Worst choice of laptop - Lenovo

I bought a Lenovo G460 laptop on 4th July 2010. When I switched on the computer for the first time, on starting up of Windows the screen went blank. After 4 days of trying to re-install the OS and drivers (as suggested by the Customer Care person I called up), I gave the laptop to the Lenovo service center on 10th July 2010. After 10 days, on 20th July, they call me saying that my laptop has been fixed. On going there I come to know that they weren't even aware of the problem in the first place! After spending 2 hours trying to explain to them what the problem is (I had to convince them that because display is working fine on an external monitor, the problem cant JUST be driver related), I came back empty handed without my laptop.

On calling up the service center after that, they give vague replies saying that "Sir your problem has been diagnosed and we will fix it soon". Specific questions as to what the problem is result in vague answers. It has been 3 weeks since I bought a brand new laptop and till now I haven't been able to run it even once.

If you haven't made the mistake already, please PLEASE do NOT buy a Lenovo laptop. Spend a little more and get an HP / DELL laptop. Atleast you will be able to use it in peace.


Sashi Kanth
+91-98926-96396
[email protected]


Purchase Bill

Service Center report

 

which country did you purchase the laptop? in India?

I think what you are saying is an isolated case. If you follow Hp and Dell's website, they also have problems.

Obviously, this sort of delay is not a good thing and doesn't reflect positively on Lenovo.

I think you have posted this on the Lenovo forum too, in that case wait a day or two, and see how it goes.

 

I agree with Lead Org.
Give them a chance to make it right. I'd also demand a new Laptop. Having a brand new laptop not work right from day one is a BIG no-no.

But, as said, give them a chance. My experiences with Lenovo CS is very positive.

 

You need to call Lenovo Warranty Care (India) ASAP. They are located in Delhi. Get on them and tell them what't going on. Most likely they will transfer your case onto another Service Center. And, insist that you be put on a 3-way con-call with the local service center that you are having problems with. And, just for the record, send in an email with all the info you have (scanned docs etc.) to Lenovo Warranty Care. And, do it quickly. But be polite but firm!

I am saying this from experience (in India) but with ThinkPad Center. And, as my posts on the matter show, they have handled the problem appropriately and to my satisfaction. Just don't put too much faith on the Service Provider - they are just contracted guys who log your complaint, fudge the books and take their per call service charge from Lenovo (or whatever brand).

Edit: And did you not test the machine when you took delivery? It is required of the reseller to turn it on and show you its working; test for dead pixels and all the other such scary stuff.

 

Saying to spend a little more isn't really a valid point. There are tons of cheap Dells and HPs too. Everyone has the potential to make junk and in my experience I have seen terrible laptops from most all OEMs.

I agree that you just probably got a lemon. If that keeps you away from Lenovo, so be it. But don't expect Dell or HP, et al to be your greener pastures. One general thing is that business class laptops tend to have better warranties and customer support.

 

I'm sorry you feel that way toocool_sashi, my T410 is the best laptop I've ever owned.
I understand it can be frustrating, and that you had a bad experience makes you think Lenovo is a terrible brand, but it's not a common occurance. Every brand has issues of some sort. Remember that when something is mass produced, every once in a while there will be one with quality control issues. That's normal. I can only speak for the T series thinkpad, but I can honestly say it's by far the best laptop that I've ever owned.

 

most brand's 'cheapest' Consumer laptops quality are questionable. Be that HP, Dell, Lenovo, Acer, Toshiba, etc.

 

"You get what you pay for." When I hear that cliche, I know some one is either trying to sell something for too much money, or some one is trying to justify paying too much money. The corollary, though, is a truism: "You get what you do NOT pay for."

Nothing excuses a DOA laptop, and pathetic support offered! At the G-series price point, you may well be better to go for a different consumer-oriented brand. HP/Compaq & Dell designs & manufacturing systems are optimized to drive out costs because the consumer market is such a huge part of their business.

In your shoes, I'd dump Lenovo at your price point too. I would not extrapolate your experiences with consumer laptops to set expectations for business-class laptops. Because downtime costs a business so much more money than a consumer, a business can justify investing more money into a quality computer, and that's Lenovo's primary target market.

 

The truth is that most cheaper consumer laptops design are pretty much all done by the Contract Manufacturer, whom are not only acting as OEM, but as ODM (original design manufacturer). The OEM would simply slap a company logo on these machines, and slightly change the casing design to differentiate the products.

HP or Dell can't really do much more in terms of quality than Lenovo at that price point. Those al cheapo Compaq laptops are pretty bad too, my friend bought a 499 AUD (RRP was 699) compaq laptop from a store, and it died 3 times over 2 months. Eventually he was so sick of it (he complained to HP and Consumer affairs), he got offered a HP Elitebook for 500 dollars extra (the price difference was more like 1500 dollars) as a good well gesture from HP.

Dell consumer laptops doesn't fair that well either in that price range.

 

He paid approximately US$ 720 for that machine! And, in my opinion, he needs to get the obligatory warranty-backed support from Lenovo. In fact, I think, this should not be a question of warranty at all in the first place and he should be given a new machine with a fresh warranty cover. This is a case of the reseller/ service provider playing hanky-panky (not unheard of). This is also the reason why in India you are advised (and the service provider, if he is a reputable one, will offer) to always power-on the machine you choose to show you that it is working and go over the machine with you before you take it home. And, if he does not do it, you are supposed to demand that he does so. If he does not comply, then you should not buy the machine from him and report him to the company for which he will eventually get hell, if you know what I mean.

 

Yes post sales warranty and service is what differentiates between the consumer laptops nowadays. This is where the brand of machine is important.

@Lines of Flight. Lenovo definitely needs to come through for the OP in regards to the warranty service.

I think we diverged a bit when we started to discuss the quality of the consumer laptops versus the Thinkpad laptops.

 

I agree. And, I think the OP should have contacted Lenovo Warranty Care BEFORE he approached the Service Provider. And, now since the Service Provider is fooling around, it becomes even more important that he contacts Lenovo Warranty Care directly. Their numbers and contact info is available from the Lenovo Website. If the OP is interested, I could get the info for him, I guess.

 

HI Shashi,

I have also bought the same model in July 2010 and facing same kind of issues. I tried to call the customer care center, went to service center. they reinstalled it with windows 7 and charged me Rs 600 for re-installation of the software.

There is definitely some issue with this lenevo model. I am feeling like I have wasted my money buying this laptop. Its window which is genuine windows 7 crashes every 7-10 days.


Yudhisthir Singh
+91- 9811604649
Email: [email protected]

 

Consumer laptops are all (~99%) crap. If you think Lenovo is bad, wait until you try garbage Dell will sell you. Using Dell laptop in peace? Don't make me laugh! In that respect they are all pretty much the same - from cheap build quality, junk components to practically non-existant customer service. C'est la vie... It's unfortunate.

Btw, do not post an e-mail address on public forum, unless you want to get spammed.

Spending a "little more" to buy either Thinkpad, Latitude or Elitebook will give you a better laptop too.

 

I limit myself to commenting on those machines that I actually use and on the Lenovo situation in the country in which I live.

I have had my shares of wonderfuls and terribles from different manufacturers.

 

Yep, it's very much luck of the draw! My own x200 blue screened the first time I booted it, not to mention a bunch of other minor faults that developed over several months. As a main work machine I couldn't afford the down time of sending it back so while it was definitely faulty it worked (and continues to) adequately to get the job done. My experience with their UK customer service has left much to be desired. Throw in the fact that I bought it with my own hard earned cash (and it was expensive back then too!) and I've been left with an extremely bad impression of Lenovo overall. In contrast, the majority of x200 owners on this forum have had nothing but good experiences. The same can said for pretty much all notebooks and other laptops in existence. I've heard so many nightmare Dell stories but at the same time have myself experienced exceptionally good Dell after sales service.

One manufacturer, Fujitsu Siemens, has been consistently good for me, and friends. Firstly, I've only ever had machines that were manufactured in either Germany or Japan - both known for excellence in their quality assurance. The only issues with manufacturers of relatively less mainstream corporate equipment is the availability and cost of spares and OEM replacement parts (eg. batteries).

Therefore, bitter as I may be, I put down my bad Lenovo experience simply as "a dud one". Will it affect my choice on my next purchase - yes, of course but if another Lenovo is looking like the best option I'd probably still buy it. Sucker!

 

If you have a visit of these laptop manufacturing facility you would know that the Chinese workers have to 2 to 3 times as hard as their Japanese/Germany counterparts in terms of no. of product output (and the Chinese workers tend to be less well trained and gets paid lot less too).

This usually increases the rate of error as workers are pushed to their physical limit in an effort to drive up production rate.

Having said that i have had 4 different X200 thinkpads, all of them are without major faults. Only one had to be sent for repair due to yellowing of the display after 2 years.