[Thinkpad] Re: Customer care is not just a warranty (was T40...)

No, you said that Ibm should Help you install any supported software. Think
about what you are suggesting. You are saying that IBM should Help the
(this) customer install Win2k on a machine that they sold with WinXP and as
an oem are bound to warrant and service for free. What happens if next
month he(she) changes their mind and wants to install Win98, and the next
month NT. I believe that your post below outlines the extent of the Help
available in these situations.
Even at that, I too believe that Ibm should have made the customer aware of
the limited support available instead of saying Not Our Problem. In fact,
this whole senario could have been resolved by a breif explaination of the
limited help (as you stated below) Ibm offers on their site instead of
allowing the customer's frustration to blow things way out of proportion.
Sometimes the resolutions to monumental problems are the most simple and
obvious ones.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Deanna Berman" <dberman@4dv.net>
To: "Scott Wilcox" <swilcox@indy.rr.com>; <thinkpad@stderr.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2004 2:08 AM
Subject: Customer care is not just a warranty (was T40...)

> No mixup on my part. I did not assert the existence of any warranty
rights; nor use the term "warranty" at all.
>
> Of course IBM has every right not to help someone with Win95 or Red Hat --
but those are not listed as supported operating systems,
> so I would not expect IBM to assist me with them. (I do note, though, that
in addition that for the "supported" operating systems,
> IBM does have a page of tips for installing Red Hat on a T40, with
disclaimers I consider perfectly appropriate.) However, I don't
> read "supported" as meaning merely "compatible with" or "meets the minimum
requirements to run". Used by a manufacturer with a
> history as formidable as IBM's, "support" is a word of art -- and IBM
knows damn well when, where and how to put it in writing.
>
> Your bet that "that's another model number" proves my point. My criticism
of IBM was based on what it said on a page expressly
> tailored to a single model --237392U. In fact, if you go to 2373-92U
support, you can choose installation instructions for Windows
> 98 and 2000, notwithstanding the fact that this model comes with XP. If
you take a close look at these detailed installation
> instructions, they are very obviously written for people who are
installing operating systems *other* than that which was preloaded
> on their machines. They include preparation steps for the particular OS to
be installed, meticulous listings of files that will be
> needed in addition to the new OS itself, as well as where to get them and
suggestions for alternate sources. And they assume the
> source of the OS files to be installed is a Microsoft CD, not an IBM
recovery disk or a preloaded hard drive.
>
> The sheer volume and detail the IBM online support site devotes to
alternate operating systems bolsters my belief that it intends to
> assist its customers with a wide range of situations and issues that are
not circumscribed by the term "warranty". My opinion about
> any failure to do that is based not on any express limited warranty
language or any implied warranties under state commercial codes
> or federal Magnuson-Moss Act, but on common law concepts -- and common
sense expectations -- that even if no written law ever
> required that IBM provide certain types of assistance to its customers,
once it has undertaken to do so on the scale we see (and
> appreciate) every day, those customers should be able to rely on IBM to
follow through on its mission responsibly and effectively.
>
> In the particular case that triggered this thread, IBM and CDW probably
both rightly disclaimed any warranty liability, as there
> doesn't seem to be any evidence of any defective product. But even if IBM
is understandably reluctant to pay its telephone support
> personnel to work through every question personally, why doesn't it teach
them to say, "You know, that doesn't sound like a
> defective product, so it's not a warranty issue. I can't tell over the
phone what's causing your problem, but why don't you visit
> our website, enter your model number and follow the links to the extensive
instructions for installing Windows 2000 on an XP-preload
> system. There might be some detail you missed." Instead, many a frustrated
customer hangs up the phone with "NOT IBM'S PROBLEM!"
> ringing in his ears.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Scott Wilcox" <swilcox@indy.rr.com>
> To: "Deanna Berman" <dberman@4dv.net>; <thinkpad@stderr.org>;
<scott@turnstyle.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 20:30 PM
> Subject: Re: [Thinkpad] I've never tried to sell a used laptop, here's a
T40...
>
>
> > I think you are mixing the terminology here. Yes, IBM has every right
to
> > say "We don't have to help you if you installed a different operating
> > system." for this model which could be Win95 or Red Hat. They don't
have to
> > "help" or warrant anything beyond what the machine was sold with. Now,
will
> > the machine "support" the OS's you refer to??? Yes, it should. But not
> > with IBM warranted support. I haven't looked but I'd bet that's another
> > model number.
> >
>
>

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Received on Wed Mar 17 12:02:59 2004