I'm a Microsoft employee, but never tell them that when I go to the local store to get an idea how they treat everyone else. I've returned a few things and been shocked at how good and fast the service is.Basically it's Sorry! Here's a new one! Bye!

Disclaimers: Inside the US, Microsoft employee, Nazgûl

I've had excellent experiences at the Microsoft store. In one case, I returned a Surface Pro and they really took the time to listen to why I decided to return it. Now, I don't know if that feedback ever made it outside of the store or not, but I felt like a valued customer, and that means a lot in this day and age.

For the Thinkpads, you can upgrade the 1-year warranty to on-site next business day for a few bucks. I think a 3-year onsite is a couple hundred, but you don't have to purchase it with the laptop, as long as you buy it before the base warranty runs out.