Why HP Business understands Business and Lenovo doesn't

Recently, I have 2 issues with my laptops which needed hardware repairs and the following are my experiences dealing with HP and IBM's customer service:

Hewlett-Packard Australia
Laptop: HP 8710w
Fault: Wireless Card Malfunctioned, Replacement Required
Description:
Case submitted to HP's ITRC utility ( http://itrc.hp.com) describing in detail the steps I've taken to isolate the issue (updated drivers, cleaned OS, etc). Case submitted at approximately 10am in the morning. HP agent called at 2pm to seek for part number. I responded at 3pm with part number from service manual. Service centre called at 4pm informing me part has been ordered and tech will be on site early next week to replace part.
Response Time:
Initial response - 4 hours
Tech confirmation - 6 hours
Case resolution - ???

Lenovo Australia c/o IBM Australia (for Think products)
Laptop: Lenovo Thinkpad X301
Fault: Screen bezel cracked after extensive use, replacement required under Thinkpad Protection
Description:
Case submitted via IBM's ESC+ utility, describing in detail the part which needed replacement and faults. No response for the next 24 hours. Posted a case update asking for immediate attention. No response for next 5-6 hours. Finally gave in and called support line. Support line busy, took my name and number and promised to return the call. Call returned within the hour and asked all case details again.
I asked if they can order the part before I send my laptop in, but they said they have no facility to do that. They needed my laptop before they can order the part, even though they know the exact part they need (system doesn't allow them to jump hoops). Part is not customer replaceable. Part will take 10-20 days to order and total service time is estimated at 2-3 weeks including pick up and delivery. No on site service is offered unless purchased warranty upgrade (my HP has a standard onsite warranty).
I asked if they can do any better. Agent said he will check on parts availability and return my call. No response from agent since then. I will wait a couple more weeks until I have time for IBM to take away my laptop for a month to replace a bezel. Clearly, they don't value my time.
Response Time:
Initial response - approximately 30 hours
Tech confirmation - unable to confirm parts availability and ETA
Case resolution - ???

Let me tell you this is not the first time I've had this from Lenovo. My previous X300 (before this X301) had a broken case which required replacement and it took me 5 weeks to get my laptop back, though the repair job was performed well.

I must admit that the faults are different, thus possibly being treated with different levels of urgency. However, I have dealt with HP quite a few times before to know that they will provide a better service guarantee than how I had been treated by the IBM agents who insisted that it was beyond the means of their system.

 

Your case is not usual, at least in the US.

I just placed 2 orders this week on my new W500. No major problems, I just didn't care for the weight-saver keyboard, as it was much more flexible than the T61p it replaced.

First replacement was received the next day. Same keyboard, but that wasn't a problem. They said it would likely be replaced by the same model in my parts lookup, and I told them I'd take that chance. So I called again, this time placing the order for my T61p. Part was received the next day, and was certainly better than the W500's. So, my W500 is running a T61p keyboard, and all is good with the world.

For each occurrence, I got a followup call the next day to make sure that my part had arrived and I was happy with the service.


Months ago, I was unhappy with the hinges on my T61p not being stiff enough. Called on a Thursday, got a box to ship it back on Friday, had the unit returned with new hinges on Wednesday.

My R60 that I bought off ebay arrived with a broken LCD bezel. They sent out a technician to be there the next day, but he called and said he'd have to reschedule as his previous appointment ran long. He came the next day. When we were replacing the bezel, we found out that Lenovo neglected to send a sticker set for the new bezel's status LEDs, and also found a crack in the bottom of the chassis. Both parts were sent the next day, along with the technician to do the replacement.

Calls about the DVD drive ejector that my dad broke by dropping his T60 (just off the tracks, easy to fix), and a palmrest with a fingerprint reader that had trouble with his fingers resulted in a technician out the next day to fix the DVD ejector, and the new palmrest shipped the next day. Same went for when the AC adapter gave out: next day for a replacement brick, and next day for the replacement cord (I accidentally gave him my 3 pin AC adapter that I bought on ebay, they shipped the 2 pin brick that was listed in my parts lookup).

My T43, I called in on a failed drive (it wouldn't take the password I had set for it), and had a replacement drive the next day.

That's pretty much been par for the course for them over here. Call them up, and get the part the next day.



Now, these are potentially unfair comparisons, but I had a friend's DV2000 get sent in (by me) due to their recall that was put in place after the warranty had expired. They had the computer for 6 weeks before I called them up right before Christmas to complain about it being moved back another month. They escalated the issue, and the manager called me back offering me a new DV4 series with twice the RAM, twice the harddrive, and a brand-spanking new warranty. One the one hand, we were happy with the replacement, on the other hand, the guy was without a system for a total of 8 weeks between warranty repair, building, and shipping of a replacement system.

When dealing with HP's consumer support as a Firedog Technician (who are supposed to get better service than the end user), I'd still end up waiting 2-4 days for parts to arrive while the unit was under warranty.

On my wife's (formerly my) DV9548US, I called in to request a replacement door set, as HDD bay #1 had stripped screws, and HDD drive #2 was missing a rubber foot, or a set of rubber feet to fix drive #2. This wasn't an issue on my past Thinkpads when I asked for the plastic pieces to cover screws, they'd send me the entire screws & plastic covers without question. HP refused to do so, saying they weren't a customer replaceable part, or something along those lines. I ended up replacing those screws with the screws that Lenovo provided for my R60, and it still is missing a rubber foot.

 

NecessaryEvil, your HP service claims cannot be compared because th HP Pavillion is serviced by HP's consumer support, which is known to be subpar. I am dealing with their business level support for HP's business notebooks, which has superior service. Lenovo has a similar system in place, with the consumer Ideapads serviced by a different department with different SLAs in place. Thinkpads are handled by IBM and when compared on the same level as HP's business support, they are clearly inferior. Thinkpads != Pavillions.

 

I mentioned the HP comparisons may be unfair due to that fact.


At any rate, my Lenovo experiences are completely different than yours, but we're also comparing the Australian counterparts to the USA counterparts.