911 Computer

Excellent service! A technician came out the same day I called and brought my computer back within a couple of days. Then I messed up my computer again and once again, they picked up promptly, repaired promptly and at no charge! They are very professional, knowledgeable and I would highly recommend them.

I was very much on the fence about using this company because of the absence of reviews. Nevertheless, because they are a mobile company (that will pick up and assess your computer from home or your workplace), I decided to give them a shot. Forward to two weeks later, $ 200 later, 10 futile calls and unreturned messages later…
Day one: Called company and explained predicament. My computer was sluggish and was taking a very long time to boot up. The representative was very helpful and managed to find me a same day appointment, which I was very happy about. The computer technician showed up promptly and diagnosed the issue — malware and some disk errors. According to him, solution was to wipe out windows and reinstall the operating system. Price of 189 plus tax quoted. Unfortunately, this would mean losing my software including some statistical packages worth $ 300 (previous techs have managed to salvage my software but as this is not my area and I am new in town, I will have to trust the technician’s opinion). Also it would take a day or two before my laptop would be returned. My opportunity cost $ 500 plus two missed deadlines.
Day two: received an update regarding my computer via email. Things are looking up! Day three: received a follow-​up call from the technician delineating progress and setting up a drop off time.
Day four: the technician dropped off my computer. My data was all intact but my precious statistical applications were gone forever. Oh well, all’s well that ends well?
2 weeks later… computer will not boot up! Ah, but there is a warranty of 30 to 90 days on repair services??? Day 14: I call the technician directly, and explain that my computer is stuck in an automatic repair loop. Perhaps an appointment is necessary? I am politely shut down — what do I know about computers anyway? So I let the computer run through the evening and through the night.
Day 15: I leave a message with the technician, my laptop at this point has been in a perpetual automatic repair loop for over 24 hours. A few hours later, I receive a call back. Again, I request an appointment and I’m reluctantly told that the earliest appointment is two days away! I express the urgency of my situation, and the company line is parroted back… two days from now, they will pick up (but not repair) my computer from my home. Given their previous timeline, I mentally calculate that we are looking at a turn around time of 4 to 6 days. Again I plead for some leeway given my approaching deadline. Futile. I ask to speak to a supervisor and I am given a number, which after several calls I realise is an unmanned voicemail. I call several other extensions leave some messages, I even send an email. Silence. By the end of the day I am ready to pull out my hair… Finally at 6pm, I receive a phone call from the highly sought after Supervisor. She listens to my problem, or at least seems to. I explain to her that if for some reason they are unable to squeeze me onto their schedule, I am more than willing to find alternative services, though equity demands at the very least, a partial refund for services not rendered (stated with slightly more aplomb). Clearly, this is the wrong thing to say! A tongue lashing ensues… and phrases like «wait your turn» and «respect» are hurled at me in a scolding more severe than my mother at her worst! Privately, I think to myself, HAVEN’T I WAITED LONG ENOUGH, to get the job done CORRECTLY? She insists that the problem I have is unrelated to my previous issue (while at the same time implying that she has no idea what the issue is! Odd!). She finally cools down, and asserts that PERHAPS, she can do me the ‘favour’ of having somebody pick up my computer tomorrow, BUT they won’t have a look at it until they deal with the 30 other (PAYING) customers. She promises to contact me tomorrow about MAYBE having somebody pick up my computer. I offer to drop off and pick up the computer myself. She shuts me down again. I relent and resign myself! We’ll see what tomorrow brings. For now, TWO STARS on the merits of customer service and customer appreciation. My technical issues might just be a one off occurrence but the paternalistic condescension towards the client is noteworthy. Again, I may just have caught a few individuals on a bad day, and striving to give an impartial review will update my experience accordingly.
Update, got a second opinion. Turns out (in addition to malware) my hard drive has been failing for a few months now hence all the start up issues. This was not picked up by the technicians at 911 computers though the issue was resolved by a second company within a few hours, rather than a few days. From the comments below, I doubt I’ll recoup $ 200 sunk cost though will update if so.