I went to Micro Center to purchase a new laptop at a brick and mortar store locally. I had done a little research on my own but was open to suggestions from staff there. I bought two laptops and was unhappy with both of them. The first computer I purchased was a returned model, so I knew there was a risk of an issue. The salesperson I spoke with framed it as if it was probably just opened and returned without use. There ended up being a problem with the battery which was common for that model. I was fine with returning it. I relied largely on the advice of Micro Center sales staff to select my second purchase - an Acer Aspire R5-471T. I needed a reliable computer for graduate school. In short, this was not a good recommendation. I have a laundry list of problems with it that don't seem unique to me (i.e. this isn't a one-of situation where I ended up with faulty hardware). I could have purchased online, at best buy, etc. but I wanted to go somewhere for advice I felt like I could trust. That wasn't my experience here. read more

I've been going to Micro Center for a while now. I grew up in the Cambridge/Somerville area, and having a Micro Center around is a good thing if you're like me: a tech-head who loves gadgets, gizmos, and computers. I've built my own PCs and I've come here often to get supplies and peruse the shelves to get ideas. After being a long time Micro Center customer I've come to realize a few things about the store and I thought I'd share them here. First of all, the staff here, for the most part, is not helpful. I'm not saying everyone, because there's been one or two whom I thought were really cool and knowledgeable, but for the most part these guys are grumpy, geeky a-holes who only want to make a sale. They try to impress with technobabble and will try to talk circles around people who might know what they're doing just so they can prove something and make you buy something you might not need. Second of all, this is one of the few stores that's commission based and I've seen some of these guys compete and bicker over petty things, like putting their commission sticker on whatever item a customer is thinking about buying. It can get ugly. Also, if you're thinking about getting a computer fixed here--don't. Though I have never brought anything here to get repaired, I've heard many horror stories about their repair center. Their customer service just plain sucks, and they don't have a very fast turn around. Basically, the quality of their average employee is pretty poor. As for the pros, (and there are a few) this store does have a very good selection that most brick and mortar stores don't. If Best Buy doesn't have what you're looking for, chances are Micro Center will. They also have the best prices for CPUs out of any store, online or off, and they carry a wide selection of other components that you just can't find short of looking on Newegg or Amazon. The savings however only extends to the CPUs since they sell those at a loss in order to drive customers into the store so that they can push other products on them. Lastly, I tried ordering a PC component that was released today. It's a highly anticipated product that Intel just released, and I've been eager to get my hands on this since it's been announced. I went to the website and saw that they had a few in stock finally so I reserved one at the Cambridge store in order to pick up. They were supposed to send me a confirmation email that it was ready to pick up in "18 Minutes". That's their whole shtick. An hour passes, and no email. So I decided to go to the store to see what the deal was. When I get there I asked someone about my reservation but before I was even able to show them the confirmation page, they told me that my order was cancelled. Cancelled! Apparently, they decided that they weren't going to honor any of the online orders. And by the time I got there, all of their stock had been completely sold out. As you can imagine, I was pretty upset about it. So to sum up, Micro Center has good prices on select items but has terrible customer service. But to be sure, I'll still go here because sometimes it's the best option when you're in a pinch. C'est la vie. read more

You know this place is bad if I decided to join Yelp solely for the purposes of reviewing this awful place. I could go on and on about the problems that I have had with this place: unprofessional sales people, 7 - 10 day waits until they will even look at your broken computer (that they sold you), rude technicians, mistakes, breaches in repair center protocol that led to lost data, selling me a crappy computer and then giving me a hard time about replacing it (after their "repairs" didn't take), losing my power cord, not answering any phone calls and claiming that their phone system was being rewired....... My techie friends tend to love this place, but that is because they come in, buy what they want, leave, and never deal with anybody there again after they pay. I am a pretty independent gal, but I will admit that the last time I went there, I made a male friend come with me for moral support, in the hopes that they would be more respectful to a man who also happens to be a computer nerd. After my most recent harrowing experience, I finally got the chance to speak to a manager who was pretty helpful and told me that they are trying to get their customer service act together. (Indeed, he followed up by sending my a survey to fill out about their customer service, something that I have never seen from their place before.) Still, when I continued to have problems with my computer and tried to contact the two managers that I had dealt with earlier, neither of them would respond. In the immortal words of Taylor Swift, I say to Microcenter, "We are never, ever, ever getting back together!" read more

I'm kind of pleased that there is a geek-store-for-geeks within a short drive of my home, and on paper, these guys should have it *going on*. I mean, MIT, Harvard, Kendall Square around the corner - there should be geeks lining up to work there who really know their stuff. But I've been going to Microcenter for ten+ years now, and I feel like I'm having deja vu - they always manage to screw it up. I give them a shot, have a series of terrible experiences, and usually vow never to do business there again. Then time passes and I wonder if they're better, so I give them another chance and the exact same thing happens. I'm going on my third cycle now. On the upside, they have a remarkable selection of stuff, and every once in a while you'll find someone there who really knows what they're doing and tries to help. But they also have a large selection of clueless/obnoxious/rude salespeople, who are fond of saying things like "well I'm not very technical" and "I'll look it up" and "sure that will work with that" when it won't. Their checkout process is antiquated and slow (it should be a badge of shame that their point-of-sale computers date back to the early nineties). To judge from their attitudes, the bulk of their staff are apathetic and underpaid (which one causes the other, I can't be sure). Front Manager (interesting title) Ryan Pacheco is trying very hard to improve things, and he should be commended for his efforts. He's trying to remind salespeople and staff to be nice to the customer and thank them for their business (surprise!) - I've seen him coaching folks directly at least three or four times during my most recent experiences, and he made a point of shaking my hand and trying to sort things out. Props to exchanges maven Amanda too, who took the extra time to give me separate receipts so I could file separate rebates. But here's my latest fiasco moment: I went in to try to use their "build your own system" service, and asked them to try to re-use as many pieces from my dead-motherboard Dell PC as they could. The front-line service guy insisted that he had to charge me a diagnostic fee first. When I questioned that logic, he refused to talk to me anymore and referred me to his service manager, who made me wait for AN HOUR to finish a single phone call. Meanwhile, Front Manager Pacheco checked in on me and confirmed that my request was pretty standard and wondered why I had been made to wait. Service Manager Chuck, finished with his important call (with the Security Council, I'm sure) then proceeded to tell me with a dismissive attitude that my system was too old. Three years? I said. Well, Dell motherboards were hard to get. Fine, I said, let's go with another motherboard. Well, then you'd need a new case. Fine, I said, let's get a new case. Well, then you'd need new memory cards. Fine, I said. Let's price it out, I've got the budget. That's why I'm here - there's a great big price list on the wall. Fifteen minutes later I gave up. I felt like I was trying to convince them to *do their job*, and they were trying to talk me in to going away and not bother them. If you don't want my business, have the courtesy of telling me that up front. I run a business and will be buying a dozen full systems and accessories this year as we expand, and I will now not be spending my money with these guys. I'd rather go to Best Buy. Let me be clear, Microcenter: figuring out what customers want and selling it to them is *why you exist*, not giving them attitude or being too apathetic to bother. You're a business, not the DMV. read more

This place is crazy sketchy. Their computer system is super flaky and they charge you for things without having a record of the order, which when you think about it for a computer store is kinda ridiculous. You can tell how bad their business is by their laissez faire attitude toward customers who complain about their shoddy business practices. I pointed out that charged my card $1200 for a computer I ordered on their web site and then having no record of the order is pretty bad business practice. Either the guy on the phone didn't care, and/or he's so used to this awfulness he just shrugs it off. He also might have been high. I would gladly spend more money to go elsewhere. read more

I bought an LCD TV a few months ago from MicroCenter. It was an open box, and I was told it has the same warranty than other TV's on the floor. After a few months the TV stopped working, and the manager was really rude about trying to solve the issue. I am stuck with a broken TV. I am glad I still have my 10 year old TV which works perfectly. read more

Imagine going to a store, asking about a product, being told it doesn't exist, only to tell the sales associate that yes, you have one in your Amazon cart but you're hoping to pick one up today. Then you show him the picture. Imagine going to a store, having the sales person lead you all the way to the other end to show you a product that you already said you don't need, only to tell you they don't have the product you said you do need. You told him all this, but he was too busy running you around to listen to you. You then find the said needed product on the other side of the product aisle where he was standing. Literally: two - feet - away. He went so fast I didn't have time to tell my husband where I was going or why. I just had to follow this little guy and hope my husband found me later. Imagine asking a sales associate if their store has Layaway, and being asked "what kind of product is that?" (You know layaway, that program that KMart and WalMart advertises about every thirty minutes on TV at this time of year.) These may be very intelligent men in other aspects (and note, all the associates are MALE), but they have no idea about their jobs. They don't know what the store has, they don't know where to find it or whom to ask, they don't know things about retail. They also lack in a certain maturity and patience: listening to the customer to find out what she/he needs, asking and checking thoroughly to find out, not being so flip and condescending with customers (older, female), who do actually know what they are talking about, and do their research before coming. In the first circumstance, when I showed the sales associate the picture of the item I was shopping for, he tried to blame me by saying it was "something different." No, I had said exactly what I needed. He clearly was not paying attention. Whatever these young men/boys may be doing outside of their jobs at MicroCenter, they may be brilliant at it. But when they are in that store they are being paid to assist customers with all products, not just the "fun" toys: TVs, computers, etc. Part of the blame needs to go to the floor management because these associates are clearly not trained on their merchandise, their stock, customer relations, etc. Finally, no one answers the phone at the store during business hours if you call. I've tried calling, using the VRU options to get to the store, and waited for 20-30 rings. read more

I went here back in late November. The pervious time I had been here before was around 10+ years ago. My how things have changed.... I usually order all my computer stuff online - usually at newegg.com. newegg isn't the bargain they used to be but there selection and customer service is unsurpassed. But anyway, I had forgotten to order a new HD for a emergency system build I was doing for a beloved relative so I couldn't wait for the turn around time of ordering it online. I tried BB - hey it's only a hard drive but their selection was anemic, and what they had was ludicrously overpriced, how I miss you CompUSA for the simple computer stuff. Then it popped into my head, hey, I can go to MC. Checked out their webpage, saw a decent drive at a good price, saw it was in stock in Cambridge. So I headed over there. Walked in, geez, the store was looking more than a little rough around the edges since I last went in ten years ago. I went to the HD section where they sell the computer parts, couldn't find the drive I was looking for. There were a salesperson or two around but I think the only way I could get their attention was to light myself on fire. I noticed in the other reviews how salesman were all over people like sharks circling bleeding fish. I guess they don't make commissions on computer parts - nice customer service there MC. So I grabbed a HD and a UPS/AVR that was on sale and headed to the check out, got in line and waited...and waited..and waited..and waited. Really, how long does it take to process a person. Barcode their items, slide the plastic and bang that's it. I know they are Cambridge area freaks and geeks but really open another register if you need to, it was the Christmas season you should have the excess staff. All I can say is thank Jebits for UPS, FEDEX and online ordering. And I'm not buying the 'geek only' defense I see popping up in the reviews - someone who was shopping for the power cord for her Apple G4 said she was a geek. Umm, geeks don't use Apples, hipsters do. Tech heads from MIT do not go here, regardless of what some reviewer might think. This is not 'geek heaven'. But anyway, the place is disorganized, they seem to be out of stock on most of the popular items, the in store online order pick up counter is a giant scrum and about 90% of their floor staff wasn't born in this country. If I was a geek (I'm not admitting to it either way), I'd want CompUSA (in the 'burbs) with the component selection of MC. I guess I could have tried PC's for Everyone too - haven't been there in ten years either. read more

I have an acer laptop I bought here in 2016, I dropped it in 2017. It has a little damage but they said the issues I am having is due to the damage... it's not due to the damage it's been a year. The keyboard isn't working. The screen is broken: they said the warranty doesn't cover it.,, so it's like what does it cover? Great warranty. They wanted $400 to fix it and the guy was an real ass read more

I am HIGHLY dissatisfied with the repair service at this Cambridge Micro Center. I paid $70 for these supposed "computer experts" to diagnose the problem causing my computer to freeze and crash. Not only were they unable to find a problem, their only advice was a guess (to try removing a piece of software that was added AFTER the problem was already happening). Then they had the nerve to try and up-sell me and suggest that I pay $160 for them to restore the computer to factory settings (which is their advice since they don't bother to find out what is causing the problem) and install an antivirus program. When I complained to the service manager on duty about the fact that they did not even do anything to warrant $70, he essentially had no answers and was as clueless as the repair tech. What is the point to pay these "IT professionals" for a job they can't even do?? What a total waste and a rip off! I will NEVER go back to this terrible store. If you have a problem, save your money and find someone else to fix it. UPDATE: After venting my frustrations on an online forum, one of the tech experts there told me how to run chkdsk/f (which clearly Micro Center did not do!!!). That command fixes errors on the computer and also gives a log to tell a "real" professional where the problems are. He also told me which anti-virus to install (Malwarebytes) and that immediately showed that I had 3 infections on my computer. How is it that Micro Center did not find any viruses?? Basically, because they didn't bother to actually run any diagnostics. So, after removing the viruses and doing a defrag, my computer is all better and is running faster and happier! Moral of the story?? Go online and get help rather than waste your money on the incompetent techs at Micro Center read more

Waited half an hour to buy an ipad! They only had two guys working at the Apple section, both were busy and the free staffs said they can't help since they don't work at that section. The guy in blue shirt at the Apple section told us that he is busy and we better find the other guy, no apology for our wait at all, did not offer to help us after he is done. The guy in beige shirt finally helped us, and he apologized about the wait twice. But I do not plan to come back to this location ever again if I don't have to. Because some staff there just don't care about their customers at all! read more

Here is my review. I purchased three new laptops from Micro Center and had to return them as all had multiple defective hardware issues... each was in the 800-900 dollar range. I have been shopping there for years and never had a problem until 2015. Each computer was from a different manufacturer - the items didn't appear damaged or 2nd hand - I can conclude from 3 for 3 computers filled with defective hardware that Micro Center has no quality control.. I challenged the sales manager to step me up to a laptop that could deliver but he had no confidence in the stores product. Sad. read more

I think 3 Stars is way too generous for this place. These are the worst, rudest managers I ever dealt with. I am a certified IT Professional and use to spend several thousands per year at this establishment. I had an issue with a $10 item (and previously I found Micro Center to be very accommodating), however in this case the manager wouldn't listen to anything and rudely walked away. So at that point I returned my $200 purchase and lodged a complaint with the Home Office. I received a call from a manager asking what would make me happy. I said look into it and get back to me. This was about 1 1/2 years ago. NEVER GO BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!! What this rude group of managers at this store do not realize is that they are NOT THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN anymore. NEVER GO BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!! read more

This place is great! It's your one-stop-shop for tech and even has used parts. I've done about three custom computer builds here. Usually there are great promotional deals with rebates that print onto your receipts too. Their selection on just about everything is outstanding! Their Staff is knowledgeable and eager to help. read more

I came in today extremely concerned and anxious about my device (a macbook pro that would not turn on). I had spoken to a rep from Apple earlier in the day and was not expecting to have my device evaluated for at least a week, and it seemed I would likely be facing a long and costly road of repairs or replacement. I came to Microcenter crossing my fingers for an available walk-in appointment (the Apple rep told me there were no more available appointments at Microcenter until Wednesday; and the schedule at all the apple stores was even later in the week). After arriving, I waited about 15 minutes to be helped. Yonas approached me with genuine concern. He recognized that I was a student and conveyed that he understood the gravity of the situation--a student without a functioning laptop is in a bit of a crisis. He assured me that his team would do everything they could to efficiently suss out the problem and provide me with my options. He brought my laptop to Wayland in the service room and asked me to stick around for an hour while they ran diagnostics. It wasn't long before they had determined the problem--corrosion to critical internal parts. As I began to make tentative plans for how I might buy a new computer or borrow one and ship mine away for repairs, Yonas returned again, with my laptop and some good news. Wayland had managed to replace the broken parts and get my computer up and running again! They had also cleaned out the corrosive material that had seeped inside, and cleaned the exterior and screen. I was extremely relieved and honestly shocked that they had fixed it. Yonas explained that my corrosion problem would not go away, and in time I will probably need to replace my device. This is useful information, as it will allow me to adequately prepare to get a new device (my school will buy one, but the process takes some time once initiated). In addition to completely solving my problem (repairing my device to full functionality in under an hour), the team at Microcenter saved me significant time and money. Every step of the way Yonas kept me informed. He was compassionate, sympathetic, and professional. I do not think I have ever had a better customer-service experience. I would also like to add that Microcenter is one of my favorite and most frequented businesses. I have been living in Cambridge since 2009 and shopping at Microcenter since a couple years before that. It is my go-to store for professional and personal technology needs. I almost always ask for help finding what I'm looking for because of how consistently useful the staff are. read more

I am a huge nerd. I love computers and building systems, or upgrading my box with the latest and greatest. As such, Micro Center is essentially a wet dream for people like me. A dream made real. You can get just about anything there, including boxed distros of Linux (SuSE, Slackware, etc.), motherboards, cases, all kinds of components, a good selection of software/games, and even an array of Apple products that rivals what you find in an Apple store. When I'm looking for computer stuff, this is the place I'll go. And you can't beat that old-school logo font! read more

I'm rectifying my earlier post. It is way overdue. When I took a laptop here to get it repaired, it was not repaired correctly. They then gave me store credit and repaired the laptop correctly. They dealt with me fairly. Although I no longer live in the area, I would return if I had an issue. read more

This micro center has one problem, the staff sucks! It is one thing if someone may now know what they are talking about but just since I am a woman they should not assume that I am clueless as far as technology is concerned. They do have the essentials and this is why they get two stars. read more

We found exactly what we were looking for, the website said what aisle it was in and it was actually there. Like right there. We ended up also getting coverage which gets us a full warranty even if we don't have a receipt. Great service which you can't get online. read more

I can't believe how frustrating of an experience I had at Micro Center. I was referred here by Apple employees who assured me that a service to my computer would cost $90, and when I went, the employees very condescendingly wouldn't accept this price and asked for $200. I felt demeaned by the employees, who seemed to take advantage of the fact that I'm not exactly a technologically minded person. The employees were unprofessional in speaking to me, and I will never come back here. read more

This is my goto spot for all my PC needs (outside of online stores). There are plenty of good deals in the bargin bins and returned item racks. The store is great, but the parking is terrible. The parking spots are extremely tight. Plus sharing the parking lot with Trader Joe's and Starbucks doesn't really help. On top of PC components and computer needs, they also carry Do-It-Yourself kits for electronic projects. It's a fantastic place for PC builders, or people who wants to start building their first PC. read more

This review is for the service/repair department. Please note, this is based on my interactions with ONE person. Thus, it may be that there are more competent and kind individuals working there. Where to begin.... I'll start with the moment I noticed my MacBook Pro wasn't recognizing/accepting the charge from my power adaptor. At first, I thought it was just a power adaptor issue; but, after switching adaptors several times to no avail, I knew it was a problem with my computer itself. I freaked out b/c, of course, I hadn't backed up in quite a while.... (note to self: BACK UP DAILY!). I called Apple, they troubleshooted, no success, told to make Genius Bar appt. At the Apple store (Boylston Street), the woman told me it's probably my MagSafe board. She took it back and said it look like there was water damage (damn you eco friendly canteen!) and that there was nothing they could do as this was the limit of the services they provided. She even used the phrase, "elephant's graveyard." Ummm, thanks? B/c I'm not already freaking out. She said there were two places I could check out that were Apple certified: Micro Center and Computer Loft. She was kind enough to write down what part I'd need to replace and the data recovery help I'd need. Since it was 9:30 at this point, I had to wait until the morning to call/visit. I arrived at Micro Center bright and early and when it was my turn to talk to the service provider, I felt confident that, at the minimum, I'd get my data from my hard drive. ....... Nope. The service provider (a brooding, russian man) immediately starting using a ton of technological jargon and lingo. I felt foolish and inexperienced. He began saying that if it was the MagSafe board, he could possibly have it replaced within a minimum of 3 weeks (wtf!??!) and for $600!! I asked him to check to see if it really was that and he unscrewed the back of my computer and said, "yea looks like it, but it's probably the whole computer." That sucks, but my biggest priority was getting the data, to which he responded with another long speil about how there are no enclosures that fit Mac's SSD. I asked, "so no one with a Mac can ever recover their data?" to which he said, "Yes." My stomach dropped. I felt like I was going to puke. All of my data..... omg. Luckily, my brother in law aka IT genius advised me to get the hell out of there and go to Computer Loft. They recovered my data and copied it to an external HD within 4 hours. They also replaced my MagSafe board in 3 days for $140. Most importantly, they never, at any point, were invalidating. They were very supportive, compassionate, and positive even despite the fact that they had to call in a specialist b/c the guy at Micro Center stripped a screw head on my computer. Overall, my experience with this man in the service department was completely awful and I have already turned three of my friends away from this store and directed them toward the Computer Loft. read more

The staff are very knowledgeable and will help you with anything. If you go in clueless to build a computer, the staff will gladly help you.

I paid for a two-year protection plan on January 1, 2016 and made sure that it covered physical damage. The salesperson assured me that I was covered for physical damage. When physical damage occurred, I went in today (October 19, 2016) to try and get a replacement. All of the floor guys told me that I should be covered for a replacement and even printed out proof to show the people at Returns and Exchanges. Peter, the manager of Returns and Exchanges, decided not to honor the warranty I paid for for no reason. His underlings apologized, stating that the manager gets to decide whether something is covered under warranty, not the writing of their own coverage plans. I've shopped at Micro Center for over a decade, but now I'm going to order from Newegg or Amazon. Avoid Micro Center. read more

Great prices that are actually cheaper than online, clean store, and friendly knowledgeable staff. My first stop for tech products

Great selection, horrible service If you need a computer or office related product you might find anywhere else within a 20 mile radius, go to the other store. It is worth the extra gas, time and traffic to do so. At least you'll be spared the experience of interfacing with the misanthropic, customer-hating bunch of underpaids at the Micro Center. Darth Vader himself couldn't have designed a shopping experience less pleasant, more stressful, and would have had difficulty assembling a more hostile, less helpful customer service staff. If you absolutely cannot find your item elsewhere, chances are, the Micro Center on memorial Drive will have it. You'll find it right in the store...... after a long search. Don't rely on the staff to help you out... the floor people are usually too busy to bother with you . Make sure that you really want the item you are considering, and do your on-line homework before you go, so that you have some advance idea of whether the electronic gadget for which you are about to plunk down your cash, will have a reasonable chance of working when you get it home. If you actually have to return a defective or inappropriate item, budget at least an hour to get yourself through that process. So now, 30 minutes into your shopping experience, during which one or two salespeople had no trouble positioning themselves between you and the merchandise you were studying (but were naturally too busy to actually help you), you head to the checkout line. One register is open, and the underrecompensed cashier is busy subjecting the shopper at the head of the line to a detailed, hard-line interrogation about his identity, living arrangements and private information. Obviously the shopper is a newbie to this store, as he meekly complies, and gives a letter-by-letter spelling of his address, e mail address, and so on. You stand there waiting, calculating the length of time it will take the Nazi at the cash register to interrogate the other eight people ahead of you in line, and figure that 35 minutes ought to do it. you notice the five or six idle employees nearby, busily engaged in an important conversation, and blissfully unaware of the growing frustration of the shoppers in line, which by now numbers 13 customers. The other five cash registers stand by, unmanned -- dark, silent witnesses to the scene. Forty minutes later it is your turn. Since you have shopped there before, all details of your curriculum vitae are known to the teenager at the cash register. She verifies that you haven't moved, been arrested, gotten divorced or have had any other substantive change take place in your life, then stuffs your merchandise into a large bag, filling any extra space with surveys, cataloges and other promotional junk. Could it be that the Micro Center people also own a forest and paper mill in Washington State, or have some equity swapping arrangement with some western paper baron? "Never mind that stuff, I don't need it" you say to the cashier. She gives you an angry glare and thrusts your goods at you. You leave the store, exhausted and drained, but happy to be able to head to Trader Joe's across the parking lot where the staff welcomes you with a smile and knows your first name. read more

Its very sad when I bring in my pc to get an issue resolved and I know more than the technition. Very disapointed with this place. It opened up many years ago and was the best place to shop and buy electronics. Best prices and quality too! Now you are better off to go to Best Buy and make a sensible purchase that is more valuable. Just dont use the Geek Squad. read more

4/30/2014 RE : PRINTER CARTRIDGEREFILLING - PART 2 5 days later. Still wanting to take advantage of this service I go back with 2 cartridges to refill. To my great satisfaction there is a young woman at the ink machine who really seems to know what she is doing, She refills my 2 cartridges. I go home. One works, the other does not. I go back to the store and am told that the young woman did not 'RESET' the cartridge. I ask the person who resets it whether he is SURE it will work this time. ABSOLUTELY , he says. Back home I go. You know the rest... it does NOT work. If I could afford to pay twice the price of a refill and get a new cartridge, I would. But this service is offered. WHY DOES IT NOT WORK ? I cannot wait to write 'PART 3' which I hope will be raving about the service I got this time. A refund is of no use to me, as it will not make my printer work. A cartridge correctly refilled is what I want. By now though, I feel I deserve to get a new one for the price of the refill. (to be followed...) read more

I love this store! There is nothing even close anywhere in the area. Years ago, the building was a Stop&Shop Supermarket, but I don't remember if anything else was there in between. Between MC and Trader Joe's in the same parking lot, this is a very good place to shop, though if they would eliminate the other (and useless stores for me) building and expand the parking lot, it would be even better. Microcenter is big enough to have a very large selection, yet small enough that you can get from one corner to the opposite in 30 seconds if you can navigate around wads of people that tend to clog certain isles. Their prebuilt PCs are barely above cost - think loss-leader type marketing. That is the price you will compare with the other vendors. Disk drives are OK in price, though not generally as low as newegg,com would have them online. MC is WELL AWARE their customers know all about NewEgg, and I have heard it said that they watch what NE is selling disks at and come as close as they can. Realise that MC is also the company that makes their PowerSpec brand PCs, and as such probably buy lots of components BULK in OEM packaging and gets OEM pricing. Some pieces become PowerSpec PCs and some are sold retail in their OEM packaging or repackaged in a plain box. There is a huge market for folks like Evertek.com that seem to sell large lots of goods that are being "unloaded" - newer model about to arrive, or whatever. I sometimes think MC buyers are shopping in the same places, but just sooner and at a higher price than Evertek. Don't get me wrong! MC has plenty of good and latest stuff, but also has stuff you only buy because you know its price is low for a reason that is OK with you. The isles that I avoid when I have the luxury of time to order over the net are typified by the cables isles. They have to make their money somewhere, and this seems to be where. Even the MEGA-TOTE-BINs bulked up with sale items on the side near returns and in the center isle of the big room are really not that good a deal quite often. An innocent little (non-Cat-x) RJ-45 F-F coupler may be $4.95 at RadioShack but is now $7.99 an MC - OUCH!. Greybar wholesale (if you can even shop there) used to sell these packaged by Allen-Tel (an old guard telecom supplier) for maybe $1.50 but now that has climbed to maybe a dollar more. But buy that part at MONOPRICE.COM, and it will be well less that $0.50, and has even more price breaks as quantity climbs even at modest levels. And I'll suggest these folks are still making PLENTY of profit. MonoPrice has very good cable prices and things like USB to Serial adapters are $5 - $10 or so. MC is simply NOT the place to buy LAN hardware - Jacks/plugs/wall plates/ etc in any quantity, sad, but true. The very best part of MicroCenter is the sales staff. I think they are all well intentioned. Base pay is under $5 per hour, so they do have to hustle a bit, but NB that if your product has no person's sticker, the cashier scans instead the generic sales one suck on the counter. This one gets the "commission" spread amoung all the troops on the floor at that time. If someone has been particularly helpful and has stickered some of my purchases, I make it a point of wandering back for stickers on any other big ticket items their help may have influnced, though you can generally point the unstickered objects out to the cashier and say they should be credited to the same person and they will do that with no problem. As you get to know the store, you will find a vast difference between the different sales people and what types of items they know most about. Some are just very bright and interesting people (unlike anyone you will find at somplace like the much detested and now almost gone CompUSA) and some are just trying to help and are good for checking stock or getting an up to date price when the sticker is way too high. If you need really techie help, just say "nah, just looking" if one of the less than ultra-savvy folks offers help, and wait for the queue at the sales person of choice to get shorter. There are also a good lot of savvy customers who share comments about products with little prodding. Beware the occasional BS artist, of course. 30 day return on most everything except software and motherboards is really GREAT. Though it is not the place to go see what I would call corporate grade servers, wifi hardware, managed ethernet switches or large raid hardware, they do have a person who will get you a quote on anything - just know what you want and they can order it in. I do wish they wiuld resticker rapidly changing item prices - especially in DISKS and MEMORY, or at least they should have those scan-it-yourself stations. Their purchasing folks should pay attention to sales staff's comments. Some of the staff are spot-on about whats wrong. That customer feedback postcard in your bag IS READ avidly by CORPORATE - USE read more

WOW. With as many negative reviews this place has you would think they might take notice. What is that rule...for every negative review there are dozens more waiting in the wings unsaid? It's true though, we really hate this place. Whenever we end up having to truck over here because we don't want to wait for something online and its not at Best Buy (which we aren't huge fans of either), my husband starts steeling himself for the awful experience ahead. Because it's ALWAYS awful. The sterility of the place I can sort of put up with. But the service, the preying staff, the stupid f-ing rebates, etc. etc. make us want to rip someone's eyeballs out. We've bought computers here, keyboards, memory, misc. parts and all the same run-around. The same push from salespeople to make their bloody commission. The same feeling when you go to the customer service center (which they make you stand in for anything a salesperson helps you with vs. going to the cash register) or to the main checkout. We've had rebates that weren't refunded even though we followed all instructions to a T. We've had salespeople fudge the truth to try and get us to buy items. I mean come on, rebates?? Most stores have abandoned them because customers HATE THEM HATE THEM HATE THEM. Every time we are in this place we walk out angry and frustrated. Over the recent xmas break we decided to get a wii but of course they were sold out all over town. Begrudgingly, we went to Microcenter and the salesperson told us they were getting a new shipment in soon and he would call us when it arrived. Best Buy and Target sold the unit at $250 and he said they did as well...although their console comes in at $300 it drops to $250 if you also buy a game and a controller, bringing the total back to $300. Fine. I gave him my card. He called that night saying that someone had failed to pick their wii up so we agreed to come in the next morning. When we got there, he wasn't there although he said he would be. We got some manager who was nice enough but didn't offer the bundle until we asked for it. We were told that any game and any controller worked with the bundle. Okay, so we looked around, grabbed an extra remote and a $49 game. He takes us up to the service desk where the people behind the counter really seemed like they hated their jobs. Price rang in at $360. WTF? So we explained what the guy the day before had told us and they said no, you pay full price for game and controller. So we said, well we just want the console, which comes in at $250 at Target and Best Buy. At first they said, well ours is $300 but I asked if they match price. Yes, if we had proof. So I stood there and called Target on my phone and got someone in electronics to verify the price. The guy we were working with went to check and some head honcho in the back told him no way, the console was $300 take it or leave it. We were really frustrated at this especially since I had just called Target, so another manager there thankfully decided to make some executive decision "we don't want to continue holding up the line" he grumped, "just give it to them." So we got the console, but again, the frustrated angry factor when we left. I mean, don't tell us something wrong then give us crap for just wanting what we were told...not a way to make us feel like valued customers. We felt like they couldn't get us out of there fast enough. It is so frustrating...with the dearth of computer stores in the area Microcenter really has a chance to shine and totally corner the Boston market, but hands down I will buy online or head to Best Buy or Target if I can. Microcenter is a major last resort for us. read more

Excellent store.Great prices. Huge selection. very good customer service. This is perfect place to go if you need to buy anything from electronic but you don't have a lot of money. This store has everything what you possibly need. i believe this is the best computer department store in Boston. I was surprise that the employees there are always able to answer any question i might have without even going to check any information on computers. I'm honestly in love with this store read more

I am normally not generous with five star reviews, but in this case I give them wholeheartedly to the Micro Center service staff - especially the manager Yonas and his technician Chuck. I had brought a desktop Dell (from Staples) in with a bad power unit and had no warranty paperwork. On their own, they found that the part actually was covered, ordered it from California; they received a faulty unit, sent it back and finally got a good one, which they installed. Throughout the process, which - thanks to Dell - stretched out over a couple of weeks, they were in constant touch with me about their progress. I had valuable data in the hard drive which even I, a compulsive backer-upper, had not secured. I have been a customer of theirs for several years and have never had a bad experience, but this was such a pleasant one that I am compelled to write this review. read more

Absolutely love Microcenter! Better prices than Best Buy. Location is great for me; I can walk there in 15 minutes(great exercise). Also great that Trader Joe's is across the parking lot; it's a package deal for me when I'm in the area. :-) read more

I have shopped a Micro Center twice, and it has not been a perfect experience, but thats ok. Huge props goes to the empolyees of Micro Center actually knowing what they are talking about! Try shopping at Best Buy or Radio Shack and getting someone who is just spouting out BS. Some of the reviews here have brought up commision based sales staff. I once worked in a commision based retail environment, and never tried to sell people something that they did not want. The people who helped me at Micro where awesome. I came in looking for a power cord for a netbook (wich they suprisingly did not have) when one was not available I went to check out there computer section. I asked the sales rep that was assigned to me if he could find me a computer roughly the price of the cord that I was trying to replace, he did exactly that. Use any commision based sales person to your advantage, to do so simply tell them exactly what you want! A commisioned sales person is like a personal shopping assistant, they are there to guide and help you. They will only upsell you if they are sleazy, or you dont know what you want. I asked one of the guys for help finding a wireless adapter his response was "are you looking for the least expenisive one?" boooom, my personal shopper gets an A+. The pricing seems pretty darn great, I've seen other revies that mention that they price match NewEgg, I don't about that, but if they do, thats super nifty. read more

This place makes me laugh. I've been more than several times, and nearly always I come away with an answer to my problem. But: recently, I was on hold and if you think their phone system works, you will be both sorely disappointed and poorly supported. they don't trust it, why should you? go visit you sod, and don't expect free help over the phone. If you think their inventory system works, you will be both sorely disappointed and surprised. They don't trust it. "It says we have one in stock, but, well, I'll go check." Ask to see the item, and then you know. I looked into asking for a pre-order. it looked like a nightmare, and they clearly don't have the inventory system to do this right, and they don't trust people who should not be trusted and they often don't trust people who should be. A simple fix would be to hold items for 4 hours and then put them back as unpaid. But, who has the MBA here? They also have slight avarice in their hearts. In the Mac area, they had in BIG 70 point letters "iPAD accessories coupons" in 12 point font (with purchase of ipad). I found a charger for $9.99 as in the coupon, but it was both not eligible, and, aha, actually $10. Similarly, the iPad mini case for $19.99? it was not the coupon, it was a Kensington, not the off brand offered for $40 with coupon for $20. So, incompetent avarice, that is something I can support, admire, and be amused by. The salesman are on commission, but you have ask them to put stickers on your purchases. most are college kids in technical majors. they know the kit, but not the theory. Bottom line, pay attention in here, and they have good equipment, including hard to find kit. read more

The desktop computer area is terrible they don't acknowledge customers, but i love the palce

the most reliable store that i've ever when to. they will be your best option for electronics in boston. best buy is no competition. i've made so many friends there just because we all have the same interests. the employees there don't really act like employees more like friends just to talk to. i was with my father and we were buying a monitor with a employee and a second later him and I started talking about psychology. all i have to say is that you should go there regardless if you have to buy something. it's amazing read more

Pros: Unbeatable prices, price protection, service plans are great if you know how to utilize them, great customer service, name capture features are great (despite cashiers not explaining them well) Cons: Somewhat of a learning curve, Customer service can be pushy since they are on commission, customer service varies depending on who you get, some inventory issues typical of other stores, they still do mail in rebates. Synopsis: I've had mixed feelings about this store, but overall I've had good experiences. Many complain about the commission, but I'd rather have them being paid to help rather than go to Best Buy where it takes forever to get assistance despite seeing employees not doing anything. Yeah they are quite pushy at times, but I've always found that signaling that their help is no longer needed with a simple "okay thanks" has worked every time. It seems that they are on the assumption that everyone who enters does not know what they want, but as long as you signal the fact that you know what you are doing, they'll leave ya alone. Their protection plans are useful depending on what it is. Simple rule if you know the product will fail after the warranty (few realize their service plans start after the manufact. warranty or if warranty can no longer assist you), take the service plan. I've noticed the experience also depends on who you get to help you, which is quite unfortunate. I can see why some are frustrated if they get someone who has not a clue what they are talking about, but thats why I go on the assumption that they are useful for just pointing to where the product is actually located. Many I've seen also complain about the inventory issues on the website, but what store doesn't? I've seen other electronics stores have the same issue, people steal no matter how diligent you are, and thats usually the cause of the inventory error. Just always assume a buffer and/or call the store to confirm they actually have it. I've never really had issues at checkout. I think the name captures great, It actually has other features that I later found out, like it can tell you how much you spent since the day you went there, receipt reprints, etc. Simply put though, if you don't want to give your info out, then just don't, they'll respect your decision. I've seen people give lectures to cashiers about how wrong it is they ask and risks involved. Yes of course there are risks, but if you don't like it, don't do it, its that simple, the lectures uncalled for and holds the lines up. Also I really can't stand mail in rebates, they take too much time, requires envelopes and stamps, which as a college student I almost never use so have to take a trip to get them, and they take 2 months to get the check in the mail. Its a fun surprise when your low on money, but I would prefer getting the instant savings. Overall, this store is not really for those that do not know what they are doing, and there is a learning curve for the store. I was fortunate to have a friend take me there, and he told me spend the day there and know the store to yield the best results. Using the website to get prices is key, cause if you blindly walk in there tends to be tons of options for just one product, even when there is an obvious choice. read more

Micro Center is a full service electronics store. There is really no other place in the area where you can walk in, ask questions, touch, and buy what you need right on the spot. I have found the selection to be very good and the prices are about the same or a tiny bit higher as what you find online, but you don't have to pay shipping and you don't have to wait or plan ahead so it is a real win. You may not find the very latest models for non computer items like TVs or digital cameras. I try to buy as much of my electronics here as losing this store would be very bad for the tech community in Boston. And there is a Trader Joes right across the parking lot. read more

I have a major love-hate thing with this place. It's the only convenient place in the area to get computer bits, and they have a fairly impressive selection for a 'brick-and-mortar' store. But if I had the option of *anyplace* else to go, I wouldn't bother to shop here. Pros: Good selection. The only place in the area to check stuff out in-person or buy something *right now.* Cons: Price. Service. Store appearance/layout. Service. Here's the low-down. I am highly averse to the way they price things in the store. Everything has a sticker on it, but many times it seems as though the sticker is wrong. I've been upset to look for something online, arrive at the store, see it priced $60 higher, and then discover that the store price sticker is wrong. At least some of my PC bit decision-making is based on the price (i.e. if two products have similar features, do I want to pay $30 more for this piece if it's only, say, $10 better in my mind than the other piece.) But when prices aren't accurate, this ability to make good decisions is invalid. I've seen prices off by $60-$100 enough times to make me want to price check *every* product I pick up, and that's a bad way to run a store. This, specifically, makes me very unhappy about the store. I could go on and on with specific examples... but suffice it to say this isn't a good thing. Plus, it goes without saying that you can get anything they offer somewhat to significantly cheaper online, so value all depends on how impatient you are for an item. Service. This is another major point of contention. There always seems to be plenty of staff in this store, yet I've had trouble getting service. I've stood at counters waiting for people for 5-10 minutes and finally had to go hunt down one of the groups of chatting guys. And even when you can get service, the staff do not impartially and knowledgeably represent the items they sell. I suspect it might have to do with commission rates, but there are items they push over other items with more respectable manufacturers/specifications. I wouldn't advise going in here and relying on the sales reps for info - do research online before you venture into the store, and know what you're going to buy. And while I'm ranting about the service - if you're a girl, don't bother to go in here and ask questions about products, unless you're willing to be excluded from the testosterone-club of PC geeks. I feel qualified to rant about this personally, as I used to work in PC sales (and components, and peripherals) and I'm *very* technically-knowledgeable... I still have a habit of quizzing PC people to test their knowledge and opinions, and was treated like an idiot because I have breasts. This is not an uncommon problem in technology sales, but generally chain stores have better training programs and aren't so exclusive in their client base as I've found Micro Center to be. I was actually offended by how I was treated as a woman in this store after watching the guys deal with other guys. Girls - be prepared to be treated as inferior if you venture into this store. After such negative comments about pricing and service, why do I still give this place 3 stars? Because it's the only place in the area to go to buy PC bits. Drat. I wish I had an alternative. read more