Upates with pics (Laptop Design USA finished laptop)

Just got it back on Friday. A little disappointed that the graphics didn't cover the entire lid like it showed on the sample page. Other than that, the LID is beautifully done. Nice clear coat.

Downside. Left speaker grill didn't come out all that good. Has a couple of ballpoint chips/flakes on that side of the speaker. You can see the silver grill shining from where the paint chipped off.

Ride side grill is perfect. Nothing wrong with that side.

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For the bad.

Laptop came back with the quickplay buttons no longer working. No longer lights up and doesn't respond when I push the buttons.

Contacted them by email but no response and didn't want to send it back and spend money on shipping. I took it apart using the HP guide.

And saw that they did forget to connect the quickplay buttons back to the motherboard. It's a little tape like connection. I connected it back and everything works fine.

Also, they manage to break a couple of tabs from the base cover. Not a huge problem since you can't see it when everything it put back together. Just thought I point that out to those who are OCD on those kinda stuff.

The speaker frame has a small crack and stress fracture. I'm guessing they tried to pry it out with force.

Again, the graphics looks different from what I had pictured it would look like.

I'll post pics later. It looks funny, but the quality job they did on the lid is noticeable. So, its probably the graphic I chose.. Maybe I should have gone with something else.

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My ratings from a 1-10

Quality Job on Lid: 10

Overall satisfaction with Lid graphic: 7.5
(looks different from the sample on the site. Plus it is only covered 95% of the lid, where the on site, it covered the entire lid, or at least blended into the base paint).

Speaker grill painted:
Left side: 5 (chips in some area)
Right side: 10

Reassembly ratings: 6
(broken tabs, and they forgot to re-connect the quickplay controls)

Overall Satisfaction: 6.5

I paid $280 for this. I don't think it was worth it considering I had to spend a good time taking it apart and reconnecting the the quickplay controls.

I also need some touch-up paint to fix the left grills.

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Here is a quick pic.


I'll take some close up later. In some angle, the gray waves look very light and kinda green. But at this angle, it looks pretty good.


What I thought it would look like. No borders around graphic.


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Pics

Left Speaker Grill
Here is a pic of the 6 pin point nicks or chips off the left speaker grill. Its nicked down to the base of the metal. You can't see it well in the pics but it's a little annoying.





Right Speaker Grill
The right grill looks a lot better than the left. Paint covers entire area and is clean.


Rear Led area
Looks a little off. Can probably be cleaned off with some compound. Notice the black lines? More unpainted areas in the nooks and crannies.


Unpainted hinge area
Looks like some of the paint didn't get thru the nooks and crannies.


Screwdriver damage


Other than that, the Lid is pretty clean.


Again, looks a lot different than the sample gif.

I'm shopping on ebay now for a replacement on the screwdriver damage area.

 

If I paid $280 for my laptop to have it's lid painted I'd expect it to come back perfect. I'd be really pissed off if I were you.

Although, instead of spending $280 to make it prettier, you should have spent it on the insides which are more important!!!

 

I just contacted my CC company to see if I can get at least $150 back. Looking on ebay for a new speaker frame, the part where they cracked it a bit when they pried it open.

 

it looks good, but these small things are the difference between a standard paint job and a professional one.
Their paint job on the speakers is actually really good.
It was nearly impossible to get the speakers done on mine right.
We had to electropaint the speakers, and use a hairdryer to keep the paint from clogging all of the holes. It was quite a challenge, and it took a few times to get it right. Especially the clear coat, since the clear would build up around the edges.

I really like your design for the lid.
Can you take a picture of the system with the lid open

K-TRON

 

Like I said, the right looks good, but the left has a bunch of nicks on it. Has nothing to do with "paint job", its like it scratched or got nicked when they put it back together or maybe during shipping? There is no clear coat on the speaker grill which is fine. J

The screwdriver damage on the speaker frame is unacceptable. Same goes with the quickplay button they forgot to hook back to the motherboard.

I'll take more pics later.

 

Here are some close up of the grill. Turns out, there are more than 6 chips, nicks. You can clearly see how bad this is. And, with time, it will get worse. I need to patch it up with touch up paint.

 

That looks like crap! id be pissed! did you contact the company?

 

Yes, they replied once and that was it. They ask me what I needed, which was some sample paint to fix the grill, and maybe some cash back.

I forwarded my email I sent last week just now. Looks like I will have to work it out with CitiBank.

 

surprised no one from laptopdesign usa has responded here...

well its a major turn off for me.. to think i almost sent my computer there for a paint job... very unprofessional - you should get a refund or they should at least offer to fix the problems / partial refund.

also i am stunned that the sample image isn't what they gave you - how can they show you one thing and do another can't believe it doesn't fill the whole back.

 

Your lid design looked smooth and sleek. Sorry about this man~

 

I still think it looks nice and different. However, it would bother me if there was already chips and such off the paint. Otherwise looks cool.

 

I hate to make excuses for anything because I feel that all that does is try to place blame on someone or something else. So I will only do this one time and only for my lack of communication. For the last few days we have had a server issue that basically all but shut us down as far as communication.

So that being said...

Regardless of how things happened it is all our fault, plain and simple. The standards and procedures we have in place were not followed to our liking and that is why we have this issue.

We do include a 2 year warranty on our work and since Ive been here this is the first time I have had to do anything like this but we have offered to have the unit shipped back to us to fix at no cost to Andrew. As a second option if Andrew is not willing to do so is to give him a refund of the amount he paid for the customization. I hope that one of these options are acceptable to Andrew and at the same time I know that it will only partially dull the frustration that he may be going through, and for that I apologize.

I am still faily new to the company and I know about the communication issues the company has had in the past and I am committed to making sure that customer service is the first priority and no longer an after thought.

If anyone has any questions or concerns I will try to answer them as soon as possible. Reply here, PM me, or email me at [email protected]

 

Hello David, thank you for your response. Although the laptop was done not to my liking and I have thought about returning it for a redo. I think I would rather go for the refund.

You have my info. Please let me know if you need anything.

 

NP, I will let Peder know. I will keep you updated.

 

I think that the paint on the lid looks good although it should have wrapped around it to the inside as you had envisioned. I think that the chipped paint and screwdriver damage doesn't look very professional. You definately deserve a refund.

 

the lid fitment is pretty understandable. different laptops will have different edge designs and different measurements.

the paint job on the grill and screwdriver damage is just unacceptable.

now that the cons are out of the way, i would like to applaud LTdesignUSA on how they handled the situation. no matter how big or professional yur company is. there will be a small set back once in a while. the way u guys handled this set back was top-notch and classy. i hope both parties come to a nice compromise. good luck

 

That is very classy of the company to treat you this way. Its nice to know a company values their customers this way.

 

This is exactly the problem, this is unfortunately true. The problem was the lack of communication from us to the customer. This is why I am here, to fix these problems.

I am still dumbfounded as to how the unit left the shop in the shape that it did, I know the guys here and they dont let things like that happen, we are still trying to figure out who dropped the ball so this can be taken care of.

 

Agreed. LTDesignUSA is to be commended for being willing to publicly accept responsibility for this issue.

 

^ Keyword there being publicly, ya don't see that to often. I applaud you LTDesignUSA.

 

hmm.....he was banned i wonder what happened?

 

I did a search through his posts and I dont see anything unusual, unless it was deleted? The only thing I can think of is if the frown on multiple threads on something which he did with this thread? I will ask him in an email.

 

That will teach him to speak badly about a company online again!

Just kidding, im sure it was for something unrelated.

 

LOL. Well thats what Im hoping, I would find it hard to believe it had anything to do with this thread but if it did Im going to feel really bad!

 

Yes I was banned for something unrelated to this thread.

 

+reps to LTDesignUSA. Very mature.

 

+rep to LTdesign for taking care of this.

Grasshopper, let us know how the refund works out.

 

Slower than both He and I wanted. We were cutting him a check but he requested a CC refund which threw a wrench into the normal process (getting check voided, etc). However it is on its way.

 

Still waitng. I work in Acct and really can't see how it takes this long to void a check, and issue a refund on a cc.

 

It looks really good aside from the slight damages though.
I'd give it 9/10 for the company.
Pity on the damages though...

 

I think look very good Yes they shound fix they small errors but It seem from other posted that company more willing to do that

 

Well, I got my new grill and frame to replaced the chipped grill and cracked frame.. To lazy to slap it on right now. Still waiting for my refund............ 2 weeks... hmm..

 

Andrew, sent you an email a little bit ago. Things should be good now, didnt see this reply or I would have just said so here.

 

So, when should I expect to see the refund?

 

Andrew,

Double checking for you..

When was the last time you checked your balance?

 

Check your email.. you should have confirmation of it this time. Let me know when you get the confirmation so I know everything is right.

I think this is what happens when you have never done a refund before. lol

 

I just checked it a min. ago and don't see anything. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again for everything.

And yes, I did receive the confirmation email.

Thanks

 

Great,

Most banks wont post the refund until after midnight. Sometimes it happens the first night, sometimes it takes longer. Either way, keep me updated.

 

Refunded was finally received. It was even more than what I had originally requested.

Thanks again Dave for your help.

 

Nice laptop!

 

Nice laptop! Looks good.

 

looks really slick.

 

oh, so grasshopper is bamboodragon. That makse sense now.
Dave really took care of you well. repainted and fixed your parts.

I am glad that I have a lifetime guarantee on my paint. For $2500 it better. My painter also named Dave said that if the paint ever wears that I can send it back and get it redone. I doubt it will ever fade their is nearly 10 layers of clear on it.

K-TRON

 

Very Nice!

 

looks really good

 

I would ask for my money back. It looks nothing like the mock up