Pro Console Repair In Retro Madness — Local services in Bedford

Supporting local businesses is important to me, so I hate to have to leave such a negative review for one. Unfortunately, Pro Console Repair performed unforgivably terrible and seems to show little, if any, remorse for it. Please save yourself the frustration and anxiety of dealing with this company!! Here is how they run their business: My son broke his Nintendo 3DS. I told him that if he wanted to repaired, he would have to save his allowance money for the repairs. We called around for quotes. Pro Console Repair quoted us a price of $50, which seemed fair. The next day (1/5/16) when we arrived at their store, the price jumped to $60. I didn’t think much of it at the time. The lady behind the counter said that it should be done by that Friday (1/8/16). Friday came, and by that afternoon, I still had not received any form of communication from Pro Console Repair. I called and was told that the part needed for the repair had not arrived, and that the 3DS should be ready the following Wednesday (1/13/16). Wednesday came and went without a single word from Pro Console Repair. Finally, that Friday (1/15/16) I called them. They said that the part had STILL not come in and that the 3DS would now not be ready until the following Tuesday or Wednesday. We went out of town and did not return until Thursday (1/21/16). Again, I had heard nothing from Pro Console Repair, so I called them. The 3DS was still NOT done. They said it would be ready later that day, or the next business day. Again, it was NOT done. I filed a complaint with the BBB, and it was ONLY after Pro Console Repair had received that complaint that they bothered to call me. When they called, I was told that the part originally thought to be the problem was fine, and that another part was causing the issue. They apologized for the delay, and (wait for it) informed me that I should be the one calling them to check to see if they were doing the work I paid them for. They should not have to call me, and they didn’t want to call me because they were just too busy. At least the owner was aware that they had taken way too long for the repair, so he was willing to complete the repair on his dime and refund the $50 I had paid for the deposit. They said that the 3DS would be done Friday January 29th. I figured that surely they wouldn’t mess this deadline up… The 3DS was NOT ready on Friday January 29th as promised. (I should also note here that I again called them, not the other way around.) They said the new part they needed to complete this new repair was still not in. They hoped to have the 3DS done by Monday or Tuesday. They called (yay!) me Tuesday to let me know it was ready. When I went to pick it up this morning (Wednesday February 3rd) the guy said that the 3DS had in fact NOT been done the day before. Some other part broke and he had to go across town to find a replacement. Of course, they had not called to let me know this, so I am glad that I hadn’t been available to pick up the 3DS the day before, when it was supposedly ready. The owner was true to his word and refunded my money. I was disappointed that while I was in the store, he never bothered to reiterate how terribly sorry he was or to try to reassure me that this sort of thing never happens. The way he acted, it felt more like this is a common problem that they have. Furthermore, the 3DS seemed to work at first, but less than hour after arriving home, the exact same problem is happening again. So we wasted almost a month (two days shy) of our time for a repair that still needs to be done!! I also noticed, while on the Better Business Bureau website, one of the complaints against Pro Console Repair also talks about being told one thing was wrong when in fact something else altogether was going on. Pro Console repair kept that poor person’s money, so perhaps I should be thankful I received a refund. Please take your repairs elsewhere! There are several other electronic repair places in the area that are also local businesses. If I could give Pro Console Repair 0...

As a consumer experienced in dealing with various types of support/services, I've come to expect businesses to exert a level of effort anywhere between none and enough to get by. It's not often I see an example of any who take things further. Though, it did require me to expend a little extra effort.

The day my PS3 decided it was done working (YLOD), I took it over to their shop (5 min from my home); it was a fairly smooth process to get my system admitted. Five days later I got the call of a failed repair (the YLOD was fixed, with a different unknown component failing) and my bill was reduced from $70 to $25. Unfortunately, I was unable to ascertain what exactly had happened during my system's stay when I picked it up.

Not giving up, I spent a couple of days of deliberation, research and in communication with their e-mail support (William Betts answered). William asked me to bring the system in again and decided to reopen my case for more work after a promising initial inspection.

A few days later, I pick up my working system with William giving me a satisfactory summary over the matters of note. I was quite glad that he really went all out to get to the root of the issue and fix it. I mean, it really felt as if he was treating this like own system that he wanted to repair. Unfortunately, one of the many issues that arose from this repair was the HDD failing, requiring a complete replacement (surprisingly, William replaced it for free). I was assured the HDD replacement was a vital, last resort measure needed for my system's resurrection. Luckily, I've known my system was on its last legs beforehand and had 99% of my (nearly 200) saves backed up. You will be missed, Last of Us and Hyperdimension Neptunia 3 save files...

Anyway, in the end, my system returned in working order and the cherry on top was a discounted bill, subtracting the difference of the previous failed attempt, for a grand total of about $70. Certainly beats $300 for a new (non-BC) PS3.

I'd recommend anybody to consider this establishment before scrapping their systems. Also, if issues arise, best bet is to contact support at their e-mail. The response time was very fast in my experience, and this was what turned my situation around and led to a successful operation. William is a personable guy, but still possesses a good balance of that and professionalism. The fact that he gave my issue as much attention as it received, considering how busy they are (being just a small shop in this whole area (I noticed all the systems they have held there, as well as the in-and-out traffic)), made me very glad.

That said, I won't ding off any points, but my only concern is that I did indeed have to take it upon myself to return to try again. While my second visit was everything I could ask for in a service, I felt left in the dark for that first visit. There is a bit of inconsistency. At the least, I think it would have been good if the technicians on my project had provided a written summary or something so I could review what went wrong.

One last note, based on other feedback I've read, I'm sure a vast majority of the projects Pro Console Repair receives are relatively simple fixes and mine was a mighty rare creature, as the whole project spanned across two weeks. Guess the moral here is to not give up. I really do love my system; gave it decals and installed aftermarket components to increase lifespan. Lasted 4-5 years of heavy use. Hoping for another 4 years of service before I can retire it. Time will tell. At the least, I was provided a warranty, so I can expect a few months.

--Summarizing-- Pro Console Repair is a great place to get your system fixed. In my case, I had a very unruly system, but with a little tenacity, it managed to be brought back good health...

Ran into a very similar problem like Mr. Gullett above. PS3 needed minor repair for stretching glitches and occasional freezes. Day 1: they said it was an easy fix and should be done by the end of the day. We called back the next day and the employee said it would take a little longer than planned –100% understandable. So we wait –– and then a month goes by with no word from them. Called and asked if it was near completion, they said yes – it should be finished by the end of the next day. Called back a couple days after and then they told us there were more problems. This cycle repeats for 3 months. Finally just showed up in person, and was told the PS3 was not fixable and now images don’t show on the screen. –Now here’s where I made my second mistake! – I asked if they had any other working PS3s that I could buy from their store. They said yes, they could sell me one for $100 that they PROMISED was fixed and had only been repaired for a Bluray problem. So along with the repair cost for my now broken PS3 which they did not refund me, I spent $189 with them – just $20 shy of the cost of a brand new slim PS3. After 2 months, that PS3 got the Yellow Light of Death. We were told our warranty for this one ended AS SOON as we opened it up, and at this point we really weren’t about to send it in again. Opened it up and written on the inside were 3 RECORDS OF THIS PS3 HAVING PROBLEMS WITH YLOD. WHICH WE WERE NOT TOLD OF. Absolute disgrace but lesson learned. There seems to be a lot of success stories with this store fixing Xbox360s, but Sony users save your $$$ and just send it to Sony.

TLDR; Spent $89 to fix minor issues, 3 months later they say my console is irreparable and now unplayable. No refund. Bought $100 PS3 from them that they claimed only had Bluray issues -- 2 months later it dies, open it up it has 3 written records of YLOD - of which we were...