What's with Lenovo?

I placed an order for a new Thinkpad yesterday morning and didn't get an email confirmation so I decided to call and confirm order.

I called this morning and got a pre-recorded message (when I selected order status) that said they were really busy and wait times were 30 minutes and to call back later. Disconnect.

I just called again (almost 9 hours later) and got the same message. Can't they afford customer support any more??? Really disappointed.

BTW, I can check my status online because I didn't have a printer attached to my computer when I placed the order (I was out of town) and I won't be able to print it till tomorrow when I connect to my printer at work. Note: I printed it, but because the printer wasn't online, it's sitting in my print queue.

 

I placed my order a few days ago and then I found this -

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/T400-T5...d-improved-T-series-shipping-thread/td-p/7550

Hopefully it works out good for you and your order is in the system and gets sent promptly!

 

It is the Christmas season --that may play into it.

If you created a login in order to purchase, log back in and print the order. FYI, in the future, you may wish to install freeware like PDF Creator which will let you print anything to PDF. This is what I do with all of my online orders so I have a digital copy.

 

I use OneNote for something like that, but even a screen capture that's pasted into Paint would work. Either way, there's a copy!

 

Or you can use the XPS writer that's on any reasonably updated Microsoft OS these days.

I was unable to login for a couple days after my order (the whole Cyber Monday thing, I ordered Sunday night), but I still received an email right away.

 

I have the impression they are already clearing out old models for the arrival of the new Calpella stuff (where applicable).

More and more people seem to not get their stuff, and I think I even had seen a little 'while supplies last' footnote somewhere on the canadian lenovo shop sites.

 

Excellent idea.

 

Perhaps I should explain a bit further.

I always print a copy of the order whenever I order online. Typically, I always print a copy or write it down, but since most vendors send you a confirmation email within a very short time, I've been guilty of relying on it.

I should also mention that I ordered the Lenovo while using a Macbook so I could have easily done a screen capture using the built in screen capture feature in OS X.

When I get to work tomorrow, my order will print out and I'll have both my customer number and order number to lookup online. Especially since Lenovo is no longer making it easy to call them.

 

Which browser did you use to order?

I've unfortunately had issues using Firefox when checking out at Lenovo's site. Internet Explorer was fine, but I don't know about Safari.

 

It gets worse!

I finally printed out my order so now I've got my customer and order number.

I logged back in to check order status and unbelievably THEY CHANGED THE F'ING SHIP DATE.

Online, they brag about shipping in 18 days and just a couple of days later they changed the ship date to 1/12/2010.

The only reason I ordered was because I could get it before the end of the year and get a tax deduction in 2009. Sucks!

No email confirmation.
No email notifying me of a change in ship date.
poor customer service - can't get through on the phone.
Ship date now scheduled for 2010.

Time to cancel this sucker and tell Lenovo where to shove it!

 

Wow, sorry to hear about your customer service experiences. I've had nothing but good luck with ordering both my Thinkpads. But, I do very much agree that thier ordering process definitely needs to be re-worked. It's one of the worst ordering systems I've ever dealt with for ordering a high $$$$ electronics item. Basically once you place your order it just says "in process" and gives you an estimated ship date (that is usually very far away) and you won't hear anything until your unit ships. I hope someday day will give a much more detailed order status page, with a faster shipping update page as well. Also, as a side note, I did experience very heavy call volumes with Lenovo as well when I called them last week. I guess it's due to the holidays.

 

Update...

Called to cancel order and talked with a gentlemen who wanted to check on the status. I guess he thought I was kidding about the change of ship date.

After two minutes on hold he confirmed that the new ship date was 1/12/2010 and he wanted me to call back in a few days to see if it was still delayed until then. I said, "Are you kidding me. I got no confirmation email of my order, no email to inform me that the ship date was changed, and now you want ME to call back to see if it might ship earlier. What kind of customer service is that?". I told him to screw off and just cancel the order. I also told him to quit advertising on their website that it will ship in 18 days when the reality is that it will take more than a month.

Extremely disappointed in Lenovo, which until now, I thought of as a premium product with premium customer service. How wrong can I be? I want IBM back!!!

 

Mid november to feburary is one of the worst times to buy something if you want it to arrive fast or easy. Sure there are deals and all, but everyone is buying stuff and returning and this is one of the most overloaded times for companies. Just an FYI.

 

Press Alt PrSrc and u can copy into Word.

 

You sound like the jerk in this conversation...

 

I have ordered and I did not get a ship date at all! Also, there are no details in the order, so I can't even verify that everything I wanted will be included, there is just a generic description:

Qty Product Description Price Total
1 2081CTO ThinkPad T500 - 1 Yr Depot Warranty $1,074.45 $1,074.45

Shipping & Handling: $0.00
Tax: $128.93

Total: $1,203.38
Payment method: Credit card

How can I fond the order details and shipping date?

 

Thanks for your constructive comments. At least mine are factual!

 

You'll probably have to call them if you didn't print the order after you finalized it

 

I don't see where his weren't factual.

Not to insult you, but first of all, he said "You sound like a jerk in this conversation". Which is his expressing an opinion.

Secondly, let me quote you:

First of all, two minutes on hold is nothing during the holiday season. I'd be thankful I wasn't holding for ten minutes, and I wouldn't consider ten minutes unusual, be it Dell, HP, or Lenovo.

Secondly, he's a customer service rep, not the production boss, or the webmaster. He has no control over the delays, nor over the website advertising. If you really told him to "screw off" (you said your comments were "factual" so I'm assuming for the moment that you are) I'd call that incredibly rude. You certainly had the option to request to speak with his supervisor, and you could have remained polite, even in cancelling your order and expressing your disappointment.

Do you really think that if IBM still owned the company, it would guarantee no delay in your order during the winter holiday season?

 

I 100% agree.

 

Perhaps I wasn't clear.

When I provide the gentleman (note the polite speak) with my order number, I explained to him what the original ship date was and that I ordered because it said on the website that I could expect a ship date within 18 days. And after checking order status and seeing that the ship date had changed to 01/12/2010, he wanted to check and see if that was what actually happened. His reaction was (I'm basing this on the way he sounded on the) one of disbelief. I don't remember his exact words, but he said he wanted to check the order. He kept asking me questions about my order, and I could tell he was waiting for his computer to find the order details.

The reason I know this is because he eventually told me...

He then asked if he could put me on hold while he waited for the order details to come up. I didn't mind because I wanted him to verify that what I told him was true.

Remember, I initially told him that I wanted to cancel the order because the ship date was changed to a date after the end of the year. I made it clear that I only ordered because I had a ship date prior to the end of the year.

After a couple of minutes he came back online and verified that what I had told him was true. He already knew that I wanted to cancel the order because they had changed the ship date, and he then asked me to call back in a couple of days to see if the ship date might change to an earlier date.

Now I ask you, is that customer service? If he would have said, I really think this will ship before the end of the year and I will see if I can expedite for you, he would have peaked my interest but no. He wanted me to call back again and go through this all over again.

No, I did not literally tell him to screw off, but I did tell him how disappointed I was that Lenovo was advertising on their website that it would ship in 18 days when they clearly knew that it wouldn't. I base this on the fact that the ship date had changed in just two days. I do know that my original order had a ship date of 12/28/2009. And I did tell him that all I wanted to do was cancel the order, not call back and go through the same thing again.

I also explained that I was really disappointed that I did not get an email confirming my order, nor and email that the ship date had been changed. With bonus depreciation expiring the end of the year and enhanced Section 179 limits expiring 12/31/2009, any capital expenditure that gets pushed to next year may very well result in a significant reduction in the amount you can deduct in the year of purchase. I really don't expect the average sales rep to understand this, but come on now, surely Lenovo has accountants and market people that understand this.

This is my opinion, but I had the distinct feeling that he had been coached to say whatever needs to be said to retain the order. He was very apologetic about the delays and had no explanation for the change in the ship date. Nevertheless, he was doing everything possible to keep me from canceling the order.

Thinkpads are outstanding products and Lenovo certainly doesn't need my order to make their bottom line, but I get to choose where I spend my money and very often, that decision is not just based on the quality of the product. I've been buying Thinkpads for so long I can't remember when I bought my first one.

About 4 years ago, I bought a Mac just to see what all the fuss was about. I still run Windows (via Parallels or Fusion), but I can tell you this; Apple knows how to deliver product when they say they will and their customer service is top notch.

I may sound like a hypocrite - after all, if I'm happy with a Mac, why order a Thinkpad. It just so happens that I need a Windows laptop for some special needs that I can't really go into on this public forum.

My reference to IBM was because I bought so many Thinkpads from them compared to Lenovo and I never ran into these kinds of delays. My experience with IBM customer service was excellent. Sorry, I can't say that when it comes to Lenovo. That's my opinion, and I'll stand by it.

 

The bottom line given you are a bean counter is to take it or leave it. You want it then wait in line like other folks. If you don't then walk. Seem like a control freak.

 

I should have seen that you're a mac fanboy. Can this thread be closed please?

 

Some people think they are the only customer served by these huge multi-national corps (such as Lenovo), that they can reasonably expect to-the-minute, detailed e-mail updates, during the holiday season.

Anyone in retail (or a remotely close industry) knows that the system that works reliably for 10-11 months out of the year, is HEAVILY taxed in the month or so before Christmas in all aspects, and most reasonable people can certainly show a measure of understanding during this period - and not hurl abusive language at the poor guy manning the phone line.

Quite clearly the original poster is not part of this reasonable group of people.

 

Now, now, no need to flame the OP to a crisp. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and expectations, however unrealistic or unreasonable they may be.

I can't say I agree with you, OP, but I'm sorry your T400s purchase didn't work out.

 

u talkin about me? i've never touched an apple. or youre talkin about the bean counter from omaha?

 

Whoa, wait a minute.

I just ordered a Dell from the outlet shop and it shipped the same day. They provided timely detail of the progress of my order, when I can expect delivery and a tracking number. No delays, no back-orders. It was in stock and they shipped it. Yesterday.

Why was Dell able to do it not Lenovo? Does Dell have less customers, less inventory? Less Holiday traffic? I don't think so.

There is something wrong with Lenovo's business model, acknowledging that doesn't make you a complainer. When you pay your money you have a right to expect a certain level of treatment. Now it may be that Lenovo simply can't provide it and that's ok, but then they have a responsibility upfront to manage the customer's expectations.

If it's going to take up to 4 days to receive notification that your order is being processed, then don't say 1-2 days. If you're having inventory issues then say so, before I hit the buy button. Manage the expectation and 99% of customer dissatisfaction goes away.

As the OP said, they could have done a few things to defuse the situation and retain the sale. In the old days of retail, you would never let a customer walk away in anger...even if he was being a tool.

I ordered clothing from various online shops. They provided a timely detail of shipment's progress and delivered when they said they would. No delays, no excuses of it being "the holiday season". They put it in a box and shipped it.

Why can Amazon do it? LL Bean? Home Depot? Shouldn't the holiday season slow them down too? Yet somehow, they manage ship in at timely manner, they even Guarantee that if you place an order by a certain date, they will get to your home by Christmas and more often than not they do just that.

That is the way it is supposed to be and is handled by the majority of companies that provide an online service. Companies plan for the holiday season and increase staff and capacity to handle it.

I agree that no one should be rude to the rep on the phone, it's not his fault the shipment got delayed. However we as consumers should always push the companies we give our money to, to provide the best service for us that they can and not fall back on excuses.

Your miles may vary, of course..

 

The bean counter not you.

 

homeboy probably did get an apple instead.....

 

No one matches Dell for supply chain management, this is how Dell became the leading computer suppliers, as compared to the competitors which use to build all the computers preconfigured and store in a warehouse for a month or two. But you did order the computer from an outlet, so this is slightly different. The OP should understand that when a sale is on especially at the Christmas season, a lot of people wants a bargain, especially electronic goods, they have been saving up for it the whole year.

Just like driving during peak hour.... and having an over-optimistic travel time expectation... now you are at the height of the peak hour shopping.... so slow speed is expected.

 

Look Trojan head, just because I have an Apple and like their products and services doesn't mean I'm a fanboy of theirs. Truth of the matter is, I write software (for 25 years) for Windows. So how does that fit into your Apple fanboy assumption? But I will say this, Apple is one of the best Windows computers I've ever had. But Thinkpads can hold their own against any Windows PC ... provided you can get one.

And no, I didn't order anything yet.

My company (which I own) spends upwards of a 6 digit number on computer and software every year and as one of the previous posts said, Dell, Amazon, McMall, Apple, HP, and others don't have trouble sending out a simple email confirming your order... why does Lenovo get a pass. Heck, we even do it and it's totally automatic once it's been programmed in. That is unless you don't know what you're doing.

Say what you will, but I'm comparing the service I received from Lenovo to that of the other vendors I deal with on a day to day basis, and they don't measure up.

I've never ordered a Dell (and there's been a lot of them) that wasn't delivered BEFORE the quoted ship date! I read somewhere that it's part of their online model... quote the ship date further into the future than you KNOW you can deliver and make the customer happy by delivering early!

Now who are you going to buy from, the company their never delivers on time or the one that always delivers earlier than they quoted you???

If this is too complicated for you, I'll try to dumb it down!

 

My original complaint was that I didn't get an email confirming my order! The 2nd complaint was that I didn't get notified that the ship date was changed from the original order AND I wouldn't have known because my order printed with a ship date approx 18 days from the order date. It wasn't until I was able to get online and view the order status that I realized that the ship date had changed.

This was not a sale item. Not when you consider that Lenovo ALWAYS has stuff discounted from the MSRP. I think they copied this from Dell. In fact, the T400s sells at a premium price compared to the T400.

Year-end is an especially busy time for any company selling tax deductible items, like computers and software, and I would hope that a company like Lenovo would understand the significance of moving a ship date from this year to next year???

 

I might counter by saying I hope you would understand the significance of how busy the holiday season is, what with people ordering gifts for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc. as well as others trying to do the same thing you are, and consider ordering early to make sure you got your system prior to the end of the year. You might also have explained this significance politely to the CSR or their supervisor and gotten some help; instead, you told someone to "screw off".

Lenovo's supply chain isn't perfect. Neither, however, was your response. You sound a lot like the person who would be really upset if they came to the toy store two weeks before Christmas and was surprised and offended that they didn't have the hottest toy of the season you wanted to get your child.

 

I'm just going to stick my two cents in about the shipping date: It be wrong. My Est shipping date for my T400 (bought on black friday last year) was about a month later than when it actually shipped. I got it around December 14th, IIRC. (On the flip side my friend who ordered it at the same time got his a week earlier)


Oh, and stop bickering all of you. I mean it. Otherwise the Lenovo mods will all be up in here and beat you all.

 

Ordered a T500 on 12/1 with an estimated shipping date of 12/9. They emailed me on 12/9 to say that it will be delayed to 12/11 (today). No big deal, I thought. So, I just logged in a moment ago to see if the status was updated and what does it say? Estimated shipping date: 12/25.

But hey, the CARRYING CASE will ship on 12/14. Merry Christmas!

 

Bad econ. End of year stress. Perhaps other problems non. People are uptight moody and angry. Chill and happy holidaze! esp jjcpa get a nice cup of eggnog and relax man. seem very angry.

 

@jjcpa. Sorry to hear about your experience about not getting any confirmation e-mails....that does suck. I too would be upset if the shipping date was pushed back...but unless I absolutely wanted the computer urgently, I would probably wait a reasonable time just cuz I really wanted the Thinkpad. Sometimes when you really want a product and you are even slightly let down by the seller, all the excitement can easily turn into anguish.

I personally I like to be prepared for such set backs when ordering online...its part and parcel of the experience. Though this hasn't happened to me so I can only try to empathize with you.

To be fair, I ordered my first Lenovo ever and the ordering experience was very pleasant. Don't mean to rub salt in your wounds. Just trying to stay balanced. I worked closely with a sales rep who kept me on top of everything, was clear about what she could and couldn't do (no empty promises) and at the risk of sounding like a lenovo promo, I think she was even able to make sure the order was not set back. Indeed it arrived sooner than I thought I would.

Point being, these things do happen and it sucks when it happens to you. But generally much can't be done if you really do want the product. Hope things work out for you.

Happy holidays everybody. Speaking of eggnog, I just tried some in tea...its delicious that way...Mmm....eggnog.....(drooling)...

 

People just want their Lenovos. That's all. I read the whole thread and one thing is clear to me. People are nowadays (rightly) used to get things fast and as promised. On eBay, two of the criterias you leave feedback on are "speed of shipment" and "communication with seller". If Lenovo were on eBay, they would not get very high scores.

And then you go to Lenovo's website and it don't even load... or the outlet is slow like today.

Well on Cyber-monday I went to amazon (and ordered) and I purchased a 10$ memory card on buy.com. Both purchases are with me already. The websites were as fast as any other day.

Anyway, my laptop got shipped about on time from Lenovo so I am a happy camper. I just think they provide a "below average" pre-delievery experience to my standard for many people. For my current order it was OK.

This is not to say I don't like Lenovo. Even if I was given an estimated shipping date in 2010 I would still have ordered my laptop because T400 is what I wanted.

Asking for more is not as bad as delivering less. That's what I have to say.

 

So succinct, yet so profound.

 

I've re-read some of my postings and if I offended anybody, I would like to sincerely apologize.

As I have stated before, I've been dealing with Thinkpads for a very, very long time. When IBM decided (in their infinite wisdom) to see their PC business to Lenovo, I was very upset because I felt that their product and service would be diminished as Lenovo tried to "consumerize" their products. I'm happy that their products do not seem to be much less than what iBM delivered, but sadly, I do think their service has suffered.

As a consumer, I get to decide where my money goes, and I do not think that Lenovo deserves it. As much as I would really like to have a T400s, I'm not happy with my Lenovo experience and will decide on an alternative option.

My posting on this thread was not to hurl nasties at anyone nor have them thrown my way, but to share my experience with Lenovo to see if anyone else had the same disappointment.

I'm sure there are many people who have a good experience buying from Lenovo, just like there are many who have a good experience buying from Dell. I think it's obvious from some of the postings in this thread that there are many that clearly had the same experience I had. As consumers, if we don't start complaining about this poor experience, then soon everyone will be getting treated the same way.

 

I am not saying that it is a sale item or not, but the fact is that Lenovo ships out to worldwide customers from the same contract manufacturer for each specific model. While Dell USA ships some high volume selling machine to their US depot in barebone unit, then they assemble them as according to the needs of the local market. This also makes Dell more efficient, after 20 odd years in the computer business with industry leading Supply Chain Management, no one can match Dell for their efficiency in Supply Chain management. IMHO Lenovo still have a long way to go before they can even go toe to toe with Dell in terms of Shipping their computer/laptop to their worldwide customer in Time.

Also, a lack of sale when you purchased doesn't mean a sale event doesn't exist, because there are various discounts coupons flowing around the net, in addition to the CPP discounts that some people can enjoy. Furthermore, in Australia there have huge surges of Thinkpad sale events that is occurring in recent times, so despite the small population of Australia, it does affect you. Considering that a dozen people i know have purchased around 1000 odd thinkpads together to resell. I forgot to say that currently, in Australia there is a 50% tax incentive for the small business for laptops. So everyone is snapping up the generous offers before this year ends. Oh another thing, because the price of Thinkpads in USA is so low, some people are actually re-exporting the thinkpads from USA back to China for resale.....

In regard to Apple, you would have noticed that Apple offers a low level of customisation for their systems, apart from CPU (not many option here either), hdd, ram and on some model LCD (gloss or matte and better resolution in more expensive model)... this means that much of the upgrade can occur in store, ram and hdd upgrade are fairly easy. This means that they can preconfigure computers and ship them out to the various depots around the world, and further customisation can be done at the depot and ready for shipping. Furthermore, Apple does charge a bundle for LCD and cpu upgrades, more than their competitors does for the same upgrade, this hiked up premium further deters people from upgrading from the stock standard that they keep in stores. In Australia, the Apple stores, salesman would try to coerce you that take what they have on their hand (either by telling you have to wait a week or two or give you deal sweeteners like free mouse, bags, etc)....

For each of a Lenovo Thinkpad model you can have:

-different screen resolution
-different card reader configuration
-different pcmcia/expresscard/smartcard combo
-different GPU option
-Camera or no camera option
-hdd, optical drive, ram option
-wireless card option
-wireless usb
-wimax, 3.5G internet option
-option for bluetooth, intel turbo memory, fingerprint reader, etc

So you get my idea.... So Apple and Lenovo are not exactly the same. Nor is Lenovo on the same level as Dell on logistics and supply chain management.

 

I will agree with you that Lenovo's customer service experience can be uneven. Many of us in the forums have seen examples of that. Some have had great service, some less than what they deserve. Mine has been middle-of-the-road, but the laptop hardware itself has been pretty good.

I truthfully think that your case has points on both sides. I would have been disappointed, like you, to find a 30-day delay for my order (although do note that Lenovo is often quite conservative on their ship dates; you might have gotten your system sooner), and I also would have been concerned to not receive an order confirmation via e-mail. However, I also worked retail some years ago, and as someone providing customer service, being yelled at over something I had no control over is something I have experience with (something you indicated doing with your CSR when you cancelled your order). Those types of customers got exactly what my job description required of me, no more, no less. Whereas customers who treated me with respect got performance far in excess of my job requirement.

Whatever model of laptop you choose, I hope it works out for you. Dell's Latitude E6400 and E6500, IMO, are certainly worthy models, and will probably arrive sooner if you choose a model without too many customizations. I'd also check out techbargains.net to see what coupons are available.

 

Thanks for the tip on techbargains.net. I normally go to dealcatcher.com for coupons, but in this particular case, I did not use a coupon. I did get special pricing because of a professional group that I belong to. Pricing was excellent and better than any coupon, but I'm going to see what everyone else has to offer. The T400s is very hard to beat in terms of battery life, size, and I do love the Thinkpad keyboard.

 

I couldn't beat my T400 on price, or keyboard or trackpoint. At the same time, the Dell Latitude D630 (when I bought my T61) and and the E6400/E6500 (when I got my T400) were strong competitors with what I knew to be dependable warranty service (if needed), and the E-series has HDMI and eSATA.

I've bought the E6400 and E6500 for others, and it is a tough call. However, unless I went through the outlet, I'd have paid $300 more for the equivalent of the T400, which seemed a lot for the improved warranty.