I contacted High Tech Electronics in Lawrence to inquire about my friend's Roland FP-5 Digital Piano that was in need of repair. They quoted me $262.50 to replace all the hammers and refurbish the keyboard, with a guaranteed turn around time of 2 days.
We met the manager Bob on Tuesday, March 8th, in front of their new store location to drop it off. Here's where it gets sketchy. In addition to him giving us a quote $20 higher than we were originally told, we were also forced to load the keyboard (equipped with gig bag and power supply) into the back of his SUV since the new shop was not yet open. This troubled us, but since they were in the process of moving from one store location to another, we brushed it off. We were handed a slip and took off.
On Thursday I called Bob and he informed me that although the keyboard was ready, he had to write up the slip and wondered if I could pick it up Friday. I said that would be fine, but that we definitely needed it Friday night for a recording session. After calling Bob on Friday, I was told the keyboard hadn't even been looked at yet and it would be done Saturday. I said that was unacceptable so he agreed to have it done by the end of the day. End of the day came with him saying there was no way they could get it done, and that I could pick it up on Saturday. Saturday came and, you guessed it, the keyboard wasn't quite ready. Fearing their quality of work would suffer in order to repair it quicker, I told them to just take their time and I would pick it up Monday.
Here's where it gets downright crazy. I met Bob on Monday at the Guitar Center parking lot in Danvers (his idea) at 5:00 pm. I told him I wanted to bring the keyboard inside to plug it in and check it before I gave him any money. He said I couldn't see the keyboard until I paid him. When I asked him how much I owed him, expecting a big discount, he gave me the original quote of $262.50. I tried calmly explaining to him why I didn't think that price was fair, but he started walking to his car, saying he was going to leave with the keyboard. He refused to talk with me about the problem, so I called the police. After 30 minutes of going back and forth he took $100 off the price.
When he opened up the back of his SUV I saw the keyboard, but no gig bag or power supply. I asked the whereabouts of the gig bag and power supply, and he claimed I had never given them to him... he was "positive" about it. Funny, because when we originally dropped off the keyboard, he made sure we gave him the power supply saying, "I won't be able to turn the keyboard on without it". After making a call to his business partner Hector, Bob was informed they did indeed have the equipment, but that I would have to drive to Denny's in Lawrence to pick it up from Hector. This was all witnessed by the 2 police officers. I drove 30 minutes to Denny's and no Hector. Bob told me that he would be there when I arrived. I waited for over an hour and a half, all the time calling Bob's cell phone to which I got no answer.
On top of all this, the low B and C notes are still clicking, so there's no way they replaced everything. There seem to be new scratches on the keyboard as well. Maybe that's from transporting it without its bag??
So in a nutshell, after being lied to, forced to cancel a recording session, and waiting 4 days longer than we were told we'd have to, we paid $162.50 for a keyboard that is very slightly repaired but scratched, and my friend is missing her gig bag and power supply which I consider stolen at this point. Saying we were "taken advantage of" would be a massive understatement. I will try to contact the store tomorrow and after that, it is off to small claims court. This is the most unorganized, pathetic excuse for a "business" I have ever dealt with in my life. Their quality of service and lack of professionalism is appalling, and their blatant disregard for customer satisfaction is atrocious. Avoid at all costs. read more
