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I had the original thinkpad 700 and that had a problem with the hinges splitting apart and IBM covered that no questions asked. I am surprised however that the splitting hinge is still a recurring defect in their later models. It hasn't happened on my 755cd and I've had that for a year now (time for an upgrade actually). Generally, I've found that when the Easyserv people on the phone tell you that "problem x is misuse and not covered under the warranty" then you should ask them to let you send in the machine to have Easyserv evaluate whether or not the damage to it is because of misuse. I've found that almost always once the machine gets to the repair center it comes back repaired. Another problem is to send in the machine when there is some other problem with it (mouse or keyboard not working) then put a note with the machine and ask them to fix your other problem as well. It's also a good time to ask them for an extra mouse cap. On Thu, 19 Jun 1997, Tom Franklin wrote: > > EZServe cracked my LCD lid on the right hand side (where I put > > my thumb when I pick the closed computer up). When I posted my > > story (below) to this list, someone else commented they'd also > > gotten their 701 back from EZServe with a crack in the exact > > same place. > > > > Because they keyboard expands, the case near the right LCD hinge > > is very weak. If the computer is open, it's tempting to pick it > > up by this point since you can't pick it up by the keyboard. > > Doing so will eventually crack it (mine has). > > I think I should chime in with my bad experiences. I have found that IBM > refuses to repair case cracks no matter what. I had a crack in the lid > near the hinge. I never dropped the maching and never misused it. When I > sent it into repair the tech said cracks and cosmetic damage are excluded > from their warranty. As a literate person and a law student, I read their > warranty and it only disclaims damage from misuse. > > IBM has interpreted this to mean "crack = misuse." I made a big stink > about it and elevated the issue up the management chain. They finally said > they will correct it this time but stuck with their stupid interpretation > of "crack = misuse." > > That is when I got worried. If the warranty is good for everything except > cracks I would have to reevaluate buying IBM. This is especially true > since the TP760 tilting keyboard is innovative, but makes for a flimsy case > in my opinion. I find I recommend Toshibas when the user needs a more > sturdy case. > > I began to worry so I checked my other Thinkpad and found a crack on the > hinge. The hinge had been malformed and that caused it to rub the other > part of the hinge. A crack formed on one of the pieces that rubbed > together. Any idiot could see the crack was caused by the malformed hinge > and not by misuse. So I sent it back to IBM. Guess what, "crack = > misuse." It got elevated to the same idiot in management who now said "I > warned you before . . ." > > Reluctantly, the fixed it for free after admitting he had never seen the > machine as the tech and machine where in another state. But, he assured me > the techs were very good at deciding what cracks were caused by misuse. > What is strange about that is the tech he was talking about said they > aren't allowed to fix any cases for free under any circumstances, i.e., > "crack = misuse." Blind application of a beurocratic policy made on high. > > It gets worse. The first machine that got sent in had been sitting on the > table for 4 weeks after being sent in. I had only turned it on once or > twice when I noticed another crack. This crack must have happened when > they were fixing the first. It is near the hinge which had to be removed > to do the last repair. I called EZ-Serve to report it so they would know > but that was four weeks later. I now am in a quandry on whether to send it > in because "crack = misuse." I know I will be dealing with the same idiots > as before, and don't look forward to that battle. > > As a result I don't feel I can be the champion of IBM machines at the > Fortune-100 company I work at. When IBM had the best service in the > industry and usually fixed things no questions asked, the $2,000 premium > paid for their machines could be justified. Now the calculus is more > complex. > > > -- > > \\|||// > (o) (o) > ======.oOO==( )==OOo.======= > || || > || Thomas D. Franklin || > || tom.franklin@usa.net || > || || > || .oooO Oooo. || > =======( )===( )======== > \ ( ) / > \_) (_/ > >