Bad Warranty Service [ Edited ]

[lophiomys]

Hi,

Since beginning of May I'm waiting for a UXGA Flexview LCD in a T42p under Warranty to be replaced.
Lenovo is simply not delivering the spare part - without giving any further comment or explanation.

My T42p is with my local "Lenovo Premium Partner" and "Lenovo Authorised Warranty Provider"
since more then 6 weeks, and even they are claiming,
that Lenovo would not give them any answer nor any ETA for the spare part.

I've also tried to contact Lenovo directly a week ago opening a complaint and got no answer whatsoever!

I mean, you can see the missing spare part beeing offered on eBay as new,
also the IBM/Lenovo spare part lookup on their website is offering these parts with a delivery time of 2 weeks only,
and on the other side IBM/Lenovo is not able to deliver nor to actively resolve this akward situation for the customer?

I'm asking what is the value of a warranty for a Thinkpad?

I was paying extra money to secure my T42p UXGA with an IBM/Lenovo warranty,
and  my Thinkpad is out of work for more than a month now and they are not even communicating with me.
This is a very frustrating situation.

Is there anyone who could help out or give a recommendation, how to handle this?

Regards,
Lophiomys

Message Edited by lophiomys on 06-29-2008 10:06 AM

[wjli2]

There has been a shortage of parts for older Thinkpads, since they may not have every thing for every model of Thinkpads ever built laying around, they have to source it from a central depot if they need new stock. What part exactly??? While, depot can't order from ebay, but i hope that Lenovo's staffs can help you in some way to make the process more efficient.

[lophiomys]

wjli,
but thats exactly the problem:
 Lenovo staffs are not helping. Just silence. Same for the local Authorised Warranty Service Provider.
I was patiently waiting for the spare part  for 7 weeks!
For how much longer do you expect me to wait?

 The Lenovo EMEA spare part service is not even clearly stating when the spare part would arrive,
or if it would not be available any more.

Concerning "shortage of parts for older Thinkpads":
IBM/Lenovo knows about life span of warranties upfront - they took money for it -
and therefore can arranage for proper stock in advance.
That is what I expect from a premium brand warranty service!
When once complaining about the high price of a warranty extension,
I  was taught, that it  would expensive for IBM/Lenovo to maintain all those warranty stocks.
Now I see, that there are no spare parts available for my beloved Thinkpad !?!

We'd need:
15.0 inch UXGA LCD für Thinkpad T42p --- P/N 92P6683 or P/N 92P6753

IMHO it should not be the end-customers task to fiddle around with part numbers
when there is a valid warranty and the Warranty Service should simply replace it
within an acceptable time frame.
It's just not happening.




Message Edited by lophiomys on 06-25-2008 09:43 PM

[ajkula66 Guru]

In one word: unacceptable.

Good luck and keep us informed.

[wjli2]

Well i can feel your pain, you might get lucky this time and someone from Lenovo will help you, who knows. Keep your fingers crossed.

[Mark_Lenovo Administrator]

lophiomys,

Thanks for sharing - I'll see what the global availability of those parts are and advise you here tomorrow.

Do you have a warranty claim number - a part order / claim number from your service provider?  If so, you could send me by PM.

Mark

UPDATE:  There is a part substitution in place at the part number level and there is stock available, however based on the experiences of another user, we are pulling a sample of the stock for investigation.  This will likely take balance of this week, and then appropriate actions to follow.  Once we have ensured the proper parts in stock, we can work to expedite a part for your repair.

Message Edited by Mark_Lenovo on 07-01-2008 09:36 PM

[lophiomys]

Mark_Lenovo,

Thanks for the update. Yes, I'm aware of the other case(s).

Do I understand correctly,

you are indirectly stating that Lenovo EMEA stocks are empty?

Regards,

Lophiomys

PS: For the statistics, this case is lasting for 55 days until today.

Message Edited by lophiomys on 07-02-2008 08:50 AM

[Mark_Lenovo Administrator]

Lophiomys,

No, but I was allowing for some verification work going on to ensure the IPS panel.

Mark

[lophiomys · Accepted solution]

Two very similar cases with UXGA Flexview LCD Panels under warranty
have now been solved, after some painful initial delay.
Many thanks to Mark_Lenovo, who obviously pushed the right buttons behind the scenes and got things up and working again. After 2 months waiting for specific UXGA Flexview LCD panels, they are available again as "Used Servicable Parts"; of variable quality.

1st case as described in the preceding messages, a T42p with Bring In Warranty with local Service Provider grey spots on the Flexview and some dead pixels (16+) Opened 7.May, closed 15.July, I had to wait for two months before the first spare part to be delivered. The first replacement LCD showed multiple grey spots after reassembly, but the second is OK now, a bit dimm compared to the other Flexview UXGA panels I have, but OK. (At the highest brightness setting, it is as bright as the replacement LCD panel of the 2nd case below at it's lowest.)

2nd case, another T42p with Onsite NBD Warranty, One big fat grey spot and some small grey spot inside the LCD panel. Opened 24.June directly with Lenovo Austria/Germany, serviced by IBM Warranty Service Closed 14.July, two tries, because first replacement LCD was deeply scratched. This replacement LCD is a real star, bright, clean white an immaculate.

It appears to me that the OnSite-Service has better access to spare parts, and that the availability of UXGA Flexviews improved dramatically during the recent days, which released all the tension from the situation. Since the missing replacement LCD panels became available, the warranty service by Lenovo and IBM was a really good experience. It's just hard to forget the two months of waiting and unresponsiveness beforehand.

The technicians of both service channels (OnSite IBM and local Service Provider) where excellent!!!

Again many thanks to Mark_Lenovo, who should IMHO be appropriately rewarded by Lenovo for helping re-establishing customer satisfaction, as the European spare part supply service and complaint contacts didn't perform at all in the beginning.

Case closed.

Message Edited by lophiomys on 07-16-2008 12:40 AM

Message Edited by lophiomys on 07-16-2008 12:45 AM

Message Edited by lophiomys on 07-16-2008 12:46 AM

Message Edited by lophiomys on 07-16-2008 12:47 AM

[Mark_Lenovo Administrator]

Lophiomys,

Thanks - glad you are finally resolved.  Two months was a long time, and I really want to thank you for your patience, brand loyalty, and for keeping a cool head throughout this period of time.

To clarify, I think the IBM & Lenovo teams worked together to ensure we are stocked with and delivering the right parts.   It's unfortuneate if prior escalations didn't work out in a timely fashion - we will have to take a look at that.   Personally, in securing assistance for forum members here,  I've found the Lenovo EMEA  service and customer care teams to be some of the most responsive to work with.

I believe you had the opportunity to speak with Thomas yesterday / today.

Best regards,

Mark