Computer Gallery

The owner is a jerk who doesn’t actually want customers or business. Essentially kicked us out and smells bad

I have an old laptop (Dell studio 1555) and the power switch finally gave out after months of being fussy. Pulling open the plastic cover around the switch immediately revealed the problem — the wires to the switch were totally worn off and separated from the switch. I thought I’d support a local business to get the repair done, and I found Computer Gallery here on Unilocal.I was happy with their positive reviews and their location close to my home, so I headed over.
To put it bluntly, I wasn’t given the time of day. The woman at the desk was on the phone during the entirety of our conversation, and she wouldn’t listen to me try and explain the problem — she just asked if it turned on using just AC power (which obviously it didn’t) and said that the DC power converter on the motherboard was broken and that I needed to buy a new laptop. I tried to show her the broken part and tell her that there was nothing at all wrong with the DC converter, but she went back to her phone conversation and totally ignored me.
I left and went to Milwaukee PC. The tech there immediately saw the problem and gave me an estimate to replace the broken part. He said it’d be 4 – 5 days and cost $ 130 — it only took 3 and cost me $ 90. THAT is good customer service.
I’m extremely disappointed with the quality of service (or, rather, lack thereof) I received at Computer Gallery. It was surprising and shocking how I was totally written off. It was a simple problem with a simple solution, and if she’d just taken the time to listen to me — I would have been totally fine waiting until she was done on the phone if that was the problem — she would have been able to see the problem as well.
Maybe I just caught them on a bad day, but I will not be returning in the future.
UPDATE:
Thank you to the reply to my review. I could have been more understanding about the phone — I understand it’s a small business and it’s hard to juggle multiple people! I just would have rather waited until you were done before getting into my computer, so that your attention was on my machine and my issue.
However, I’m quite sure you’re thinking of a different customer. First of all I was seen in the store by a woman, though I’m sure that your Unilocal account may be used for other employees as well. Regardless, there’s no way you could tell if the hinge was loose or floppy (it wasn’t) because I was the only one to touch (or even look at, really) my computer in store. The switch was also not «popped off» — it was broken, definitely, but all of the parts were still very much in place and you could not see that it was broken externally. No one even pulled back the plastic to look at the switch itself to confirm that it was broken. I’m sure you’ve seen many Studios with «floppy» screens, because I agree it is a terrible design and I’m sure it causes lots of problems, but to be honest I’m a little annoyed you’re saying this about my machine after not even touching it yourself.
Even if this was the case, it should have been communicated to me up front. I would have had no problem at all if I’d just been told «I understand your problem, but that’s not a repair we’re comfortable doing, and here is why.» I would have been disappointed, sure, but I would have left a four-​star review because though I would not have received the repair I wanted, I would have at least gotten good service. I was told that it was completely unfixable as the problem was with my motherboard, both of which were blatantly false.

Always pleasant and competent. Price is very reasonable. Bare bone store front, but you don’t need to pay for glitz!

I’ve taken my older desktop here for repairs and updates over the past couple years. Phil and Karen offer excellent customer service, and tell you exactly what’s wrong and what needs to be done to fix your machine. I feel prices are reasonable, especially for the quality of service they offer.
My boyfriend has also taken his laptop in. After assessing it, he was informed it was pretty much toast (it overheated due to faulty wiring or some kind of uncontrollable manufacturing defect). CG was able to take out the hard drive and convert it to an external drive so he still had his files once he purchased a new laptop.
Computer Gallery is my first choice when dealing with an unfortunate (and always inconvenient) computer issue. I highly recommend!!!
Also — the dog is AWESOME! I’m pretty sure I threatened to take him home with me the last time I was there ;)

Computer Gallery is a great, local computer store. Think of them as the Allen Edmonds of computers. They stick with high-​quality, reliable components. Good, reliable components make great computers. They don’t switch around brands looking for the cheapest components to make an extra $ 10 on a machine. Instead, they stick with components that work and perform. When you have a problem with a machine, they fully support the machines they build. Instead of waiting on the phone with a Dell or Gateway, you are one quick email or phone call away from great service. They build great computers and I am proud to say that I have three of their machines in my home today.
They do often have their old, peaceful dog in the store. For customers afraid of dogs, you can simply ask that the dog be placed in the back or call ahead. The dog, however, is peaceful and fun loving and likely to rollover and want you to scratch its belly.

I found myself in need of a hard drive for an older computer and thought I’d give Computer Gallery a try out. I called ahead to see if they had the part I needed and was told they did at the price of approximately $ 65 for a Western Digital 160 GB Ultra ATA IDE drive. The price sounded high, but I generally like to support local business over the big boxes. I arrived at Computer Gallery around 5:50 and was greeted at the door by an unleashed, large dog who lurched in my direction. The owner made no attempt to restrain the animal, nor did he assure me that the dog would not attack.
I left Computer Gallery and went home to find that
has the same drive for $ 44.99.
Even with UPS Next Day shipping, it costs less than Computer Gallery — and no dog bites!