Me and Me against ... Lenovo?

September 8, 2007 12:42 PM

I've worked as a technology consultant and technician for nearly 17 years and in all that time, I have never been so upset by a technology purchase. About 40 days ago, I purchased a Lenovo X61t (tablet) laptop. One problem appeared immediately out of the box, the other two have developed: 1. Will not enter sleep mode. (Out of the box) 2. Dead pixel in the center of the screen. (developed) 3. Bezel is coming unglued from the screen. (developing) I would gladly have them repair it, but they've stated to me that they will not do it because they aren't sure whether the bezel issue is a defect or not, the sleep issue could be Vista related, and they allow for a minimum of eight dead pixels. Am I screwed? Do I have any means to ratchet up the pressure. Texas doesn't seem to have any lemon laws that would help me here and while I've heard of attempting to contact higher-ups or even small claims court, I am not sure how to do such things. Any advice?
posted by tcv to Technology (10 answers total)

An indirect solution would be to send your story to http://consumerist.com/ - they may post your story and contact Lenovo on your behalf. Often times the company will fear bad publicity and take action that it would normally not take.
posted by Sonic_Molson at 12:47 PM on September 8, 2007

Did you purchase it with a credit card that offers to either match, or extend an existing warranty?
posted by donguanella at 12:48 PM on September 8, 2007

Small claims court?
posted by bluefrog at 12:50 PM on September 8, 2007

FWIW, my Vista-running Dell 640m wouldn't sleep either, but does now after installing these Vista patches.
posted by nitsuj at 12:51 PM on September 8, 2007

Looks it would fit the Texas SCC statute (see item 4 on this page)
posted by bluefrog at 12:53 PM on September 8, 2007

I'm surprised they didn't offer to have you send it in, possibly for warranty repair if it's a fault. Even moreso, onsite, but maybe that'd be with a support contract or something.
posted by rhizome at 1:21 PM on September 8, 2007

The bezel issue is most definitely a defect... so many people have experienced it that its made engadget news

I was close to buying one myself... but now.. it seems like I'll hold off to they fix these issues.

I never knew their policy was 8 dead pixcels? that seems absurd! (can you induce 7 more?)
posted by crewshell at 1:27 PM on September 8, 2007

Try this to fix the pixel
posted by A189Nut at 2:18 PM on September 8, 2007

I've commented on this in computer-buying advice threads at least twice already this season: I would not buy a Lenovo right now for any reason.

That's not so much to say I-told-you-so, but rather to say, You're in good company—a lot of people are unhappy with Lenovo right now, a lot of things are going wrong with their production line, and something needs to be done about it.
posted by limeonaire at 5:31 PM on September 8, 2007

Another blog I read out there called Consumerist has some good tips for things like this, and for what it's worth, they actually do work well.

- Start scouring the interweb for corporate email addresses. and email them. All of them. Usually, 3 letter folks have assistants who can make problems like this go away.
- Post on forums for Lenovo stockholders. (Yahoo! Business, Marketwatch). Nothing rankles shareholders more than stuff like this, as it can be seen as an early indicator of activity that can diminish value.
- Personally, I frequent the Thinkpad forums, and they may also be able to offer more insight on how to deal with Lenovo, as the general consensus there is that, well, Lenovo stuff is and will always be inferior to the genuine IBM stuff. I've read of people who were in the same boat as you, and might be able to guide you in the right direction.

I hope this helps, and you get the assistance you are looking for. After my IBM gives up the ghost, i'm getting a Toshiba. No Lenovo for me.
posted by richter_x at 9:43 PM on September 9, 2007