The Grid

Reviews 3

JA

Jacob Beach

I was really blown away to see some negative reviews on here. Just about every person I have talked to at the store has been great, and they will go out of their way to help you. Any day I come in Ill see an associate speaking with individuals about their computer issues at home and giving free advice. I am very knowledgeable about computers but Ive been able to learn more through my trips to the Grid, and through the help of their outstanding employees. The store does get some awesome things in from time to time, but it is all based on donations so each trip can be a bit of a wild card. I have found countless treasures, and yes, rarely but sadly, some things might not work 100%. So I take it back to return and the folks are more than happy to issue you a store card with your balance on it. If I only bought their refurbished systems I doubt I would ever have a return, but I like to bargain hunt. I have bought 3 of their cleaned and refurbished systems and I couldnt be happier. I ended up with safe and reliable machine for my older father, a nice iMac for the kids to use in my classroom, and a new laptop which can upgrade to Windows 10 soon. In addition to all of this when I found out that the computers were being pulled out of our classrooms at the school I taught at, I needed a solution. So, of course, I headed to my friends at The Grid. I went through and over the course of a few weeks built myself a respectable collection of laptops with low priced Solid State Drives, RAM, chargers, and some other pieces being sold mostly for parts. With 8 laptops to share among the kids it was great and we were able to complete our intended goals. In regards to the knowledge of the folks at the Grid, they are honest and direct on their own areas of expertise. Most are generalists and can aid in many areas, some have been writing code for years and others are more focused on the hardware end of technology. There may be a few new employees from time to time who have some room for growth, but that is why they are being trained. The experienced employees coach and guide them so that the store will be full of friendly, as well as knowledgeable salespeople. And lastly Ill speak to prices at the Grid. Prices for accessories and games are set with a very fair centralized system, so for most items you are going to pay a little less than you would than if they were being sold off online. You can easily come in with your college student or 5 year old and find something for them both for twenty bucks. Maybe you will pick up an older Kindle from the front case while you are in there (about 20 bucks too). The final thing for you to think about before you travel to the grid is this: there are easily hundreds to thousands of families out in Charlotte who now have a computer at home to use with their kids. Their child doesnt have to be the only kid in class who cant do research online and type their paper for class. Its wonderful to see the excitement in kids eyes are their father walks into the store and he asks about buying a new computer, he can lay down a few hundred (not thousand) dollars in exchange for a tool which will serve their family for several years to come.

JO

Johnny Brasco

Do they have a decent selection? Yes. But, continue reading. The thing that bothers me the most about Goodwill Industries, in general, is the fact they charge market or over market value for items that were donated. Meaning, they didn’t pay a dime for them. Yes, I understand the overhead and the other hassle that comes with that, but that happens at majority of stores, not just the Goodwill. When a Mom and Pop store has things for market value, it’s not that bad, being that they had to actually pay someone for it. I hate that this Goodwill went from being a Goodwill, to a retail electronics boutique. I loved the old store better and the employees were a lot better, not to mention, very knowledgeable. Now, you hire people that lack basic customer service skills, let alone people that have an actual clue. I went from going to the Goodwill Computer Works store 2-3 times a week (I spent $3,000-$6,000/year for years), to now, I go to the Grid, maybe once a quarter, if that. Now that 2nd & Charles has popped up and they even take trades, there is almost no reason to go to the Grid at all. Most of the time, the Grid just prices the games according to online price guides, but they never adjust pricing for demand and condition. Just because it’s $10 on eBay, doesn’t mean their copy without the manual is worth that same $10. Plus, excuse me if I think it’s wrong if they charge market value, with no money in it, they should discount it at that point. I still recall the original store throwing items away, boxes, manuals, etc. because they didn’t have the game. The customers were the ones that convinced them to start saving all of that until that game came along. Which, in the process, helps them see higher gains. The Goodwill is suppose to be a place where people go to obtain items they have trouble affording new or elsewhere. I can find major retailers with cheaper items all the time now. The Goodwill is nothing but a bunch of crooks that disguise themselves as do-gooders. People need to think twice before they donate to these people. Most think they are helping people out, but it only helps the Goodwill get richer. I mean, compare the Goodwill’s CEO salary versus the Salvation Army’s CEO. If you want to go to a nice looking store that has random overpriced computers and electronics, then by all means, this is the store for you. But, don’t expect this to be a Goodwill with Value Village pricing, because it’s far from that.

TA

Tamara Sturdivant

I needed a computer for work. I didnt have the funds to shell out a lot of money for a new one, so I decided to purchase a second handed one. Its done a good job the time Ive had it. Now, i needed to get a printer so I decided to go back to the grid . First, I found an alln1 for $30. Got home to connect it and the cashier didnt give me the adapter. Had to go back for that. the CD that it came with did not run on the computer I brought from them early. So try to download driver and it seemed to work. However, the damn thing kept running a printer test, eating up the new ink cartridges I just put in. I took it back. Was highly pissed off when I saw on the receipt that you get only store credit. Exchange the old printer for a new Dell computer. Try to download drivers , couldnt do it. Call the grid asked for help. The heifer that answered the phone said they werent allowed to give assistance over the phone and to go to the manufacturer website for help. Call Dell found out that the printer isnt even compatible with the computer I have. The printer is only compatible with Windows Vista and WindowsXp. When I saw the printer there wasnt anything on display stating this fact. Needless to say, I will never shop there ever again. I will never donate to them as well. Please donate to the kidney foundation and crisis ministries. I learned my lesson. Also, I found out through Dell that the computer I brought from the grid cant be updated to Windows 10. So I will need to get a whole new computer as well as printer. I tried to save money but will in up having to shell out more. Because the money I spent on this mess, I could have been saving for a brand new computer. Lesson learned.