Should IBM Run the DMV, CIA, and TSA?

I blogged a few days ago about the sad fact that my beloved three-year-old child, a.k.a. 2687, a black IBM (Lenovo) laptop, had to be repaired. The LCD had gone dark. I tried to get it fixed locally, but none of the vendors recommended by IBM could move fast enough. Nor were any independent outfits like Geek Squad up to the task. So I took the last resort: sending it back to IBM. I was reluctant to do this for a variety of reasons, but it seemed the best alternative.

Although the IBM techs I’d talked to on the phone were knowledgeable, pleasant, and fast (I never even got put on hold), and even though I was assured I wouldn’t pay a penny for the work (the machine is still under warranty), I was pessimistic. The biggest downside was living that long without my laptop.

On Wednesday morning, IBM sent me a sturdy shipping box with a return DHL label. On Wednesday early evening, I packed up my baby and sent her to a company called Solectron in Memphis. I left town on Thursday (to Madison, Wisc. — my first visit; great town), and got home by late Friday morning. There she was waiting for me, my smart little machine, all fixed up by someone halfway across the country, at a cost to me of $0.00, the entire transaction taking about 36 hours.

I wish IBM made more things so I could buy them and know that if something went wrong, the repair process would always be this good.

This is the best customer service I’ve ever encountered in my life.

Maybe IBM should be running a few other three-letter outfits. Let’s start with the DMV, CIA, TSA, and move on from there.