How good should Lenovo online service be?

[teepee]

Hi

I bought a T42 last month but there are a couple of problems with it. So I went to the ThinkPad web site, clikced through on "submit a request" and sent them the details. I sent the request on 17 August and got an auto reply later that day but then nothing. So I forwarded this on 19 August and finally got a reply today (23 August). I've been an HP/Compaq user in the past and they always got back to me within 24 hours max. 6 days seems like an unresonably LONG time.

Oh, and the response was that I should telephone them instead. Not impressed.

So, is there a general agreement on whether or not this is normal responsiveness when submitting a request to Lenovo online please?

If it makes any difference I'm in the UK.

Regards

Mike

[Kyocera]

My experience with tech support is this,

Call on the phone and talk to a human, call during normal business hours.

Search far and wide on the internet for your problem beforehand and if you are lucky you may find something, read all the problems and the solutions, if you feel comfortable trying them go for it. But ultimately by reading about other peoples experiences you become educated.

If you call tech support you will be able to tell the tech support person that you have "been there, tried that, what else you got"?

When you are talking to tech support people you will be less intimidated by their genius if you educate yourself, this forum is a great place for that.

Get a case number, name, note the time, date, name of the person, be sure you understand exactly what they are telling you, making assumptions is usually not advisable. Give them your cell phone #, I actually got a call from a tech support guy who had thought of another thing I could try with my first T42 (LEMON).

In the world of tech support you have to be diligent, knowledgeable, and patient with the tech support guy or gal who seem to be less than patient, maybe they really are having a bad day.

When you buy a new machine you have to get it squared away within the first 30 days, run it, load all the programs you are going to be using on it, turn it off and on, let the battery run out completely and recharge it, test it and test it again, hook up peripherals, watch movies, if it starts to give you trouble you always have the opportunity (within 30 days) to return it.

This is actually from personal experience, my first T42 had a major issue, and I found tech support to be very helpful, had to get another one, but you have to use it (tech support) like your life depended on it.

[teepee]

thanks for all the advice mike. i'll do just that. part 1 is trawling the forums now for any issues. then i'll try to give them a buzz tomorrow.

i did actually call lenovo tech support a couple of times a while back and found them to be very quick to answer and very helpful. and i guess i should just have called them again with the hdd issue, but i wanted to try out the online service, try the whole package out, as it were.

i think they really ought to reply within 24 hours. they also really ought to have a field to enter the serial number when submitting the request. for example, i have next day on site warranty, and so assume this should take priority handling over next day collect and return, simply from needing to organise someone to come out to see the machine.

do you know of any way i can submit suggestions to lenovo on this please?

oh, and sorry to the moderator for posting this query here. i realise it should have been in a general forum. i messed up

anyway, thanks again mike.

[dokein]

If you don't want to be ignored, then call them. Like yourself, I tired the E-Service Request, got a phone call that night, and then heard nothing for 2 weeks. My whole ordeal is here if you want to read about my experience with customer service.

[bing]

All the phone contact I've had with tech support has been great. They've been able to talk intellegently about possible solutions and transporting my computer to and from support has been super easy. Since my computer isn't actually fixed yet, I can't speak on that, but I will say that they have a habit of losing HD bay screws.

[Kyocera]

Mike, I wish you the best of luck getting your thinkpad squared away, it sounds like you may have paid extra (next day on site warranty) so you definately should be moved up in the list of emails they receive each day.
I wonder who handles the email support side of the house and also how they handle it. I always felt a sense of urgency when I was trying to get my problem fixed so email was not an option.

Dokein, seems like I saw on the lenovo (ibm) web site something like local service providers, possibly a place near you where you could physically carry the machine, explain the problem and get some resolution. I know it hard to keep these things in primo condition, but if it gets tore up at least I want to be the one who does it.

[teepee]

many thanks folks. sorry to hear about the problems with service though .

anyway, i guess its a case of stick with phoning for service for me. the only problem is that this isn't as convenient. and i really, really think lenovo ought to put some work into that side (if anyone from the company is reading ).

also, seems like lenovo also ought to put some effort into repair technician training and packaging systems. i'm very thankful i've got on-site after reading those histories. so at least i can watch the technician while they fiddle around with my computer.

of course, i'm disappointed to read about these problems. one of the reasons i chose a thinkpad is because i've had terrible service from hp/compaq in the past (the nc62xx was another option). problems like items not collected, 2 units started smoking but were passed as nothing wrong, 3-5 returns to get something fixed while being told on the first 2-4 returns that nothing was wrong, 3 day guranteed turnaround that became 7 days and was claimed not to be guaranteed. it was not pleasant. oh, and a printer that was beyond repair but that i fixed by opening and closing one hatch.

i found the hp/compaq service varied depending on where i was though. in the usa it was slightly below acceptable overall, but could be very good (and they apologised by sending gifts). in switzerland it went above and beyond expectations. finally, in the uk it was acceptable as long as they allowed customers a choice of service centre because i could choose a decent firm in salford, but when they pushed everything to teleplan it was horrible.

so, one more question ....

is servicing on t series thinkpads done in-house everywhere, in-house in some countries, or outsourced everywhere? any experiences please?

thanks again

mike