Micro Center — Attraction in Houston

Edit: Glad you could reply with the exact template I said you would. While I was OFFERED a partial refund, I was NOT given one. I was offered a refund by the general manager(possibly you) on July 20th 2024. Was told it would be sent out “Monday or Tuesday” which would be the 22nd or 23d of July. Ive sent a couple of pieces of mail in my day.I know about how long it should take, so I waited. When it didn’t arrive after a week and a half I simply asked if there was a tracking number that I could use to key an eye out for it. Wednesday July 31st 2024 I emailed the general manager asking for an update. They reply ”Sir, Let me get that for you. I should have something for you in the morning.” Haven’t gotten a response since that day. I emailed this morning on August 3rd. Several mornings later. nothing. Microcenter doesn’t care to genuinely field their customers complaints. They just want to SAY they did. You did not and have not solved any issues for me and we have yet to reach a solution as far as I’m concerned. What a nightmare of an interaction.

These are the worst customer service oriented associates I have ever seen. I ordered two PCs to be built. His and hers for my wife’s birthday. It was after hours so I assumed it would be built by morning. That is my fault entirely. No one told me that. I drove to the Houston store because I had an appointment at the knowledge bar to pick my PCs up. Isiah says one isn’t ready and the other hasn’t even been picked. That’s fine. As I said,I went up there preemptively.He let me know that since I ordered my PC at 9 the previous night it would be built LAST in the queue. His exact words. It would be done at 6. They close at 6! It says on the website if I order within 4 hours of closing it could be built the same day. How does that math work? Wouldn’t I be at the front of the line for PCs commissioned today? I ask if I can just take my components and build it myself. Instead of taking care of me there he pawns me off on “Internet pick ups”. He does a horrible job of explaining what’s going on apparently because now this heavy set woman behind the counter who cannot pay attention to what she’s doing to save her life starts ringing up items. She gets to the motherboards and say”these are one per household”. Again I didn’t see where it said one per order but also it was fine when Microcenter was going to build the PC. You let me purchase them before. Now it’s an issue.She calls the front end manager over and he is immediately accusatory. Super smug in short he it says one per household sir but I’ll let you do it this time. Then implies that I didn’t speak with Isiah. If you all got on the same page before speaking to customers to PROVIDE THEM GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE you wouldn’t have this issue. I want to cancel it all now. I will not be spoken to like I’m trying to get over on people. That is not how you speak to customers. I ask for another manager. He brings over Josh ,along with some people who are very obviously secret shoppers. How many micro center employees does it take to understand how and ISPU system works? They said there’s no way to cancel it in the store. As a store manager for a different company this was incredibly frustrating to watch multiple employees not have a light bulb go off in their head saying,”confirm the pick up,return at the register” that is basic. Josh was cool no complaints. Regular deescalating manger talk that I use myself. After it’s all said and done I want to leave with my stuff again because now my wife knows about her surprise. Guess what I have to pay for it AGAIN. But this time there’s no assembly or warranty attached. The original charge is supposed to drop off within 3-5 days. But now I have 3 holds on my account for thousands of dollars. Micro center employees treat people like they’re a nuisance. Buy your items from smaller stores that appreciate your business.There’s probably going to be a small customer template response from Microcenter under this. That will not suffice. I’m gonna call and give a CRO as well. I want to speak...

I LOVE Micro Center… but I was forced to deal with the “Knowledge” Bar, and as expected, they weren’t very knowledgeable. My first impression was that they were trying to get me out of the way. I spoke with Lois (Luis, Luiz? I can’t remember, he wasn’t wearing a name tag but is a short-small/tiny heavyset Hispanic man, like 4’ 10” tall with boots), who immediately started contesting everything I said.

I had entered the conversation to inquire about a screen replacement. I knew what I needed and just needed to know if they had it in stock. My EXACT words were, “What do you need, the SKU#?” He responded by saying no and that he would need the serial number to ensure a proper match with my laptop. However, I hadn’t asked for his input on figuring out the part because I already knew, as you can recall from my initial question…

To appease his ego, I found the serial number, but he then informed me that he would HAVE TO charge me $80 to look up the part because I needed a technician’s license to look up parts for computers. Now… FYI, I’m in the big tech industry on both the software and hardware sides, over 20 years of experience, with a secret clearance and extensive experience in S-6 in a combat zone. I just look young. If he’s willing to try that nonsense on a veteran like me, imagine what he’s doing to the mothers and grandmothers, elderly; whenever they come seeking help. Is this an upsell or robbery? I intend to find out.

This sounds like Micro Center has an employee stealing money from customers, and I’m bringing this experience to the BBB for this location due to what should have been a simple interaction. In the middle of me searching for another number, he decided he needed a break because he had changed his mind. He claimed that he needed the part number (mind you, I was just looking to get a 30-pin LCD replacement screen) instead of the serial number. He then walked away, saying he would be right back to find the part, completely unlike anyone else standing in line, whose number was growing for no apparent reason. As customers waited, we stared at each other in disbelief at the level of incompetence displayed by our “entertainment.” To our surprise, we were informed that Luis was simply playing in the backroom, gossiping with other customers. The backroom didn’t have a door; instead, it had a curtain that allowed us to hear everything. This revelation was both amusing and concerning, especially considering Luis’s age. He was clearly in his late 20s, and if not, he would face significant challenges in the aging department. Imagine a 30-year-old man joking around with actual teenagers in the back for 15 minutes, only to come back and say, “This isn’t it.”

I brushed off his attempt to divert attention from his lack of expertise and showed him the part number. After 20 minutes, he informed me that he would have to charge me $80 to search the database, unless I had the SKU#. I looked at the man who had also been waiting for this “genius” and pointed out that the SKU# was what I had brought him to begin with. He failed to acknowledge this, likely because I was speaking to him in a manner that reflected his childlike behavior. It was evident that he needed management’s intervention.

Luis went to the back to retrieve the part, and after a minute, he returned. I decided to leave. This experience, which should have taken 3 minutes at most, took an excruciating 35 minutes. The reason for this delay was simply his belief that I was technologically inept. This mindset is unacceptable. If Luis intends to transition into real tech, I suggest he resign now. He lacks the skills and knowledge to handle even basic IT Help Desk tasks.

Instead of being charged $89.99 for the LCD replacement screen and an additional $67 for the screen itself, I opted to pay only for the screen and invest in a new portable screen that I had been eyeing with a team member. I successfully replaced the screen from scratch in just 10 minutes. Luis, every interaction matters. It’s time for you to grow up and take responsibility for...

They might have the best prices for individual components, but their repairs are unfair, overpriced, diagnostics extremely vague, which ultimately left me questioning their findings and recommendations. I went in for a basic diagnostic to understand why my water cooler PC works great for everyday tasks, but crashes when gaming or running an intensive benchmark..I drop it off and return upon the text sent to me. While at the desk, I see a lady bring in her Xbox Series S with a bad HDMI port. She walked away quickly after arriving (Xbox in her arms)and I hear an employee talk with another employee behind the desk about how it’s almost better to just buy a new Xbox Series S than to pay what they are quoting to fix the port. (to themselves of course, they would never tell the lady that!) It went without saying. She knew it, and got out of there fast. The guy at the desk asked my name, and promptly asked if I want to move forward with the repairs suggested through text with absolutely NO explanation.. I came for a diagnostic, not to be sold on an outrageous ‘service’. I wanted to know why and how they concluded my CPU was faulty, how they found it was not a power supply issue, not a ram issue, ETC. This is why I came to MicroCenter. I asked, and he gave a very short answer that basically chalked up to “that’s what the technician found”. Included in the ‘quote’ is a $100 water drain. That’s for connecting a tube to the reservoir valve, power the PC, twist the nob, let the water flow, and refill with distilled water upon completion. Okay. That does NOT include the $130 charged for removing 4 screws from the CPU waterblock, and dropping in a new chip..I’m surprised they didn’t charge for applying thermal paste? So, $230 for JUST installing the CPU(not included ofc) they say I need. Okay, but what was REALLY outrageous is their $100 charge to reinstall Windows (already purchased, no new purchase necessary) PLUS $150 to back up my data, an optional feature included on windows. That’s $250 for something done with literally a few lifts of a finger, drags of a mouse, and clicks.. So, $480+$50 diagnostic= $530 PRE tax for the labor to install a CPU and Windows. RIDICULOUS. All this predatory practice on people naive enough to move forward leads me to doubt their original diagnosis about needing a CPU, and now I have to bring my computer to a small business who doesn’t put profits over people for a second opinion. AlSO, don’t forget to ask for your power cord back, or you’ll have to do a U-turn in the peak of Houston traffic like me! Bring your problematic computer to a smaller business for a diagnostic where the fee will be included in any service you choose to move forward with, won’t take a week minimum to fix, and won’t overcharge for very basic maintenance just because you have a water cooled PC.. i doubt the fee for air cooled would be much different, aside from the drain. I expected better from Micro Center. Service number ...