Don't get caught by this establishment like I did
Complaint
Rami Salah
Country: United States
I would like to complain about Imaginet Computers located at 899 Farmington Ave, Bristol, CT. I took my laptop there based on a recommendation from a colleague at work. The colleague had the same problem that I had (loose input jack). He told me that Imaginet charged him about $80 to fix that problem. So I proceeded to call them and told them that the reason I was contacting them is the price.
I told them that I was anticipating a similar charge. They never expressed that - for that kind of work - the price was too low. Well, not until they provided me with the "quote". That was after I dropped it off (which committed me to the diagnostic charge of $45), it sat someone's desk for about a week and a total price was worked up. That price was $361. Talk about sticker shock. After discussing the price with the guy on the phone, I quickly found out that that included a new power adapter.
The one I had was only a few months old. So the price would come down to $261. A price that was still too high for me. I had purchased this laptop for $600 and now it's worth a couple of hundred, if even. So, I asked about my expected $80. They proceeded to tell me that there was no way they could do this job for that much. So it left me wondering why they never told that before. I can see if the quote was just over $80 or even twice that, but three times ?? They refused to work with me on the diagnostic charge. I had to pay it.
If it ended there, I would not have got to the point of writing this complaint. What happened is that I proceeded to repair the laptop myself at a cost of $20 (the cost of the jack). And, guess what?, I never had to change the power adapter. So, the diagnostic charge that I paid for provided me with the wrong diagnostics (more accurately, NO diagnostics). This left me feeling that this place was just "throwing parts at the problem". And, of course, if you change enough parts, things will work eventually. Bottom line is that I was not impressed with their diagnostics ability nor their customer service skills.
I don't even know why they charged me diagnostics. I told them what needed to be done when I dropped off the laptop. As I told the guy, you got me once and you got $45. But you'll never get another penny from me ever again. Had they had better customer service and diagnostics, I would have spent more this time (up to $150) and I would have gone back. I believe that $120 is reasonable. I tried to persuade the guy that it made sense. Take the cost of the part ($20) and double it (100% mark-up).
Add to that 1 hour of labor at $80 per hour. This adds up to $120. I have no experience in laptop repair, and it took me less than an hour to repair it myself.
Don't get caught by this establishment like I did. Anybody can throw parts at things. Only smart places give you good diagnostics. Go to a smarter place where you can get your money's worth.
I told them that I was anticipating a similar charge. They never expressed that - for that kind of work - the price was too low. Well, not until they provided me with the "quote". That was after I dropped it off (which committed me to the diagnostic charge of $45), it sat someone's desk for about a week and a total price was worked up. That price was $361. Talk about sticker shock. After discussing the price with the guy on the phone, I quickly found out that that included a new power adapter.
The one I had was only a few months old. So the price would come down to $261. A price that was still too high for me. I had purchased this laptop for $600 and now it's worth a couple of hundred, if even. So, I asked about my expected $80. They proceeded to tell me that there was no way they could do this job for that much. So it left me wondering why they never told that before. I can see if the quote was just over $80 or even twice that, but three times ?? They refused to work with me on the diagnostic charge. I had to pay it.
If it ended there, I would not have got to the point of writing this complaint. What happened is that I proceeded to repair the laptop myself at a cost of $20 (the cost of the jack). And, guess what?, I never had to change the power adapter. So, the diagnostic charge that I paid for provided me with the wrong diagnostics (more accurately, NO diagnostics). This left me feeling that this place was just "throwing parts at the problem". And, of course, if you change enough parts, things will work eventually. Bottom line is that I was not impressed with their diagnostics ability nor their customer service skills.
I don't even know why they charged me diagnostics. I told them what needed to be done when I dropped off the laptop. As I told the guy, you got me once and you got $45. But you'll never get another penny from me ever again. Had they had better customer service and diagnostics, I would have spent more this time (up to $150) and I would have gone back. I believe that $120 is reasonable. I tried to persuade the guy that it made sense. Take the cost of the part ($20) and double it (100% mark-up).
Add to that 1 hour of labor at $80 per hour. This adds up to $120. I have no experience in laptop repair, and it took me less than an hour to repair it myself.
Don't get caught by this establishment like I did. Anybody can throw parts at things. Only smart places give you good diagnostics. Go to a smarter place where you can get your money's worth.
Comments
I don’t know you but you said it yourself; “you were anticipating a similar charge”. Remember the problem you bring to them is yours and they just want to help you fix your problem. It may not be for the price you want and that why diagnostics is good. You get a quote!
Again, there is more to your story that you are not telling us because when I read your complaint over again, I would expect you to be thrilled that you saved money but your not. Plus your claims don’t add up. I fix many of my own computer problems and know that a laptop repair is more advanced and would never attempt it on my own. You need a trained and experience tech to repair laptops and that is why most other shops don’t offer laptop repair. So how did you do it on your own? If you had experience, why did you bring it into a repair facility and not repair it on your own in the first place.
I think you did not get the ridiculous price you wanted / expected /assumed and Imaginet stuck to their quote. You attempted to pull a fast one, got caught, and it back fired.
As far as I am concerned the owner and his staff would be excellent in any service they provided to the community it just so happens that they are involved in FIXING and REPAIRING computers the proper way.
In addition, I did keep the adapter that they tried to replace and it never failed.
How could you question accounts you never witnessed? Unless you have a vested interest in undermining any complaints against this business. One of you actually admits to knowing this place on a personal basis. Are you a brother, cousin? Let's maintain objectivity about this.
You ask why I took it to the place if I was able to fix it myself. I have a family and an older mother that I look after. So, at first, it seemed reasonable to spend $80 and save the money. However, when I found out they were trying to over charge me, I had an incentive to work on it on my own. I am an electrical engineer and I know my way around boards. I just don't appreciate having someone over charge me.
This web site is for filing complaints. This is my complaint and I stand by it. If you would like me to explain to you how to change the adapter, just ask and I will in the next post.
If you were charged diagnostics then you were provided a quote. So if the quote was not what you could afford or what you wanted to pay then you were not overcharged because you decided not to repair and no further payment was made. Hence you did it yourself! You can stand by your complaint and I know you think your right but my opinion from what I read is you a dumb ass IDIOT!
RAMI SALAH, Your continued libelous statements are no doubt and attempt to inflict financial harm, as well as inflict emotional distress to myself, my business and to attempt to engage me further and "call me out" to defend myself against your totally FALSE and libelous, malicious, and defamatory statements.
IMAGINET COMPUTERS WILL SEEK CRIMINAL AND CIVIL PROSECUTION
IF YOU DO NOT CEASE AND DESIST these activities IMMEDIATELY. 092809
I received a call the next day and was told it would cost $92+tax (Labor $85 + memory chip $52 minus the $45 I paid the day before). I was thrilled!! it turns out I had a bad memory card and they only billed me for their time and part.
What I didn't tell them when I dropped it off was that I just picked it up from another repair place that told me it was a dead motherboard and would cost $320+tax for parts and labor. Way to expensive...I will go buy a new laptop right?? The other place didn't charge me a diagnosis fee but obviously either didn't figure out the true problem or simply tried to pull a fast one. Who am I to complain... the diagnostics was free...Either way I don't positivly know but what I do know is it paid for me to listen to previous people who told me they never had a problem with Imaginet and not believe everthing you read on the internet. I almost threw away a good laptop! Like a previous poster commented above "How could you question accounts you never witnessed?" WELL!! I wanted to share what I witnessed! Thanks imaginet.... I will be back!!!