Southbay Technology Gurus

At the beginning of January, I felt while holding a cup of coffee. A few drops fell on my laptop keyboard, and I didn't immediately clean them off because I was slightly injured. I tried using an external keyboard for a couple of weeks, but really wanted to have my keyboard replaced. I called and spoke with Chris who asked what kind of laptop I had. I said I had an HP Envy and he said they could fix the problem. I said I would be there within the hour and he said either he or his assistant would be there. He quoted $60. When I arrived, a little over an hour later, his assistant, Christian, was the only one in the shop. Christian said he would try to clean the keyboard, but if that didn't work, he would replace it. The next day, Chris told me that they couldn't clean the laptop and that the keyboard cost more than they thought, and it would be $70 for the keyboard alone. He also said it was harder to replace than he first thought, and that the charge would be $120. I said they should have known what they were up against, because I told him from the beginning what kind of laptop I was bringing, but to go ahead and replace the keyboard. A couple of days later, I called to see if the laptop was ready, and it wasn't. The fifth day, which was a Saturday, Chris told me the laptop should be ready by 2:30pm. I arrived at 2:30pm and was told they still needed to put the laptop back together. When I went back at 4:30pm, I first noticed that the keyboard was a different color and asked if it was the right one. I was told it was. I then noticed that there were several dents in the laptop case. It appeared that the wrong screws had been used and had started to come up through the case. I then noticed a couple of marks that appeared to be pry marks. Chris told me that the keyboard was so sticky that they had to use a screw driver to pry it. I said there was no way it was that sticky with about four drops of coffee. I then noticed that the keyboard was very loose and moved around and there were gaps and it was no longer flush in the case. Chis said they would take it apart again, and would try to hammer the dents back out. I asked if I could come back later but he said it would probably be better for me to come back the next day. I agreed, even though I live in San Pedro, and his shop is in Redondo Beach. When Chris called the next day to say it was ready, I went back and the keyboard was still loose and I said I thought it was the wrong one. Chris said that they could try to take it apart again, but when I saw the dents had not been removed, I said I didn't really want them to work on it again. He said he wouldn't charge me for service, but only for the keyboard. I gave Chris $70 cash. When I got home and started working on the laptop, I noticed that the keyboard was not only the wrong color, it had a completely different feel and was absolutely the wrong keyboard. The whole keyboard was still very loose. I called Chris and said I wanted the $70 back, and he agreed to mail it to me. I then called a shop in San Pedro. After they had worked on the laptop for just two hours, I got a call that it was ready to pick up. The owner of the shop said that the keyboard was no longer loose, but it was the wrong keyboard so wasn't fitting properly. He said that I would probably be surprised to learn that the keyboard was missing 20-30 screws and that was the reason it was so loose. He said they could do nothing about the dents and pry marks. The keyboard is now warped and fluctuates when I try to type and is nearly impossible to use. The case looks terrible because of the dents and pry marks. I would buy a new laptop, but I just bought this one last May when I was planning my wedding. The week before the wedding, my mom was diagnosed with peritoneal cancer, so I spent more of the year split between planning the wedding and scheduling my mom's doctor's appointments. I told Chris all of this and let him know that I had not started paying on the laptop. I can't afford to buy a new laptop because I haven't paid for this one. I sent Chris text photographs of the damage to the laptop and left him several messages. He will not return my call. In my last message, I let him know about the missing screws, and that as a business owner, I would think he would like to know that his assistant was completely incompetent. I said that they should have let me know they didn't have the skill set to fix the laptop when I first called and that they have ruined my laptop and asked for the money to replace it. Again, I have received no call back and have not even received the promised $70. This laptop is ruined and Chris and his assistant Christian at Southbay Technology Gurus destroyed it and will not respond to my request for a resolution.

It went really great! Chris was very knowledgeable and finished well before the hour that I paid for was up. I was so pleased that I tipped him 10$ so he could get some lunch.

Someone had gotten into my computer so it needed to have everything removed. I had already copied all my data over so Chris deleted everything on the desktop for me and reloaded windows. I wanted to add all the software myself. Chris was very good and quick. Dropped off my desktop and picked it up on the same day.

It went very smoothly and effectively.No problems. Amswered questions we had at a later date.

It went very well. Chris is knowledgeable, punctual and professional. I wouldn't hesitate to call him for any computer issues.

I emailed them and they did not reply or call me back.

I called Chris on a Saturday afternoon. He answered immediately but was busy with a client and called me back a few hours later, setting up an appointment for Monday afternoon. I described our computer issues and the error messages we were getting. He thought it was probably the hard drive and promised to try to retrieve our data. Unfortunately he was unable to do so, but told me where to go to have it done if we wanted to. He replaced our fried drive with a new one (with a five year guarantee!) and the computer is like new! Prompt, efficient, professional service. I highly recommend him.

Hired for just one hour. One computer problem was resolved. The other wasn't because we ran out of time. I didn't want to pay for more than one hour.

He serviced my computer and did an excellent job. There was no wait.. he came right over and installed a security system on my computer and was finished in no time. Everything seems to be working fine. He saved me a ton of frustration.

He not only retrieved my data but we were able to upgrade the PC without having to migrate to the dreaded Windows ver 8. I recommend him to all my friends.

I did not bet, not at all had happened. I was not picking this computer down syndrome and will take 3 to 4 hours and he charged me to $520 for $160 less to $45. When you start talking to them sometimes they turned in to costing more picking more time. My wife’s computer was very slow and had some crashes. Anyway, the computer is still slow. I have not gone back. I would probably not take it back then, too much hassle if we do. We just connect everything in private bound.

He came to my house, downloaded a bunch of different apps to help my computer run faster and smoother, told me what I needed to get and said he would talk me through it when the additional memory arrived. He is a very sweet person and I feel very comfortable referring him. He's really wonderful.

The Gurus performed their work within budget. They were punctual, prompt and sensitive to my needs. I'll go back to them in the future. Southbay Technology Gurus are awesome!

Nice guy, seemed to know what he was talking about. Was not ultimately able to help.

I have been working with Chris over the past couple of years. His prices are very reasonable and have saved us a lot of money. He has done great work for us!

We have hired them a couple of times. They are particularly good on MAC’s, but we have used them for PC for as well. They are very knowledgeable. We did work closely with the owner, Chris Sobrito. They came in early and even worked long hours to help us with the virus issue. I had a very good experience on both occasions.

I had previously purchased the components and attempted to set of my computer to have Wi-Fi, didn't work out so well. Chris came, untangled the mess I'd made and got everything up and working in 2 hours. Even set up the Google Chrome for my TV and got Netflix streaming to the TV. Chris was a pleasure, very patient and no wasted time. I will definitely use his services again.

This is an overdue review. I first went to Chris May of 2012 when my computer tower wouldn't turn on. Chris quickly diagnosed that it was the power supply. Luckily he had one in hand for my old UPC model. I paid for the part at the same price it was sold online. Chris not only changed the power supply, but made sure my systems were updated and my computer ready to go. Then this last April, my computer got a nasty malware/virus that shut down my computer. For $100, Chris rebooted my computer and upgraded my systems once again. He even gave me a free a wireless antenna for the model of my CPU I didn't have anymore.

Chris is great, I know enough information to be dangerous but not that much in the grand scheme of computers. Chris was very patient and answered all of my questions. He was available the next day when I was reconnecting my computer to the network and internet provider and was able to answer more questions and help with the setup over the phone.

I couldn?t be happier. I brought my laptop to Chris and he confirmed?while I waited and at no charge BTW?a friend?s diagnosis that the motherboard was dead. The next day I brought my new laptop to him just before his shop closed?fully expecting to leave it and pick it up in a couple of days--and he said not only could he get me up and running but he?d do it while I waited. (Let?s face it, when your laptop is dead you need another one like, yesterday.) Well, we had no idea from the outset, but the entire process took a grueling 6 hours. When he powered up the machine there were 49 updates to Windows 8 alone, he installed a new antivirus program that found 2 viruses, MS Office had to be installed, 100G of content on iTunes needed to be transferred, he set up my online backup and let it run, etc. Had it been me, I?d have torn my hair out but Chris remained unruffled. We munched on a pizza, guzzled soda and listened to Pandora radio on his awesome sound system. And the price for all this was ridiculously low. Needless to say I would highly recommend Chris to anyone. He has three tiers of support?remote, in the shop, and onsite. Chris is not only a computer guru but he truly understands the meaning of customer service.

I had two older computers two and three generations behind the current Windows 8 . One was beyond fixing and the other required about half the price of a new computer to be repaired and it had Vista which has by now been superceded by Windows 7 and 8. So I recycled both computers. I thought Chris was professional, competent, , had a nice manner and I will use his services in the future.

It went well. Took less than a week for the two visits.

Chris was Fantastic and knew what he was doing. Stay over the time and didn't charge me. I would use him again

Some mix up regarding appointment but Chris was available immediately when contacted. He recommended with age of my system to consider replacement rather than money into my 5 year old computer. Am checking into the options to act on his advice but I felt he was doing the best thing for me rather than what would make him money since he doesn't sell new computers. I would recommend for home computer services.

He did everything that he could possibly do on a legal stand point. He was very professional. Whatever he told me I thought was accurate. I am still doing business with him. If I have a computer problem he will be the first one that I call. He was not able to resolve that because it was out of his hand. He is an honest guy. I thought his rates were reasonable. He did every possible test that he could do to figure out and understand what the problem was. We did find out that it is a license kind of thing and we need to have legal license. There was nothing wrong with the computer, but the project key was not enclosed and I have no idea why, either someone had ripped off the software from that computer and put another one. As far as action is concerned it should have the same item as the new one but technically and mechanically the computer was fine. He is a very sharp guy and so his expertise. His price was definitely not exuberant. I had a hard drive crash on my desktop computer and he did extensive data recovery but there was nothing he could do to fix the hard drive, but he installed a new one and most of my data I was able to retrieve. We agreed to use a different operating system after he reinstalled the new hard drive and it took me some time to getting used to but now I am fine and it is probably the better than I had. He is a one man operation.