsifying of the repair sheet' was simply - a fact. That was me talking. The repair sheet indicated repairs made that were not (eg, replacement of LCD bezel. eg, nothing was actually working!).

I was able to boot from PC Doctor CD I'd made for another problem - using the optical drive, of course. Don't know what that means. But - I'd heard wonderful things about EZ serv - as well as nightmare tales. I think that when you are a 'known quantity' to them -eg, a business client, or in the business of repairing these machines yourself - you get better treatment?

Anyway, I will query Mark_Lenovo, thanks for the tip. And - sorry for the rant. Again!

sktn77a wrote: Search for Mark_Lenovo on this forum or on the Lenovo Thinkpads forum - PM him and explain the warranty issue to him. He will want records to support the warranty expiration date but they will fix this - it's a slow process, though - be patient!

One more question: how do I find Mark_Lenovo - just find him on another post and pm him?

Sorry for the dumb question - I'm new to this stuff.

andrea b. wrote:One more question: how do I find Mark_Lenovo - just find him on another post and pm him?

Basically, yes -> http://forum.thinkpads.com/memberlist.p ... up&g=15027

Good luck

Marin

If you can boot to the PC Doctor cd can you run a test on the optical drive and motherboard from there? Do they pass? If so it sounds like windows is broken. I would check this before contacting Mark.

Another thought on the warranty. Thinkpad warranties start on the DAY OF MANUFACTURE, not the date you get it. Did you buy the thinkpad new from IBM or from an IBM reseller? If it had been sitting in stock for several months, that could explain the difference. Either way, you'll need the original invoice/proof of purchase for the "entitlement" department" (I went through this a year-or-so ago).

sktn77a wrote:Thinkpad warranties start on the DAY OF MANUFACTURE, not the date you get it.

For ThinkPads purchased directly, e.g. online, Lenovo is supposed to update their records to reflect the shipped date. It usually takes a week or so for this to propagate out to their online warranty lookup page. I don't know if resellers can (and do!) go through some similar process to update warranty dates to reflect the sold date. In any case, as you say, the original invoice is more authoritative than what the website may say.

carbon_unit wrote:If you can boot to the PC Doctor cd can you run a test on the optical drive and motherboard from there? Do they pass? If so it sounds like windows is broken. I would check this before contacting Mark.

Yes, it did pass. Windows may indeed be broken. I'm not very sophisticated about this stuff (well. troubleshooting the range of things this machine has shot at me has given me a degree of savvy.)

If this is so - what then? Use Rescue and Recovery? Wipe disk? All of my important data is backed up to an external HD, although I don't have backup disks per se.

Thanks so much for your input - I really appreciate this!

sktn77a wrote:Another thought on the warranty. Thinkpad warranties start on the DAY OF MANUFACTURE, not the date you get it. Did you buy the thinkpad new from IBM or from an IBM reseller? If it had been sitting in stock for several months, that could explain the difference. Either way, you'll need the original invoice/proof of purchase for the "entitlement" department" (I went through this a year-or-so ago).

Yes, I bought it new directly from IBM. I just wish that the actual date of expiry had been made clear to me at the time of purchase. Most folks paying for a product of this description ('4 year') would assume it's from date of purchase. I've got all the original stuff, and Mark@Lenovo has kindly offered to help.

Thanks for your input!

Andrea

Excellent! Hopefully this will restore your faith in the Thinkpad.

Yeah, If you have proof of purchase they will change the warranty to reflect the actual purchase date.
If you have all you data backed up go ahead and restore it using the onboard restore. Press The Thinkvantage button at bootup and restore to factory condition. It will reboot several times and when it is done you will see the blue windows screen asking you to setup your account.
After you are finished make a set of restore discs. As messed up as windows is now you may not be able to make a set but you could try. Look under Start/All Programs/Thinkvantage/Create recovery set.

Thanks for all this info - sigh. It's Linux for me next time. Maybe next week. I'm ready now.

Most unnerving - the LCD came back with THREE clumps of dead pixels! (Well. One clump of dead ones; the other two may be stuck.) I work a great deal with photographs, so I scan my screen religiously; it was clean when I shipped it out! Wondering if they'll go ahead and give me a new LCD - and bezel, of course. I've really had it.

Did you get the warranty period questions straightened out?

Just some additional input: The EZserv folks are not run by Lenovo. They're subcontracted by Lenovo to do the repair work and are used by many other computer vendors as well. http://www.flextronics.com/en/default.aspx

Here's my take on EZ Serv. I've used them from time to time over the many years I have been a ThinkPad user. The majority of my experiences have been very good. One of them was incredibly impressive and one was terrible. I believe that overall they are an excellent organization. And yet they are only as good as the particular technician that works on your computer. The technician can only do what he or she is given the time to do, and supplied with the appropriate parts. If the technicians are being pushed to meet certain time deadlines per job. If the parts they need are not readily available, then there ability is limited. If you get a new tech that has little experience, then the result will be no better than a highly skilled technician that may be careless. Thus as you can imagine there a lot of variables that govern your experience. When everything is operating property within the facility then you get a good repair that fixes the problem. The computer is properly cleaned up and packaged for a safe return back to you. While much of this is obvious to us all, too often is it not taken into consideration. And while one bad experience is too many, unfortunately that is how it goes whenever we are dealing with any service organization. Much like returning your brand new BMW for a warranty repair, only to have them gouge and rip the leather seat because the technician mistakenly left a screwdriver in his hip pocket. I'm not defending EZ Serv, but rather sharing some thoughts about warranty service in general and how easy it is for us to judge or condemn a company based on one bad experience.
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Over the same decade of time I've used ThinkPads exclusively as my main work laptop of choice, I've also purchased many other makes and models. Nearly everything available. Suffice to say that my experiences with those other companies warranty service has been far less as competent as that of EZ serv. Even the much hyped Apple Inc. From whom I've purchased over ten PowerBooks / MacBook Pros, has only provided marginal service at best. So that's my take for whatever its worth.
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Cheers

@ andrea b.

Perhaps an e-mail to Sam is in order. I went this route and received prompt, courteous attention for my X60T that EasyServ mangled and tried to claim was properly repaired. My X60T is currently in Morrisville, NC being repaired, so I've not yet received it back, but I've every confidence those handling this issue will ensure my satisfaction. Be sure to provide whatever case numbers, etc, that you have, and calmly and clearly explain the situation. Angry as I was, I remained calm and composed, though it was difficult to do, given the demonstrated incompetence of EasyServ's technician(s). In my case, someone contacted me the same day I sent the message.

Sorry for your trouble.

Huh........ Sam Palmisano of IBM actually responded to an issue relating to Lenovo products? That's interesting!

sktn77a wrote:Huh........ Sam Palmisano of IBM actually responded to an issue relating to Lenovo products? That's interesting!

sktn77a,

Someone from Mr. Palmisano's office contacted me regarding repair issues with my X60T. I also contacted Mr. Mark Hopkins who, as andrea b. mentioned, is very kind and helpful. I must say I didn't expect any sort of response, but have been very impressed with the attention to detail and service I've received thus far. Bear in mind the tablet is still at Lenovo offices, but as I said, I'm confident all will be repaired satisfactorily.

Cheers,
~tdr.

archer6 wrote:And while one bad experience is too many, unfortunately that is how it goes whenever we are dealing with any service organization.

Many years ago (in the 1980s IIRC) IBM ran a full page print ad that asked, in large type, paraphrased as I remember it: "If only one in a million of your product is defective, what do you say to the one customer who got the defective product?" Every product manufacturer and service provider needs to ask themselves that question every day.

sktn77a wrote:Huh........ Sam Palmisano of IBM actually responded to an issue relating to Lenovo products? That's interesting!

I'm not surprised. Sam's people helped me resolve an issue back in the days when IBM owned the PC division. IBM is still associated with ThinkPads to this day even if they no longer own the division. Indeed even now as an IBM shareholder I still get Lenovo flyers in my quarterly mailings that offer me ThinkPads and IdeaPads at discounted prices. If I had an issue with a ThinkPad that needed escalation I would still e-mail Sam's office for help. I'd be sure to emphasize that even if IBM no longer owns the business, it's still their name and reputation for product quality and customer service excellence that are associated with the ThinkPad brand. I'm confident that they'd intervene in order to protect that reputation from any possible debasement by Lenovo.

You didn't state what OS you are using, but the loss of the optical drive is on ongoing issue with Vista and happens sometimes in XP after a Service Pack install or an upgrade install. I went through an exchange with Lenovo for a new optical drive and was miffed when it still wasn't recognized by Vista. I found a solution that worked, at least for me. The following registry entries cured the problem and I've not lost my optical drive since. Copy the following into Notepad, with word wrap turned off. Save it as CD.reg and then merge it with your registry. Your results may vary, but as I said, it worked for me. And please remember all the correct precautions when modifying your registry. Create a restore point before you proceed. Good luck.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

;Fixes issues with cdrom drives not working properly

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}]
"UpperFilters"=-
"LowerFilters"=-

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}]
"UpperFilters"=-
"LowerFilters"=-

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet003\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}]
"UpperFilters"=-
"LowerFilters"=-

andrea b. wrote:I sent my malfunctioning T60 to EZ Serv rather than use carry-in. Bad choice - not that there are many good choices.

Apparently, no one tests to make sure problems are FIXED before sending back to customer?!

The kindly and smart EZ Serv customer support person I called agreed that this is unacceptable, noting that the technicians currently being hired are, essentially, recent grads of proprietary trade schools who can follow simple instructions, but cannot execute any repair requiring a moment of critical thinking. Apparently, they do not check to make sure problems are resolved before shipping back, and falsify the repair sheets. As for the system board, he noted that - that's just SOP, a catch-all solution; actual diagnostics are beyond them. Assuming there was nothing wrong with my original system board, I'm just hoping that quality of the replacement is not inferior to what they took out. This 2010, and this is ... the new Lenovo.

The customer service rep is sending me an optical drive and an LCD bezel; I'll take them to an authorized repair place and hope for the best. (I'll first try installing the drive myself, but I suspect it's something other than the drive itself or system board.)

Problem number two: When I purchased this machine in April, 2006, I shelled out $288 for a 4 year Thinkpad Protection extended warranty with carry-in service; according to Lenovo, this expires...in 2009. I'm not good at math, but. The customer service guy said that this happens all the time - and that what will happen should I need service after April 2009 is that an 'entitlement' will be requested.

I apologize for the rant, but - I'm really shocked, shocked.

That's really unfortunate. I have also had no problems with those guys personally and also haven't heard anything from friends. I hope that in this case this exception proves the rule!