I had a problem with my new IBM notebook (the first time I’ve ever had a problem with one of their books). After performing all the diagnostics I could on my own, I took it into the Taipei repair shop to have it looked at. I explained the problem and left the book with them. There was no hassle, no questioning of how I treated the book, etc. Nothing but professional courtesy.
Less than TWENTY HOURS later I received a call telling me my book was fixed (they replaced the mother board!!!) and ready to pick up.
Incidentally, several years ago, I had a question about a battery issue and called IBM Taipei. They were able to field all my questions competently and profsessionally over the phone.
THAT is why IBM rules. I’ve never seen such awesome service for an electronics product in Taiwan. Their books are solid, but when there is an issue, you can be sure they’ll handle it.
Hopefully this level of service will continue after IBM’s PC division is handed over to its new masters in China.
It brings to mind the old adage, you get what you pay for.
IBM products are good, and their service also, but you pay for it in the price of the goods in the first place.
If you buy cheap, then somewhere you will end up paying for it.
With laptops you really need to get one with good service behind it. With a desktop if you know what you’re doing you can swap out whatever part died with another one, because the components are standardized. Laptop components other than hard disk and memory are almost all customized. Optical drives are standard, but their face plate and internal connector is not. Everything else is particular to the maker or sometimes even a particular model. I’m going to need to upgrade my 3.5 year old laptop soon, and I’m really leaning to IBM because everything I hear about the service is good.
My wife has one of those Thinkpad thingies and we had the same experience. Courteous and efficient treatment from the IBM Taiwan office with no questions asked. Surprised the hell out of me, I must say.