So, sending a laptop in for warranty repair in the US, without a permanent address (just a mailing address all the way back in California), is not a simple task.
First Lenovo wanted to post me out a postage paid package in which to send them the laptop. Uh-Uh
Then they tell me I can ship the laptop to them, but I will have to pay the postage. Ummm. no.
I ask about walk in service centres where I can drop the laptop in, and they tell me that service does not exist. WTF?
Finally they suggest that I can drop the laptop into a Best Buy, who will repair it for me. Huzzah!
And that only took 25 mins on the phone to organise.
So, it’s off to Best Buy. Who tell me I’ve been misinformed, the best they can do is send the laptop to the repair centre in Louisville. That will take them 3-4 bus days, the repair timeline is 2-3 weeks, and they need a return address to post it back out to. And no I can’t advise them of the shipping address once the repair is completed.
We come up with a sort of solution, the laptop can be shipped out to a Best Buy store, but I have to make a guess as to where I will be in anywhere between 3 and 4 weeks time.
Me, the king of seat of your pants, go where the road takes you slow travelling has to nominate a location to be in, to which, if I get there early, I have to sit and wait.
Not the easiest task, but I guess at Asheville, NC, as I’m taking the round about way there, via Alabama, Georgia, Florida etc.
Well I got to Asheville today, and surprise the laptop is there. So I can finally update the last few weeks in the coming posts.
To any IBM colleagues, take comfort in the fact that Lenovo support in the US is not what you might be told. Not only did customer service misinform me, it took just short of 4 weeks to get my laptop repaired and returned to me.
Updates to follow shortly.
