I decided to go ahead and review this company since I have lived in Sonoma for 18 years and I have a strong computer background (previously Software Developer, Network Administrator and I.T. Director).
From the other reviews, it seems you will either luck out and have a positive experience and give them 5 stars or more likely have a horrible experience, give them one star and never come back.
I used to use them for my network support at my office and I purchased one of their own branded PCs. It was pricey, but I thought I'd get good service when I needed it. I am qualified to do all of my own technical support, but am too busy and wanted their help. Since I didn't want to drive to Santa Rosa or Marin, I went in a couple of times and was generally happy. Since I have worked in the Silicon Valley in the past, I thought that the owner, Chris, was just a quirky techy guy.
Once, I needed to connect to one of my PCs remotely, and had no time to research how, so I paid them to handle it. After they charged me hundreds of dollars to come out on-site and install some third-party software that never worked, I found out that Remote Access was a free, built-in feature of the Windows operating system, so I stripped off their product and set it up myself.
My "final straw" happened when their PC started making a very loud whining noise. I wanted to have them look at it, but couldn't afford to be without my workstation for days. I called and explained the situation to one of the technicians. I asked how busy they were and was told that they were days out in getting to repair PCs. I asked if I could "get in line" before actually bringing the PC in. Since it still functioned, I didn't see the point in my having to do without my PC while it sat on their shelf for days until they could get to it. As a repeat customer, this did not seem like an unreasonable request. He said to stop by in a couple of days and he would take a look at it. I went in two days later. Unfortunately, Chris was the one at the counter and I couldn't talk to the technician I had spoken to on the phone.
When I explained my situation, Chris flew off the handle, shouted at his employee and then berated him in front of me, demanding to know if he had promised to allow me to "cut in line" in front of the other customers that were waiting for their PCs so that he could look at mine. I felt really sorry for the employee. After I had had enough of listening to his tantrum, I said that I would just take care of it myself. "Good luck with THAT" he shouted at me as I walked out of the door for the final time.
I had to work on a Sunday, but I went to Fry's Electronics and got the replacement cooling fan that was causing the problem with no downtime of my PC.
I like to shop at local Sonoma stores. I don't expect the best prices, but I expect good, personalized service. If you decide to go ahead and risk a very unpleasant and unprofessional experience, be sure to rent the old Seinfeld "Soup Nazi" episode so you'll know how to behave as a customer of this place. read more