I’ve owned a total of five laptops in my life but by far my ThinkPad T41p has been the best. Like a BMW or Mercedes (neither of which I own, both of which I’ve driven) it’s the fit, finish and support after the sale that keep ThinkPad owners coming back. I know I’ll keep buying them, event after mine crashed. Here’s why.

All laptop computers die — it’s inevitable. They get bumped and jarred and things become loose, or break. So about ten days ago my screen started acting up; the slightest touch to the keyboard would send it into a gray flicker — and then into total darkness. When a number of message board posts indicated a bad system board I made a call to ThinkPad support. It was this call, and the handling of my computer, that made me an even bigger fan of the brand.

First, my call was answered by someone who identified herself with her full name and location, which happened to be Atlanta, Georgia. (I suspect in this day of overseas computer support, telling a customer they’re talking to someone just a few states away is meant to instill confidence and make a statement. It did with me.) My support friend asked me to explain the problem — and in no time she was able to tell me exactly what went wrong and how it could be fixed. She said it was going to cost me $575. Ouch. Well, I thought, I work on my ThinkPad 10+ hours a day and it’s been a workhorse — so let’s do it. Now right about now you may be saying, “For another couple hundred bucks you could have a brand new laptop!” Yeah, for $800 I could have a new, low- to middle-of-the-road Dell or Gateway, but it won’t be a ThinkPad and it won’t have the fit-and-finish I’ve come to love. (My backup notebook PC is a Dell, so I speak from experience.)

After hearing the bad news I mentioned to my tech support friend that the touchpad was a little less sensitive than it used to be, that the USB 2.0 port was operating at the speed of USB 1.1, and that the fan made an occasional buzzing noise. She tells me that, no matter what was wrong with my ThinkPad, $575 was the most I’d be paying for repairs.

Next up was the matter of getting the computer to the ‘depot’ for repair. She told me that a laptop-friendly box would be shipped to me overnight at no cost. Once it arrived I should to pack up my computer and call the number on the box so the shipper could return the same day to pick it up. It happened just as she said it would. And after the repair it was overnighted back to me at no extra charge.

As far as major computer problems go, the support staff for the ThinkPad made the recovery go very smoothly.