Should I go with Lenovo?

Hey all,

I am buying a laptop today. I will be an engineering student in college next year. I am highly considering either the Thinpad T420 or Dell Latitude E6420. Both look good to me but I prefer the thinkpad. I am worried about the customer service aspect? Is Lenovo customer service more trustworthy than Dell? Has anyone had a good or bad experience with Lenovo customer service?

Thanks,
Neptune

 

I've dealt with both, both have ups and downs.

I own a Lenovo and I support Lenovo over dell.

I would say over all in my ownership of BOTH products i've had to make LESS service calls for my Lenovo by far.

 

Lenovo customer support is the worst available. Trust me. I've had to call them numerous times and, my god I'd prefer a colonoscopy. The people ther are extremely rude and know nothing other than to follow a script, and if you want something they don't understand or know they will just keep repeating the last script they read over and over like a robot. I've called in close to 10 times and it was the same each time.

One time I've been hung up on after asking for a suprvisor

 

Heh. Avoid needing to call customer service in the first place.

 

I'm actually on the phone with them right now to see what my options are regarding a faulty fan and this heavy breather women put me on hold for no reason (after 10 minutes of trying to get any help from her she just says "can you wait one moment please" and puts me on hold for 10 minutes without an explanation. Then she comes back and says "I'm sorry for the long on sir. How can I help you?" Wow I was red with rage. This was just 2 minutes ago. I told her she put me on hold for no reason and without explanation and she just said "yes I know sir, I needed to update my case. How can I help you.." I just hung up on her.

Don't buy Thinkpad if you need to call in often

 

The E6420 has a brighter, higher-contrast, and better-quality(?) 1600x900 screen than the E6420 does.

On that note, if you weren't already planning on doing so, be sure to get the 1600x900 screen upgrade with whichever laptop you get since it'll really benefit when it comes to engineering work and general multitasking too. Don't get either laptop without upgrading from the 1366x768 screen to the 1600x900 screen.

Regarding the customer service, I think Dell Business-class customer service is excellent. They helped me contact their engineers to ask whether my ES processor would be compatible with my Dell Precision M4400, and they've been tremendously helpful when it comes to the return of another laptop.

Dell E6420 owner's lounge:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-latitude-vostro-precision/564579-e6420-owners-thread.html
Some (not all) people have had an issue with a corner snapping out of place, but not everyone.

 

For business models, I first prefer Lenovo, next HP, and then Dell in terms of functionality (design, comfort, and feel).
Usually HP and Dell are tied for screen quality, and last is Lenovo (seems to be shafted with screen suppliers).
Customer service seems to be YMMV for all companies, as experiences varies from user to user. If you need service, best to try troubleshooting first yourself so you can reduce any redundant steps w/ the service rep to shorten the process. As hard as it may be, don't get confrontational with a service rep.

Since you narrowed it down to two models, I pick the T420 as I don't like the esthetics of the E6420 (though the E6420 probably has a better screen).

 

I really want the T420 still. Are lenovos reliable?

 

I have owned three ThinkPads. All have been reliable, and for me, build quality has been good.

If you are technically savvy and can (for the most part) support yourself, ThinkPads are a great laptop. Good engineering and design, and enjoyable to use.

If you are not technically savvy, or believe you will need more than basic technical support, the Dell Latitude E6420 is a good choice. It's a little larger, and weighs a little more than the ThinkPad T420, but Dell technical support is better.

Finally, if you do go with a ThinkPad, spend the slight extra to add on-site support to the warranty. Should you need service for any reason, you will have the advantage of being able to supervise the work yourself. While I haven't needed service, this is preferable to having to ship your ThinkPad in to a company you don't know and have little control over.

I'm very happy with my new ThinkPad T420; I just like people to know their options before making a purchase.

 

I think it also depends on where you live. Lenovo's US support is done through IBM. I don't know how that works outside the US. Dell's Pro Care is pretty nice, but it costs a pretty penny. As stated above, I would opt for onsite, the standard warranty is mail in to a depot to have repairs.

 

Yup...I strongly second this! Though I wish there was a bit more clarity about how this onsite business works if you are outside the country in which you originaly bought the machine. I have onsite warranty for both my machines and there is a list of countries where my IWS is valid, but what it does not say is whether the onsite element will work in those places.

 

I have found that even with Dell standard NBD on-site service (that is, no ProSupport Services), support is good at the business level.

Dell has an online chat which gets rid of a lot of the misunderstandings that might happen during a typical support call. It also offers a printable log of your conversation with the tech, and is usually e-mailed to you at the end, giving you a record of a dispatch # if necessary. As a result, I rarely make phone calls to Dell at work any more; I just fire up online chat.

 

How much does onsite cost? Going to upgrade warranty through the website it lists it at $39 for one year. That can't be. Assuming the tech will work for at least one hour on the machine, plus travel time and gas... one visit should cost this much.

While I was on the phone with that rep I was talking about earlier I asked hre about it. She said it costs $1000 (I think) one time fee, plus some fee to get him to come, and also it costs $200/hour of the techs time and there's a 2 hour minimum. I asked her how come it said $40 for me, multiple times, and she kept ignoring it and insisited that I'm looking at the wrong thing and if I want to be transfered to the warranty department (she asked this like 10 times, very rudely each time)

 

I am pretty positive I am going with the T420. What is on-site support? Also what is thinkpad protection?

 

Also, for the wireless options, should I get the Thinkpad b/g/n or the intel centrino wireless N-1000?

Also, what is the difference between the Edge E420 and the T420?

 

Ordering in 45 minutes any help?

 

Onsite in the US is usually a $25-30USD upgrade on top of the standard one-year depot warranty. If you wish to extend beyond one year, the price goes up accordingly; at that point, you're paying for additional warranty coverage, and additional onsite coverage on top of that. You also have the option of accidental damage protection for an additional cost.

Think of it the way they do, it is insurance. The vast number of laptops do not need a service call and work just fine, so they make their money back. However, if you need even one service call, that onsite pays for itself both in fast turnaround time for service, and in ensuring that your notebook never leaves your sight. Some people have had issues with Lenovo's mail-in service, and I'm not willing to risk that.one-year warranty to onsite coverage.

 

Upgrade to the Intel wireless. The stock wireless is Realtek-based, which is relatively poor. If you're not on a super-tight budget, upgrading to the Intel 6205 is better yet.

The ThinkPad Edge line is meant to appeal to people who want a ThinkPad with a "new look". I don't think they are bad laptops, but they have a chiclet keyboard (which I won't use) and they don't have the rugged internal design that the ThinkPad T-series has.

You also cannot order an E420 with the higher-resolution HD+ 1600x900 display; the 1366x768 option is your only choice.

 

Shoot, I just ordered it without the Intel Wireless...

oh well.

 

Hm. Question regarding the warranty services.

Onsite repair means that they send some random contracted tech to your place to do the work right? As in chances are its not going to be an IBM technician, but merely a licensed IBM tech.

If you send it in for Depot repair, is it just being shipped to some random computer repair center? Or do IBM technicians do the work themselves?

Or does none of that matter?

 

If you ship to Depot repair, it is someone Lenovo has contracted, which depends on the region you're in. Solectron is probably the most known, but there are others.

You may get an IBM technician or service in some regions, but there is no guarantee. In my case, I've done a fair amount of laptop repair, so at least with onsite, I have the advantage of observing the tech to make sure they know what they are doing, and even possibly being helpful (e.g., making sure I have a link to quickly print out the T420 hardware maintenance manual just in case). I can usually tell a good tech from a bad one in about ten minutes.

Solectron has also had some occasions where they have sent a unit back to the user denying warranty claim due to claimed physical or liquid damage. I've read just enough about several of them that while I know this happens on occasion, I think some of those denials were suspect. Also, there have been some claims of sloppy service and rushed techs. I'm willing to pay that $25-30 for just a little extra control in the event that something happens.

 

ThinkPad protection is Lenovo's accidental damage plan.

The Realtek cards in my experience aren't the fastest, but connections are decent. Drivers are more of a pain than Intel.

The "Edge" is not a real ThinkPad. It doesn't share anything with ThinkPad, that is why it is so cheap. Buy the T420, you will not regret it.

Depot repair is to an IBM repair center, IBM does all of Lenovo's US support.

 

It depends on the region I guess, from experience technicians that come to do warranty work on your system may not be directly from the OEM (Lenovo) themselves. The technicians can be contracted on behalf of Lenovo to do the warranty work so it may come from a small local IT repair company that has been approved by Lenovo to do the repairs. That said it doesn't mean that their workmanship should be inferior in comparison.

 

That is not my understanding.

forum.thinkpads.com • View topic - Sloppy repair by Solectron (pics)

forum.thinkpads.com • View topic - Problems with EasyServ and Solectron

 

Hrm that's odd, everytime we RMA a ThinkPad it gets sent to an IBM depot. Maybe it is different for end users, that I don't know.

Those posts are quite old, from 2006.

 

While the posts are old, my understanding is that servicing has not changed much since then. The region in which you reside determines where your depot repair will take place. Not all repair depots are IBM.

I've also read some threads on several cell phone supplier forums. Apparently some cell phone repair is done by Solectron as well, and the stories are not any prettier.

If I knew my ThinkPad would go to an IBM depot if it needed service, I'd be willing to stick with depot repair. Because I can't be sure, I'll get a warranty that doesn't let my beloved ThinkPad out of my sight.

Note that my T61 (and the T61 has nVidia graphics) and T400 have never needed repair --and hopefully my T420 never will either. I've found that most electronics (assuming a quality vendor and reasonable treatment), if they have a warranty issue, will have it in the first ninety days of use. The peace of mind is worth the extra $25-30 to me, though.