I just want to say how exceptional IBM's technical support is....

DaWhim · May 27, 2005

:thumbsup:

happy x31 owner. my warranty will last till 2008. hopefully, I don't need to use the service.

Cal166 · May 27, 2005

IBM tech support are da best! Think most of them actually speaks english...

scorpmatt · May 27, 2005

Originally posted by: aphex
I don't think i've EVER been this impressed...

My cdrw/dvd combo on my T41 started acting up...

I called their 1-800 number, only 2 numbers to hit until i was routed to tech support in Atlanta, GA... It rang no less than 3 times and i had a live person on the phone...

The entire call lasted all of 3 minutes and i had a new cdrw/dvd drive on the way, shipped overnight for free (without me even asking)

IBM, you seriously just earned a customer for life.

:Q You broke your cup holder?!?

rh71 · May 27, 2005

They are high up on CS lists all the time. :thumbsup:

I still couldn't believe how a laptop battery was at my doorstep within 12 hours of a call I put in... now that's a quick response. Completely free too.

Fritzo · May 27, 2005

That's how all computer manufacturers used to be. Then they started cutting corners and discounting this or that, and now in the era of $500 off the shelf PCs people have gotten used to little/no service with their purchase.

You pay a lot more for a Thinkpad, and the OP has stated the reason. It's rare to see good support because people don't want that extra cost added to their purchase---until they need to use it.

fbrdphreak · May 27, 2005

Originally posted by: aphex
I don't think i've EVER been this impressed...

My cdrw/dvd combo on my T41 started acting up...

I called their 1-800 number, only 2 numbers to hit until i was routed to tech support in Atlanta, GA... It rang no less than 3 times and i had a live person on the phone...

The entire call lasted all of 3 minutes and i had a new cdrw/dvd drive on the way, shipped overnight for free (without me even asking)

IBM, you seriously just earned a customer for life.

And people STILL don't believe me when I tell them there IS a reason to buy an IBM over a Dell :roll:

Merlyn3D · May 27, 2005

I love my thinkpad. I love how everything they ship is next day AM. I've never been so happy with tech support.

PS - I think one of the reasons their tech support is so good is because they don't have to blow a lot of money on replacement parts. These thinkpads were built to last.

necine · May 27, 2005

I don't use warrenties. If something breaks I just buy the replacement part and fix it myself. Much cheaper then purchasing a warrenty.

jonnyGURU · May 27, 2005

A+ for IBM.

I'm on my third different Thinkpad.

First one had no issues. Second was DOA and they had a replacement shipped and it arrived the next day. Third one was (is) an R51. I wanted the R51 because it has the Radeon 9000 and does 1400x1050 on a 14" LCD. I couldn't find ANY other laptop that could do that. It even does this with a second monitor attached!

It had a problem where it would lock up if I moved it too much. IBM and all of the suppliers were out of them, so a replacement wasn't readily available. IBM stayed on top of availability and called me as soon as one was available!

Another time, I spilled on my keyboard. IBM had a fair price on a replacement, but didn't have them in stock. I was given a one week ETA. I gave my CC number and before the week was out I had received the replacement!

A co-worker had a monitor die after a year of use. He called IBM and they gave him the address of a service center that had it fixed... for FREE... by COB that same day!

I LOVE IBM!!!!

Kipper · May 27, 2005

Originally posted by: necine
I don't use warrenties. If something breaks I just buy the replacement part and fix it myself. Much cheaper then purchasing a warrenty.

This is in-warranty support we're talking about, not extended protection plans.

skyking · May 27, 2005

in dell's defense, I had a hard drive replacement call that went darn quick. That was a few years back though.

mzkhadir · May 27, 2005

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak

Originally posted by: aphex
I don't think i've EVER been this impressed...

My cdrw/dvd combo on my T41 started acting up...

I called their 1-800 number, only 2 numbers to hit until i was routed to tech support in Atlanta, GA... It rang no less than 3 times and i had a live person on the phone...

The entire call lasted all of 3 minutes and i had a new cdrw/dvd drive on the way, shipped overnight for free (without me even asking)

IBM, you seriously just earned a customer for life.

Click to expand...

And people STILL don't believe me when I tell them there IS a reason to buy an IBM over a Dell :roll:

now that IBM desktops and laptops are owned by a chinese company LENOVO.

jonnyGURU · May 27, 2005

Originally posted by: skyking
in dell's defense, I had a hard drive replacement call that went darn quick. That was a few years back though.

I think the primary difference is the amount of BS you have to go through to get warranty fulfillment.

Dell: No matter what you need, you HAVE TO call India and talk to someone that's just reading a script to get to a level where you can request a replacement part. Either that or have email correpondence with a bot where if you leave ANY answer open-ended, you're thrown a bunch of "troubleshooting tips" before you can get any further.

IBM has a seperate technical support, warranty support and parts hotline. If I KNOW I need to have an LCD replaced, I just call them up and they tell me where to go. If I KNOW the laptop is dead, I call and talk to someone that gives me an RMA#! Simple.

jonnyGURU · May 27, 2005

Originally posted by: mzkhadir

now that IBM desktops and laptops are owned by a chinese company LENOVO.

I got an email from IBM/Lenovo that stated that NONE of their support or warranty ways or means will change.

Guess time will tell.

rh71 · May 27, 2005

Lenovo is allowed to use the Thinkpad name for 5 years... we'll see what happens thereafter.

Looney · May 27, 2005

Well my last experience with IBM was bad... it was during the old Deskstar HDDs problems. They wanted it to be shipped back in EXACTLY the method they listed, but i apparently did it wrong, so they voided the warranty.

But apparently IBM has good support... or good support systems. Sprint Wireless, the company i worked at once, use to have awful CS... literally average wait times of up to 40mins. They went to IBM to get them to fix the problem... and IBM quickly made the response time under 20mins, and then when i worked there, under 5.

rh71 · May 27, 2005

Originally posted by: Looney
But apparently IBM has good support... or good support systems. Sprint Wireless, the company i worked at once, use to have awful CS... literally average wait times of up to 40mins. They went to IBM to get them to fix the problem... and IBM quickly made the response time under 20mins, and then when i worked there, under 5.

And in return SprintPCS gave IBMers a 25% discount on their monthly plans. :thumbsup: The Customer Service from Sprint was still pretty bad when I left them though...

jonnyGURU · May 27, 2005

Originally posted by: Looney
Well my last experience with IBM was bad... it was during the old Deskstar HDDs problems. They wanted it to be shipped back in EXACTLY the method they listed, but i apparently did it wrong, so they voided the warranty.

Considering I used to get hard drives back from people w/o a static bag and wrapped in newspaper IF I WAS LUCKY, I hesitate to ask how you sent yours back.

And none of this, "it was bad so what does it matter" BS either.

Looney · May 27, 2005

Originally posted by: jonnyGURU

Originally posted by: Looney
Well my last experience with IBM was bad... it was during the old Deskstar HDDs problems. They wanted it to be shipped back in EXACTLY the method they listed, but i apparently did it wrong, so they voided the warranty.

Click to expand...

Considering I used to get hard drives back from people w/o a static bag and wrapped in newspaper IF I WAS LUCKY, I hesitate to ask how you sent yours back.

And none of this, "it was bad so what does it matter" BS either.

Well i definitely had it in a antistatic bag, but also wrapped in bubblewrap (and wrapped well... like 3 layers worth). They needed it to be in a box and not bubblewrap. I've sent such HDDs to WD and Maxtor before without any issue, so i didn't figure i would have had a problem with them.

777php · May 27, 2005

I had an issue with my trackpad and after talking with IBM I was sent a new trackpad along with a new keyboard.

helpme · May 27, 2005

I called their 1-800 number, only 2 numbers to hit until i was routed to tech support in Atlanta, GA... It rang no less than 3 times and i had a live person on the phone...

This is why I don't mind calling them for xSeries server or Thinkpad support. ATLANTA, GA not India.

I've had some Reps that were more helpful than others, but when we have problems with any xSeries server, they actually call you to see if the part arrived and is working fine, or if the tech arrived and got the system working.

Dubb · May 27, 2005

bingo. I <3 my t41p

waited too long to call and ask for the restore discs, even though I was a couple days late, they still waived the $35 fee and shipped them to me. Had em the next day.

deejayshakur · May 27, 2005

Originally posted by: rh71
Lenovo is allowed to use the Thinkpad name for 5 years... we'll see what happens thereafter.

so where are current thinkpads manufactured? i assume lenovo will take all of that over to china, if it isn't there already, correct?

I just want to say how exceptional IBM's technical support is....

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