I have worked with IBM/Lenovo support many times. They are always helpful and usually answer the phone (with a human) within 2-3 minutes - frequently within 1-2.

I have had great support with the use of HP's chat support. You don't get passed around. I also hear thay have email support with turnaround times near 1 to 2 hours. That kind of support allows them to run around and find the right person to answer the problem lest you have to.

Here are two of my experiences. They are both from years ago, but this goes to show what bad support can do to a company's reputation. I've never bought anything from either of these companies again, for personal or business purposes.

It's 2004, and I am doing desktop support at a university. A user calls me to take care of an HP Pavilion tower with a broken floppy drive. All our other computers are Dells -- this is a "rogue" purchase that we reluctantly agreed to support, but we have no spare parts on hand. So I phone HP to request a replacement floppy drive. After waiting on hold for over 40 minutes, I finally reach someone and give them the model number of the computer. They tell me there are several floppy drives for different HP models but they can't tell which one this model takes. I give them the HP part number of the original floppy drive. The part number doesn't match anything in their system. They hem and haw. They finally ship me a replacement drive, which takes over a week to arrive via surface shipping -- and which isn't compatible with the mounting bracket that slides into this particular computer. I phone them back and wait on hold for over 30 minutes. I explain the situation. They have no idea what to do. They put me on hold again to investigate; after I've been on the phone with them for an hour, they finally offer to have someone call me back. No one ever calls back. I finally buy an external USB floppy drive for the user. We are never able to replace the original, internal drive.

The other experience was almost ten years ago now! This is before I worked in tech support, so in this story I am more of a naive end-user. I have just purchased an Acer laptop. Nice, sleek looking thing. Except that every time I try to install Windows 98, the installation fails with a hard freeze. I wipe the drive, try again -- hard freeze. So, I call Acer support and explain the problem. Their answer? "We don't support third-party software. Windows is considered third-party software. If you're having trouble with Windows, call Microsoft."

With what I know today, I'd have IDed this as a hardware issue and insisted on warranty service or replacement, but what did I know then?

Unable to argue with them, I give up and ship the laptop back to Acer at my own expense for a refund. I buy an NEC the next day.

One final note: I mostly supported Dells until 2004, and I had nothing but sterling tech support experiences with them on the phone. I don't know if their support quality has changed since then, but based on my experience, I'd automatically buy a Dell if I stopped being a Mac user. Good support = loyal customer. Too bad most companies can't figure that out.

I have had similar experiences. I have a laptop that has caused nothing but troubles. First my wireless card stopped working. Took about 25 days to get a replacement. I then started having the same issues again, this time I had windows Vista on. I was once told that this voided the warranty. I said BS. Now It is sent into HP and has been there for 20 days waiting a motherboard replacement. They will also wipe my hard drive I was told.

Not worth the trouble. I learned my lesson and wont be recommending HP anymore

Might be me but, as Systems Integrator, I've dealt with a lot of Companies. HP is on my TOP 1 since had no trouble at all changing parts (servers, laptop, desktops, peripherics) - so it's funny to read your story. Also as a rule of thumb, if you need an UPS get from those who made them. Despite being badge by HP it might be an APC, Triplitte or other... Concerniing (ItziBitziMinds - IBM)this is hell on earth to get the parts and the support. I cannot count the number of times they sent me the wrong parts or the trouble getting support on the phone. As for Dell, you pay for what you get - Luckly the Enterprise support is done by Unisys or others who knows more about computers than Dell itself.
If you want a great support, get an SGI - the turnaround time was 4hr to resolve you case. And support knows your system like their own body!!!

As I already sent to Cringe in email, I had an HP Pavilion laptop. About six months after the purchase, the internal speakers died. I used HP's chat support, and the very polite and helpful person on the other end arranged a warranty service. I shipped the computer to their California facility in the provided shipping container. No problems so far.

Except the chat guy never gave me a case number, so I couldn't track progress, but that was an understandable oversight. I was able to track the Fed Ex shipment, which was delivered to HP's site. I called their phone line and got my case number. When I then tried to check my case number, I discovered that the polite guy in India had entered my computer into the system with the wrong model number. And although Fed Ex had delivered the system and gotten a signature, HP's tracking system said it was still in transit.

Over the next week I spoke to five "technicians" and three supervisors, all of whom promised to have the repair guys find and fix my computer, but it still wasn't found and still showed in their system as the wrong model. Finally I convinced them to escalate to "Case Management" (HP's version of Level Two support, I think). My Case Manager then did exactly the same thing: promised to try to make the repair facility find my lost laptop.

Days later, I got impatient. So I called HP HQ, and asked to speak to Ms. Krakauer, VP for Customer Service, North America. It's insane that I had to escalate out-of-band all the way to a corporate executive to get warranty service, but the next day I was shipped a brand-new laptop, which is working fine for me. As far as I know, my original computer was never found.

One thing that struck me (a former programmer) as stunningly bad: I asked why the serial number/model number mismatch hadn't been kicked out of the system automatically, and was told that HP REPEATS SERIAL NUMBERS across different product lines, so their database can't tell which serial number goes with which model number. Isn't the point of a serial number to be SERIALIZED, to be unique, so it can (for instance) be used as a key in a database? What were they thinking?

For years, I worked for an authorized service provider for many brands of PC's (Apple, Dell, IBM, Acer, HP etc.). In many cases, the support you got depended on which specific product you were calling about.. and this was especially true with HP. There used to be a recording "Press 1 if you're calling about a Pavilion product, or stay on the line for all other products." If you were calling about a Pavilion (a consumer-level PC), the support was horrendous. I believe the call even went to an outsourced company (that didn't have the tools and resources that the real HP reps had).
If you had other product issues, the support was generally good. I suspect that because you had a strange product (C'mon- an "HP" UPS?? That's like buying a "Gateway" printer), you got the consumer-level support. Or, it's possible that all of their support is outsourced. It's been a few years since I supported HP. Of course, there's no excuse for bad service, and I'm glad you posted your experience for all of us to learn from.

Purchased a Compaq Presario V6000 laptop in July 2007 with Windows XP. Nice simple machine with a decent screen.

Laptop refused to display the desktop if there are more than two user accounts, that is, besides HP Administrator. So, if you have the HP Administrator as Tom, and then set up user accounts, also with Administrator privileges, as Dick and Harry, the laptop will not display the desktop. It boots but then stops when the desktop is supposed to come up with icons, task bar, system tray, etc.

Delete the Dick and Harry accounts, keeping only Administrator and Tom, and you have a working laptop.

The trick to get the desktop back turned out to be non-obvious. Hibernate the laptop, even after it fails to show the desktop, and then ask it to restore the desktop. On emerging from hibernation the desktop would come up giving me access to the control panel where I then killed off Dick and Harry's accounts.

After 18 emails and as many phone calls, HP's only suggestion was to run the "restore to factory settings" program which reinstalls the software, and re-writes the registry, to the conditions which existed at the time the computer was shipped from the factory in Shanghai. Tis would kill off all the applications, firewall, virus checker, and data, that I put on the laptop after getting it.

HP refused to dispatch a technican to my home, a service which I paid for in an extended service contract, on the grounds that restoring to factory settings does not require a tech. HP refused to escalate the issue to 2nd tier of support on same grounds.

HP refused to identify whether any of the six or seven dozen Microsoft patches to Windows XP SP2 which had to be installed after initializing Windows might be the culprit. Obviously, if you restore to factory settings, and then download the patches all over again, and one of them is the cause, you've just reinstalled the problem as well!

HP refused to identify whether anyone had ever called in with a similar problem.

We have three HP printers, a scanner, a desktop and a laptop. After this experience the replacements will most likely come from another vendor.

I've recently been having trouble with my wife's HP laptop. After a week of phone calls, I sent it in and HP determined that the extra memory was bad. I got the memory taped to the outside of the case, but no indication that they had failed to replace the memory. The reinstall worked reasonably fast, but later I found running it with 256M was slow. That's when I opened the bottom and found out the problem.

So after purchasing some new memory, the ATI TV tuner no longer worked. A couple of phone calls made, few not returned and I ran some diagnostics (dxdiag). So I finally got authorization and a box to return it. I was worried because I wasn't sure what HP would do to get the tuner that they did not have to work, so I reinstalled Windows, patches, drivers, fixed some problems with drivers, etc. The laptop and the tuner worked!

Next time I'm going to check out an Apple. It might be more expensive, but spending a couple of hours a night on the phone with tech support isn't what I look forward to as I leave the office.

Perhaps this is a good time to mention Apple's "Genius Bar" service, which requires appointments for help. It also made me wait for an Apple "Genius" to assist and Apple EMPLOYEE while making me stand there for a half an hour waiting to leave them my almost-new MacBook Pro. All I needed to do was leave the computer so they could replace the moldy display (don't ask me how mold got there, but that's what the prior "Genius" told me it was). Leaving the computer: 30 seconds. Waiting on the $#%^ "Genius" to get it from me and get it to the correct location: 30 Minutes.

Even worse, it has to go back for another 3-5 days of service because I can't control the brightness of the new display (at all).

Poor service is the rule, not the exception, and it is a damn shame. Apple, Dell, Sony, and even HP make some fine products, but rarely can you get decent support.

WHAT ? ? ? ?

An Apple user who hasn't become an "eyes glazed over" member of the cult??

You better stay anonymous Andrew - if that's your real name. They'll be after you like that Bourne guy.

(just kidding - just kidding -am I?)

Calling HP's service "Cross-eyed and brainless" is actually a compliment to them; and a disservice to those beings of higher intelligence who actually fit that description.

I have stayed with IBM/Lenovo for 11 years. As noted above, always competent native-English-speaking US-based techs within minutes of calling. Any necessary parts received the next day. If I have to send the whole laptop in, I get it back within 3 days. They have saved my bacon at home and at far-flung locations.

Amazingly, I had nearly the same experience with an HP digital camera last year. Same 10+ transfers and repeating everything. However, I actually got a replacement camera. Now it has the same problem (battery trouble with any type of battery) and I just tossed it. No more HP for me.

I bought an HP DV1000 (it was cheap and great specs) it came with the std. 1 yr warranty. Neat the end of the warranty I had the motherboard go south on me. called HP sent it off got it back two weeks later everything went fine.
3 mos. later same exact thing happened. Called HP sorry mr. your laptop is out of warranty. (I'm hosed) but the helpful guy from 1/2 way around the world said if I purchased the extended warranty they would service it. GREAT! the Motherboard for this thing was $400.00 and the extended warranty was $115.00! I thanked them and went back in the que to get my laptop fixed.
This went on for most of the day and the next day I get a call from a supervisor saying he will not honor the extended warranty I purchased and basically I was out of luck.
I could accept I was out of luck when I went through it the first time, but after the rep told me I could purchase the service get my hopes all up and then the next day get kicked to the curb by the supervisor was WAY unacceptable.
However I consider my position and a reputable source for information regarding purchases of systems to all my friends and co workers and I exercise my opinion of HP loudly.
Lenovo is a very good company and so far has given me great support and service. I believe when we go to upgrade the largely HP data center I work in my opinion is considered by the management staff.
:-)

After reading through these posts, something else comes to mind. American's have become addicted to discounted pricing and cheap stuff- just consider the success of Walmart selling 95% made-in-China goods. It's now the biggest company in America, and practically no factories in the US get the benefit of their tremendous sales volume. In the computer industry, resellers (and OEMs) face the same pricing pressure. How much do you think a reseller makes on a $1,000 laptop? Often less than the sales tax. It's no wonder that the support "technicians" really aren't.

Poor service comes from all sides, although technology does tend to find itself on the bottom of the barrel (Well, Applebee's is really gunning for a top spot, but that's another post).

I've had experience with several of the big name brands, but the best experience with support I had with a technology happened with Apple, and as a consumer, not a enterprise business customer.

I had an issue with OS X that related to associating a particular type of file with a specific application that worked on a one-by-one basis, but not en masse. I called and spoke with someone (and understood them) late in their support day (read in: two minutes until the support line closed). We continued our discussion for over an hour before escalation was required. They set an expectation and called back within the expected time.

The problem turns out to be a confirmed bug in OS X (the guy claims the first actual one he's seen in many years) and it was sent onto development. I had a work around, and they said it'd be put in queue for fix in a future OS version. (which was acceptable, I was just relieved what should have been simple wasn't for a reason other than operator error).

Yes, I have AppleCare, and perhaps that factored into the quality of service. I felt like they valued my service, they were not hurrying me off the phone. They even suggested a archive and install of the OS, but as they were able to confirm the problem on their machines, they told me they are supposed to recommend it, but I shouldn't waste my time.

Good service and quality service people are not free, and I'm so sick and tired of the service status quo that I'm willing to pay a premium for it.

I can say that I'm a fan of Apple products, and my experiences have suggested that the belief is not misplaced.

Now, on the other side of the coin, I had a local heating and cooling company agree to do some work, and after a series of missed appointments, I wrote the owner a letter and he called me up and told me I was a 'bad customer'. You can imagine I wasn't shocked to find out his employees didn't share the entire story with him.

The service formula can be as simple as: set an expectation and then meet or exceed it. But then again, we are country of adults that are admittedly NOT smarter than 5th graders. :)

Crucial Technology's "Guaranteed Compatible Memory Upgrades"

After purchasing Crucial's Ballistix memory based on their advertised claim of "Guaranteed Compatible memory upgrades for your ASUS P5NT WS", six sticks of BL2KIT12864AA804 all failed MEMTEST86+ with the same motherboard.

This was Crucial's lab technician's (written) response after Crucial acknowledged they had NEVER tested their memory with an ASUS P5NT WS motherboard and I had demanded a full refund of my original (reseller) purchase price.

"Our Ballistix manufacturer has been unable to recreate the problem" and continued, "you could send us your motherboard and we will test it in our lab and investigate the issue with your specific motherboard".

BUT I THOUGHT THEY SAID THEY "GUARANTEED COMPATIBILITY" AND NOW I'M SUPPOSED TO DISMANTLE MY PC AND SEND THEM MY MOTHERBOARD THAT THEY CLAIMED TO HAVE GUARANTEED!

Crucial then stated (in writing) that their compatibility was based on "motherboard specifications" to which I replied: Your assurance that Crucial guarantees memory compatibility based on "motherboard specifications", is to say the least, naive. In engineering, no responsible company or experienced design engineer would ever "assume" that documented specs are proof of guaranteed compatibility. YOU TEST YOUR DESIGN AND SELECTED COMPONENTS IN THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH THEY WILL ULTIMATELY BE DEPLOYED, PRIOR TO PROJECT COMPLETION AND SIGN OFF - you NEVER "assume" or "guess".

And then here's what Crucial's Sales and Support Supervisor had to say in reply to their 100% testing claim: "The memory is tested for individual functionality, but this does not mean that the memory is tested with all motherboards. Crucial guarantees compatibility with systems or motherboards based on the specs of those systems or motherboards, but our "100% testing" does not mean that the memory has been tested with each specific motherboard." SO WHAT DOES CRUCIAL GUARANTEE?

Whatever happened to "truth in advertising"? I'm still waiting for a FULL refund...

Earlier this year I found the Compaq side of HP was easy to work with, even if I had to ship the device back to them twice. The people were patient, if obtuse at times, and following process worked. Perhaps they are more compliant if the machine is DOA upon opening the box.

On the other hand, I would agree that some accessories are best obtained directly from manufacturers or a specialized channel. Firms like HP carry accessories to make it "easier" for us to buy a "solution", to get us to spend more while we're in the spending mood, and because the margins are huge. In reverse order of importance, of course. Ever check camera prices at Dell?

Speaking of margins, given the way most of us chase the lowest possible initial purchase price, it's hard to get too wrapped around the axle about support. To fix this we just need to watch these trends and be willing to pay 10-20% more up front.

Hmm. Let's just say I had an actual pacbell dsl support rep break down and cry. Yes it is true. She told me later she was about to get married and was "allowed" a whole three day honeymoon.

At the height of the madness this install was on the agenda for the monthly management meeting in San Francisco, and I personally had several conversations with the vip in charge.

The ripper ? the local C.O. for this install was located no more than 500 yards from the install site. I bleat you not.

I also have to say Kudo's to IBM/Lenovo for service/support. My main laptop is a 5-year old T23 who's fan started dying a few months ago. I poked around IBM/Lenovo's excellent documentation links on their websites and found - FACTORY/DEPOT SERVICE MANUALS in pdf format. I dl'd the one for me T23 used the index to find the bits about the fan - including exact part number. Got a NEW fan from Lenovo (remember, this thing is over 5-years old). New fan/heatsink in hand, by following the spot-on and crystal-clear step-by step manual thouroughly and painlessly disembowled the T23 and replaced the fan/heatsink assy and put it back together in less than 1/2 hour. Total cost <$50.00 and a little time.

Do any other PC vendors have factory service manuals on-line for free download or obscure parts for a 5-year old system? Not bloody likely!

Cheers and Huzza to Lenovo for carrying on the excellent ThinkPad quality and reputation!

I have had the absolutely best support experience with, drum roll please, ... Apple. I called their tech help, connected to a tech quite quickly and they trusted my judgment (as an IT professional) and went straight at the problem I had determined (the HD had failed). Still being under warranty, they had DHL at my home that very afternoon (a Tuesday) it was back in my hands with a new HD just two days later (Thursday!!!). Remarkable experience!

adrew is a pathetic lier and we all knew it. MAC is far superior to pc at any given days either in support or products. NOW! Andrew... bendover and grap your ankles.... got something for you :)

One of my worst experiences was with Dell. As a computer consultant, I tried to help my poor neighbors with a 6 month old Gateway desktop computer that would not boot.

They had finally gotten a Dell Service person to come to open and fix the computer, but after he left the computer asked for the Boot Diskette.

I checked it out without opening the box and voiding the warranty. If I tried to reinstall windows, I was told there was no hard drive. Obviously the tech person didn't try to start the computer before he left. I agreed to contact Dell for my neighbors.

After waiting on hold for 50 minutes, I tried for another hour to get the "support person", who I could barely understand, to realize that the problem was in the hard drive. "Reinstall Windows" I was told. "I tried that and was told there is no hard drive", I said. "Please get you Windows CD out", I was told. "What part of the hard drive isn't being recognized don't you understand", I replied.

The supervisor didn't get it either, but after being passed up to more supervisors I finally got an authorization for the tech support person to come back.

The problem was that he had disconnected the drive and forgot to reconnect it.

I could hava solved the problem in 5 minutes, but I was afraid to open the box since the tech person put a new seal on it.

I think we all should get together and write a book!

Csndy

Candy - (or, Csndy)

A Dell service tech leaving a drive disconnected on a Gateway computer is just too good, if not justice.

Your book is definitely fiction...

You should have gone with an APC UPS. Their tech support is great. I'm just a regular customer, not a corporate customer, and they've always treated me well. And when they make a mistake, they've always fixed it right away (usually by sending a replacement overnight).

As much as I tend to prefer my Thinkpad over a Toughbook, I have to give kudos to Panasonic's tech support.
A few months ago, I was testing a nearly new Toughbook CF-18 when it died.
Within two minutes of dialing the 800 number I found on their site (not any secret Gold level support number), I was speaking to a guy in New Jersey who actually listened to the symptoms and ran through a few logical tests with me before agreeing the motherboard was hosed and giving me an RMA number.
They're expensive, but it shows that you get what you pay for.

I worked for HP years ago and one of their top business priorities at the time was good customer service. Things have apparently changed...