Tekserve Corp.

Review: In October ** 2015, I brought my [redacted] iMac (27inch) computer to Tekserve ([redacted]), for service (Invoice [redacted]).

I explained to the employee, supervisor and manager, what are the symptoms and asked to being helped. They write down the symptoms and gave me a receipt including all the informations I mention them.

Manager suggested I should pay $163.31 in order for them to test each part and see what the problem is. I also made a note saying that computer has a brand New Hard drive.

Three days later I got an email, asking me if I would like them to put a new Hard drive in the computer, since they found out that is the problem (as I mention computer had already a brand new Hard drive). Four days later Kyle the Techician apologize for the mistake and said they checked everything except the Graphic Card because they didn't have the Graphic Card on hand in order to diagnose it, and specifically said that logic board works perfectly and doesn't have a problem.

Next day the November [redacted] I got a phone call from the same technician(Kyle) saying that he figured out that logic board creates the problem and the replacement would cost me $850. I told him that the previous day he specifically said that logic board is fine, and now he is telling me that the Logic board is the problem. I asked him why and his response was "I made a mistake". My response was "Because your diagnostic results keep changes I'm worried if I buy the Logic Board isn't going to solve the problem".

On Monday November [redacted] I sent an email to Tekserve complaining about the technician. Tekserve replied a very confusing email saying "The day has arrived! Your SRO is ready for pickup". (which I have on record as well).

I responded, "Once I will come to pick up my computer can I get print out document of the diagnosis of the parts and the results of each part. The same day on November [redacted] Kyle (the same Technician) called me and explained what he has been working on. I told Kyle (Technician) if I find a cheaper used Logic Board can they replace it for me and how much it would cost. He said he can do that and he will not charge any extra since computer is already open and taken apart. I told him that I would think about it and get back to them.

I went and purchased a working Logic board from a Tech company and gave it to Tekserve, two weeks ago. Few days later I got an email saying that we put the new logic board and it looks like that wasn't the problem and Tekserve are working on diagnosing the actual problem. Therefore I complained Tekserve once again and saying that they made me purchase a part that wasn't needed to be purchased in the first place. Their response was, " You should have purchased the Logic board from us because we have the option of return it back to [redacted] store and you would get your money back".

Two days later I got a phone call from Tekserve representative (Deb) apologizing and saying that they have ordered different parts of the computer from [redacted] store for testing and still can't find what the problem is.

On December [redacted] I received a phone call from the same Tekserve representative (Deb), saying that computer needs three parts in order to be repaired. One of the three parts she mentioned was Logic board. I asked her "what happened to the one I gave them since it was a working Logic Board", she replied saying "Currently the Logic board you purchase isn't working anymore because during the testing it became unusable". Plus she was insisting that I should buy another "logic board" from Tekserve and they normally don't accept parts that customer brings them in.

I asked them why they have accepted and being working on the logic board for two weeks now, and once the Logic board became unusable suddenly they don't accept it. She kept responding the same thing "You need to buy a logic board from us (meaning Tekserve)".

I asked them what my options are, she told me (Deb) I would have to pay for two parts and maybe can share (Tekserve) the Logic board fee with me. The last voice message left by Tekserve states that the cost for the parts and the labour would be over one thousand dollar.

After two months of this very frustrating and costly experience with Tekserve I decide to contact you in order to learn more about my rights and if there is anything I can do to protect myself as a customer.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

[redacted]Desired Settlement: I paid Tekserve to test my computers parts one by one, and not only they didn't do that, they gave me fake diagnostic results and made unusable one of the parts I personally purchased.They wanted to overcharge me by buying the same part (they made unusable) which is a logic board, from them (Tekserve).

Business

Response:

We received [redacted]’s iMac on October [redacted],, 2015. The issue she was reporting was that it would shut down halfway through startup. At drop-off, customer was already upset that her computer was not working and a manager spoke to her to calm her. Independently, she had replaced the original hard drive with one purchased at another retail store. We do not know who installed it for her although it is not considered something a non-professional should do. We informed her that if her original hard drive, which she also provided to us, was found to be in working order, we would put it back in the computer for no additional charge and give her the newly purchased drive to send back to the store she purchased it from. She paid our standard diagnostic fee of $150 plus tax for us to diagnose the shutdown issue. When we diagnose a computer we only charge the diagnostic fee. If the customer elects to repair their computer they only pay the p rice of the parts that are required. There is no additional labor charge. When we diagnose we do not test each part, but instead focus on solving the issue the customer is having. There is no way to “test” each part independently.The technician saw that the hard drive sensor was failing and emailed and called on November [redacted] and again on November [redacted] to confirm with the customer that she wanted us to put the original hard drive back in the computer. There would have been no additional charge for this.Customer responded to us November [redacted] stating that her contact information was out of date. We updated it and proceeded with the hard drive replacement the same day. At this point, the technician discovered that replacing the hard drive would not correct her issue and ordered a graphics card for testing. We received the test part on Saturday, November [redacted] and confirmed later that day that it was likely the logic board was failing at minimum. It is not uncommon for a diagnosis to change during the process of repairing a computer. Throughout this process, we kept in ongoing communication with the customer, there were no additional charges and the customer could have declined any further repairs at any time. She was not responsible for the cost of parts to diagnose the computerThe technician was told on Saturday, November [redacted] that the customer would not be pursuing the replacement of the logic board with us and would be coming to pick up their computer. The email that [redacted] refers to was sent out automatically on the next business day. When we conduct a diagnosis we put our findings on the invoice which are given to the customer when they pickup their equipment. The customer never came to pick up her computer.The technician spoke to customer on the afternoon of November [redacted]. Customer was upset with the price of the logic board and aggressively questioned the technician’s abilities and the diagnosis. On December [redacted], almost a month later, customer brought in a logic board they had purchased elsewhere. We informed her that we could not warranty any parts supplied by her since we had no way to know they were working when they arrived or had been handled correctly. We also told her that if we used her parts we could not warranty the repair for one year as is our policy for the same reasons.At no point did we make or even suggest that she purchase a logic board that wasn’t needed in the first place. We communicated with her that we believed the logic board was the most likely part needed. She, on her own, went out and bought a logic board. We installed the replacement logic board and the issue persisted which meant that it was likely an additional part was needed. When parts supplied by [redacted] are used, the customer bears no liability for any cost associated with the failure of those parts during the diagnostic process. Additionally, the customer was still free to decline any repair and was not being charged any additional labor for the extensive time this diagnosis was taking.On December [redacted], a service manager, Deb, contacted the customer to apologize for any frustration she might be feeling. We value our customers and managers commonly reach out to them if additional time and attention is needed to make them feel satisfied with our service. Deb also gave them updates on December [redacted] in addition to the technician’s updates. The diagnostic process required many test parts and the customer was clearly frustrated and nervous about the final outcome. On December [redacted] after additional diagnosis, we determined that three parts were failing. Deb called the customer who said that she did not understand technical things and put her friend [redacted] on the phone. [redacted] said he should be the point of contact for the manager. The computer was exhibiting what is known as a cascading failure. In a cascading failure, one failing part can cause the failure of successive parts that are placed in the computer to diagnose. It needed a rear housing which costs $3 21.00, power supply which costs $109.00 and logic board which costs $859.00 in order to be repaired. They were under no obligation to have us perform the repair. They were free to decline the repair and would have incurred no additional charges. We were only telling them at that point what we had confirmed would be required to repair the computer. All parts were ordered through [redacted]’s authorized service channels and not through an “[redacted] store”. We do not know if the logic board she provided was in working order when she gave it to us. We only know that it was not working when we installed it. Because her computer had parts that were damaging test parts, it if possible that the logic board became inoperable because of the failure of parts already in her machine, however there is no way to know that for sure. As stated previously, when parts supplied by [redacted] are used, the customer bears no liability for any cost associated with the failure of those parts during the diagnostic process. Additionally, [redacted] was told at the outset that we could not warranty any parts supplied by her since we had no way to know they were working when they arrived or had been handled correctly.Because we believe strongly in doing right by our customers, we offered to split the cost of a replacement logic board with the customer even though we were under no obligation to do so. The final cost for this repair would be $1,099 including the diagnostic fee she has already paid. The customer is under no obligation to proceed with this repair and if she declines she can pick up her computer at no additional charge. Since December [redacted], Deb has left messages for the customer to find out what they would like to do and has received no response.