Article: Deep Problems at Lenovo Canada

What do you mean? When did you pay? Before it shipped? Did they require that? Is that normal?

 

I not surprise! Benn waiting for a refund for more than 2 months.

 

you can order prepaid via wire transfer. I've made the payment on the day of the purchase which was 21st of december. I don't know how often people make wiretransfer, but my credit card limit is too low to purchase a laptop...

 

Hey man, don't worry. Hang in there. I got the same shipping email with no tracking number, Received it 2 days later. The guy who talked to u might not know what he's talking about. Ur laptop is probably in Brampton right now.

 

wow I have just finished reading this thread. I have ordered my T61 on 01/16. I was 2 hours waiting on the phone this evening to speak to a CSR. The only ETA he could give me was "sometime in Mid Feburary". gotta say i'm a little disappointed. This will be nearly 4 weeks after I had ordered it. I wish I had read this forum before I made the purchase, It may have changed my mind. Maybe it will be worth it when I get the laptop?

 

So I called Lenovo Canada today about my missing RAM.

I was expecting a long hold time but not this long. After 20 minutes on hold I was getting really tired and I just passed out with the phone next to my ear....
I slept for 10 minutes, I woke up, witht he phone still near my ear and I am still on HOLD

I finally get to talk to someone after 45 minutes and asked them about my missing RAM (I received 1 gb of RAM instead of 2 GB). They said they will ship it but it in backordered.

I think many people who ordered 2GB of RAM will receive 1 GB of RAM because Lenovo ran out of RAM. Its better for them to do that then to make customers wait even longer. Then, they"ll just send out the missing RAM once they receive it.

 

thanks! but I'm trying tonot get my hopes up, I've made that mistake when I first ordered, and was told I would receive it on 8th of Janually (that was before I was told I would get it on Janually 18th)
seriouslly I am sick and tired of their customer services, now I think about it, there were times I though I've talked to nice representatives, but they were all lying to me...

 

I would cancel it.

I was going to cancel my T61 after 30 days of waiting, but I have a good price on it during Boxing Day thats why I wanted to wait a couple more days and finally got it.

You still have a long time to wait for yours

 

I did get a really good price, less than $1500 tax inc.........with T7500 2.2ghz 2GB of Ram, 120GB HD 5400, graphics card, fingerprint, bluetooth etc. Not sure what to do. How long was your total wait?

 

mine's been 38 days since I've ordered it, and I still haven't received it...

 

Wow that is crazy! If I have to wait that long, I'll send it back! Are there similar wait times with dell?

 

I really really don't think so... the mistake I've made was that because I waited so long, if I order from dell now, I would have to wait more. If I cancelled couple weeks ago and reorder from dell, I may have had received it by now...

 

Holy! That's absurd. Me thinking. Should I cancel my order????? Should have gone w/ the SZ.

 

I purposely did not go with the DVD burner option because it said it would delay the shippment 3-4 weeks. Looks like it will take that long anyway. Lenovo should be offering some upgrades for its long wait times.

 

What lenovo offers is 1G less ram for huge wait times and wrong shipment addresses.

The rep that contacted me told me that my machine apparently shipped without ANY ram. My system is showing 1G, and I'm pretty sure if I removed the palmrest I'd find two cheap 512 modules.

The only good side so far is that my laptop appears to be decent quality, no creaks, and I got an LG screen.

 

Not sure about how you guys feel but I think it is worth the wait to get the best. I waited over 6 months to finally have the option of ordering a CTO in Canada so I’m not too worried about waiting another 30 days for the thing to ship. I am just thankful I did not have to buy the $2,300 WUXGA T61p which used to be the only option up here if you wanted a FX 570M.

If you need a notebook by X date then yes, I would consider canceling your order but otherwise I don't get why you would even contemplate it. If you are in a hurry then get a pre-built from CDW.ca but it will cost you.

Also, I don’t feel a Sony SZ can be compared to a T61. Really the only notebooks in the same class are the HP 8510w/p or the Dell Latitudes. Almost everything else is consumer-grade crap. EVERYONES customer services sucks these days; try reading the Sony or Dell forums.

All companies go thought a period like Lenovo Canada is at some time or another. Dell had even worse issues when the M1330 first came out. You should have seen the problems with shipping delays and initial build quality, it was scary.

 

My story sounds virtually identical to most of the ones in this thread. Ordered a X61 on Dec 21st. Said 2-3 weeks, knew it wouldn't be that quick with holidays etc. but I figured they might keep you in the loop. LOL.

I called several times starting about 3 weeks and most times after waiting on hold 10-30 minutes gave up and hung up. Emailed and they said ETA was Jan 25th. Called a week later (after that email) to confirm, they said Feb 8th "held up at customs".

The next day I called and cancelled. "Oh why?" they asked. Sick of waiting I said. No confirmation email but I did get the survey "hey we've shipped your product and want to get feedback". LOL. BOY did they get feedback! Doubt anyone important enough gets it.

So that was on Friday the 18th. Called Monday after getting no email confirm about cancellation. Each time calling to check the status of my order, to see if they actually have cancelled it. She says Monday "oh we've charged your credit card and it's at the border". I tell her I cancelled it on Friday. She takes my number and says she'll call me back. NO call back.

Called again Tuesday. Same thing. Told them I had cancelled, why can't they see that on their end, can you check etc. After a while on hold they said yes it has been cancelled and a refund will be issued within 24 hours. Asked for email confirmation of the cancellation. No email yet a week later.

The only good news is they never charged my credit card or the credit and refund were applied before it got to my stmt, but I don't trust the incompetence and part of me still expects I may GET the laptop even after all this with the poor systems they have in place.

Lenovo are you listening!!!!???? Geez... I just *knew* the price was too good to be true and somehow it wouldn't work out for one reason or another.

 

Hey I completely agree, but what I don't agree with is the way they're treating their customers. At least Dell 'fesses up, from the experiences I've had so far - and they'll give you discounts for your trouble.

Lenovo wants you to contact them, even when the ball's in their court. The only response I got from them was from a Lenovo rep on another forum - zero callbacks on the phone. I bet you that for people who don't notice the loss in RAM, Lenovo won't care. The rep I talked to a few mins ago told me that there are MANY orders that shipped without RAM. They also knew, because an e-mail from another rep told me that my order shipped without any memory. If that's the case, why are they waiting until I call them up to do something about it? Now that's what I don't agree with.

 

Yea, you do have a good point about the RAM. To ship a notebook intensionally without the customers ordered RAM upgrade just so you can ship something is about as bad as the Lenovo Canada CEO saying he knows nothing about their ordering system being buggered.

Smacks of desperation. And they are not handling it very well.

 

I wonder if Consumer report is doing some research of pc manufacture rating.... I hope consumer report would give lenovo an extremely low rating for customer service.

 

+1

Also, if most orders take a month+ to be fulfilled, they should have listed the est waiting time as a month or greater, instead of 1-2 weeks.

I was told last Thursday, BTW, that my X61 is already in Brampton and waiting to be shipped. It's Tuesday today, and I have yet to receive any shipping notification email.

 

Hey guys!
Guess what!? It's been 40 days since I've placed the order!!!! I think I'm on a crack or something to feel like I should celebrate!!!
Let's see how much worse Lenovo can do!!! I smell the magic number 50!!!

 

Good grief. Now I'm depressed as I see it can probably get even worse for my order.

I placed my T61 order on Boxing Day, Dec 26th, and was last told that I would have it around Feb 18th! If it comes with incorrect memory (I ordered 3gb), I will probably be upset enough to report Lenovo Canada to atleast the Better Business Bureau. This is just brutal.

Has anybody been able to get compensation for the poor service and long wait times? I'm convinced that the 2 hour long wait I spent on the phone to get Lenovo to even confirm the February date is probably the first time anybody looked at my order! We shouldn't be treated so poorly because we bought during a sale. Surely there is contact or ombuds in the company that can resolve customer complaints?

 

Well, just to let you guys know that some laptops miraculously made it to the customers despite the screw-ups at Lenovo Canada, I ordered my T61 (including DVD writer) December 22nd and it was delivered via UPS to Ottawa January 25th.

My only problem is deciding whether or not to open up the laptop and check if they really did send me one stick of 1 Gb RAM as I ordered, or if they shipped it with 2 sticks of 512.

The invoice on the box says it's 1 DIMM, but it seems by these posts this cannot be entirely trusted. Any way other than physically opening up the laptop to check that they sent the correct configuration?

Thanks.
haggis

PS: This post is intended as a ray of hope to those still waiting on a Lenovo miracle, and not as a rub-it-in-your-face-I-got-mine-before-you-got-yours-splffft.

 

To see what's in your memory slots without opening the notebook, run crucial's memory test: http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/index.aspx

 

Still no shipping confirmation email. Trying to call Lenovo Canada, but their call centre business hours are only M-F from 8 AM-6PM EST. Seems like they don't really care much about people out in the west. 6PM EST = 3 PM PST. :-(

 

Well, I guess I'm not the only one waiting for a notebook to arrive. I order on Dec 20th, was told my estimated ship date was Jan 16th and just called today and they said it's in Brampton. I swear, this computer has been in Brampton for the last week because everytime I call they tell me it's in the factory and should be shipping out soon. They keep telling me I'll get an email when it ships out, but so far nothing. They keep pushing back the date I should be receiving it by a couple of days here and there and then the weeks add up.

Also, they told me they ship to Toronto through Quest(?) couriers when shipping to Toronto, and apparently they call a day before to schedule a drop-off or something. Have any of you heard anything like this before. I thought everything was shipped by UPS.

 

+1

That's exactly what they told me last week. It's already in Brampton; you'll receive it next week. Duh! It's already Wednesday. Still no shipping confirmation email; how the hell am I supposed to receive it within this week? (Like they're going to ship via express overnight service.) I feel like they keep on buying time. It's not fair. If they cannot fulfill the orders, j ust be honest upfront! If I know they will likely not be able to fulfill their promise of delivering the laptop to me within this week, I'd have cancel my order last week.

Lenovo. You're ruining the ThinkPad reputation. It's not a monkey business, you know?

I'll call them again tomorrow. If a rep tells me that "it's already in Brampton, you'll receive it within next week", and I don't, I'll definitely report this to BBB.

 

Jackboot, thanks for the link, worked just fine. Looks like I got what I ordered.

haggis

 

Talked to a Lenovo Canada rep this morning, she said that the est delivery date is now Feb 11 (to Feb 14); what the heck????? She said that the laptop is being built in China. She said she has no idea how the other rep came up with the idea/(false?) fact that the laptop is now in Brampton. Who should I trust now? Should I trust the first rep who said the laptop is now in Brampton, or should I trust the rep who said the laptop is still (being built) in China?

This is frustrating and confusing.

She even went on further to say that the est delivering date Feb 11 may even be wrong. She said it depends on the Canadian customs and I may want to add another 2 weeks to that date, just in case. Arrgh!

 

At this point, I wouldn't trust anybody from lenovo canada. they wouldn't anything more than you or me (which is nothing)...
I stopped calling lenovo to ask for the real estimated day. just waiting for it quitely.... Now I'm just wondering when my refund is coming through.

 

Yeah, it's strange. When I call them on the phone, the guys tell me it's in Brampton, but when I emailed the rep who I purchased from, and who is an absolutely awesome guy who will go the extra mile for his customers, says its still in transit. Who do I believe?

 

Believe the guy who sold it to you. He has got more stake in the sale. And he has the guts to give you less satisfying information.

 

I just called them today to check the status of my order and they told me that I'd have it by Feb 14th as well (I ordered on January 20th). Maybe they're just giving everyone the same date?

 

I called in today to check on my status.

I ordered on December 26th.

They said my unit has been assembled and will be shipped out from China tomorrow. It should arrive next week...

Wow... 36+ days just to get my order.

Does anybody know a good laptop sleeve to get for the x61 (w/ 8 cell)?

 

So you decided to cancel your order? I may cancel my order as well. This is just too ridiculous. Very unprofessional.

It seems like we're in the same situation. I don't know if I should wait, or I should just cancel the order. I'm starting to be a bit paranoid in advance, that by Feb 14, they'll tell me to wait another 2 weeks.

If yours does arrive on Feb 14, how do they prioritize things? I mean I order way before you.

You should get some kind of compensation.

 

Good point.

Has anybody been able to get some sort of compensation for the lengthy delay, incorrect components or faulty components they've received from Lenovo Canada?

 

The author @ DJ needs to get his facts straight. Peter Mockler doesn't show up anywhere on this page - http://www.pc.ibm.com/ca/about_lenovo/management.html I doubt he's the president and CEO of anything at Lenovo. More likely a mid-level manager with his head up his butt. Or some sales exec who doesn't know s*** about IT.

 

They gave me $100 refund, but I haven't seen that coming through...

 

http://www.lenovo.com/news/ca/en/2007/09/uoit.html

Simple search...second paragraph. I don't doubt the author is telling the truth, but it's hardly journalism.

 

Damn and I thought I had a hard time. Got the laptop a few days after a month, but even that's ridiculous when the damn website (and the rep) told me 1-2 weeks. Funny, eh.

As for compensation, I'm going to ask once I get my RAM. In any case, I don't think I'm gonna order from Lenovo after this experience, the difference for this hassle isn't worth it.

 

Lenovo should have invested some $$ in their supply chain management before spending $2M to limited college students...

 

Well. I contacted Lenovo. And they promised me a 10% discount once my order was shipped out. They claim they can't append any changes to my order before then.

And tak.japan...You know there are many brilliant college students who write software much better then veterans in the field. For all you know the software Lenovo is using was outsourced and written in India and not by "limited college students". I don't think it's fair to make that kind of assumption.

 

I totally agree with you, and I do think the future investment is needed, but I think you can only say that when there's no present problem.

 

How were you able to get an extra 10% discount? Do you have to talk to anyone in particular?

I've complained, but Lenovo has yet to offer me any concessions to make up for their poor service

 

What is your situation? I'm not sure what I did in particular, but maybe it's because my order was placed back in December.

 

My order was placed on Dec 26th and I've been told my "scheduled" shipping date is Feb 18th. I used the CAPBOXINGDAY sale code for a 10% discount on Boxing Day.

Also, since I ordered 3gb of ram, I'm worried that Lenovo's "service" will leave me waiting even longer to make sure I get the correct memory sticks.

 

I have the same situation, except I order an x61 (I'm assuming you ordered a T61 because you got 10% off). Have you called in recently to ask about your status? I called yesterday morning (mornings = faster wait times), and the customer support rep checked my status and told me the laptop was built and will be shipped out of China today. Maybe your laptop is included in the batch...

 

I agree it’s not fair to assume students wrote the new Lenovo ordering system but I somewhat disagree with the rest of your statement. I work as an SA + project manager in the financial industry and I review A LOT of code. I have met some amazingly brilliant grads, especially some of the ones coming over from India, but none of them can code worth crap when compared to a seasoned developer. To create good programs you need to understand the business and this is something new grads just don’t have due to lack of experience. (no offense to new grads of course )

 

I totally agree with you Yorgi. I was just defending some of my fellow classmates, who are brilliant co-op students. Some of them have worked for big companies like Google and Microsoft. I personally hate programming.