Commonwealth Computer Services

Review: The battery in my ipod had died and needed to be replaced. So I took my ipod into Commonwealth Computers on June 19th of this year to have the battery replaced. Since the ipod would not turn on at all, the sales associate behind the counter asked me if I could take it home and try to charge the battery and watch how long the battery in it would power on the device. He stated this was to make sure that the problem was in fact the battery, rather than him to charge me unnecessarily the 35.00 to 40.00 dollars it would take to replace the battery if the problem wasn’t the battery. So I did this, and after charging the battery in it, I powered on the ipod (running no apps at all) it lasted only a couple of hours before the battery died. I took it back in on Tuesday June 23rd and told him how it did. He agreed that yes, it was the battery. (I knew that it was, that is why I brought it in to them in the first place.) I asked him how much it would cost to have the battery replaced, and he told me that it would cost $40.00 parts and labor included. (I had called around town to other shops to get quotes before I brought it in and they had quoted me the same price, $40.00 parts and labor). I took it to Commonwealth Computers because they were close to my work and home. So on June 23rd I told the associate that I wanted to go ahead and replace the battery. He then proceeded to put the work order in the computer system to create the ticket. So as he started putting it into the computer he quoted to me what he was typing in. He stated Okay, diagnostics… as soon as he said that I asked, “Wait what is that?” because I did not ask for diagnostic testing on the ipod. (I did not want to be charged for any work that I didn’t ask for), and he said that was just the way he had to put it in the system for the Service Technician. He said I would need to give them $29.00 now, but it would go towards the final cost of having the battery replaced. ($40.00 parts and labor). I paid him the $29.00 and left the ipod with him. He told me that the technician would come by and pick up the ipod and take it to his work shop, which was off site of the store and they would call and let me know when I could pick it up. On Wednesday the 24th I had a message on my answering machine at home from the Sales Associate that said to replace the battery and put it all back together in good working order it was going to cost $82.06 and to call them and let them know what to do. I was so upset when I got the message! I couldn’t believe it was going to cost what I believed to be $53.00 more. (I remembered the associate said the $29.00 I had already paid would go towards the total cost, so to me that meant $82.06 - $29.00 = $53.00) I called the next day June 25th at 11:02 am and talked with the associate and I asked him if my $29.00 would be taken off of the cost of the $82.06 and he told me that they had already taken the $29.00 off my bill, that in fact the final cost was $82.06 plus the $29.00 I had already paid!! How can you tell someone the charge for the service of replacing the battery is $40.00 and then try to actually charge them $111.06 for the service? It was over twice the price I had been given originally! I was so upset, but because they had my ipod, I called the sales technician on Thursday June 25th and told them at 11:02 am to go ahead and replace the battery, thinking I had no other option to get it fixed. Later that day I realized I could not afford such a cost so I called them back at 3:20pm that evening and spoke with the owner, Katherine Bishop. I told her that this was way too much to pay, and I had changed my mind, do not replace the battery. So she told me while she checked their computer that if they couldn’t stop the battery from shipping there might be a fee of “10”, which I took to mean $10.00 since nothing else was said. So as she looked at her computer for the order she stated that yes, they probably could get this shipment stopped. So I thanked her and I told her I would just come and pick up my ipod, and we ended the phone call.

On Friday June 26th I went in to pick up my ipod. The sales technician then charged me an additional $20.00! He said they had not been able to stop the shipment, so I owed them for the cost of shipping it back. I told him that the owner had told me the day before that she felt she could get the shipment stopped in time. At this time he could not do anything about the charge, but he did give me the owner’s cell phone number and told me I could speak with her about it. So I called to leave a message but apparently the owner hit the wrong button on the phone, maybe trying to forward it straight to voice mail, but actually she unknowingly answered the call. I could hear her arguing with another person. I called back and left a message. She returned my call about 15 minutes later. I told her I was not happy that I had to pay $49.00 and yet nothing had been done to fix the ipod. She said I called and decided not to have it fixed, and I told her I knew that, but why did it still cost me $ 49.00? She again stated that the first $29.00 was to go to the price of the battery. I said,” but I didn’t get a battery” and she said “Well I have to pay these people for their work.” I did not tell them to do any testing or diagnostics to the ipod. We knew it was the battery, and there was no need to test. That was an unnecessary service they decided to do. I only wanted the battery replaced. I told her I realized that I had called and cancelled having it fixed, but at the time when I cancelled, she had told me that there might be a fee of “10” if she couldn’t stop the shipment. but she said she felt they could cancel the shipment of the battery in time. It was then she told me she hadn’t been able to cancel the shipment so I had to pay a 20% fee. Before now she never once told me that 10 meant 10%. She then told me no it was a 20% fee and she didn’t know why she would have told me 10. But she also admitted that to me that yes, she should have probably called me back to let me know that she was unable to cancel the shipment, but her mind had been a jumble lately because her daughter was having a baby. I told her I would take the matter up with the Revdex.com and ended the call. Later that day she left me a voice message on my phone stating that she had made notations on my account that it I wanted to come back to her shop, that she would give me a credit of $10.00 towards any products or services that I wanted. Needless to say I didn’t go back. I called another repair shop here in [redacted], and told them I needed to have my battery in my ipod replaced. They quoted me a price of $40.00 for parts and labor to have it replaced. (Just as Commonwealth Computers had told me when I took my ipod to them) I took my ipod to this second shop and they charged me exactly $40.00 as they had promised and replaced the battery for me.Desired Settlement: To be reinbursed for the diagnostic service that I did not need or ask for, and for the $20.00 shipping fee that I was not notified about before I went to pick up the ipod. If you quote a price of $40.00 total for parts and labor, do not try to add additional fees and charges.

Business

Response:

This is in response to [redacted] complaint,It is our company policy to charge a diagnosis fee on equipment, even if a customer says they know whats wrong with it. This due to customers don’t always know & things have been fixed that were in fact not the issue, then the customer is mad that we didn’t fix it. The technician also has to be paid for the time in making sure that is whats wrong with it & the only thing that’s wrong with it, research best price for the part, notate it in the system, call the customer for approval, assign a technician to the job (if approved), notate in the system, order the part notate in the system. Upon arrival of that part we check it in the system, alert the technician the part has arrived, place the part w/the unit & notate it in the system. Ms. [redacted] knew this as she paid the diagnostics that day.In striving to provide the fastest service to our customers, we went thru all of this; however, when the customer called to say she didn’t want to do it we had to look up the seller, contact them about a return, follow their instructions to return, find the original packaging, print a label & take it to the Post Office & pay to have it shipped & then wait for a refund.I told Ms. [redacted], that I called on my personal cell phone, that we couldn’t stop it (see attached store notes) & that there would be a restocking & shipping & handling fees. I told her, “it’ll be like $10 or something like that, I don’t know what’s involved yet, I don’t know what the seller’s policy is, where it has to go- some parts come from Hong Kong.” She proceed to be rude & argumentative. I told her I was sorry, yet we couldn’t stop the order & we cant do things for free & that if she’d let us know she wanted to cancel the order the same day we would’ve had a better chance in canceling this & she would’ve only owed the $29 diagnostic fee. In looking at her order she was over charged $1.06 and is an oversight with the tax amount not being changed. We have only done a few refunds in the last 4+ years. She can come by the store for cash or we can mail her a check.Thank you, Sincerely,Kathryn S. Bishop

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.Regarding the answer from the company they answered, "It is our company policy to charge a diagnosis fee on equipment, even if a customer says they know whats wrong with it. This due to customers don’t always know & things have been fixed that were in fact not the issue, then the customer is mad that we didn’t fix it. The technician also has to be paid for the time in making sure that is whats wrong with it & the only thing that’s wrong with it, research best price for the part, notate it in the system, call the customer for approval, assign a technician to the job (if approved), notate in the system, order the part notate in the system. Upon arrival of that part we check it in the system, alert the technician the part has arrived, place the part w/the unit & notate it in the system." Ms. [redacted] knew this as she paid the diagnostics that day. My reply: This statement is a blatant lie from the owner. This was not explained when I paid the $29.00 towards the $40.00 fee I was given for parts and labor to replace the battery.Just as I stated in the original complaint. When the sales person said the word "diagnostics" as he typed the order in the system, I asked him then "Wait a minute what is that? referring to the word "diagnostics" and he replied. Oh that's' just the way I have to put it into the system." There was no explanation of the word in regards to their business policies Business reply: I told Ms. [redacted], that I called on my personal cell phone, that we couldn’t stop it (see attached store notes) & that there would be a restocking & shipping & handling fees. I told her, “it’ll be like $10 or something like that, I don’t know what’s involved yet, I don’t know what the seller’s policy is, where it has to go- some parts come from Hong Kong.” She proceed to be rude & argumentative. I told her I was sorry, yet we couldn’t stop the order & we cant do things for free & that if she’d let us know she wanted to cancel the order the same day we would’ve had a better chance in canceling this & she would’ve only owed the $29 diagnostic fee. My reply: I was told the battery was ordered through ebay that morning. There was no mention of where (in this case Hong Kong) the order was coming from. If you look at my original complaint, you will see that I did cancel the order the same day it was placed and was not later notified that the order had not been stopped in time. The owner said to me that she probably should have called me back and let me know that it couldn't be stopped in time, but her mind was in a jumble because her daughter was having a baby. As for attached store notes, I have not been able to open the attachment, but at his point I do not trust that the notes may or may have not been altered.

Business

Response:

The complaint that she wasn't told about the diagnostics:The tech told her like we tell others that we take the time to see whats exactly wrong & it ensures we tell the customer the whole picture so they can make an informed decision. This also allows us to not miss any possible underlying issues that may not be apparent to the untrained eye. On cancelling the same day:Even if she did call the same day & the order couldn't be stopped, we cant change that. June 24 at 4:06 we called Ms. [redacted] left a voice mail about the findings & cost.June 25 110:04 AM Ms [redacted] called to say she wanted to go ahead with the repairs & the tech asked her if she was sure, she replied yes. Part was already on hold to order & it was orderedJune 26 2 PM? Customer called & wanted to cancel the order & said what I did previously. If she read the notes, I said "some parts" come from Hong Kong- I wasn't even at the store to know where it was coming from. The fact that my daughter was having a baby wouldn't have mattered,. it was the fact that she didn't want it, she didn't ask to let her know in case she wanted to change her mind; therefore, I didn't see any need to phone her, especially when she cussed me & then later I found out called me names.We don't want unhappy customers, we are here to help people & cant stay in business that way. This is reflected in our being the top ranked computer store in the [redacted] Valley Respectfully submitted, Kathryn S. Bishop

Great customer service.

Recognized exactly what I needed ... ordered the part and fixed the problem. What more can you ask??

Expeditive services. Good costumer services.

We took our printer / scanner to get a diagnostic done because it suddenly stopped working. Marshall helped us and was very nice and upfront about the fee to take a look at. Within 24 hours he gave us a call back to let us know that it was beyond repair but that he had contacted the manufacturor and they had agreed to send a newer model at a discounted price to replace ours. To me this was outstanding service to go above and beyond by finding a better printer at a cheaper price for us. They have a customer for life know and I will take all of my electronic devices to them.

I have been to Commonwealth Computer Services several times to have various desktops and laptops repaired. I have always had a good experience with their repair service. They have always had my computers repaired and back to me quickly and their prices a very reasonable. I definitely recommend them to anyone I know who is having issues with their computer equipment!

I have always had my computers serviced with this operation and have found them to be very knowledgeable and reliable.

Myself and my grandson both came to this business and our computers were handled in a professional manner and at a reasonable price.

Common Wealth Computer is a reliable computer repair shop, they can get to the problems of the computer with no delays.

Not knowing, I came to the store about five minutes before closing. They told me to bring my computer right in and have it checked out. They came back in a few minutes and told me I needed a power supply, give them ten minutes to fix it and I could have it back. They were true to their word, they were honest and knowledgeable. I would definitely return if I have another problem with my computer. This was my first time there. I do recommend this business.

Service was excellent and the Xbox 360 is working wonderfully I would definitely recommend their service to others as well as be a return customer

me a good review for this site please it is a business You could just write : nice people. Good customer services

Had a problem with my computer. Took it in to Commonwealth Computer Services. Needed a file fixed because I get my work schedule through this file. They fixed the problem very quickly and the cost was more than reasonable. THANK YOU

ABSOLUTELY THE MOST VALUABLE, AND DEATIAL ORIENTED COMPUTER SHOP IN ROANOKE VIRGINIA!! ( MARSHALL) VERY EXIERENCED, HELPFUL, THOUROUGH TOP NOTCH COMPUTER TECHNICIAN I`VE HAD THE PLEASURE TO RECIEVE ASSISTANCE FROM!!WOULDN`T GO ANYWHERE ELSE

The first couple of times I went to have my computer repaired I had some problems with the length of time it took to repair and trouble with getting the correct problem fixed, but once they got some reliable computer tech I haven't had any problems and they are really helpful. Anytime I have a question I can call and get help or take it into the store. I bought a Laptop from them and they helped me on some of the problems using it. I will go back for any help I need and also planning to buy another computer from them.

Great job

I had a really great experience working with this company. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. They unfortunately were not able to fix the screen on my device but they were very up front and honest in their abilities! I would recommend them to anyone as a first stop!

People like me who still rely upon their older computers are reassured by knowing that a company like Commonwealth Computer Services exists. I was. I didn't expect that degree of familiarity and knowledge about the intricacies of computer systems in general, nor its genuine caring for the system I placed before them. Professionalism, skill, advice the most experienced customer can appreciate. And (surprise) relatively low cost. The owners obviously want and appreciate our business.