ArtistryWeb

I decided recently to try this repair shop as it is local and new. I have been satisfied with another shop I normally use but I like to support local businesses. I had a software problem with a small Dell notebook that I only use for traveling. The owner said he would look it over and call me with the results. He charged me $59.00 up front. A week went by and he had not called so I stopped in to inquire as to his progress. He said he had not fixed it but would have it done by the end of the week. That was the week of Thanksgiving and so I waited until he following Friday and stopped in again. No one had called me and I was curious. The owner was not in but his employee, a young man, called him and verified that the repairs were complete and that the issue was a registry problem. He asked me to check the unit to see if it worked properly. Hmmm. Upon boot up another error message came up which the young man fixed there. After some time he finally arrived at the cost. He informed me that labor charges would total another $109.00 plus tax. This brought the total to around $175.00 for a used notebook that cold be replaced for less than another $100.00. I told the young fella that I would like to speak with the owner before I paid for this as I thought it was exorbitant. In addition no one had ever contacted me as we agreed before racking up the additional charges. I left without the unit and was called by the young man a few minutes later. He told me that he had made a mistake about the amount and that it would only be and additional $69.00 plus tax for the repairs.He apologized repeatedly for not having contacted me before making the repair. I explained that I would have taken it elsewhere or simply replaced it for that amount had I known. In short the over all experience I had was very unsatisfactory and incompetent and I will never do business with this vendor again. Living in Wyoming has it's perks but one of the drawbacks is this kind of experience. As consumers we are constantly assailed by local business owners to shop locally. More often than not the result is poor or incompetent service at a premium price. In addition the reluctance to stand behind their work is appalling. I'm willing to pay extra for a service or product if I can expect good service afterwords. I can see a day when there are few services in these small towns and it won't be the lower costs that are the sole factor for this decline. Anyone can open a business. The key to success lies in the quality of customer service.