Lenovo Hell

Few of the emails i got from Lenovo during the past 2 months.  The 1st one is the chat i had with their sales rep who told me this computer is great for me as a photographer.  

After going to Twitter and Facebook to tell people how Lenovo treated me, I got a phone call to let me know that they will refund me the $435 difference i paid for the upgrade. Good start... not enough.

Its funny how for few weeks it wasnt possible for them to cancel this funny charge, but after 20 tweets and 3-4 facebook status updates suddenly they can do it with no issues at all. 

Dear Mr. Yang Yuanqing:  Re: Unresolved Issues with Lenovo Thinkpad T420S - Order number: 2HXXXX Case Numbers: 20XXXX, 21XXXX, 2HXXXX, et. al. 

I have always been a huge fan of Lenovo and a loyal customer, recommending Lenovo machines to anyone who would listen.  I had my last Lenovo, the ThinkPad T60, since the beginning of 2006.  It died at the end of this August after more than five years of heavy use.  I loved that machine; it was the best laptop ever - great as my personal computer as well as for my work as a professional photographer.

I didn't hesitate when I went to purchase my new laptop; I knew I wanted a Lenovo brand machine to replace my T60.  I ordered the ThinkPad T420S (with enhanced graphics) on September 2, 2011.  I decided that the T420S was the right machine for me after I spoke to two sales representatives (Kaitlin XXXX and Jerry XXXX) who assured me that this machine had the same kind of screen as the T60  or even better.  As a professional photographer I was completely dependent on the high quality screen on my T60, so I made sure to ask the two separate sales representatives in at least three different ways about the screen.  Both told me that this machine's screen is going to be great for me as a photographer.  I paid $2,147.88 for the T420S.

When I first received my new laptop I was ecstatic; I had barely survived the week without a laptop.  However, when I turned on the new laptop, I was surprised to see the screen quality is very poor, completely unlike the screen on the T60.  I could see the pixels that make up the screen. In the enclosed picture, you can see the T420S screen on the right is like looking through a screen door, and as a photographer there's no possible way to work like that.  Moreover, I found out that my new laptop had only around 50% color gamut.  Both of these factors made it impossible for me to use the new machine for my photo editing. Not only was I unable to work, I felt betrayed by Lenovo.  I was told the screen quality is going to be even better, and instead I got a machine I couldn't even use.

Open image in hi-res to see the issue (on the right you can see the pixels and the poor quality of the Lenovo T420s screen compared to a normal working laptop like the W520 on the left).

After talking to a multitude of Lenovo representatives on the phone, and being transferred from one to the other I was finally told I probably got a defective screen and that if I will send the laptop to Lenovo's depot the will replace the screen for me.  So I sent it there and got it back a few days later with a letter explaining that they replaced my motherboard - not the screen.  It was like going for surgery to fix your eyes and waking up to find they removed your leg.  So of course, the screen was the same poor quality upon my initial receipt of the laptop.

Almost worse than receiving my machine back without anything fixed, was the realization that I would have to repeat the arduous phone calling procedure I did before I sent back my computer the first time.  Once again, I had to spend hours over multiple days on the phone with Lenovo wasting valuable time during my work days.  In the end I was told to send the machine back to the depot - again.

This time my laptop was kept at the depot much longer, presumably for them to work on it.  After about a week and a half, a Lenovo representative called me to tell me that they compared my screen to two other laptops from the same model and they all look bad. Therefore there is nothing they could do to help.  They told me they will send it back and I should contact the Issues Department for help.  I was horrified at the low standard of excellence Lenovo has for it's T420S and disheartened that I would have to delve further to resolve my issues.

When I received my unusable new laptop for the second time from the depot, the poor screen quality wasn't my only problem. The second trip to the depot left the entire laptop defective.  The computer would not load, and Windows wouldn't load on the machine.  No surprise what this meant: more hours over multiple days on the phone with Lenovo to address this new issue.  The final decision from Lenovo was to send me a recovery CD. I waited for over a week to get it, but it never arrived.  When I called to ask when the CD will arrive, I was told they would send it again.  I have now been waiting over a moth with a dead laptop for the recovery CD.  Representatives such as Sowmya XXXX - [email protected] and Greg XXXX - [email protected] and others, were all civil but in the end ineffectual at helping me fully solve my problems.  I felt shocked that these employees were not trained to do everything they could do to help me.

During this time I spent more valuable hours over countless workdays on the phone with and emailing representatives from the Customer Complaint Resolutions department.  After a multitude of back and forth conversations, Lenovo decided to upgrade my T420S to the W520 which is supposed to have a working screen.  (I can't understand why Lenovo would want to have any models without working screens, but I digress.)  After a ton of delays my new W520 was delivered on November 4, 2011 - more than two months after my original order.  After countless hours and days going through this series of nightmares over purchasing one new laptop, your company had the audacity to charge me $435.00 for the upgrade.

I am writing to let you know that this is the type of company you represent.  I am a loyal customer and when I received your defective product, this is what I was subjected to:

  Over 2 months without a working computer

Over 2 months I lost work as a professional photographer

I had to turn down numerous photography assignments

I was not able to deliver results to my clients in my usual timely fashion

Over 2 months of facing financial hardships 

Had to rent a laptop after a month, when I realized how slow Lenovo is to help me

Lost income from photography assignments I had to turn down

Spent hours almost daily on the phone and writing emails to Lenovo, valuable work time

Over 2 months dealing with a lack of respect 

Calling Lenovo was a wild goose chase - almost impossible to reach anyone who can really help

After one pitiful attempt to appease me during this experience my last ditch pleas for help on Facebook and Twitter were seemingly intentionally ignored for over a week by employees such as Mark XXXX - [email protected]  and Gavin XXXX - [email protected]

  As a technology company I hope you have an understanding of how powerful these social media tools can be.  I have already discovered many dissatisfied Lenovo users suffering from the lack of customer service at your company. Unless my situation can be resolved I will continue supporting other disgruntled Lenovo users online, and letting them know that I never received help from your company.

I am writing in the hopes that you will change how things work at your company.  I still think you are producing the best laptops available on the market.  I would hate to have to change because of this terrible experience.  I want you to improve quality control to make sure you are not allowing machines like the T420S to sully your reputation for having the highest quality machines.  I want you to treat your customers with respect in a timely manor. No customers should ever be ignored when they need help. There is no reason for someone experiencing a problem to have to contact over 50 people and wait two months for a resolution.  Furthermore, I would like you to refund the charge for the upgrade to the W520 as well as the charge for the defective T420S.  I want to remain loyal to your brand, and this is the least you can do to show you still value your customers.

2 months ago, After 5.5 years of using Lenovo T60 for all my photography work, this machine died (as many laptops die after so much time). I loved this laptop - for sure the greatest machine i ever used.

So i had to get a replacement, and I knew one thing for sure - im going with Lenovo, after all - i loved their old machine. So naturally i went with the same line of products, just 2 grades higher - the T420s. Better specs and more expensive. I was told by 2 different Lenovo sales reps that this laptop is much better than the T60 i had, and specifically they said that its screen/display is the same as the T60 and even better.

So i paid $2,100 (after using coupons!).. and was excited to get this new amazing machine. I got it and was horrified to see the display. WORST SCREEN EVER. not just by Lenovo - i never seen a screen that bad in my life. not DELL, not HP and not Apple. As a photographer, i cant do anything if the screen is bad like this. so of course i called Lenovo....

After about 4 hours on the phone with their costumer service people, they told me that i should send the machine to their lab, and they will replace the screen for me. Sent it, and got it back few days later with a letter attached to it saying they replaced the mother board. mother board? really? i needed a new screen, not a board. so i called again - and they said "oops... send it again".

So i sent it.

Waited for a week and a half, just to get a phone call from them saying "We checked your laptop, and we cant fix it, because all the screens on this model (T420S) are bad. We will send it back to you".

In the past 55 days i spent more than 1 hour a day talking with Lenovo reps and trying to solve this issue. 55 days without a laptop. and its not over yet....