Lenovo: "Chinese Quality" (Abhorrant) Customer Service
A week ago, I tried to purchase an X61 Tablet PC from Lenovo and had significant issues handling the sales staff, estimated ship dates and websites. This is my first experience with Lenovo post-takeover of IBM and I am very disappointed by the level of service I have received. It is clear that an IBM brand has been taken over by a Chinese company that understands little about client communication and support.
I have cancelled my order and bought the tablet from a reseller that had a few in stock, and who shipped the same day (http://www.shopblt.com which has been very courtious and responsive).
I have run into the following issues that made for a miserable experience with Lenovo. I hope that thetechnical support does not have the same issues, should I need to call them:
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30 minute or more wait times on the phone to talk to a representitive
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Sales people giving me very different answers (one claiming there are no production snags and it should ship in a week or two, another claiming 4 weeks
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An estimated ship date of 4 weeks (4/20) after I purchased, without an explaination.
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An "order status" stating "in process." When I called to cancel, I was told it was already sent to "configuration". Does this mean it was going to be shipped earlier rather than later? That may have kept me from cancelling my order.
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Numerous problems with the website, including:
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broken links (ex: "contact" on the bottom of the order status form)
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Session timeouts that erase your shopping cart
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Broken "chat with a sales representitive" on the sales page
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TYPOS INCLUDING "SXGA" INSTEAD OF "SXGA+" that no one cares enough to resolve
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Fake, on-going sales that keep changing names, pretending that the product is "on sale" to lure customers.
Better communication, reasonable hold times, and a bit more transparency would have gone a long way to improving my experience with Lenovo. I am hoping the product and support are up to the same standards as IBM held it to, but given my experience thusfar, I will not be reccomending direct Lenovo sales to any of my clients or friends. I was sad when IBM sold out to the Chinese, and now that I see what the Chinese have done to IBM customer service firsthand, I'm very disappointed in both IBM and Lenovo for the way this transition was handled.