Geekabytes , LLC

I brought in my computer which had a non-functioning water pump, which I tested myself. After not hearing back for over a week, I gave them a call and they started working on my computer. Within 48 hours I got a call saying there was no water pump issue, and that my system had been optimized to work properly. Upon my arrival, a technician came to the front and expressed that he was unsure if the problem was actually solved, because my CPU was running hot. I told him that I knew it was running hot, I knew for a fact the water cooler wasn't functioning properly. This is the reason I brought the computer in to begin with. That day I left my computer in store to let them order a new water pump. 2-3 weeks go by, and I had heard nothing from anyone at geekabytes. Again, I called them to check on the status of my computer and they told me the water pump was ordered, but on back order so it would take some time to arrive. About a month later, for the third time after receiving 0 phone calls, I called to check on the status of my computer. I asked if I should come pickup the computer because it appears we weren't getting anywhere. The man on the phone told me that the water pump I had in my system was discontinued and not available anywhere. While yes, it was discontinued, but still readily available on the Internet after a simple Google search. I was aware of this before I brought it in, as I have a busy time schedule and didn't want to fix it myself. The man on the phone instructed me that there was nothing he could do, and that I should come pickup my computer. Upon arrival they would not release my computer to me because the technician who originally worked on my computer "optimized some settings to make it not over heat" which I don't even think is true. It didn't fix or solve or even temporarily repair the issue. In a sense, I brought my computer in knowing I had a bad water pump, and after this whole nightmarish ordeal, they are trying to charge me a fee to tell me my water pump was out. I know this. This is why I brought the computer to be repaid in the first place. I refused to pay any fees if they aren't going to do anything but look at my computer and tell me what I've already told them. They did nothing, fixed nothing, and replaced nothing. To this day they are extorting me for a fee, and refusing to return my system. I sought legal advice and was told I can do nothing until they confiscate my computer permanently. I mentioned this to them, and they've let me know I can pay their extortion fee at my choosing to get my property back and that they aren't confiscating anything. Here we are a year later, and they still have my computer. Never, never do business with these people. I wish I could leave 0, or .5 stars.

DO NOT TAKE YOUR COMPUTER HERE! I have never written a review for anything before but I feel like I need to warn the public. My Macbook Pro froze, and upon restarting it the desktop would not load. I took it to Geekabytes on July 27, 2016 to get fixed. Weeks go by and I called about twice a week for an update and I was constantly given excuses such as, "the Apple guy is out of town," "we have 75 other computers," "another client's sever went down so we had to fix that," "we only have one Apple tech," and "we need to run more tests." After several weeks one of their excuses was they "think it's the hard drive," and they ordered a new one that they are waiting on from China. However, they never bothered to call me and tell me they were ordering a hard drive and what the cost estimate would be. They later apologized and admitted fault to this. It ended up not being a problem with the hard drive anyway. Finally, I had enough of them and picked my laptop up on September 6th, they had my laptop for over a month and I am a graduate student and am highly dependent on my laptop. Fortunately they didn't charge me for anything (because they didn't fix anything) and recommended that I replace the logical board and quoted the replacement to be between $500-$700. It really just seemed as if they were throwing parts at my computer. Although they didn't charge me, I was still out of a laptop for over a month! At this point I didn't trust them so I took my laptop to a newly opened Apple authorized repair shop, Quest Technical Services, and my laptop was fixed in three days! All they did was replace the operating system! I have had my laptop back for a week now and it is running fine, I am writing this review from it. Geekabyes claimed to have replaced the operating system, however I'm not sure if they are lying or are just incompetent because what they couldn't do in over a month, another service could do in a matter of days. This is unacceptable!

Let me start off by saying that I came in with high hopes because I had never gotten any help from a computer service shop before. I am now confident in saying that I will most likely never visit a computer service store for the rest of my life. I usually do all my own repairs/fixes (although nothing drastic has ever happened), but the current issue was a little over my head. After doing some research, it seemed like a somewhat common problem with my specific model laptop. I came into the shop and told them what was essentially wrong with it (it probably needed a new motherboard) and they said that they will do a diagnostics test on it (for $35) to find out what is wrong (even though I basically told them what was wrong). Well I eventually accepted it and they said that they would call me back in “2-3 days” because that is them factoring in other jobs I suppose (although I cannot imagine a diagnostics test taking that long). They called me back 5 days later (first problem). They proceeded to tell me exactly what I told them when I dropped off my laptop and that it needed a new motherboard. He looked up the prices for me and they sounded reasonable (I had looked up prices myself as well before ever coming to the shop) so I accepted the repair job. The new part came in after a week and they installed it, but then I got a voicemail telling me it was “a bad part” and that “the next part up” was going to be another $100 on top of the previous estimate (second problem). It was getting rather pricey (it is approach 25% of the cost of the laptop when it was brand new and now it is 3-4 years old), so I told them to cancel the repair. I asked them how much everything will cost and when I could pick up the laptop. They told me the guy working on it had to still put the old motherboard back in it and that it was $35 for the diagnosis fee. The bottom of their repair claim ticket said that a minimum of $35 for diagnosis was standard so I accepted this. I came in that Friday before I left the city for the weekend and they said that the motherboard still was not in place and that I would get a call over the weekend to pick it up (third problem). Weekend and the following Monday passed and eventually I get a call Tuesday telling me my laptop is ready for pickup (fourth problem). I get there to pick up my laptop and they give me a bill for $67. I ask him what it was for and he said “it is labor costs because I worked on it for about 5 hours” (fifth problem). Evidently taking out the old motherboard, putting in the new motherboard (that they ordered and ended up being bad), and reinstalling my old motherboard took 5 hours. I am very inexperienced at the hardware in a laptop, but my first time taking the motherboard out took 30 minutes to an hour maximum (and that was because I was admiring the inside of the laptop). At this point, I was completely fed up with this ordeal of attempting to fix my laptop so I just paid the $67. I literally paid $67 to get information I already knew and essentially have someone hold onto my laptop for over 2 weeks. Now do not get me wrong. Pretty much everyone I spoke with at the shop seemed nice… But I would say that the service is horrendous beyond any of my expectations. They were only punctual on one of four times that they gave me a time estimation. They ordered a bad part and I am expected to pay the labor fees for an unbelievably slow installation of said bad part. The “next part up” is an additional $100 (you guys definitely could have explained this a lot better). And when I asked how much the cost would be when I come pick up the laptop they said “oh, just $35 for the diagnosis” only to have my eyebrows furrowed when a bill almost twice the amount was slapped in front of me. tl;dr – The shop seems bipolar (some good repair review, some absolutely horrendous). Unfortunately mine was horrendous. Stay away from this shop. The risk is not worth it.