Avoid Lenovo EZserv Depot repair like the plague!

[badLenovo]

Dear potential Lenovo customer,

Please think twice before you buy a Lenovo machine that has basic warranty that requires you as the customer to Carry-In or Mail-In your broken machine for repair/exchange at EZserv depot, a designated service center. Why? They 1) won't contact you for any issue that may delay the repair, 2) do not know what they are doing, and 3) may even send your machine back to you un-repaired, yet claiming (in writing) that there is nothing wrong with the machine and it passed all test.

This is what is happening to me now. I have an Ideapad S10e netbook that suffered a LCD screen inverter burnt-out at about 60 days after purchase. A LCD screen inverter burnt-out issue is when the back light of the LCD screen no longer lit up upon power on. If you turn on your machine in a completely dark room, you will see the POST and your operating system boot up in a very dim image on the LCD screen. The repair is a simple replacement of the inverter, and this repair process does not require the presence of a hard drive to effectively diagnose, repair, and validate the repair.

Upon calling the Lenovo customer service, I explained the issue to the tech and he concluded that it need to be sent in for repair. I asked him and got approval for shipping the S10e netbook without the hard drive or the secondary stick of memory module (there is still a built in 512MB memory module remaining inside the netbook). The reason I did not wanted to sent in the hard drive because 1) they do not need that part to effect a repair of the problem, and 2) I do not want to loose any data if they suddenly want to "reimage" the hard drive.

Two weeks after the initial call to report the problem, UPS tracking listed the netbook as received by the EZserv depot. I waited till the third week to call Lenovo customer support ask if everything is ok and what is the status of the repair. I was then told by Lenovo customer support that EZserv depot told them that the unit does not have the hard drive and the second memory module, and thus, they can not replace the burnt-out LCD inverter with out it. I explained to the Lenovo customer support staff that any tech worth their salt do not need those parts to perform a repair of a burnt-out LCD inverter issue. Since the EZserv depot insisted, the Lenovo customer support tech sent me a box with a FedEx return label to send in my hard drive and second memory module. Here is one question, you as potential Lenovo customer should ask yourself - why did the EZserv depot or Lenovo customer support not contact me to ask for the hard drive and second stick of memory moduels? They have my contact phone number and email address.

Upon receipt of and the mailing out of the box for the hard drive and second memory module, four weeks has passed. I waited until the fifth week before calling to ask for status. This time, Lenovo customer support said the case history listed the status as EZserv depot waiting for the hard drive and memory module. I provided the FedEx tracking number from their label. Turned out the package has arrived at the depot for more than a week, and no one has associated the package with my repair case. They said they will start working on it. Here is another question, you as a potential Lenovo customer should ask yourself - why do a customer has to call in constantly to get them to make progress on repair?

Another week has passed since EZserv depot is prodded into starting work on the repair. I called to ask what is going on. The fun part is, they now tell me the case listed the computer as a G530 laptop. I provided the serial number, and ask them to verify. They insisted that it is still a G530 laptop. After I persist in denying my case history is for a G530, they finally was able to figure out that it was a S10e. The Lenovo customer service also said the case history now listed the status as repair. The Lenovo customer service representative said EZserv depot should be contacting me that day to let me know about shipping back the S10e netbook.

I waited a whole week for the call or email that never came. I called Lenovo customer service and what is going on? I ask to speak to a supervisor. I then explained to him that this long delay is uncalled for and demanded to know where is my S10e netbook? He said the case note listed the repair technician comment that there is nothing wrong with the S10e netbook. I explained to him that a burnt-out inverter does not automatically fixes itself. I also asked him to please verify that this netbook is repaired before shipping it back to me. This supervisor said he will personally look into it and get back to me within 48 hours.

72 hours passed without a call or an email from the supervisor. I called Lenovo customer support asking for that supervisor. Since I only received his first name as an identification, they were not able to locate him. Another supervisor took the call. Let's call him supervisor B. I explained to supervisor B that Lenovo can do one of two things - 1) locate the netbook in question and ship it back to me repaired, or 2) give me my money back. Supervisor B said he will find out where it is and let me know by the end of his day.

Supervisor B did called back to tell me that the unit has been located and it will be shipped back to me as soon as possible. The next day, he even called to let me know what the FedEx tracking number is. Why can't more Lenovo staffs are like this supervisor B, you should ask yourself.

Well, I got the netbook four business days later instead of two business days. I can not fault them for typing in the wrong street number on the shipping label. Maybe supervisor B was really leaning on his staff to get this out as soon as possible.

Upon opening up the box and turning on the netbook, I discovered the initial issue of burnt-out LCD inverter is still there!!! With disbelieve, I stared at the copy of the repair technician note included in the box. It said -- unit passed all tests. Unless that tech works in a totally dark room, there is no way they could have said this unit is fully functional. Unbelievable!!!

I am still in the mist of dealing with Lenovo on this. They want me to send the unit back in for repair again. They won't provide in writing what is the remedy if the unit comes back unrepair again. I am very sure that this will be the last Lenovo unit I will ever own.

Here are the take aways you should have --

1) Don't get any Lenovo warranty that will put you under the mercy of the EZserv depot.

2) Don't get any Lenovo warranty that does not have some form of contact for the repair process other than just you calling them. Why should you baby sit the process?

3) My best advice to you -- Don't get Lenovo, period.

Thanks,
a soon to be ex-Lenovo user.

 

[IlllI]

too long. i doubt anyone will bother to read all that

 

[CurseTheSky]

With only one post and a user name that has an agenda attached to it, I find this a little fishy. If this is true, that's some of the worst support I've heard of.

When you asked if they would repair it if you didn't send in the memory or the hard drive, what did they say initially? If they said it was ok, you should have either gotten it in writing (email), or taken the person's name and rep #. That way when they balked at it later, you're free to read them the riot act. On that note, however, why did you need to remove the hard drive and the spare memory? Your reasoning for the hard drive makes sense - though they shouldn't reimage or format the drive if that's not the problem anyway - but the memory has nothing to do with it. Why not just leave it in?

Finally, if they do insist that you send the notebook back, I'd print up an Excel sheet with the current timeline (including dates) for the repair, up until now. Include the date you originally shipped it, the date tracking confirmed they received it, the dates you made calls, etc. Then, when you talk to a supervisor about sending it back, insist that they must continue to fill out the spreadsheet with dates when progress is made (received, repaired, shipped back, etc.). Include the spreadsheet in the box with the laptop, and a short letter explaining the purpose of the sheet and that it must be filled out. If it's really been seven or so weeks into this repair so far, that's the least they could do for you. You could also print up this thread and include it for good measure. 🙂

 

[badLenovo]

Hi IlllI,
I know it is long. Maybe you can show me how to get the true picture across with fewer sentences.

Hi CurseTheSky,
Yes, it has an agenda attached to it. It is call -- warn the public what shoddy warranty service Lenovo is providing on their basic warranty!

Removal of the hard drive and second stick of memory was authorized by the first phone support tech who setup the case. Subsequent Lenovo techs on the phone even acknowledged it in subsequent calls. That is why they sent me a box to send the "needed" parts in on their own dime. As for why I asked to remove the second stick of memory: I had the S10e upside down, opened, looking at the hard drive, and the second stick of 1GB memory is right there. I am thinking, they don't need that second stick of RAM to do an inverter replacement - so I asked the tech on the phone, "hey, can I remove the second stick of memory, too?"

I did keep detail notes of the time line. You must be kidding if you think they will continue to fill out the spreadsheet with dates when progress is made. Remember that I received a copy of the first technician repair note stating -- "Unit passed all functional test."??? If they have the audacity to write that when the unit is not repaired, what make you think they will give you the time of day with regards to the spreadsheet?

The unit is back in their hand. Let's see how it comes back

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: badLenovo
Dear potential Lenovo customer[...]

My best advice to you -- Don't get Lenovo, period.

Thanks,
a soon to be ex-Lenovo user.

Good advice! 😉

 

[CurseTheSky]

Originally posted by: badLenovo
I did keep detail notes of the time line. You must be kidding if you think they will continue to fill out the spreadsheet with dates when progress is made.

Nope - if I was that furious over the support, I'd demand that (or my money back) while on the phone with a manager. I wouldn't actually expect them to agree to it (and if they did, get them to email you a confirmation, so you have it in writing), but it's a good way of rubbing the guilt in their face.

At this point, they KNOW they screwed up; they should make it right. In my book, fixing their screw up, which causes a huge delay and customer dissatisfaction, isn't simply "finally getting around to repairing the product."

 

[WackyDan]

First off... You aren't actually talking to Lenovo Employees at all. Last I knew, the depot repair facility in the US was contracted out to Solectron and has been for years, even when they were IBM. So demanding your money back for the purchase will net you absolutely nothing.

I've used Depot repair 3 times now. First time in 1997 for a 701c butterfly. ANother time on a T22, and recently on a T61. Each time, the units went out and were back inside of the business week. The T61 I sent in took about 4 days, and that was back in April I believe.

I've had nothing but good luck with them. Your experience, at least to me is the exception. I've seen similar support horror stories for Dell and HP which have also seemed to be the exception.

However, signing up for a forum under the name "badlenovo" with 1 post will not get you any good will here or anywhere. If you are trying to gain the attention of someone from Lenovo, there are far better ways.

 

[WackyDan]

Oh... I might suggest you peruse the Lenovo corp blog... You'll probably get contacted by an actual Lenovo employee over there provided you present your case in a polite fashion.

http://lenovoblogs.com/