T400 - Video problems and a long wait for repair...

Question

Hi,
I'd just like to state my experience with Lenovo Customer Support for a video problem with my T400.  Bottom line, as of today, it's been around 27 business days that it's been with Lenovo, and 41 days total since it's failed on me, and nobody, including Lenovo Customer Support, seems to know what its status is exactly, except that they're waiting on a part which has no ETA.
In July 2009, I bought a T400, a 2764CTO version with the switchable graphics between the internal intel graphics and the ATI GPU.
All was well until February 1st, 2010, when the LCD sudden wouldn't work.  Well, it would work, but the screen was very very dim, even with the display maxed out on brightness.  You would have literally bring your nose to the screen in order to even make out any text or images - definitely unusable.  However, if you hooked up an external monitor via the video output, the T400 would display video output properly that way.  When I did this, I noticed that the switchable graphics option wasn't there any more - couldn't switch to the ATI GPU.  Based on this, I figured it must be a video card or LCD issue, or a combination of both.
So, I called Lenovo Customer Support (CS) at 1-800-565-3344, since I'm up here in Canada, and I initially was issued a case number of 41JRFSD, and I agreed to send it to a local Lenovo Repair Centre.  Oops, my bad, I made a mistake using the locator tool I was told to use at bplocator.lenovo.com, and thought the Centre was relatively close.  Not quite.  So, I called Lenovo CS again, and they issued me with a new case number, 40KWSYF, and said they'd send a box for return to depot.  And within 2 days, Feb 2nd or 3rd, I got a Purolator courier return box.  That's fast service!  Pleased, I put my T400 in according to instructions, and I sent it off.
Fast forward to about mid-February.  I called Lenovo CS, and apparently there was a delay - the depot needed a part that wasn't in stock. Fine, I know these things can happen - I'll wait.
Fast forward to March 1st.  I talk to a Lenovo CS rep, and it appears that the part needed has arrived, and they've put a rush order to get the computer back to me. Great!
Fast forward to March 8th, still no computer.  I talk to another Lenovo CS rep... strange, there's no update.  The issue gets escalated to the Depot managers.
Fast forward to March 12th.  Still no word on my T400's status.  An email fron CS has been sent to the depot.  Not even the CS reps know what's going on.  The rep I talk to figures there should be a response by the end of the day.
Fast forward to today, March 13th, 4:50pm Pacific Time.  I just finish talking to Lenovo CS, there's been no response from the depot.  Apparently there's a part that they're waiting on for repairs, but there's no ETA on it.  Is it the same part that I've waiting on all this time?  Is it a new one?  I don't know. 
At this point, I've been told to send an email explaining my situation, and I've also been told to talk to Scott the next time I call CS on Monday after 3pm Eastern.  I have to stress that the Lenovo Customer Support Reps I've talked to have all been very sympathetic and have been courteous, helpful, and professional - something I appreciate from having worked in Customer Support myself.  But the bottom line remains: my computer's not back to me.
So, my questions to the community here: is my experience here typical?  Is there any hope of my seeing my computer back, or even at least just the hard drive?  I've used Lenovo computers for work for the past 7 years, and it was my good work experiences that led me to buying a Lenovo for home use.  However, it's been a while since I've been without my T400, and I was hoping to get my taxes done on the computer too, since they're due at the end of March.  I'll reserve judgement on Lenovo until I get my computer back, but at this point, all I can say is... I'm disappointed.
If you're reading this, I'll let you judge my experience for youself.  I'll update my case as it progresses. 
Thanks!
Moderator edit: Removed support contact private information, per the Community Rules.

Answer 1

Hi all,
So, an update with some good news: my computer is finally back!  
After a total of over 40 business days (just over 2 months) I finally have my T400 back at home, working again!
According to the spec sheets, the repair depot had to replace: the systemboard/planar, display/LCD panel, LCD cable, PC card, bluetooth, and the inverter.  BIOS/Embedded controller was also updated, along with the regular diagnostics to ensure everything was working properly.
I give Lenovo credit though: they got the final parts to repair the computer on Monday, April 5th, and shipped my computer back to me for the next day (today, April 6th).  That's fast service, once repaired!
However, my case spans over 4 screens of updates and repair depot orders of parts.
Also, it took me over 10 calls to Lenovo's Customer Service, plus an escalation to a higher-level manager after 1 month had passed, to get progress updates and ETAs for repair.
Lenovo called me only once to give me an update, and that was the manager whom my issue was escalated to: all the other times, I called Lenovo for an update.
The story doesn't end here, however:
In talking to Customer Support, they told me that Sales might be able to sell me an extended warranty at a discount, given the issues I had.  And indeed, after talking to Sales, they offered me a 1 year warranty extension at a price of just over $100 CDN, plus tax.  This is a sale price, compared to the regular retail of $129.  Unfortunately, they can't sell me just one month.
At this point, I refused their offer, and again escalated to a manager to request an extension of exactly 1 month on my existing warranty.  I figure 1 month delay in repairs, that's plausible - crap happens, and while most repairs take 5-10 business days, I can understand it can sometimes go higher.  Two months though....  My request for a warranty extension is being considered by the manager it was escalated to.
So, one last question for you folks reading this: am I being unreasonable, talking to Lenovo support one more time to request a 1 month extension of my warranty, given the length of time it's taken for repairs?  I'll post the response Lenovo will give me tomorrow, as they've said they'll do.
One thing for sure: Lenovo's response will definitely influence my choice of brand from whom to buy a new computer (and it will influence the choice of my friends who've heard my issues, and maybe yours too).  My particular repair problem may not come up often, but if it does happen to you, I'd be happy to know of your experience.
Thanks for sticking with me through the drama!