Thinkpads Forum

Anybody recently order X61s?

I have placed order X61s Feb/27.

But I'm still waiting.

I called their support center several times, they always say "we will ship in XX days"

Today, they said again "We will ship it within this week".

I was so angry... and said "You guys always lie to me, I can't believe Lenovo at all"

"We didn't lie anything. The day we said is just estimated date, not actual date" said Lenovo..

Then I, "So.. you are not sure that the laptop will be shiped with in this week. Today is already Thursday afternoon, even Friday for China where your factory is located"

"We are sorry but we are not sure.."

God! They are doing business as like small companies.

If anybody wating the laptop, do not believe their word..

justice37 wrote:Anybody recently order X61s?

I have placed order X61s Feb/27.

But I'm still waiting.

I called their support center several times, they always say "we will ship in XX days"

Today, they said again "We will ship it within this week".

I was so angry... and said "You guys always lie to me, I can't believe Lenovo at all"

"We didn't lie anything. The day we said is just estimated date, not actual date" said Lenovo..

Then I, "So.. you are not sure that the laptop will be shiped with in this week. Today is already Thursday afternoon, even Friday for China where your factory is located"

"We are sorry but we are not sure.."

God! They are doing business as like small companies.

If anybody wating the laptop, do not believe their word..

Lenovo's order fulfillment has become so bad lately that nothing anyone there tells you (nor what you see on the order status link they may or may not send you) can be believed.

I don't think that any of these people are intentionally lying to you. The problem is that it is impossible for any of the people you can reach by phone, to find out the real story. They have access to several computer systems that purport to give information on customer orders, but none of the "information" these systems give is accurate. The telephone reps are telling you what they see, but what they see on their screens is not reality.

I have 3 pending orders with Lenovo, and am getting ready to cancel all three of them within a day or two. Each and every order has had shipping days come and go, then changed without even the courtesy of an email or other contact. Many hours spent on the phone with their people on every continent I'm aware of (save Antarctica and Oceania) has yielded exactly ZERO reliable information. None of the tens of people I've spoken to has followed through on a single thing they have promised (or at least there is no evidence of that).

If you really want that X61s, my suggestion would be to try ebay. Or better yet, have a look at the offerings of other manufacturers that have a higher standard of customer service.

Lenovo appears to have shipped my X61s today, 10 days or so later than their original "estimated ship date."

I still have 2 outlet machines that are lost in the Lenovo ether, both confirmed orders whose ship dates have been changed (one of them several times). No one at Lenovo has any idea where these machines are, if they exist, if or when either will ever be shipped to me. Actually, they quote the online shipping status date, but when pressed say they have no further information.

The last 4 orders I have placed with Lenovo (including these 3 recent ones) have all been screwed up one way or another, and it appears that 2/4 will probably never be delivered.

ken

Ken Fox wrote:Lenovo appears to have shipped my X61s today

ken

I ordered an X61s on March 2nd and finally got an email shipping confirmation from Lenovo.com on Friday 3/27 also.

It says tracking information will be available within 24 hours of Friday. But today Sunday, I have clicked on the track shipment link, a window pops up with the message "Sorry. There is no tracking information available for this order."

Have you received any tracking information/number yet?

My X61s Order/Delivery History:

3/2 - Initiated order on website. It kept saying 'delivery w/in 9 business days', until the checkout when it gave a ship date of 4/9.
3/26 - Received email saying it had shipped and tracking would be available in 24 hours.
3/30 - Called Lenovo and got UPS tracking number from them.

So apparently Lenovo sends them out in batches. The batch of laptops w/ my order in it has an origin scan date of 3/27. However, it is currently delayed in China due to UPS exception from the volcano eruption in Alaska. I know Alaska is a transhipment point from the far east countries to the US.

At least UPS has it now and hopefully they will get it stateside ASAP.

The UPS person said it had an original delivery date set for 4/2 when it entered the UPS system and she said they will still try to meet that date even w/ this natural disaster delay.

With this order, it seems they were able to ship it in 18 or 19 business days instead of 9. I consider my self very fortunate after reading some other messages. This was for a 'stock' system, no options were changed on the order page presented to me for the X61s. The only thing added was Bluetooth.

Good luck to those also waiting.

Well, here's an update on my 3 orders, 2 of which came from the outlet, all for X61s:

#1: Outlet order placed around 3/9, confirmed by email sent 3/13/09 to an old and extinct email address of mine (not the one I used when placing the order, but one they got from some old dormant acct. I had with Lenovo I'd long since forgotten). With some sleuthing I found the acct. #, order #, and then the order confirmation. Initial ship date stated to be 3/17, which was then changed to 3/20, then 3/26, and then 4/1. Made about 15 or 20 calls to Lenovo, wasted many hours on the phone with people all around the world. Today, 3/30, finally found a Lenovo sales rep who was patient and helpful (1/20 not too bad for Lenovo personnel, actually). With some sleuthing she found a UPS tracking number for the system. She found this out by going through a system not used to track orders, but that associated system serial numbers with UPS tracking numbers, used for some other purpose by Lenovo and not generally accessible by sales and customer service people. The only problem was that they shipped the system 3/10 to someone named Luis in NYC, who signed for it, end of story. Bottom line: System was sold to someone else before I ordered it but they confirmed my order anyway, and kept advancing the ship date since they couldn't locate the system or ship it to me. No one from Lenovo ever made the slightest attempt to contact me regarding this order at any time during the 3 week period that the order was in Lenovo Limbo. It took 20 Lenovo personnel, and my own persistence over more than 2 weeks to establish this simple fact, that the system would NEVER ship to me because someone else had already bought and received it. Only reason I even wanted the system was that it had the now extinct Ultralight screen on it.

#2: Another Outlet system with Ultralight screen: Order placed around 3/14, confirmed 3/19, in Lenovo Limbo for days but finally after making a lot of noise over many phone calls, they shipped it. It shipped (supposedly) 3/27, but they have no tracking number and the person I spoke with today said that UPS had some problem with verification of my shipping address. She could not, however, give me a tracking number, and suggested I call UPS and see if they could find it (the package) to correct whatever the shipping address problem was coming from Lenovo. Called UPS and of course they can't do squat on a shipment if there is no tracking number. Hopefully, the system will arrive anyway.

#3: New CTO X61s from China, caught up in delay over Alaska Volcano, per post above. Order confirmed 3/7, shipment delayed several times, then finally "shipped" 3/27 but no tracking # supplied and had to call in to get it.

Reading between the lines of a whole lot of phone conversations I've had with Lenovo personnel recently, there are major, serious, near-fatal problems with the various computer systems that Lenovo uses to accomplish their order fulfillment. My sense is that Lenovo used to contract this function out to IBM (the order fulfillment software system) but that they have taken it over themselves within the last year or less. They don't seem to have a clue how to do this, however, and the result is a software system that is basically non-functional. This explains why, no matter who you talk to or how many times you call, no one at Lenovo can give you any useful information about a system you ordered from them. Either be patient and just wait for the stuff to arrive, if it is going to arrive, or order from another company or supplier.

It is such a shame the way that Lenovo damages their standing with consumers, with order fulfillment that is about as bad as I've experienced from any company, when the basic products are as good as they are. That's what I'd call shooting one's self in the foot.

As a further update to those who have a new CTO X61s that just recently shipped from China and is in limbo due to the volcanic eruptions in Alaska:

I just spoke with UPS and they told me that my X61s, whose tracking shows it stuck in Shanghai (last update 3/29) is in fact enroute to Kentucky (I'd guess from Alaska), their major entry point for imported goods. They told me the package would be delivered to me tomorrow (April 2nd). The online tracking seems to be stuck back a few days, but these packages are apparently moving in spite of what the online tracking shows.

Thanks for the update Ken.

The UPS online updates that I was seeing were also delayed or lagged as of now. It only shows it departing w/ no US arrival info.

I just called UPS and they told me it had cleared US customs and is in Kentucky now, with a scheduled delivery for tomorrow.

I have been waiting since Feb for 5 x61 Tablets that i ordered 3 got cancelled and 2 are still in the system, they keep getting pushed back, the ship date says 4/6/09....Last time the pushed the order back it got cancelled.

UPS came by today with both an outlet and a new CTO X61s system (this was the outlet system for which there was no tracking number, but for which I was charged on my online Visa statement yesterday, not the one they sold to someone else days before they sold it to me and that continued to be shown as pending shipment to me). Interestingly, both came in boxes full of warning labels stating that if I had not ordered something from Lenovo that I might be the "victim of identity theft," and that if so I should not open the packages and should call Lenovo immediately.

Both systems are fine. The "refurbished" outlet system, which I'd previously been told had been returned without the box every having been opened, was repackaged by Lenovo in North Carolina (maybe with a newer battery) but otherwise was perfect with no signs whatsoever of use. I only ordered this system because it had a faster processor (L7700) plus the Ultralight screen option. The price, while good, was not exceptional in light of what other systems have sold for recently on ebay (especially factoring in the Microsoft live.com rebates)

I'm now wondering if Lenovo USA has been hit by a lot of online fraud recently, and what we are observing as terrible order fulfillment isn't at least partially due to their attempts to combat this fraud. If this is the case, they have my sympathies. Still, there is no excuse for an order fulfillment system where their own telephone representatives, no matter where they are located, have no idea whatsoever is the status of orders you have placed and that have been confirmed online.

I'm a satisfied customer at this point, but I don't think I'll be ordering much directly from Lenovo in the future.

I find it terribly discouraging that every order for a new ThinkPad I've placed since Feb of 2006 (eleven machines) has been delayed, or otherwise fouled up by weeks or months. The only exception is the order for my W500 that actually went through the system in a reasonable period of time. In fact its been so bad and downright disgusting that I've gone to third party authorized re sellers five times during this same period.

As much as I hesitate to acknowledge one of the most arrogant companies in the tech sector, I will say that Apple does have the best, most professional ordering system bar none. Its very satisfying to order from them and get exactly what you ordered, exactly when they promised it. And fast! Just days as opposed to the never ending loop of uncertainty one enters upon placing an order with Lenovo. I do not gamble, and yet that's what it's like doing business with Lenovo. Simply mind boggling.

archer6 wrote:I find it terribly discouraging that every order for a new ThinkPad I've placed since Feb of 2006 (eleven machines) has been delayed, or otherwise fouled up by weeks or months. The only exception is the order for my W500 that actually went through the system in a reasonable period of time. In fact its been so bad and downright disgusting that I've gone to third party authorized re sellers five times during this same period.

As much as I hesitate to acknowledge one of the most arrogant companies in the tech sector, I will say that Apple does have the best, most professional ordering system bar none. Its very satisfying to order from them and get exactly what you ordered, exactly when they promised it. And fast! Just days as opposed to the never ending loop of uncertainty one enters upon placing an order with Lenovo. I do not gamble, and yet that's what it's like doing business with Lenovo. Simply mind boggling.

I can deal with waiting. I can even deal with a several day wait before an online order I place is confirmed. What I can't deal with is the combination of no information and (worse) misinformation that is supplied by Lenovo on their online order status information, and worse, as supplied by their telephone reps. Neither of the orders I received today had tracking numbers available online after they shipped. One of them never had a tracking number at all -- it merely said "shipped" on the order page and when I called to inquire I was told that they weren't even sure that it had shipped, and in any event they thought UPS had the wrong address and would not be able to deliver it. And this was after 4 or 5 calls with their representatives during the preceding weeks regarding my shipping address, which of necessity differs from my mailing address because all letter mail in my town must be addressed to a PO box, not a physical address, by Post Office requirement (we have no letter carriers here, just a Post Office with PO Boxes).

And then there is the order for an outlet system apparently sold to someone else 3 days before I placed my order, which was nonetheless confirmed online and had a rolling shipping date that advanced a week at a time after each previous shipping date had come and gone. I suspect that order would show a fallacious ship date in January of next year if I simply allowed the order to remain in limbo even longer before I canceled it.

These people have no concept of inventory control, order fulfillment, or customer service. They should make one of two decisions: (1) To acknowledge that they are a competent producer of PC products but incapable of selling those products directly, and to decide therefore to abandon all efforts at direct retail in favor of expanding their retail sales through legitimate retailers; or, (2) To acknowledge that their current order fulfillment system sucks, and to fix it.

Any choice other than 1 or 2 will be detrimental to their continuation as a viable supplier of PC products, at least in the N. American marketplace, where consumers have many other choices.

The UPS man dropped off a X61s 7668CTO today. From web order to door delivery, it was a total of 31 calendar days, and this includes the delay due to the Mt Redoubt eruption in Alaska which held up some UPS airplanes.

The unit itself is in perfect working condition so far. The battery is an 11/2008 Sanyo 8 cell, 1 cycle. The shipping box did not have any 'ID theft' warning labels.

It seems to be well worth the wait. Moving from a TP 600E (takes its time, but Luscious Keyboard) and a Dell Insp 5100 (Lead Anvil), this thing is pure joy.

Maybe Lenovo needs to talk to Walmart about some 'supply chain' and end-to-end logistics. But I do feel fortune that it came through in the end.

archer6 wrote:As much as I hesitate to acknowledge one of the most arrogant companies in the tech sector, I will say that Apple does have the best, most professional ordering system bar none. Its very satisfying to order from them and get exactly what you ordered, exactly when they promised it. And fast! Just days as opposed to the never ending loop of uncertainty one enters upon placing an order with Lenovo. I do not gamble, and yet that's what it's like doing business with Lenovo. Simply mind boggling.

I can't really argue with anything you've said, but you're paying in most cases significantly more for an Apple product. There's more money left over after the sale to fund things like order fulfillment and customer service. This is just probably the cost of ThinkPad price points dropping like rock the last few years.

FredGarvin wrote: I can't really argue with anything you've said, but you're paying in most cases significantly more for an Apple product. There's more money left over after the sale to fund things like order fulfillment and customer service. This is just probably the cost of ThinkPad price points dropping like rock the last few years.

Respectfully I see your point but disagree. In Feb of 2006 the price I paid for my new T60p was $2650. The shipping issues and lack of accurate information as to the status of my order was the same then as it is now. Lenovo just doesn't seem to place much, if any focus on sorting this out. If not for my first hand personal experience, over and over with this, I might feel differently.
.
Cheers...

I find it's best not to look until the estimated ship date. Otherwise you're just aggravating yourself. Usually when I get the urge to look it shows up at my door. While you paid that much for your ThinkPad, I would venture to say you were significantly above the average for a ThinkPad, though perhaps not a p.

I can see your point about the lack of focus on fulfillment and orders issue. I ordered a battery from the Outlet last week. I received nothing in the way of a confirmation. I called on Thursday where the rep told me it takes four days to receive a confirmation. Of course Thursday was the fourth day. For getting a battery for $36 that normally costs $100+ regularly, I'm willing to tolerate it.

FredGarvin wrote:I find it's best not to look until the estimated ship date. Otherwise you're just aggravating yourself. Usually when I get the urge to look it shows up at my door. While you paid that much for your ThinkPad, I would venture to say you were significantly above the average for a ThinkPad, though perhaps not a p.

I can see your point about the lack of focus on fulfillment and orders issue. I ordered a battery from the Outlet last week. I received nothing in the way of a confirmation. I called on Thursday where the rep told me it takes four days to receive a confirmation. Of course Thursday was the fourth day. For getting a battery for $36 that normally costs $100+ regularly, I'm willing to tolerate it.

That battery which "normally costs" $100 is available from other sources for $65, if you look around. Of course I am being abstract with the pricing, but then, so are you.

Accessories purchases I have made from the outlet have generally been fulfilled within an acceptable period of time, say 1 to 2 weeks. Although the online communication I have received regarding these purchases has been mediocre at best, it was still semi-acceptable.

The real problem is with system purchases. If it is a new system the odds are that you will eventually receive it, although there will probably be delays and communication from Lenovo to you will be poor.

If it is an outlet system, it is really a throw of the dice as to whether you will receive what it is that you have ordered. Most of us here have bought things from Amazon, and sometimes we get warned that an item is in short supply so we better place the order soon. In every instance amazon manages to deliver what they said they would deliver, if not on time, then within a day of being on time. And this is for a company that sells 10000X as many unique products as Lenovo ever has, and fulfills those orders from warehouses pockmarking the country.

With Lenovo (which is, I might point out, a computer/information technology company), you have no idea, I repeat NO IDEA, whether or not you will ever receive your system order and if so, when. Online order tracking is a joke, and calling their representatives to see if they have more information will yield exactly zero useful information.

I travel a lot and I cringe when thinking of ordering something from Lenovo if I "only" have a month from the order date until the next time I'll be out of town. Amazon can have your order to you in 2 days and it never seems like they have difficulty doing that. Lenovo can't do it reliably in a MONTH.

And all this is coming from company making computers, the ultimate information technology products, that are supposed to enable businesses to be more efficient and to serve their customers in a timely and responsible manner.

What a joke. Doctor, heal thyself.

ken

FredGarvin wrote:<snip> While you paid that much for your ThinkPad, I would venture to say you were significantly above the average for a ThinkPad, though perhaps not a p.

The price I paid was for the most expensive fully loaded T60p available at that time. It also represents a discount of more than $500 off the retail price as I get program pricing. It just goes to show how much prices continue to fluctuate.

Cheers...

The price I paid was for the most expensive fully loaded T60p available at that time. It also represents a discount of more than $500 off the retail price as I get program pricing. It just goes to show how much prices continue to fluctuate.

Yes, the T60p pricing at the time was insane comparing to nowadays, especially when loaded up with options & discrete graphics.

As for the shipping, it is really a hit & miss (more so on the miss), particulary of late. I ordered 1 X61T on 3.11 and received it on 3.27 (minimal delay), the unit I ordered for my daughter on 3.13 was constantly delayed until I called Lenovo 2 days ago, the rep insisted that there's no shortage and it is just a matter of scheduling. I pressed a bit & the rep said he would expedite it, magically, within 2 hours, the status showed "shipped". For the TP's I used to purchase for the company, I generally went directly to resllers but that is not an option on a personal basis as I want to pay the "best" price.

OTOH, I have had much better feedback in terms of order->ship notification from Dell & HP, HP is usually on top of things, one unit I ordered 2 months ago missed the ship date by 1/2 day and I got a $50 coupon from their C/S automatically.