Wow...Excellent Lenovo Service.

I don't know about what other people have got from them but I just called Lenovo Sales at (866)428-4465 and I was so happy with their service and representatives. I called three times and received one call and each time, I got a really nice person. Four out of four times, all 100% polite and 100% efficient, especially this one guy:

I placed an order this afternoon and at the checkout page the total was $1,234.14 incl. tax. The email that I was sent said the total was $1,295.18 inclu. tax. So of course, I called them and asked what is the reason for this. He said that I should call them back when I receive my shipping invoice(I read on these forums that that is the answer most people got). When he asked me if there is anything else he can help me with, I realized that I should've ordered a CD-RW drive so I can burn backup discs. So I asked him if I can make that change, but he checked and confirmed that my order was locked into their system. He suggested that I place a new order and cancel the old one. I agreed, and HE placed the order for me(identical order but with the +$10 CD-RW drive). He put me on hold for maybe 5 minutes, then came back asking for the general purchasing information(credit card number, etc.) and also told me that his configurations came out to be $100 less! Which makes my purchase $1,194.27 inclu. tax! When he sent me the email confirmation, I looked through it and much to my surprise, he also added integrated Bluetooth! Bluetooth wasn't even part of my original order!

After a couple hours, I realized I should've spent the extra money on a carrying case. So I called back to add to my order. I got a new guy and he put me on hold, when he came back, he asked for my number so they can call me back. I didn't know why he would do this but when I called back 15 minutes later, Lenovo Sales was closed . So I just sat around for maybe 20 minutes after their closing time, and guess what? They called! After closing time! And another amazing thing is, the guy that called me was the same guy who reconfigured my notebook. I told him what that I wanted a carrying case with my order and he put me on hold then came back with a horrible total price of $1,375.00 compared to my new $1,194.27. I asked him, "the case is $175?". He said that adding the case would ruin the sale so he suggested that I place a separate order for it. And indeed, I did as suggested and placed a separate order for the bag for $41.99. He also threw in free shipping.

And that is the end of my experience with Lenovo Sales. This is my first laptop purchase and it has been a really nice one. I hope everyone who purchased a Lenovo ThinkPad T61 will have or have had the same decent transaction that I have. My first purchase and I swear I've fallen in love with Lenovo.

So now, the only thing left to worry about is whether I get the LG screen and a nice NMB keyboard.

 

you got lucky...heres my story from today..

i was talking to lenovo just now stupid indian rep told me my order was placed 08/03/07 when it was actually placed 08/08/07 and i was holding my invoice right infront of me. and i was telling him no it was placed on the 8th he ignored that and said ur order has shipped but it wasnt the laptop it was the dock and the bag and then the part that really pissed me off he said there no laptop on this order number...WTF!!!! then i started getting really angry and then he put me on hold saying let me check something and he dissconnected me.. wat a stupid eff'er!!.. and then i called back instead of talking to order status i went to parts and replacent center seeing if they could help me they said ill transfer you to sales and then i said not india please the said sales is not india she tranfered and it ...bloddy hell!!!... was india...wtf ...i gave the indian guy my order number he said it existed but he couldnt find any information on it... and said if you wat and call back on monday he can find out more.

what the hell guys anyone else have a similar expierence!! im really regretting buying this thing now from lenovo even all my friends raved about lenovo and said how great it was but mann...there customer service sucks and their stupid call centers andy the god for saken assembly lines!!!... any body here have suggestions on wat do now? should i just go with another company? never in my life i have been so irriated with a company. and for you guys who waited months for your laptop..god bless you i dont know how you guys did it..... but im almost done with this company

 

Wow sounds great man. Also sounds like you got a great deal on your new T61, yer gonna love it. One piece of advice: Don't be disappointed if you get an ALPS or Chicony, I have both sitting right here and they are great keyboards.

Fusion I'll assume you didn't actually read the original post?

 

I guess like all companies, there are the good reps and then the bad ones. I don't know what happened to you but for me, no matter who it is on the other line, you have to be polite and decent. They're just people trying to making a living. Make sure you say thank you every chance you get and say please when you request something. I know it sounds cheesy but it's true, human decency works. You have to remember, these people have to deal with people who have problems and what not, so you know their fuse is short.

Thanks for the assurance braddd. If you can, let me know what the difference is between the ALPS and the Chicony keyboard?

Also, I think Fusion just pasted his post from the T61 shipping thread.

 

@laptopbuy131 - I'm glad you had a good experience. It seems good experiences are sometimes hard to come by with Lenovo. However, the experience might not be over. I don't want to rain on your parade, but have you checked the order status of your original order... the "canceled" order? Don't be surprised when your card is charged for two laptops and you have two laptops arriving to your house.

 

Sure I have them sitting right in front of me so why not.

First difference is: The chicony has short keystrokes. The ALPS keystokes are a tad longer. By keystoke I mean the distance you have to press they key before it hits the bottom. With the chicony having shorter keystrokes it feels like I am able to speed type on it.

The chicony has a bit more tension to the keys then the ALPS does.

The chicony has a bit more of a click when the key hits the bottom (ie. its a bit louder then the ALPS). Although on the ALPS, the large keys, specifically the space bar has like no cushion under it, much louder click sound then any of the chicony keys, including the chiconys space bar.

With that said I have heard many people say they prefer the ALPS and many people say they prefer the chicony, some people even saying they like one or the other better then the NMB.

In my opinion they both feel great, better then any other laptop keyboard I have tried. Having tried them both, I would have been happy with either one on my thinkpad.

 

Thank you so much braddd. That is probably the best input/review of the keyboards I've read. So Chicony = shorter keystrokes/firmer/louder and ALPS = longer keystrokes/softer/mostly quieter. That's really great news. I guess I'm going to be happy with all three keyboards. Thank you so much.

The specs in your sig is exactly what I would get if I went with Vista. Very nice taste. I couldn't get Vista because my University doesn't support it but your specs look really good to me.

@stallen, I just check the link to my original order and this is what it always redirects me to, https://www.directlenovo.com/orderstatus/index.cfm?error=notfound&customer_id=4054772&order=2C9J6P. Even after I type in my order number, it refreshes to that page. I assume it got canceled indefinitely? I mean I canceled it only a few hours after the purchase so it didn't really have time to lock into the system for good I assume.

 

OK... its probably fine. There have been quite a few laptops that have shipped out despite being canceled but if you don't have anything coming up on the order status page for that order number then you should be good to go.

 

Awesome, thanks for the assurance. BTW, your clean install guide is amazing. I'm going to use it myself.

 

That's cool. I think you'll be glad you did. If you need any assistance just post any questions in the guide's thread.

 

Ok, thanks stallen. I assume with XP Pro, I can just follow your general steps: backup, download drivers, install OS, install drivers. I guess there are other ways to do the same things ThinkVantage allows such as manage power, make backups, etc.? If so, then it's just another application that takes up space huh?

 

bradd
you didnt read the beganning of post where i said he got lucky..so i did read his point

laptopbuy131
Your right..but i was nice to him the guy was an ediot he told me different that my order didnt even exist at a point... so i kinda lost it at that point and im pretty sure anyone whos been waiting for a a long time would have lost it as well.. but sometimes the reps need to be better at their job... speaking of their fuse is short man there paid to talk to customers so they should have a pretty big fuse but were not paid to talk them mann.(in fact we pay to talk to them) if i had extra free time i wouldnt have gotten so mad but they just irratate customers to point where one is pissed off!!! im sorry if im comming off rude i dont mean too..im sorry if i am

yeah i did repost from the t61 shipping thread... im just sick of waiting for this company they lied to us at time of checkout that the laptop would ship within 1 to 2 weeks..

 

I agree fusion that is unacceptable service.

 

I sympathize with you fusion2007 and I agree that they should be the patient one and the smart one, especially more patient and smart than us about these things.

And about the shipping date, I think they placed an asterisk on that indicating that it is just an estimate.

Here it is: **An estimated ship date will be posted on our order status site after your order is placed. The date reflected above does not determine when your order will ship since inventory status may change before your order is final and because items may be held until all products on the order are ready to ship. To obtain the latest information about the availability of a specific part number, please call the phone number listed in the masthead at the top of this page. A flat charge for shipping & handling may apply for certain orders, as indicated on the Checkout page.

 

Actually you should do a search here in the forum for doing an XP clean install. The ABR utility only works for Vista.

Basically none of the ThinkVantage utilities are required for functionality of the T61. The exception would be the fingerprint software. It is necessary for function if you have a fingerprint reader. Otherwise, Vista has built-in power management for laptops. Vista business and Ultimate have built-in back-up and recovery utility. It works very well. I have personal experience with it.

If you read the freq. asked questions on the bottom of the guide it answers some of your questions.