Lenovo Outlet

[Jozef]

EDIT. I apologize for the rant. My main intention was to suggest moving the sticky "Ordering from Lenovo Outlet: Tips and Tricks" from HowTo&FAQ forum to some other, more obvious, place because it's very helpful (especially if you read it beforehand, which I doubt happens often considering its current location). Unfortunately, my post never got there as I was upset and **** was hitting the fan as I was typing.

I am extremely upset right now.
I ordered a refurbished T61 and this morning received confirmation e-mail that contained the order number but not my customer number. After having read the Tips&Tricks, I decided to give them a call and check what they are doing. The woman was very polite and helpful, she gave me my customer number and also agreed to find and e-mail me the configuration details. This is what she read to me over the phone (which is exactly what I bought):

Intel C2D T9300
Windows Vista Ultimate
14.1'' WXGA+
2x2 Gb memory
250Gb HDD @ 5400rpm
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim
Intel 4965AGN
Bluetooth
Intel X3100

So with my customer number in hand I happily go to Lenovo website to see my order status. I don't like the estimated shipping date (12/30?! it's refurbished, for **** sake!) but what really surprises me is the difference in tax. At the checkout they said (and I have it in PDF) $43.05, but the order status page claims the tax to be $56.83. WTF, a retroactive tax increase?! The actual price of the laptop did not change, thank God.

I print that out and also send it to myself with intention to ask Lenovo what is happening. As I open my mail, I find the e-mail from the woman I talked with. It contains the configuration details, but not the ones she had just read to me 15 minutes earlier. This is what it said:

Intel C2D T9300
Windows Vista Ultimate
14.1'' WXGA+
1 Gb memory
80Gb HDD @ 5400rpm
CD-RW/DVD-ROM Combo
Intel 4965AGN
Bluetooth
nVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M

Funny, no? NO. So I freak out. I mean, it's nice they are giving me better video but I don't really care for it and I really need the HDD, memory and burner. After all, how in ******** hell does an order change, and so quickly?!
I reply and ask her that exact question and now I am hoping she will answer.

And just as I was typing that, another e-mail arrived saying "oh sorry, wrong order" and then my original configuration listed.

I don't know what to expect now. What is funny is that the whole shenanigans with ordering and only then reading the Tips&Tricks sticky plus everything that happened now made me so tired that I don't feel like contacting them about that $13.78 "let's see if this will pass" tax bump. I probably will, though, but I need to calm down a bit first.

[ArtShapiro]

Given the tax rate in your city, which number is correct?

I had the same thing happen with a purchase, and the revised number turned out to be correct. Tax rates vary here by county and even by city, and Lenovo apparently defaulted to some value that wasn't appropriate for my location. I hadn't realized it until I called to inquire about the change.

They even offered to credit the difference, which I thought was very nice. But I turned that offer down, as they were simply applying the correct rate and weren't profiteering from the change.

Art

[Jozef]

Hi Art,

That same night, after I calmed down, I asked myself the same question and the higher number is correct so I won't complain. What bugs me though is that they didn't notify me of the change, especially since it raised the total. I sent them an e-mail that night asking for explanation and I am still waiting for reply (not holding my breath, though).

Good news is they shipped the laptop two days after I ordered it. Shipping details have the correct type number so hopefully it will arrive in advertised configuration and decent shape.

[ArtShapiro]

I have to wonder why "they" have so much difficulty communicating with customers. I have a hunch they're really set up for dealing with big companies who might order a few hundred units at a time, and that processing one-of orders from the little guy is simply at the limits of their capability. Even correcting minor errors is an unbelievable ordeal. When I had the wrong warranty applied to a purchase, I ended up calling and faxing folks all over the world (India, Canada, multiple US locations), each of whom was pleasant and eager to assist, but felt that ultimately another department was most appropriate.

Of course, as I've mentioned before in another thread, I'm really cut off from Lenovo purchases. They have my city name spelled wrong in their database, the humans can only deal by zip code with no ability to override the resultant city name that pops up, and the credit card gets rejected because of the textual mismatch on the name. Hope my eBay T61 (after being unable to purchase it through Lenovo) lasts a while!

Enjoy your purchase - sounds like it will work out successfully for you.

[Jozef]

Update:

I got my new toy today, seven days after placing the order. I was expecting to see some signs of use, but the machine appears to be completely new. They only thing that reveals where it came from is the sticker glued over the original one on the bottom with a weird, non-existing, machine type (7661-RC5).
Fantastic.

Also, my fear that I could get a different (and weaker) machine were unsubstantiated, as the configuration is just as it's supposed to be - 7661-ZND (which Vista states).

Vista Ultimate runs like hell, but not for long as it's going to be replaced with Kubuntu.

Happy owner of a T61.


P.S. - I expected the same feeling when typing (my previous Thinkpads were 770z, R51 and T41p) but this keyboard is quite different. I like it, but it's different.

[carbon_unit]

Make your restore discs before installing Kubuntu. It makes your resale value better.

[Jozef]

Will do.
Actually, as Linux is not very friendly when it comes to even basic video editing (which I need to do every so often), I am thinking of replacing the 250Gb 5400rpm HDD with a Seagate 320Gb 7200rpm and installing both Kubuntu and Vista.

I would so love if I didn't have to go through all that hassle and just dumped Kubuntu there and enjoy, but one's got to do what one's got to do...