I had the exact opposite experience. When I chatted with a service rep, not only did I get help with the configuration, but she was friendly, sent me a personalized email with the details, helped me with the purchase process, and even gave me a discount because I didn't want Windows (I prefer Linux).

And to be honest, most of the help was unsolicited, but was friendly and helpful so I accepted it. My experience buying a ThinkPad was overwhelmingly positive, and I also love the machine (I ponied up for the 1080p screen, which is fanstastic).