Stupidity or:How I learned that EZServ is staffed by monkeys

[pramit]

Note: This post is more of a rant and has insight into the sad state of affairs where IBM manufactures an incredible product but sadly falls flat on it's face when it comes to providing competent service.

All of this revolves around my ThinkPad T42p (2379DYU) that arrived on 6/2.

7/6 (Tue): new case opened with EZServ for the LCD. huge ghosting problems where a ghosted image remains on the screen and fades out over 5 seconds even after the original is cleared. happens all the way from boot so it's definitely an OS-independent issue.

7/8 (Thu): machine reaches EZServ depot in Memphis, TN. in reality a Solectron service facility.

7/9 (Fri): machine is back at my desk with repair action sheet saying 'Replaced system board'. (odd, but ok. i guess they know what they are doing.) power on, same ghosting problem. half way through log in, machine locks up. force shut-down (disconnect a/c, battery). won't start up. this time i'm connected to Gold Support who say that i need to send it in again.

7/13 (Tue): machine is back in EZServ depot. diagnosed to have a faulty system board- the one they put in on 7/8 was refurbished and died. on parts hold for a new board.

7/20 (Tue): new board arrives, they put it in, test it. re-test for ORIGINAL LCD problem, supposedly resolved. they keep it for another day to double-check.

in the week between 7/13 and 7/20, i've called them every day to check on the availability of the part, tried to put responsibility on them for them screwing up in the first place by not even addressing the LCD matter and instead creating a whole new system board matter, etc. my case is now escalated after i file a formal complaint and i have a DRO (dispute resolution officer) dealing with me. she assures me that they will get it right.

7/22 (Thu): machine is back at my desk with repair action sheet saying 'Replaced system board'. (again, odd, but i guess they know what they are doing.) power on, same ghosting problem.

this time i'm livid. been 16 days since the original complaint and i'm still at square 1. i call the DRO back- luckily she gave me her direct dial #- and she gets a team lead from atlanta gold support on the phone. he walks me through my problem and says 'i've got what i need. this machine has a faulty lcd and this time it should go into our RTP/ Durham, NC facility. no depot.' (phew! finally my machine will be fixed by technicians and not monkeys.)

i am now waiting for a new box (est. 7/26) to send this thing to RTP/ Durham, NC. hopefully they'll get it right there.

all through this, IBM support has really managed to show to me that while they sell a good quality product, when it comes to delivering quality service, they are about as competent as a mute man singing the opera.

i can't believe i have to go through all of this just to get my machine repaired. let alone the fact that it's their (now almost) top of the line machine and i bought it directly from them.

ugh!

[sktn77a]

Wow.... major bummer!!! If it's not right this time, throw a sh_t fit on the phone and demand a new one. Check to see if it constitutes a lemon under California state law!

[MountainMan]

i have an x31 that was crashing whenever i plugged/unplugged the a/c adaptor or tried to wake up from standby mode. also intermittently during power-on boot.

called ibm tech support. after a brief chat, they said "send it in." i sent it in with carefully-written instructions for demonstrating the problem. came back with "system board replaced." problem was NOT fixed. (did they even TRY to reproduce the problem?) now my brand-new laptop has a "refurbished" system board of unknown origin and status. great.

called back again. this time, the tech support guy says "it sounds like your laptop is crashing whenever it changes power state." he suggests i update my power management drivers. this actually improves the situation slightly! now i have something to work with...

after just a few minutes of googling, i find a guy who has exactly the same symptoms i've been having, and he managed to fix the problem by disabling the "powerplay" feature of the ATI drivers. so i click one check box in a video driver control panel, and my problems are 100% solved!

so ibm tech support did enable me to pick up the scent of the ultimate solution, but only after quite a bit of unimpressive bumbling.

[BillMorrow]

in defense of ibm, it is extremely hard to diagnose a problem over the telephone..

IRT solectron..
ibm sold the repair facility some years ago (to retiring ibm execs i was once told) and thnkgs have not been as good, ever since..

i get the sense that they get paid a flat rate and parts for the repair..

if they can hang a problem on the customer, and thus get an hourly rate + sell parts, i think they do (or did)..

in this case, it seems to me that a call to the tech and a chat with his supervisor might help a whole lot..

some of them ARE monkeys, or at least they ACT like monkeys..

personal experience shows that sometimes a careful personal description of the problem with the tech and/or the supervisor will get it resolved..

if not, and if it goes back for an additional repair you might just get a new one..