Hope you guys are all enjoying your school/work/etc. breaks, and that you don’t have to return to the real world too soon!

I had another awesome dip into the world of the Wii U recently with Rich, this time playing Super Mario 3D World.  Some of you might remember me criticizing Nintendo’s new console a few times over the course of the year, but now that I’ve had some quality hands-on experience with it, I have nearly nothing but good things to say.

Rather than capturing Princess Peach this time around, Bowser has kidnapped a number of rainbow colored fairies in glass bottles.  Once the Mario team topples a Bowser castle at the end of each world, a bottle shatters and the fairy trapped inside escapes.

Initially, I jotted down a comic note saying something to the effect of “Bottle shatters, glass shards stuck in screaming fairy.”

After some minor adjustments, I settled on the comic seen above.

Anything to doodle Link again, right?  He’s fun!

There are some things that aren’t fun, however.

Lenovo customer service, for example.

I purchased something from their site recently, and decided to cancel the order a few hours later.  There was no option to do this on the order page and I was directed to a chat client where I’d be connected with a Lenovo representative.

The following is a direct copy of what was said:

Lenovo Rep:  Thank you for contacting Lenovo Sales Chat.  My name is [redacted] and my Rep ID is [redacted].  Happy to help you today.

Lenovo Rep: Hello Alex.

Lenovo Rep: How are you doing today?

Me: Hello, I’m alright, how are you?

Lenovo Rep: I am doing great, thanks for asking.

Lenovo Rep:  How may I help you today?

Me:  Excellent.  So I placed an order today (order number [redacted]) and I was looking to cancel it.

Me:  I couldn’t find an option on the order page, so I went here

Lenovo Rep:  I am sorry to hear that.

Lenovo Rep:  May I know the reason?

Me:  A number of things regarding the usefulness of [what I ordered].

Lenovo Rep:  Are you planning to purchase any other machine?

Me: in the near future, absolutely.  I’ve been looking to replace my current laptop, which is getting on 8 years old at the moment.

Lenovo Rep:  Good to hear that.

Lenovo Rep:  If you are placing the order online, please include my rep Id [redacted] on the final page in the box below the credit card details and it will be highly appreciated.

Lenovo Rep:  Please note my Rep ID [redacted].

Me:  sure thing

Lenovo Rep:  Please include while you place the order.

Lenovo Rep:  Thank you.

Lenovo Rep:  Is there anything else that I may assist you with Lenovo products today?

Me:  Was my current order cancelled?

Lenovo Rep:  No, it is not yet cancelled.

Lenovo Rep:  I wish I could help you on this.  I am sorry you have reached the Sales support team and we have option only to check the Order Status.  I suggest you to please contact our Post Sales team which is the right department who can provide you the details on your order.

Lenovo Rep:  Please be online while I transfer the chat.

At this point, I was transferred to another department in the chat window, where I waited a while for someone else to talk to, who then said they couldn’t assist me (and that no one at Lenovo could), and then another person, and so on.

While eventually the order was cancelled, the only part of the process that really irked me was the first guy.  I told him that I wanted to cancel and order, and instead of telling me that he doesn’t have the power to do that, he instead gave me his ID number multiple times so that when I do make a purchase, it makes him look better.

After asking me to help his monthly numbers, he then asked if he could “assist” me with anything else.

Which is weird, considering that he had yet to assist me with anything at all.

Only after asking if my order was cancelled did he mention that he can’t do that.

As someone who used to work in a retail electronics store, I totally understand the importance of getting your employee number tied to sales.  I get it.  However, if a customer asked me a direct question, I’d never straight up side step it, repeat my employee number over and over, and then ask if they need anything else when I’ve yet to help with what they came in for.

What the heck, Lenovo guy?