I paid an extra $100 for expedited service after being told that, without it, work likely wouldn't…read morestart until Tuesday, but with it, they'd start Friday and I'd likely have my laptop back by Saturday. That didn't happen.
On Friday, they attempted to boot the laptop, eventually got into BIOS, and confirmed the SSD wasn't detected--a problem I had already diagnosed and explained when I dropped it off. By Tuesday, they still hadn't properly diagnosed the issue. I called seven times on Monday, drove to the shop after getting no answer, and found it locked despite the website listing it as open.
When I finally reached someone Tuesday, I was told that a "might" 24-hour turnaround didn't mean I was entitled to a timeframe, and that the repair would take as long as it takes. They couldn't even provide a rough estimate. I received no proactive updates, and it seemed like very little had been done beyond the initial attempt to boot the laptop. I understand repairs can be unpredictable, but the lack of communication was unacceptable.
The SSD replacement ultimately cost around $450, including the expedited fee. As an electrical engineering student, I'm not a PC repair expert, but I had already identified the likely problem. I estimate diagnosing it, replacing the SSD, and reinstalling Windows would have taken me around four hours. I could have purchased a better drive and done the repair myself for roughly half the cost--and likely had my laptop back the same day. Instead, I paid a premium for expedited service and waited days just to get the problem I had already identified addressed.
They offered a replacement SSD from their stock and gave me a price, but only provided part of the drive's description. I later found the same model online for less, and it wasn't even the drive I would have chosen for reliability. Customers should be given the full specifications of replacement parts before agreeing to pay for them.
The whole point of paying extra was to save time so I could keep up with schoolwork. Instead, I fell behind while stuck using inadequate loaner computers. Had they been upfront that my laptop might sit untouched for days, I would have taken it home and fixed it myself. I can't know why they didn't tell me, but it's hard not to suspect they withheld that information because they wanted to keep my business.
Ultimately, the SSD replacement fixed the original problem, but that doesn't excuse the experience. Repairs can take time, and unexpected delays happen. Leaving customers in the dark, refusing to provide even a rough estimate, and being closed during advertised hours without notice are unacceptable, especially after charging extra for expedited service. I wouldn't recommend this shop. If I'd known how this would go, I would have bought a better SSD, spent a few hours installing it myself, and saved both time and money. (Which, even if I wasn't an engineer, anyone could do with ChatGPT and a YouTube video)