The wonderful folks at Graphite helped me say goodbye to an old friend: my 17" 2008 Macbook Pro…read more This workhorse computer saw me through a lot of hard times, from dissertation-writing to starting my own business, website, and beyond.
I had already been to the Apple Store for emergency Rx after getting the black screen of death, only to realize that those poor technicians are working within a very tight timeframe and under high pressure. Though knowledgeable and friendly (at least in my particular case), they are almost certainly unequipped to tackle the more complicated issues like a fried hard drive or logic board. I am so very glad, though, that they referred me to Graphite for further diagnostic help.
A visit to Graphite confirmed my worst fears: the hard drive was fried. Thus began an epic, 2-month quest for the perfect computer that fit within my budget, but that also got me certain minimum specs that I just couldn't do without. At first, I wanted a refurbished 17-incher from 2010 or later. Bob, the owner, did some sleuthing for me: he tracked down some representative models online, looked at all the specs, ran the numbers, and gave me the breakdown of what it would cost to get the computer up to my minimum requirements. That convinced me to target a newer, 15-inch model.
Finally, Bob told me about a fantastic special Graphite was running and I was hooked. I ended up with a new, BANGING computer. My data was all backed up from my old computer, but I didn't want to lose some of my programs if they could be salvaged. So Bob spent a LOT of time on migration, since my hard drive was apparently fried in a most spectacular way. Despite that, he didn't charge me any more than the original quote. He also spent a lot of time with me to be sure that programs had transferred and were working properly, and that everything was set up correctly.
The staff at Graphite are all friendly, capable, and HAPPY. Bob told me that he has a couple of staff who came to him by way of the Apple Store: not only were they well trained, but they also gravitated to an environment in which they could spend more time taking care of customers.
Graphite is in the process of expanding and remodeling as a part of gaining Apple Premier Reseller status. This is going to be an incredibly cool store to visit, and I'll definitely be back (once my wallet recovers) to check it out. So if an optic-nerve-fryingly bright, pressure-cooker type of environment isn't your thing when you're shopping for Apple products or getting technical help, come give Graphite a look.
Actually, you should really check it out anyway.
