CapitolMac

Reviews 3

MA

Mark Lynn

I should have gone to the Apple store. I did not have a good experience at Capitol Mac. On Saturday 9/10 my late 2011 MacBook pro was unable to boot past the sign on screen. I spent some time with Apple on the phone and the tech told me all signs were pointing towards a hard drive failure. I was able to do a drop off at Capital Mac on 9/12 as opposed to waiting for an appointment at the Apple Store in Short Pump. I took my computer in and the guy at the counter diagnosed the issue as something to do with the video card/logic board. He informs me that Apple was aware of this issue with this particular card and would cover a free replacement! Good news! On 9/14 I get a call from their tech Brooks that they replaced the video card but there is a break up of some sort in the screen which was not there before and that if I want that fixed I will have to replace the screen at a cost of $600! Well since most of the time I use the Thunderbolt monitor and that I had not seen the issue yet I didnt think it was that big of a deal. I take my computer home and am dismayed to see the extent of distortion on the screen that was not there before but also my computer is so slow that it is completely unusable. I mean dont the test these things before they give them back? All you had to do was try and open Safari or a basic program and you would have seen that my mac was slow. Now Ive got a computer thats too slow to use and a problem with the screen which are two brand new issues(!). I call back right way and am told by Brooks that he went through two logic boards. He was certain the problem was with my screen. Thatll be $600 to fix. Brooks and I sort of get into it on the phone. Im starting to get angry as there was no problem with the screen before,I ask him to put himself in my place. Brooks advises me that maybe I could have had several things happen simultaneously. Perhaps there was also an issue with my hard drive and them somehow a problem arose with the screen. Brooks asks me to bring my computer back right away and he will stop what he is doing to take a look at it. I show up and talk with one of the other techs,even though Brooks is there,I can here him he does not come out. I decide I want a new 2 TB hard drive even if there is nothing wrong with the old one. Im still upset about the screen but not sure what to do about it at this point. The other tech and I agree that if I bring it back in the morning he will get it back to me hopefully same day with a new hard drive and I guess I can just deal with the screen since I use my Thunderbolt monitor anyway. I drop off my computer and Time Machine the morning of 9/15. Im asked to bring my Time Machine as thats faster to copy. The downside for me at home here is that all my devices run off that Time Machines WIFI .Thinking that I will hear back that day but I hear nothing. I call the next day 9/16 and get Brooks on the phone and am told he did not know my computer was there and it had not been touched despite assurances that they would get on it the same day I brought it in. I get a call later Friday9/17 or Saturday 9/18 that hes going to order a new logic board and that was apparently what was causing the computer to have the problem with the screen and run slow(?). Monday 9/19 I get a call from Brooks that the new logic board/video card(3rd one?) came in and he is transferring over my old hard drive and it would not be finished until after they close. I asked him how come he was not using the Time Machine since thats quicker and am told that "it just takes up more room on his desk..." Aggh no WIFI at home and its not even being used despite being asked to bring it in. I get my computer back on Tuesday 9/20 and its still slower than its ever been even with a new hard drive and video card/logic board. And that distortion in the screen that I was told I would have to spend $600 to fix that they did not cause is gone. Im now gonna have to schedule an appointment at the Apple Store to find out why my computer is running so slow.

JE

Jessica Maranto

This is in regards to their Williamsburg location. My husband was having a problem with his MacBook pro so he took it in to get looked at. We got charged $80 just for a basic evaluation which is pricey, but we figured they were a Mac store so they would be worth the $. After them having his computer for 3 days we were called with a price quote and told he needed a new hard drive. We decided against it and ended up losing out on the $80 diagnostic fee, which is fine... But, when we went to pick the computer they had removed the hard drive and did not put it back inside (so the hard drive was actually in a bag separate from the computer). If we brought you and intact computer to diagnose we should receive an intact computer when we come to pick it up, the $80 we spent should at least cover that!) After we returned home we did not try to fix the computer right away, so a few weeks later my husband had some extra time and decided to try and tackle what he could with it. After removing the back of the computer he realized CapitolMac never put the screws back that secure the back onto the computer nor did they put them in the bag with the hard drive. So, we called CapitolMac and was told if we came up there they would give us the screws. We live roughly 30 minutes away, but got in the car to get the screws anyways. The people there seemed nice enough and even offered to put the hard drive back into the computer this time (haha) but we declined and just got the screws. We got home and then realized they had only given us 9 screws, not the 10 required to screw the back on. Which when we first called inquiring about the missing screws the person we spoke to even confirmed that we need 10, but in the end they gave us 9. Also, we now realized that the screws that mount the hard drive inside the computer are missing as well. Today is a Sunday and they are closed for us to be able to once again drive there and hopefully get all of the screws back, so they will be hearing from us tomorrow on Monday. I DO NOT RECOMMEND CAPITOLMAC!!! There is a computer repair shop around the corner that fixes Macs and PCs and they seem a lot more knowledgable and personable.

A

A Private User

I try to take my business to locally owned businesses, which is what led me to Capitol Mac. My service wasnt terrible, but dealing with them has been a bit of a labor of love, and Ive had to be a proactive consumer. My computer was not shipped with the most recent software, and I had to ask about it before the manager realized "oh...yeah...thats right!" at which point she printed off the necessary documentation for me. Ive not received notification that ordered software had come in, instead having to call repeatedly to check up on it. On one occasion, I called before leaving work to confirm a keyboard swap and spoke with the manager, who said everything was a go. Once I arrived at the store the employee to whom spoke said "well, I dont know what youre talking about, please come back another day when the manager is here." I had to insist Id rather take care of it THAT TRIP before he asked another employee, who then confirmed that the swap was OK. They were very helpful and understanding as I was selecting a computer to buy, and transferred all of my data for free which was WONDERFUL. But...its been a bit of a pain.