Spare parts and service time

Hi!

I reccently had a thread about the W510 beep codes. Well it seems my worst nightmare has come true (no it is not the damage itself). My system board (according to phone support and my problem description) needs to be changed and a service technician will call me. What can go wrong ... I have warranty, the model is not brand new but not old either and they already know which part to bring.

So I just got a phone call telling me that the system board is ordered but they don't know ANYTHING about when it will arrive. Not even an estimate (1, 2, 3 weeks...). So basicly I have to wait an unknown amount of time until they call me and then probably take a day off to wait for the tech guy. Come on is that really what I paid for? I am really annoyed and wonder how common parts like a system board are not stocked or at least are on order to have at least 1-2 of them in the next couple of days.

Now I am forced to wait until someone calls me and hope that I catch the call because they don't show their phone numbers. After that I have to make an appointment with a technician and take a day off from work. This is really not good support. Especially in the long run I fear it is the same with other brands at the end of there life cycle "oh that part ... well we might get a old one in 2 months" but it just happens now.


PS: This does not reflect the Thinkpad quality itself. So far I don't know what or why something got busted. I also don't want to send in my notebook because then I have to take off a day to catch the packet when it comes back or drive 70km to get it 2 days later.

PPS: I have ThinkPlus warranty - so I guess if I throw my notebook out of the window "accidently" I get a working one faster than waiting for a repair ;-)

 

yes that seems to be the problem with the warranty support nowadays.

Apparently, IBM support staff is not suppose to give you a date on the arrival of the part, even if they are given the estimate. Because the ETA changes on a moment notice, so instead of telling a person a wrong ETA, they just say that they don't know.

I personally bore the brunt of this part backorder fiscal on my T60 and T61, not the best experience to have for a business grade laptop. If i did not have couple of spare thinkpads, i think i would have thrown the book at the depot and IBM service.

 

Well I could live without an estimate if the wait would be a week at most (which should be more than possible for a company like Lenovo). The support guy sounded it could be anything from now to months and this is what I find unacceptable. Especially for a current line model which is still mass produced. I really did think that Lenovo is different when it comes to warranty issues but having a essential part on backorder without a set date is deadly in that business.

 

i waited one month + for a motherboard on the T61. The parts order system for warranty purpose is different for manufacturing purpose, this is a case of supply chain breakdown.

 

To me this is a case of failure. Luckily I managed to get hold of a local Lenovo partner which offered his help. He told me that normally parts arrive at the authorized technician/company within 1-2 days. If not I can call him again and we meet to discuss how we progress from there. Why can't Lenovo give me the adress of the guys who actually fix my notebook so I can ask them about delay and make an appointment. This is a bloated structure:

Hotline - Lenovo Service - Lenovo Worldwide - Local Partner - Lenovo Service - Hotline - ME

They should just give me the information where I can contact the guy who will fix my computer. Instead they stall and lose time by talking to each other. I don't need another phone call from Bulgaria or Germany. I am in Austria and I know where the service center is. I actually sent them computer from work - but I can't do that as a private person. ThinkPlus means that Lenovo partners who often repair or send in computers are not allowed to repair mine. So the better warranty is not helping at all in my case.

Just to make clear - I did not buy my computer from that company, he does not get paid by Lenovo but offered his help. This is what I expected from Lenovo. At least a "we are terribly sorry for your wait and do everything we can to help you" instead of a "wait we will call you". I guess this is the most popular breakup cliche in existence ... "don't call me I call you".