Why not Lenovo any more ...

[marouxlas]

Why not to buy a Lenovo any more?

Simply put, their inability to support their products.

I have a T43 which I have been happy with until some hardware issues came up. I will spare the details, the bottom line is that after I spent one week on phone calls and software upgrades they have decided to change the motherboard. So far, it has been time consuming but at least I thought I was getting somewhere.

Now here is the tricky part of their warranty. I am working for an academic institution so we thought by purchasing at additional cost the next business day on site service we were covered. We are using almost exclusively Dell machines so I thought the peace of mind of the NBD service is worth the money.

Now what everyone should know is that the NBD service that you purchase is only valid if it is convenient to Lenovo. They flat out told me that because they do not have a motherboard in my area it could take 5-7 business days to ship it so a technician could come and install it. (BTW I live 3-4h away from NYC in a metropolitan area). Now I asked why they do not ship the part overnight so they would honor their warranty. Nope, sorry cannot do that, talk to you in a week.

One week goes by, nothing.

Second week goes by, nothing.

At the third week after more phone calls they finally came, installed the new board and my machine works fine again.

They would not reimburse us the cost of the additional warranty we have purchased, I guess they felt that a 3 week service is acceptable for a one day contract.

IBM used to make superior machines and with the academic discount it made sense for us to buy them. Lenovo's non-existent service support along with their inability to take corrective action leaves us no choice but to go with Dell.

At least when you purchase a NBD service, Dell really honors it. Uptime is very important for the business user and until Lenovo understands that, their market will keep on shrinking in the US.

Your comments/experiences with Lenovo's support are more than welcomed.

EDIT: I guess there is not much of free speech here and the subject has been moved by a moderator to off-topic. Is Lenovo's quality of service support off-topic for T4x and T6x? Your call...

[tfflivemb2]

EDIT: I guess there is not much of free speech here and the subject has been moved by a moderator to off-topic. Is Lenovo's quality of service support off-topic for T4x and T6x? Your call...

I am not the Mod that moved this thread, but had I seen this in a T4x conference, I would have moved it too.

Free speech is definately allowed here (except for the obvious vulgarities, flaming and potentially illegal activities).

Believe it or not, you will most likely get more responses here, in this conference, than elsewhere. The individual conference are for threads specific to the model...this one is not.

Oh, and for the record, you do have my sympathies for what transpired in your case with Lenovo. You could always try to elevate it, since they didn't handle it properly (ie. per your agreement).

[ms]

How rude is that? Maybe Chinese Business Habbits?

I would definitely investigate what you can do, since you have paid for a 24h repair service I would request the difference between their standard service warranty and your 24 priority service. They simply broke the contract, there is no doubt.

Maybe they found out how expensive their service contract is and now they try to save money on a broad basis with service policies like this.

[tfflivemb2]

<snip> Maybe Chinese Business Habbits? <snip>

Lets not travel down that road again....

[tomh009]

They would not reimburse us the cost of the additional warranty we have purchased, I guess they felt that a 3 week service is acceptable for a one day contract.

IBM used to make superior machines and with the academic discount it made sense for us to buy them. Lenovo's non-existent service support along with their inability to take corrective action leaves us no choice but to go with Dell.

Did you (or your college) escalate the warranty handling issue (after the technical problem was resolved) with Lenovo? If so, to what level?

[anthean]

I am grateful that I have not required support since 2004 when I purchased my current machines and gave away my Sony VAIO.

[gt5l]

it is taking me over a month to complete a warranty purchase, I hope their actual tech support is not that lame. This is my first Lenovo/IBM laptop, so far it is running like it should but no one knows what the future hides.

[pianowizard]

EDIT: I guess there is not much of free speech here and the subject has been moved by a moderator to off-topic.

It doesn't really matter where the post is. Most people here look for new threads by clicking on the "View posts since last visit" link, which displays all new posts from all subforums.

[BillMorrow]

i would be a bit exercised if my NBD (Next Business Day) service became NM (Next Month), too..

and i sure would escalate this matter..

i wonder how long it would have taken to send it to EZ Serve to have the same MB replaced..??
this is a question i would have asked when told wait for a week for the part..

this is not the usual level of service..

[RealBlackStuff]

Even in business circles, the old (French) adage is valid:
C'est le ton qui fait la musique.
Translated/interpreted: it's HOW you say it, to get things done.
Perhaps there was a small lack of 'diplomacy' involved?

[egibbs]

I'm curious to know exactly what the NBD contract says - it may not actually say anything like what people assume it says.

Very often people assume that because something is called a "Next business day service agreement" it actually is such a thing. That is an error on the buyer's part if they fail to read and understand the actual agreement.

As long as Lenovo meets the terms of the contract I don't see where there is cause to complain. Of course if Lenovo is engaging in shady sales practices then there is no real reason to buy from them again either.

Ed Gibbs

[ryengineer]

I haven't dealt with any lenovo's warrany issue(s) yet but from your experience it looks pretty annoying.

[carbon_unit]

I have had a few machines with onsite warranty and when they needed service I was always offered next day service but since the replacement parts were CRU's I just had them overnight me the part.
I realize that your motherboard is not a CRU (Customer Replaceable Unit) but that is the only experience I have had with onsite service.
I can see them not having a motherboard immediately available but 3 weeks is way too long to have to wait. Maybe a day or two at the most.

[andyP]

My experiences of NBD onsite are actually pretty good, nearly always repaired on the next business day. (This refers to several situations - not one).

One time I was told about 2 weeks would be needed to obtain an MB After calling all and sundry on the phone and escalating like mad, getting on everybodys' nerves in the call and complaint centres, it took about a week

It definitely pays to "go on the offensive" from the very start. One tip - always remain polite and stay cool, they like that. If you have to release the frustration, kick the sh** out of a cardboard box afterwards, (IMHO very relieving), but in order to achieve your aims it's worth staying calm.

Oh by the way, this was during the days before Lenovo. Since Lenovo I have experienced only one similar situation, regarding a 15" UXGA screen; they said it would probably take a week due to parts availability. To my surprise they rang back the next day and said a screen was being flown from the USA and the repair would be complete within four days. (Either they know me too well and knew what was coming or somebody pulled out the stops).

There is no doubt that NO company or person can get everything right every time, a bad experience really get's under the skin. I can't complain about the service.

BTY AFIK the Lenovo service in Germany is contracted to Geodis, (previously CSG); a daughter company of IBM.

EDIT: I didn't vote as I have no personal experience of Dell service.

[underclocker]

It is unfortunate that there are so many anecdotal reports of problems with Lenovo's service. Perhaps we should try to keep a tally of ALL support requests.

Anyway, I don't think there's much of a point to this poll (on offense to poster). ThinkPad machines are still far higher quality than Dell's and I'd still prefer one even if Lenovo service takes a dip from second to only Apple, according to polls. Of course, we know all Mac people are in a cult and brainwashed, otherwise IBM/Lenovo would be number one.

I've sent many, many ThinkPads in for service and had several repaired on site. My preference is sending them in, because it's frightening to watch the work. They may commit just as many mistakes or more while you're not watching when you send in the unit, but I'd rather not know at this point (has anyone heard of a grounding strap? - Yikes). Either it works or it doesn't when I open the box.

My overall experience is that you have to be friendly, clear and persistent to get a job done to the anal standards of most ThinkPad lovers, like us. When I send in a unit, I always accompany it by a nice letter that bullet points the items that need work. Sometimes I add a repair item or two that I didn't mention on the phone. In the end, I am always satisfied. Even when, upon occasion, the unit goes back once or twice. Again, friendly, clear and persistent works for me.

[gator]

Completely agree with underclocker. It really helps to be polite with the support people. But I have to agree that the quality of service is not what it used to be. I hope this is a passing phase and Lenovo sees what is wrong and set things right.

[Stargate199]

Dells suck! Enough said.

[andyP]

Today (Tue. 9. May) a T43 came back from service which had been sent by post on Wed. 2. May. The ThinkPad had a defective MB which they replaced, but without asking they have also replaced the LCD Bezel and Palm rest.

I call that a pretty good service. Well done Geodis Deutschland

[dsigma6]

without asking they have also replaced the LCD Bezel and Palm rest.

Seems like a nice gesture, but they probably did a hack job getting the motherboard out!

[marouxlas]

Hi All,

Thanks for your input to my post. I have tried to play it nice with Lenovo. It did not work. After waiting for three weeks I played hard ball and it worked.

For those wondering whether I seeked additional compensation, I did. They have a different dept. handling such claims. They said they would call the next day, they called after a week. Nothing out of the ordinary again.

I requested at least to reimburse my NDB service I purchased but they declined. I think any reputable company would have agreed to that, if not even more.

Bottom line: The new T61s are a beauty, but computers will brake and if it takes three weeks to fix them on a NBD contract without any acknowledgement of error, Lenovo is not for the business user.