The Computer Cellar — Local services in Durham

Actually absurd. I called asking about a particular part, and got put on the phone with Gabriel. I specified immediately that I needed either standoff, or standoff extenders, for an Intel LGA 1151 socket type, and explained that I wasn't sure what was going on with the stand offs I had, because they were the ones previously holding my cooler in place with no issues but for whatever reason moving the parts to a new case has them shorter than they should be, and that I've never had this issue with the cooler or it's hardware before. He said no, but immediately pivoted to requesting I bring the computer in for him to service himself, which I refused and reiterated I did not need any services, I just needed to know if the part was there for me to take a look at. He took on a very condescending tone and told me that I "have the wrong cooler". I told him that wasn't possible because the brackets, screws, standoffs, motherboard, CPU, and literally everything is the same from one case to the other, and again reiterated what I called for, which was just to figure out if the product was there for sale. He said the part "does not exist", to which I pointed out I was looking at literal examples of what I'm looking for from other computer parts stores online and that it clearly exists, but maybe it just isn't at that store and isn't a part they carry. I then also point blank inform him that his demeanor towards me was disrespectful and unprofessional, and that his tone was why I had also started to be vocally annoyed and frustrated with him. He could have just said "no, we don't have that part, sorry. Best of luck finding it somewhere else", and the convo would have literally been 2 minutes long, and ended with a disappointed but still good impression of your business. But immediately pivoting to a paid service at your shop that I clearly don't need since I am already building the computer and I know what I'm doing, I'm just having a hardware problem that requires me to be able to look at the product in the store and see whats wrong with the one I have, and insisting on it after I already said no prolonged this conversation and apparently made Gabriel annoyed enough at my singular question and refutation of claims that weren't true, that he became profane with me before just flat out hanging up. I don't recommend this place for anything. I didn't even have to step foot in their business to be treated like garbage by their staff. I have no clue if Gabriel is just an employee, a manager, or the owner himself, but that impression has left such a foul taste in my mouth id genuinely drive the 120+ miles to go to microcenter if I need to see a part before buying. People wonder why the small computer parts stores are dying. I can tell you exactly why. Because you charge the same or more for parts as chain stores, the standard of customer service is dog water, and because you aren't making much of anything off just parts, you try to funnel everyone towards having services done instead of buying parts, even when the customer clearly doesn't need them and is telling you such. And then when that customer tells you that, you get angry with them and cuss at them before hanging up. I already called y'all back and left a voicemail telling you this review was coming, and I saw you tried to call me back. I don't care what your response is at this point. The fact you felt the need to call me back at all tells me what I need to know. You wanted to damage control. Too bad. You wouldn't have to respond if Gabriel didn't act that way in the first place. If y'all do that "recording for quality and training purposes", then wind the tape back. I was nothing but kind and respectful until he got condescending. And now your customers and anyone debating becoming one can scroll through the reviews and see exactly who to avoid.

Edit after the company response:

Lots of text just to say "I, the BUSINESS OWNER, didn't have the restraint to keep from cussing out and hanging up on someone calling stating they want to confirm a specific part before...

I feel bad giving a poor rating because the customer service people were very nice, but they just didn't get the job done. And my computer has been half-as-efficient since I brought it there.

I originally brought my computer to them because of a simple virus removal. After a day of analysis or so they basically said it was so infected that I needed an entirely new hard drive; they gave me the options of a used hard drive for value or brand new one for pretty expensive. Well being young and working for myself, I immediately chose the cheaper/used route, yet the repair, analysis and labor was still quite costly. Perhaps 1 month after they had replaced it, I had more issues and when I brought it back basically they told me the used hard-drive I just bought from them was defective and crashed. And because it was used - there's no warranty and there's nothing they could do. I get it - you never know with used hardware, but why support such a risky decision in the first place?. I didn't know any better.

So once again I replaced the hard drive and at this point I just went for it and bought a brand new one. Another costly trip but was hoping would be worth it with a brand new hard drive. But when I brought it home it began doing something where it would shut itself down whenever I wasn't using it and it was idle. And not just going into sleep mode... the computer shut itself all the way down closing and losing any documents that are open during that time. Furthermore I'm unable to save documents to my main folders saying there's some sort of "Permission rights" error and the Administrator logged in is Karin... someone I do not know and apparently they don't know either.

I called them and the woman was nice enough and said they needed to look at it to judge it and see what repairs I needed, but I just couldn't go back: every time I walk in that door they tell me I need a major repair and I drop $500-$800. So I didn't take it in and for the past year I've been working on a computer that I can't save documents onto (I use alot of dropbox) and it shuts itsself down turns off whenever I don't use it.

So I have no problem with the people that work there... but when it comes to judging their repair jobs, I'll say I never walked away from there with my computer better than it was before...

In a summary, you can buy a new computer anywhere in the triangle area, but if you need to repair it, the only place I suggest you is The Computer Cellar.

I rarely left a review for a service before. But this time, I must write a review for The Computer Cellar. Last night, my Macbook pro suddenly got black on the screen and could show anything. It is really a nightmare when you work on it everyday. Before I went there, I had an appointment with Apple's official repair center this morning. They asked much money for diagnostic and cannot repair it today. That's really unreasonable. I also went to other computer repair center, they just said I need to change the screen without careful checking and diagnostics.

When I arrived at The Computer Cellar, Simon gave me a warm welcome and then Gabriel carefully checked my Macbook. He is really professional and within 10 minutes, he found the problem, which is a small problem and I don't need to replace my screen, which costs huge. Finally Gabriel repaired it well within another 10 minutes and returned me a well-working Macbook.

They really makes me happy for the rest of the day since I can use it now and save much money. Trust me, they are all professional and will carefully check the problem of your computer and will give you the most reasonable price in the whole triangle area. I would recommend anyone who needs help with his/her computer to The Computer Cellar. They are the best, the most helpful! 5 stars are not enough for me to say thank...