Any Thinkpad support experiences
 

I'm on the market for a new laptop & have pretty much narrowed it down to a Thinkpad P70. Outside the garish gaming market there isn't much choice in fast 17" machines & the P50 / P70 generally seem to be pretty well reviewed, robust & reliable.

I've had a few presales queries & to be honest, the availability, lack of knowledge & general impression has been so poor (shockingly) that I'm concerned as to what aftersales support may be like, should I need any.


Any experiences good, bad or ugly?

I've had a personal Lenovo laptop for 4 years, and been very happy with it.

I particularly like the full-size keyboard with numeric keypad, which is a godsend if you do a lot of numeric entry (spreadsheets, etc.).

I haven't had any need of after sales service, so I can't comment on that aspect.

Lenovo was also on our shortlist for corporate laptop replacement, losing out to HP on price, not on features and capability.

SD

Cheers.


I haven't had a Lenovo myself, but there are a few in the family that end up dealing with & they seem pretty reasonable & durable.

The shortlist was the HP ZBook 17 G3 or the P70, the P70 being slightly more appealing with a slightly better spec & more config options at purchase. I really must get the finger out & drop on one of them.

I suggest the 1080p rather than the 4k screen. Go for it!

We have used Thinkpads of various types and ages at work. I'm an engineer and use them mainly 'in the field' in industrial plant rooms, outside and a bit of office work. They maybe aren't as carefully looked after and handled as they should be in an ideal world (!), but even so, they are robust and reliable.

Booglebox - Indeed, the 4K screen was never on the menu, too expensive for my pockets & not required for what I do. I had considered the entry level Xenon, but it just doesn't look like any significant jump up from the I7-6820.


Blues&twos - I won't be using in a harsh environment as such, but it will get lugged about much (like yourself, possibly not ideally at times), so It's good to know that durability is as I had hoped.

I had to call them about three years ago with a warranty claim for a faulty keyboard on a T-series. It was actually a pretty painless experience, and they promptly sent me a replacement, which has been fine ever since.

Lenovo support is fairly good. Might I suggest if you haven't yet purchased is to look at getting it from their online site/store and if they don't have a sale or a discount coupon then Google for a Lenovo ecoupon (or e-coupon) and see what you find. My last ThinkPad that was purchased, I managed to find a 15% e-coupon number through Google. :ok: "Something for nothing and your RAM chips for free." :O (Apologies to Dire Straits).

I wasn't going to respond to this thread, as I've had 3 T-series laptops in the past, still have two others, and I've never had so much as a blue screen that I remember. So haven't had to ask for support.


but that I suppose is information in itself...

My parents have used Thinkpads only for the last ~12-15 years. I had an issue with a keyboard on a X40 which was resolved within days, the laptop was at this point 2½ years old.
And recently my dad had an issue with the motherboard on his latest laptop. They tried to fix it twice and then gave him a new laptop as the problem reappeared after a short while. This was onsite support btw. From notifying Lenovo about the first issue to he received a replacement laptop took about a week.
There is a reason they stick to Thinkpads, and that is customer service.

Thanks for the replies!


Finally got a P70, pretty happy with it, no problems so far & certainly handles driver updates better than anything else that I've had before.

The negative comments I've read about Lenovo sales (farmed out to "Digital River")are certainly true in the UK though. After a week of being unable to order the correct configuration online I called their sales line, explained the situation & was offered a very reasonable compensatory discount - nice I though!

A couple of days later the docking station arrives & the next day I get an "Order cancellation" email, explaining that due to a site error that the laptop order has been cancelled & that I should reorder using the provided 5% discount voucher. OK, not quite as much discount as had initially been offered, but acceptable - only thing is the laptop has just jumped £500 at RRP......


Ended up ordering for an online vendor & had it delivered next day.

I have had Thinkpads for a couple of years now.
I don't buy new - second hand off eBay when they are 6 months to a year old. It knocks a good 1/4 - 1/3 off the RRP and you still have a good chunk of the 3 year onsite warranty.

Currently on a T450s and have used the support twice. Trackpad went funny, reported it via a web portal - engineer came out the next day and replaced the part. Next day...
Had issues with the keyboard (couple of keys detached) - part dispatched, was with me next day.

As they are bushiness laptops the support is excellent and the robustness is superb. Many in my profession (software engineering) use Macbooks but I have always kept to Thinkpads because of the superb aftersales - Apple just don't touch the level Lenovo/IBM go to.