Stinkpads will never change

WHEN I BOUGHT my IBM ThinkPad X40 28 months ago I did it in confidence. Having previously owned a ThinkPad T23 I knew what I was getting myself into. I was expecting a solidly built, industrial designed, light weight, great engineered, no frills notebook. I got exactly what I wanted and I fell in love at first sight.

Personally I get a new notebook every three or so years since I like to enjoy the increased battery life, decreased weight, and snappier performance Moore's Law has been achieving on a consistent basis. Knowing this I maxed out the configuration on my black 12 inches of fury except for one thing - the extended warranty.

Buying consumer electronics since I started putting money in a pink painted plaster pig I've never considered warranties since my old man taught me hardware usually breaks down in the first 30 days, if it doesn't then it will last practically forever. His crude theory has been proven true to me time and time again. Within one week the hard drive on my ThinkPad died, something that I figure could happen to anyone and has happened to me on a few of my many monthly hard drive buys.

With all my data gone and the sound of grinding of platters occurring I called the tech centre. To this day I can't forget it since it was one of the most pleasant customer service experiences I've ever had. At around 7PM I made the call. It was to the Atlanta, Georgia service center back when it was still owned by IBM. I told the woman my problem and how I came to the conclusion that the hard disk was the true source of my achy breaky heart. I had the choice of letting them fix it or replace it myself. I picked the later. Read off my serial number and she told me to expect the hard drive in less than 48 hours.

The next day, at 9AM, a full 14 hours later, I was woken up by a banana colour dressed man in a DHL outfit. Lo and behold it was my hard drive. Two screws and tjree minutes later I was browsing the web. That my friends, is what I call service and why I bought a ThinkPad in the first place. It's been 28 months since that has happened and nothing wrong has occurred with my system until last week. This time it wasn't the hard drive, it was my USB ports.

They died, complete death, they didn't recognise any device. Knowing I was out of warranty I started cursing my machine, and did what any logical person would do: boughr a USB 2.0 PCMCIA card. I knew it would be a crude solution but hell I needed to access my multitude of external hard drives. I didn't even consider calling them since my machine has been out of warranty for almost 16 months now. One year is the standard no frills guarantee and I took their word for it.

After the anger subsided I remembered that I read the Lenovo blog “Design Matters”, here, which basically outlines why Lenovo laptops look like smaller and lighter versions of the tanks they sold 14 years ago while mentioning other such timeless visually appealing product designs. A ThinkPad is a love it or hate it look. I love it. My peers on the other hand … it's a 50/50 split.

I contacted the blog owner with little to no expectations that he would help me. I outlined the fact that I treat my notebook better than a mother treats a newborn and this problem literally occurred out of the blue one day while I was burning a DVD - now a new coaster by the way). I reiterated how I knew I was out of warranty but explained why I don't believe in warranties in the first place. To my surprise I get an email less than 12 hours later asking me for my address so Lenovo can take a look at it.

My jaw hit the floor. I have a notebook that for all intensive purchases shouldn't even be looked at since it's no longer under warranty, but I'm getting sent a DHL box to have it examined by the engineers at Lenovo in North Carolina. Sure enough the box came next day, I sent my little bundle of joy out into the unknown and I proceed to wait. The next day I get a phone call telling me my laptop was received. two days later I get a call telling me the problem has been diagnosed and the part required for repair has been ordered. Two days yet again I get a call telling me my order has been shipped out and I should be getting it the next day.

DHL man comes again, and I get my baby back, and it's in tip top shape. My mind is still trying to wrap itself around this experience. It's a testament to why I will continue to own ThinkPads and recommend them to everyone who is in the market for a laptop. Yes they may cost more initially, but I have 100% confidence I can drop this thing from 6 feet in the air and it will still work. I know that the service centre speaks English and has a quick turnaround time. I especially know that the all black look and red nipple (pointing stick) as I like to call it, will never lose its style.

I personally want to thank David Churbuck for maintaining a blog with Lenovo, Terry McCarthy for being of great assistance over the phone and letting me know the status of my notebook at every point in the process, Mark Hopkins who made sure my experience with Lenovo left me satisfied and to the people who I don't know who physically fixed my laptop which in this day and age has become an extension of my body, my gateway to the world.

Thank you. µ