I would give this 0 if yelp would let me. I spilled a pint of beer in the keyboard of my macbook pro. I dried it out for a few days then brought it here. The first thing they said is that it would be $695. They told me it would need a "top end" rebuild, which is basically everything(logic board, keyboard, HD, optical drive), all the "guts". They informed me if my hard drive wasn't corrupt they could transfer it to the new one for $70. The took it out back and after 10 minutes they informed me my hard drive was corrupt, but it could be recovered for a base price of $700. I asked what would happen to my "old" HD if I did not opt for the recovery. I was informed that they keep it........... Think about that. I DON'T THINK SO. All said and done they wanted the minimum of $1400 to get it up and working. Look smaller and more local. I found a guy who replaced my logic board and keyboard for $415. My HD is just fine, as are the rest of the other components. Also, I got it back in 4 days(Sat and Sun included). I like microcenter to buy things. They have great prices on new equipment. I will NEVER go to the service counter again. read more

Attentive sales staff, financing, cool place feels like going to the past somewhat. Robotics supplies too! read more

I stood around for a good 30min at the computer department and not one associate cared to talk to me. Finally a manager came by and asked if I had been helped and finally got someone to answer my questions. The rep was helpful and answered many of my questions and even got me a discount on the keyboard for my new Surface 3. I bought the Surface 3 64G for a month-long trip out of state, but realized that I needed the 128G for my needs. I emailed the sales rep who helped me for an upgrade. Never heard back from him. I tried calling and got hung up on 5 times before I got a hold of someone. If the sales rep had emailed me back and talked to me more about the return policy, I would have been able to get a refund on the unit and swap for the higher model at the Microsoft store! Now I'm left with the option of either being stuck with the unit or trade in through Microsoft for a fraction of what I'd paid for. Ultimately, the customer service at this place sucks! read more

I came to buy a laptop and it only took us 5 minutes to find what we needed. And it is great. Patrick helped us and he was very polite and professional. But then we spent 35 minutes waiting in line just to pay for the thing! Ridiculous. We also bought the antivirus and wanted to get it installed in the store. The installation was quick. But when I came to pick up the laptop it took me another 30 minutes because I had to wait in line just to pick it up. My whole impression about micro center was ruined. WILL NOT GO THERE AGAIN. read more

I came because I need to build a computer for Video Editing. Evan was very helpful and patient. I really appreciated the time he took to help me round up all the parts that I needed. I purchased a i9-9900 processor along with a gigabyte designar motherboard, H60 Cooler, and Samsung NVME PCIE M.2 Memory. I came back for a Graphics Card. read more

Technical Support is poor and full of excuses for poor level of responsiveness. Communication and status updates have been non-existent. Too bad because the product offering and prices are decent. Even the floor sales people, consistently helpful. But if you can't even get your warranty work done efficiently, one might as well just buy from TigerDirect. read more

I don't understand how anyone can rate this place less than 5 stars. They are local, their inventory is amazing, and they often beat internet prices. They also price match Newegg. How they can price match Newegg and still pay a bunch of knowledgeable and helpful staff is beyond me. I now go out of my way to buy all my computer stuff at Microcenter because I appreciate having a local place to get stuff right away without having to wait for shipping and delivery. A place where I can get my hands on computer cases and see how they look and feel before ordering. I recently built computers for myself and both of my sons and bought nearly all the components from Microcenter. The customer service I encountered there was exemplary. Also worth mentioning is that there is plenty of parking, and it is free. My only regret is that I lived in the Boston area for 4 years before I found this amazing store. read more

Headed to Microcenter in Cambridge, MA to get an Amplifi Alien router, which their web site said they had 4 in stock. After fighting over an hour in traffic I got there only to find that ghey not only had none, but ghe associate in networking didn't even know what it was. read more

Arriving at the store, there was a grand selection of electronic items, smiling friendly faces, and someone who was able to help me. However, I quickly realized that whoever I spoke to on the phone confirming they had the item I needed with the price and repair service fee was not accurate - and under quoted. The person who helped me find the right item was kind but gave me the wrong item and it cost twice what I was quoted on the phone. I checked in with the service team and the repair fee was twice what I was quoted on the phone as well doubled in work required to be performed that they do at Apple. I bid adieu to the people I worked with and left feeling disappointed and took my business elsewhere (where I enjoyed the experience). Backstory: I needed a battery replacement for my MacBook and was recommended to go to this place for its selection, price, and quality. I called ahead to inquire about the precise make/model I needed, confirmed the price, and the repair service fee. The person I spoke on the phone with was clear and confirmed faith in me that this was the best choice for my needs and budget. read more

My Mac Book Pro crashed and after calling Apple Care, I was unfortunately told that would need to be taken in. The only place that had availability was Micro Center. As most of us would say, my entire life was on there, more specifically work. They were all extremely professional and conscientious. Though they conveyed they would try to resolve this as soon as possible I was beginning how to mitigate the doom that was to await me in the next few days. Instead, while driving home I get a call from Micro Center, WE WERE ABLE TO FIX YOUR LAPTOP. I suddenly thought Santa Claus came early to Cambridge! Micro Center will be my go-to for any computer needs!! read more

Fortunately I do not have many computer problems, but when I do I only go to Micro Center. They are reasonably priced, professional, and their customer service is out of this world. I had Vilson give me a quote to replace my hard drive, and he got the job done same day! Not what I expected, and extremely pleased read more

In terms of product selection, Micro Center is the best around. It's the Amazon of brick-and-mortar stores. I was a long time shopper at MC, but I had a terrible experience with one of their salespeople that turned me off for good. I came in to buy a 70" 4K Vizio TV & surround system that I was absolutely married to. I've been researching this TV for at least a month at this point, checking reviews, seeing the display in store, etc. I figured I would give Micro Center the business, since they've been good to me in the past. Once I got into the TV department, the salesman told me that the TV I wanted was a terrible model, that I'd be disappointed once I got it home. He had it plugged into a standard def cable box, so the image quality was deliberately reduced. He kept trying to point out pixelation/fuzziness in the image, but it was obviously the old standard def cablebox. He outright refused to sell it to me. At this point, I'm done with Micro Center. I decided to go to BestBuy, where, lo and behold, that same TV was plugged into a full 4K demo that looked gorgeous. I purchased the same TV at BestBuy a few months ago, and have been extremely satisfied with my purchase ever since. I will only return to Micro Center for little things, but I'll never be making a major purchase there anytime soon. read more

Saved my hard drive and sanity. Nice people, fair prices. So happy I went to them!

I am at Microcenter and my son brought back his computer for the 3rd time. I have a 3 year warranty I bought for it. The manager said he shouldn't buy anymore computers and the girl helping us was talking to me very unprofessionally. read more

I really really don't like Micro Center. The place is dirty, it's spooky to walk through, and it reeks really low rent. The staff is typical aged mixture of unwashed nerds with no social skills, like 20 something smelly failures and the scary old dudes. They are all equally worthless. I'll admit it, I'm a closet tech nerd. I know what I want. I'll go to the store, find it, then leave. I don't need to ask for recommendations, I don't need help choosing a laptop... Whatever. What really pisses me off though, is that they (these ubernerds) feel the need to place a sticker on the box like they completely and totally "got the sale" because they actually had the gruntage to TELL ME WHERE IT WAS. Yeah, thanks. I bought a monitor here, some cheap crap brand (Sceptre or something), and ended up returning it (it had dead pixels, didn't want to properly sync up to my mac tower (What the fuck?). I had to wait about an hour or so being one of 3 people in line to get rid of the hunk of junk for a new Samsung. The checkout? Hahahhahahahaahhahaa. I'm not sure if the guys working the checkout are even breathing at all. I've had better customer service at a funeral from the corpse than these guys. NO I DO NOT WANT TO BE SIGNED UP FOR YOUR MAILING LIST. I DON'T WANT THE CATALOG ALL THE TIME, AAAAAAAUGH!!!!! The real only reason why I keep going here is because occasionally will need a part/drive/something that I need fast. Otherwise I'm staying away. read more

I purchased a Lenovo laptop from this Micro Center about a year ago, and that was a good experience. The sales reps were readily answering any questions and helped me pick a laptop that suited my needs. Now the negative: about a month ago the laptop stopped charging, but I knew the add-on warranty I had purchased was still valid so I bought it here expecting them to readily help me fix it. The guy who came out, who I think was Yonas? not too sure, but he just came out, turned on my laptop, checked the charger and then stated that this computer is a goner and said "Lenovo would never fix this", even with the warranty, and I was better off waiting til it fully died and then just buy a new laptop. I was just there stunned, he didn't even check the conditions of my warranty or if it was even valid. He saw that I was pretty sad, I even said I study statistics and I really needed a laptop for my work. He was indifferent and in a jolly tone said that there was no hope for this laptop, and then happily went to the back. I then called Lenovo, and they directed me to the Bestbuy in Cambridge and there it was fixed within 2 weeks all of no charge because it was under warranty, as I knew it was. Overall, displeased with the service at this Micro Center, especially considering I purchased the laptop, case, warranty, etc. here and they provided no option where this could be fixed, when obviously that was not the case. Better off going to Bestbuy if you want things fixed under a Lenovo warranty. read more

Computing crack for the serious tech addict..... Micro Center you are no Fry's Electronics but when you need a hit of silicon any dealer will do and your selection puts you to the front of the line. Common are you really going to find anything serious at Best Buy?? NO! You go to a computer store run by true geeks not wanna be types. What they might lack in social skills they make up in product knowledge. I started having flashbacks to my time selling computers to pay for college as soon as I walked through the door.... I made my trek to MC to pick up a new 1TB HD my 500GB was almost filled up. I saw they had an Destop Iomega 1TB for $89.00 and of course my luck would have it...SOLD OUT! Dang! So I searched around to see what was comparable. The sales people here are extremely helpful and knowledgeable. They also dance for their bread...i.e work on commissions which might explain some of their hawkish behavior. Hey they are just trying to put bread on their table. I ain't mad at the player just the game that made the player. Anyway, I decided to go with a smaller Buffalo 500GB drive at a higher price. It was about 1/10 the size of my current Buffalo 500GB and doesn't require a secondary power supply and is extremely portable. I was impressed on the honesty of the sales rep telling me which drives had higher return rates. I know it is a crap shoot with electronics but it is still good to play the odds. I also decided to pickup a pair of Gunnar Optiks computer glasses. MC prices were cheaper than the prices I have searched for via the web. You gotta love the iPhone. These glasses are made for users that stare at computer screens most of their day for work or play. Most of the reviews on these glasses were pretty high on them. The pair I originally wanted was sold out! DOUBLE DANG! The sales rep hooked me up with a similar pair at the same price. Hey they do work on commissions! Great way to get the sale! The checkout was fast and I was out the door with my score. So if you need a serious fix hurry over to MC.... read more

One star is too many. I bought a Vaio computer from this place in 2007 and have had to deal with them twice to repair it. Each time the repairs took in excess of 3 months. The first repair resulted in the laptop being returned more damaged than when I dropped it off and had to send it back two times. The staff and management of this place are not very educated in the products and less educated on customer service. I feel like I'm working with the high school AV Club and not a business that feels accountable to the customer. The second time was for faulty power supply and repaired of the power supply plug into the back of the computer. On their advice I ordered a new hard drive because they said it was faulty and now 6 months later the Western Digital HD they installed has failed. Not only this, I had to have over $250.00 iTunes charges reversed off my American Express that were charged to my account while my laptop was in the possession of the technicians at MicroCenter. Buying from these guys is easy. Commission motivates and you'll hear whatever it is to make a sale. Once sold you are of little value. Don't trust this place read more

Ah MicroCenter. For those who have never heard of a Microcenter, it is basically Disneyland for any DIY PC builders and a awesome place to shop in general as well. To the PC builders who read this, it is basically a brick-and-mortar Newegg. To everyone, think BestBuy, but with employees who aren't sweating for some reason and actually know what on Earth they are talking about. The one thing that is best about the microcenter chain is that they are VERY competitive with pricing, and unlike bestbuy, they charge the same as amazon or newegg and in many cases, lower. If you are getting an Intel CPU, they have some crazy in store only deals. Aka an i7 4790k for $249 as of writing this. They have Mobos, GPUs, CPUS, coolers, cases, adruinos, hard drive refurb up the wazoo and everything else you could possibly want and many things you may not want. read more

The store is phenomenal and fills a gap that no other place around here does. You can find pretty much anything, and it is all reasonably priced. I've been going to this place for several years and love it. Last week, I ordered something online (18 minute pickup), arrived at the store probably 30 minutes after I had placed the order, waited in line to pick up my items, where I could see a sheet printed with my name. No one acknowledged me for a while, when I asked for help, I found out that 2 of my 3 items had not been pulled from the shelf yet. I then, proceeded to walk, literately, about 8 feet, and grabbed both of those items before anyone else did. That was a little annoying, made me a little disappointed since I love the store and is the only reason why I took a star out. I would say, for help, you better do your research and do it on your own than asking someone, other than that, the store is absolutely great. read more

I got my laptop here because, well, I needed a computer. The first time I went it was to see what model of the laptop I wanted they had in stock, and then to go online and research it. The second time, I was itching to buy the mofo. So I waited. And waited. And waited. 45 minutes later a salesperson was available to help me. And oh did he want to help. I told him I wanted the laptop and that was it. He kept trying to get me to buy a printer. Dude, i HAVE a printer! Why would i buy another printer? I had to tell him to just stop because he kept harping on the stupid printer. Then he tried to sell me every accessory in the store. I was ready to kick him. I'm in sales, you really shouldn't be so blatant about TRYING to sell things, i was not appreciating the hard sell. But I needed the laptop. So, i finally lose the annoying sales guy, spend another 30 minutes ina line to pick up and pay for my laptop, and blow that joint. I will give them that this place was better for my needs than Circuit City where the salespeople were all high school aged guys who couldnt answer my questions. read more

I don't know my way around my own laptop, but I went in with my partner to pick up some RAM for it. We ordered what we needed online beforehand and then picked it up at the order online desk. Excellent customer service and super fast. read more

So in a pinch and needing a specific cable I ended up here. Bad service, poor store layout and high prices for the products make me not want to go back. So unless your desperate for a part and can't wait for it to come from an online order place don't waste your time here. read more

I'll preface by saying some of my dislike for this place might stem from being a mac owner. But man, I don't know... The other reviews on here don't even sound like the place I drag myself to every now and again when I need something computer related. The store itself seems like a relic from 1989 -- both outside and inside -- giving it a bit of a ghetto vibe. They're selection of cd burners was plain ol' pathetic. But again, this could be because I have a mac and they're a bit biased towards PC stuff... And PS2 games? Psshh! Your choices are the popular games from a year or two ago still marked at full price or a selection of the "classic" line games with the blues discs that don't play in my console. These are all packaged in the bulky plastic security things that make it so you have to pull each game out to see what's going to disappoint you one by one. Service? Well, yeah, these guys are all on commission so of course they'll be jumpin' hoops to sell you something. And the warranty. And the service plan. And the one that gets him the gold star on his forehead. Ok, another thing that bugs me to no end is that for every purchase you gotta give the cashier your home address, email address, and phone number. The people I work with don't even know that much about me! It's worse than friggin' Radio Shack. And every time I'm here there a line a dozen or so long waiting to return things. And this line don't move too fast neither. That can't be a good sign, can it? read more

I bought everything I needed to build my new beautiful computer here, good prices, only thing I felt done over on is the screen. They have Ipod accessories galore, and just about everything computer related. The staff is very knowledgeable, but they did tend to push toward the uber. You WILL feel like a complete nerd coming here, no two ways about it... just suck it up, or do what I did and go walk by the Charles to unplug. read more

I got a laptop from here. Six days later the screen started flickering. I thought I was screwed because I threw the box away and the receipt clearly says that you have to keep your original packaging for an exchange or return. I went back anyway, because I figured I could at least whine enough to get it fixed. I got a new laptop, no questions asked. They didn't even ask what was wrong with it. I am a happy camper. read more

Microcenter is very conveniently located across the street from my house. This is pretty awesome because when the World of Warcraft expansion, The Burning Crusade, came out I could run right over first thing in the a.m. and get it. Beyond that Microcenter is pretty blah. Some of the prices are awesome, but some not so much. The sales people are crazy pushy and must get some serious commission especially on PC laptops (no one in the Mac section really gives a damn whether you are there or not). My general impression of the place is that it must be really damn depressing to work there. The fluorescent lighting is glaring and makes everyone look and feel miserable and the music is bland horrible elevator smooth jazz. I've seen people have more fun at a funeral than these employees seem to have working here. They also have some of the slowest cashiers in the known universe, although I've heard that returning items is fairly painless. Depressing, but I can't really think of a better place IRL to get the items Microcenter stocks. read more

MicroCenter is like crack for Geeks. It really is a computer "department" store, as they carry more items in stock than any competitor I know. If you need a part for your computer, MicroCenter is sure to have it. I have a love/dislike relationship with this store. I LOVE that if I need something computer related, and I don't want to order online, I can come here and get it. BUT that's about where it ends. What I DISLIKE about this store, are several reasons.. 1. Location - This store is on Memorial Drive in Cambridge. Not too terrible. But not exactly anywhere near anything either (unless you live in Allston or CambridgePort). So its always a special trip to go there. It's also not very T-accessible. Yes you can walk from Central Square, or wait fort the 47 bus, but its still a hike either way you are going. 2. Parking - Parking at this location blows. This store shares a parking lot with a very popular Trade Joe's. So if you come in the evenings or on weekends, you're can pretty much guess that you are going to circle the lot a few times before you get a spot. If the lot is full, its typically not MicroCenter, it's Trader Joe's. 3. Store Layout - This store layout boggles me. It always has, and they seem to 'remodel' it every few years and it just doesn't help. The only thing they DID do in recent years, is remodel their checkout area, which made for less-confusing checking out. BUT the general layout doesn't make much sense, but if you are a regular shopping like I am, you typically know where to find things. 4. Selection - The Selection is good.... If you can find it. I often shop via their website so I know what I'm looking for when I go to the store. Their website always seems to say they have something in stock, yet when you get there, you can't find it OR it's just not there. Their online "in store" pickup thing isn't much better, I've done "in store" pick up a few times where they couldn't find the item and just removed it from the order. It's like hello? Doesn't your inventory system work? 5. Product Display - Yes I am giving this its own section. But this is mainly one gripe. I don't know what genius at MicroCenter said it was OK to put OEM, Bare, or Refurbished Hard Drives inside a plastic case that allows the drive to slide back and forth inside and smack the sides of the plastic case!. Hard Drives are VERY sensitive to shock, and this is not good for them. (which probably explains why there's so many returns on the refurbished drives, they were DOA). (Same gripe can be for bare/oem DVDCDRW drives) 6. Price - Prices are meh. I find that their prices are typically about the same as many web retailers. However I still have to pay sales tax. Some items are cheaper than their web competitors, some are not. It depends on the item. Like for instance, hard drives are typically about the same their web competitors, however, pre-made network cable is ridiculously priced there. So it depends. 7. The Staff - While I haven't had a bad experience with any one staff member, but I have a couple of complaints about their staff in general. A few years ago, the sales staff moved to commission based sales. Which is fine, but if someone helps you, they are determined to put their sticker on your item so they get the commission. Many staff members are very adamant about doing so too (and will sticker other items in your cart too!). I've also heard them give out very bad advice to customers who don't know any better. (I'm a IT Geek, so I know better). I know they want to make a sale, but did Grandma really need to buy that 300 dollar RAID NAS to back up her pictures? 8. Customer Service - Some of the slowest people on the planet work there. I don't know where they find these people but they are S L O W. It shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes to return a couple of items that were purchased with a credit card. That and you wait FOREVER because it always seems like there's only one person the Customer Service desk. 9. Check Out - This is where they improved a few years ago by moving around the check outs so people were no longer standing in lines down aisles waiting to check out (there's a now a looong roped off area). But again, much like Customer Service, it can be very slow to check out and they always seem like they don't have enough people working. However, even with all my gripes, I'm still going to give it four stars. Why? Because when I need something NOW, and it can't wait. MicroCenter will most likely have it. And since it's pretty much the only store around like it, I know I'll be back soon. read more

I had an issue with my computer not holding a charge while being plugged in. Yonas spent time trying to figure out the problem, tried multiple different chargers to attempt to find the solution, and ended up being able to correct my issue with the right adapter/charger. He took his time and had a great deal of patience. Most places wouldn't have done that much investigative work and then then would try to charge you for labor and parts that may have not been necessary. Unfortunately I know all too well how difficult it is to find people who are willing to take the time to help. The customer service was exceptional and I can't tell you how satisfied I was leaving Micro Center! My computer is now working and I was able to do my homework and operate like normal. He was excellent! read more

It's a great place to get computer parts. It's one of those stores that you must know what you are going to purchase because service sucks. I spent about 30minutes waiting for assistance and the sales representatives were just hanging out doing nothing. I got frustrated and started to search for the item myself and I just needed the storage key to get my item. The store could be better. read more

I have been really disappointed with everything I have bought here. I've bought some computer supplies and a laptop, and each thing was having functional problems within a month or two from buying it. The helpfulness of their staff varies wildly as well. If anybody has a suggestion in a better place to get computers and computer supplies, I'd be very interested. read more

The service center manager and staff, especially Michael, are so awesome! They really listen to the customer and try to resolve the computer issues to the best of their capability. If they aren't able to recover the data, they work with an offsite data retrieval lab that can work wonders for damaged hard drives (not cheap but worth the money for valuable documents and pictures). Taught me the lesson, the hard way, to make double backups of my data. The store has a huge selection of every possible computer component you will need at great prices. They have printers, scanners, laptops, CPUs, monitors, TVs, routers and so much more. For now on for any of my computer need so will be going to the Micro Center. read more

Its like an East Cost version of Fry's Electronics. They have a lot of esoteric stuff in stock that you would think you could only find online. I always make an effort to buy stuff from here if available as its one of the last brick and mortar stores that has a really decent selection of electronics. Also good to know is that they have a lot of hobby electronics ( Spark Fun, Arduino, Raspberry Pi etc ). The sales associates can be a mixture of incredibly helpful and indifferent, but overall its about the goods and the prices and both are pretty great. read more

I accidentally bought 3mm 3D printer filament when I needed 1.75. I live an hour's drive away and went to exchange it once when visiting my sister who lives near it, and they were closed for Easter, so I missed the return window by quite a long time. Fine, as I didn't want a return - I just wanted to swap it for the correct one. Pretty much anywhere would honor that since this was a roll of unopened vacuum-sealed filament, not something like fancy electronics where they needed to worry about it. Nope. I realize their return policy does not specifically allow for this, but since it would not cost the store anything, I thought the manager would use his discretion to allow it. For example, this is what Best Buy would do: "Although not customer facing in our policy language, we will accept unopened returns outside of the return window, as long as the SKU is still carried and sold by Best Buy within our current assortment. This option is available to customers with and without a proof of purchase. This element of our Return & Exchange promise will allow our employees to deliver on our promise to do whatever we can to help them get the solution that best fits your technology needs. Refunds must be given in the form of store credit instead of the original payment. It's imperative to always give store credit in order to turn returners into re-purchasers." read more

This place is scummy. If you are not technologically literate do NOT come here by yourself the workers are not knowledgeable but are all too eager to give you the hard sell on stuff you don't need. Their repair service is on-par with Geek Squad (which is to say HORRIBLE, so don't bring anything here). That having been said sometimes there's some damn nice bargains if you're willing to dig around a bit. Unfortunately this has become harder as a year ago they removed their yellow-sticker section filled with discontinued and open box specials. Truly a tragedy for bargain-hunters but a bigger loss as now this place is just a scummy computer store without nearly as many good deals. But sadly as computer stores go, this is the only real game in town. Unless you're a Mac user and get to enjoy the deliciously posh Apple Store on Boylston Street. Feel the envy! read more

TL;DR: Microcenter is good if you are buying for parts, because even amateurs are probably better at building functioning computers than the burnt turds Microcenters sells at grossly inflated prices. In November 2015, I crunched through golden leaves in the parking lot, excited to be making my first big post-grad purchase: a Dell Inspiron 11. I had picked it out of the window of my old, ratty macbook months ago, and saved up pennies and dimes selling muffins and other goods at Starbucks to finally purchase this sleek, 13-inch baby. When I said I was through with apple products the sales rep checking me out beamed and said "good choice!" and I felt a swell of pride and hope for the future. Oh, oh, how I was wrong. A month in, we'd be doing good. I penned overwrought yelp reviews in one hand and applications to grad school in the other, and Inspiron recorded all.We were going places all right. But then one chilly, christmas-y Boston night, my battery stopped recognizing the AC adapter. Cough, cough, I'm sick, mother, Inspiron wheezed. What's this? Just a mere hiccup down the road of our beautiful, oh so productive computer-mother relationship, I thought, and bought another charger, which worked fine. Inspiron was back and it was a good thing, with my grad school due dates on the horizon. Fast forward to June, an acceptance letter to Iowa in my hand as we pack away our small life together and suddenly Inspiron's consumption returns. Suddenly the battery once again stops recognizing the AC adapter. I carry him to Microcenter and beg them to fix him, even if it means spending my last copper. A day later they return, and chuckle, saying, ha! ha! it's just the charger cable, and charge me $60 for a new one. "This will never happen again." they said. At this point - moving halfway across the country to grad school, little money saved up from working service jobs - I have no choice but to hope Inspiron is fixed for good, because I have no money, so I spent $60 to keep the Inspiron I already had, believing that good always trumps evil and love is real. Oh, how I was wrong. And now, stranded in the strange land of Iowa - the closest microcenter in Chicago - my Inspiron craps out again. Same ol AC-adapter battery issue. Only this time, I'm a week into grad school, with online papers to assess, and my first big-time grad school paper due this Thursday. In other news, I'm royally screwed. Inspiron is wheezing beside me, clothed in rags and boils, saying, "I tried mama, I just wasn't built so good and those big-time metaphorical doctors/microcenter technical support couldn't fix me, and failed to tell you that this would continue to be an issue in the future." So there you have it: here I stand, a week into grad school, no money because I spent the last of my wiggle room cash on this laptop and its ensuing problems only to have it putter out less than a year after purchase. Working in customer service since I was fifteen, I try to always be positive and understanding when it comes to being a customer, but also, I have never been so completely and utterly failed before. I believe this wasn't just a single issue but a whole culmination of them selling a shoddy device, the technical support failing to assess the real shoddiness of the device coupled with a true deficit of attention that went into their customer support. Even if I wasn't in Iowa, I would not come back. I'd rather write and study with a quill and parchment than go through that - and lose that much money - again. EDIT: after calling the customer help desk in Cambridge, I have found that my only options are either a return/exchange or store credit. Neither of which is helpful in my situation (read: lives in Iowa City), and I found the everyone I talked to be rather unsympathetic and unyielding in my time of need. The manager blamed the manufacturer (Dell) but hey, you guys are the one selling it. Maybe don't sell products that cease to function after a month? This is all rather unfortunate because I came to microcenter from the supposedly dark side of the apple genius bar after my boyfriend built a computer with the help the folks here - but now I imagine he was given spare parts from the grotesque dumpster where they must toss all the ill-built corpses of inspirons 11s and 15s. read more

Real talk time. Do I know anything about computers? No. Do I care to know anything about computers? Not really. But my boyfriend does, and since the dawn of our relationship has tried to drag me to Micro Center. I finally caved - and I've been here twice. I can imagine Micro Center is some nerd's version of Nirvana. It contains rows and rows of cables, and mother boards, and knobs of all kinds. It also sells video games, and various gamer gear, including, $300 head sets to use when you want to call someone a NOOB in a more confrontational fashion. Anyways... the staff here are awesome! One time we needed a universal adapter for traveling, and the other, some sort of fancy cord that allowed us to circumvent anti-Chromecast tech. Neither time were we able to state " I need .." but on both occasions a staff person was able to navigate our convoluted rants and ID the thing necessary to fix our problems. Anyways, Micro Center is my family's go to place for all our various tech needs. For me personally, however, I go for the astronaut ice cream (HINT: it is sold by the registers). read more

Looking for great customer service? Service with a smile? Knowledgable sales staff? Well I suggest you try another place because you won't find none of this here. The sales staff are rude and will snap at you for asking a simple question. Everyone is on some sort of commission based. Once you picked out a product and have a question about something else, they'll put a sticker on the item your are carrying when the question isn't about the product you picked out. On a related note, If you have a question, they'll refer you to a 1-800 number. I will never shop here again. You'll find a better experience at Best Buy or Circuit City! read more

My MSI laptop was not charging and I took to the store to see if their tech services and repair could diagnose and make the repair. I felt that the technician was extremely dismissive and did not want to take a look at my laptop. He assumed it was a motherboard issue and told me to just buy a new laptop. He was being extremely dismissive and had already made up his mind on what the problem was. I took it to another repair shop in Cambridge to get a second opinion and turns out it wasn't the motherboard but just the DC jack that had to be replaced. I will not be returning to this micro center for future repairs or computer diagnostics. read more

Probably one of the best places to get computer hardware and software if needing to pick up locally. Prices sometimes beat online competitors for some items like CPU/motherboard. I've purchased my last 2 computers from them. Great value. read more