The Ugly Truth
How bad were our repair experiences? Consider the evidence:
- Of 31 total problems posed to 18 stores, 18 were misdiagnosed or left unresolved. That percentage of wrong responses is slightly higher than in our 1998 results.
- Of the 18 stores, 11 couldn't provide acceptable service for the bad hard disk cable problem. We had high hopes for the mom-and-pop shops here, but they disappointed us: Only 1 of the 6 got it right. And none of Circuit City's outlets made the grade.
- Only 8 of the 18 stores reinserted the CD-ROM audio cable.
- In 8 of 18 stores--4 mom-and-pops, 2 Circuit City outlets, 1 Best Buy, and 1 CompUSA--techs advised us to replace perfectly good parts. The average cost for these useless repairs: $340.
- When it came to cost, CompUSA's flat labor rate of $100 was steep, while Circuit City's seemingly cheap rate (just $20 up front) lost its luster since none of its techs correctly fixed our PCs.
- Of the 13 stores that offer phone support, 7 couldn't solve the video snafu; 2 Best Buy stores made the grade, as did 2 CompUSA outlets and 2 mom-and-pops. (Circuit City and one of the small independents don't provide phone support.)
Depressing, isn't it?
What Went Right
Inundated with bad news, we treasured our successes. And indeed, some stores did the kind of work we wish on anyone burdened with a sick system. The stores that did right by us had a lot in common. Their techs were courteous, neither resorting to geek-speak nor talking down to us. They listened as we described the problem and didn't leap to conclusions and stick with them, as did some of our worst-scoring technicians. And they didn't gouge us on the bill.
Take our Texas reporter's experience at his local Best Buy. The technician "was working on the other side of the counter, so I was able to observe the entire process." The tech quickly tried several troubleshooting measures, and then scrounged up a spare cable when he concluded the one in the PC might be defective. Just 35 minutes after entering the store, our reporter walked out with the fixed PC. The cost: a thrifty $25.
The Best Buy in California beat that price: Though the tech initially misdiagnosed
the problem, he caught his mistake and fixed the PC without charging us a
dime. Across the country at a CompUSA in Rhode Island, we dealt with courteous,
savvy store reps at both drop-off and pickup, and the system was fixed in
less than a day. But because CompUSA charges a flat rate of $100 for labor,
the repair was pricey. (This flat-rate policy could work to your advantage
if your system requires a labor-intensive repair such as a motherboard replacement.)
A Colorado store--the only independent to pass--was a model others could learn from. Located in an aging strip mall, it didn't look like anything special. But "everything went right," says our reporter. "They knew what they were talking about, they were courteous, and they fixed it within 24 hours." The store charged a reasonable $60 for labor and just $3 for a new cable.
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