LAPTOP WORLD

Short version: I spilled OJ on my laptop keyboard in July. Several weeks later I noticed some of the keys were sticking. I took my laptop to Laptop World after having a good experience with them a year ago. After paying $80+ they keyboard keys continued to stick and the spacebar was working worse than it was before I had it serviced. When I asked for a refund I was not only told no, but I was yelled at and hung up on by the owner. Details: On the day of service I called to inquire about their service hours and briefly described my issue. I was told that they could fix it same day but was not given any price quote over the phone. The positive experience I'd had a year ago cost me $10 and so I had an expectation. I was told if I brought it in ASAP (it was around 11am at the time) that they could have it ready by 4:00. I agreed to be there by Noon. I went to the location I had gone to a year ago only to discover that they had moved. There was a sign in the window. The person I spoke to on the phone did not mention the new location. I arrived at around 1:00 and was told by Lee (who was the person I spoke with on the phone) that he would be doing the service himself and that it should be ready by 3:00 because that's what time he would be leaving for the day. The atmosphere was hectic. I was also informed at that point that it was going to cost $99. I informed them that I had similar service done on another computer a year ago for $10 and that that was the reason I was returning. At that point I was told they could do it for $79. I left and returned at 3:00 only to be told that they hadn't started on my machine. Lee seemed overwhelmed and said he hadn't had a chance to get to it. I offered to come back another day but was told if I could leave it with them they would have it ready by 4:00. I came back at 3:50 and observed Lee wiping off the screen and saying that he was just cleaning off the machine after taking it apart and cleaning it. He mentioned that the machine was built like a Mac and had over 200 screws. He also said that there wasn't any damage to the Mother board that he could see and that I should be good to go. When I got the machine home I noticed that the keys were still sticking and the space bar was worse than it was before I took it in. I decided to contact Dell to see what sort of warranty coverage I had as it was my work computer. I assumed I would have to ship it off and wait for it to be returned by mail. However, I learned that they could send a technician to my home and replace the keyboard. At this point I did some research discovered that I was not the first person to have a negative experience with Laptop World. It was also at this point that I began to wonder if they had ever taken my computer apart at all. I decided to return to the store, let them see how the machine was performing and ask for a refund. I explained all of this to Lee (the same person who performed the service initially) and asked for a refund. He informed me that he could not issue a refund, it was against company policy and that I would I would need to speak with the owner. When I spoke to the owner - Eric Wellman - by phone his initial point to me was that Lee under charged for the service and that the minimum charge for disassembling a laptop was $199. He went on to say that he was angry about under charge and that he would address that separately with Lee. He clearly stated that he would not be willing to issue a refund in light of the fact that I was undercharged in the first place. When I told him that was prepared to document this negative experience on Angie's List, he offered me a 50% refund. At this point he actually said that he was being nice to offer a 50% refund. When I refused to accept anything less than 100% he started raising his voice. When I asked him to stop raising his voice at me he said he was done with the conversation and disconnected from the call. Summary: I am a customer service professional. When a customer is not satisfied, a prudent business person will, at the very least, try to maintain a good business relationship and reputation. At the end of the day $80 is not going to break the bank. In my humble opinion, the refund could and should have been granted as a matter of goodwill. In my brief conversation with Eric, his lack of professionalism was extremely obvious. I will never patronize this business again. The owner clearly does not understand the importance of quality customer service to a successful business. BTW, on the day that I returned to ask for the refund, one of their employees was standing by the road on Princeton Pike holding a Liquidation Sale sign. Hmmmm......Buyer beware :-)

I took in my laptop to have the hinges replaced. It was suggested that for not much more money I could upgrade to a spanking new machine. I indicated my wife had about five years of research assets bookmarked: if they could not transfer those bookmarks (favorites), I would keep the older machine. They made it clear the transfer would present no problems. When I picked up the new HP and brought it home, there were no bookmarks. "Bring it back", they said. "We will retrieve the old HP and do it right". (My words, obviously, not theirs). I did so. Two days later, I called to check on progress and was told that, too, was not to be. The data was gone. These guys may be the best in town but my personal experience reflected incompetence, dishonesty and complete disregard for customer needs.

Was told Trojan virus was taken off - worked fine for 2-3 days then totally locked up. Company seemed disorganized (received no paperwork to prove that I had dropped off my computer). Problem not fixed. Even though 30 day guarantee, I decided to use another company to finally fix computer.

OUR OVERALL EXPERIENCE WAS VERY GOOD. THE STAFF WAS KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE DIFFERENT PROBLEMS ON OUR LAPTOP COMPUTER. WE WOULD RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY.

WHILE IT DID TAKE SOMEWHAT LONGER THAN ANTICIPATED, THEY WERE ABLE TO REPAIR A RATHER OLD LAPTOP COMPUTER THAT I THOUGHT WOULD LIKELY BE IRREPAIRABLE. THEY GUARANTEED THEIR REPAIR FOR 90 DAYS.