Two month backlog on W500?

I ordered a W500 on July 14, with an estimated shipping date of 7/24 (which made sense, since the webite then showed shipping within 11 days). Today, I noticed that my order status still hadn't changed from "in process," though the workday in China was over, so I called the support line to check the status.

They nonchalantly informed me that because of "high demand" for the W500, my order wouldn't ship until September 14, Two Months after I ordered.

I asked if there was a specific component holding up the order, but they said they'd have to ask a different department, and that I'd get an email in 2 business days. So, I'm standing here, being told that it will take until the middle of next week to hear why a laptop that should have shipped already won't arrive for two months.

Has anyone else experienced/heard anything about this delay? This is my system manifest:

4058CT CONFIGURED SYSTEM
07/24/09 $1,689.15 $1,689.15
42X6339 SBB INT.CORE2DUOPROCT9600
42V8173 VBB MS WIN VISTA BUSSINESS 64
44C1081 SBB G W VISTABSS64 US ENGLISH
43Y3484 SBB MW XP PROFES. US ENG RDVD
44C1925 SBB 15.4 WUXGA TFT
44C1922 SBB ATIMBLITYFGLV5700W/512VR
42X6306 VBB 2GBPC3-8500 1067MHZ1DIMM
42X6355 SBB KYB US ENGLISH
44C1927 SBB ULTNV(TR.P.+TOUCHPAD)+FIN
44C1917 VBB INTEGRATED CAMERA
44C1935 SBB 250GB HDD,5400RPM
44C1931 SBB DVD REC8XMAXDUL.ULT.S.SATA
42X6310 VBB EXPR.CARD SLOT/PCCARDSLOT
62P6054 VBB INTEGR.BLUETOOTH PAN
42X5669 SBB INTEL WIMAX+3X3WIFI
44C1928 SBB INTWIRELESSWIDEAR.NETW.UPG
41W1508 SBB 6 CELL LI-ION BATTERY
39T6442 SBB COUNTRY PACK NORTH AMERICA
44C1941 SBB LANG.PACK US ENG.
41C9334 3 YEAR THINKPAD PROTECTION

I fell in love with ThinkPads after seeing the build quality and durability of a coworker'sT60, and I was excited to order my first ThinkPad, but I'm appalled that in addition to having a massive unannounced delay, NOBODY from Lenovo contacted me about there being a problem through the very day the system was supposed to ship! I'm weighing options, but I'll probably have to cancel my order and get a Dell Precision Workstation, as I feel I can trust them to ship a system in a timely manner, or at least be honest and forthcoming in communications with customers. It's a shame for Lenovo.

 

You can be appalled all you want, but it won't change anything. It happens all the time, not just Lenovo, but other manufacturers as well. If a part on your order does out of stock, you pretty much got to wait. It's a by product of manufacturers only keeping a very small supply of parts. It's one of the many ways they keep down the cost of the notebook you just bought. Historically two months isn't that bad. People used to wait six months or longer for certain ThinkPads. It's sucks when it's you, but there's not much you can do, other than cancel or try to figure out which part is causing the delay and reorder without it.

 

If anything, its gotta be the display as a bottleneck. Try to order without it

Seriously, just wait until next week to find out details. When I called inquiring about T400s a few days before the official announcement/availability, they told me it will not be released until October. Than once I placed the order, ESD got shifted around. It took a total of 17 days from the day I placed an order to they day it appeared at my doorsteps, while according to ESD it would have been additional 2 weeks. You can cancel your order in two days, just give them a chance to clarify wth is going on.

 

Wow, that sucks. I hope the tech was as ignorant about this as they are about most things and it actually ships sooner. Follow up next week and see if you can find out more.

As for Dell's shipping, I wouldn't say my experience with them has been much better. Lenovo's estimates tend to be conservative, but Dell's are all over the place in my experience (tho they should be able to get you a computer before September).

 

I'm in the same situation. I ordered a T400s on 7/10 with an ESD of 7/24. I called Lenovo today and they told me their internal system says 9/10!

Sounds like Lenovo has two problems:
1. Supply problem with a part common to all Thinkpads
2. An online order system that is incapable of providing the proper customer experience (they could even tell me when the website would be updated or why the ESD changed by so much)

I am starting to understand why these great Thinkpad products are no longer favored by many businesses.

UPDATE: Lenovo order website has updated my ESD to 09/15

 

9/15? That sucks, 2 months is just too long, but you'll just have to wait.