A-1 Smartphone & Tablet Repair — Local services in Georgetown

My experience with A-1 Smartphone was disappointing. They initially told me to wait a week for repairs, but it took over three weeks without updates. They couldn't fix my phone but still charged me $45 without prior notice. Communication was poor; I had to call them several times for updates. Overall, I expected better service and transparency.

Update(reply to business with AI just like they did after they ignored my reply for 10 months)

Thank you for your response to my review. I understand that you’ve provided your perspective, but I’d like to clarify a few points to ensure we’re on the same page and to address some inaccuracies in your reply.

Firstly, yes, my phone was dropped in seawater, but this was an accident, not intentional. Contrary to your statement, I did not continue using the phone for four days after the incident. The phone turned off on the same day it was exposed to seawater, rendering it unusable. I was traveling at the time, which is why I couldn’t bring it to your service center immediately. I believe this context is important, as it wasn’t a matter of negligence on my part but rather a logistical challenge.

When I was finally able to bring the phone to you, I reached out multiple times to check on the status of the repair. I called several times, but no one was available to answer, which is why I resorted to messaging. In those messages, I was repeatedly told that you hadn’t started working on the device due to a high workload. Later, I was informed that you were “still working on it,” but after three weeks, I received no concrete updates or evidence that any progress had been made. This lack of communication and transparency left me feeling neglected as a customer.

Due to the prolonged delay and lack of updates, I informed you that I would need to take my iPhone to another repair service. At that point, I requested the phone back in its current state. However, I was told I’d need to wait two full days for you to “get it ready.” This raised concerns for me, as it seemed like no work had been done on the device in the three weeks it was in your possession. If no repairs had been started, I’m unsure why it would take two days to return the phone as-is. Additionally, when I later requested the phone be disassembled, it felt like this was only done after I insisted on picking it up—further suggesting that little to no work had been done prior to that point.

I understand that data recovery can be complex and that repairs take time, but three weeks with no tangible progress, poor communication, and a $45 diagnostic fee for what appears to be minimal effort does not align with my expectations for quality service. I was fully prepared to pay for diagnostics and repairs if there had been clear evidence of work being done, but that wasn’t the case here.

I hope you can understand my frustration and why I left the 1-star review. I’m not trying to diminish your efforts, but as a customer, I felt let down by the lack of progress and communication. I would appreciate if you could take this feedback constructively to improve your processes, particularly around customer updates and managing...

My charging port was lose and I could only get the phone to charge by holding the charger, so I took my phone in on Friday (10/8/23) because the technician guy on the phone told me that it would cost $30 to pull all my pictures off the phone. It is a replacement / upgraded phone which I was supposed to send back to Verizon asap so as not to get charged the full amount of the cost of the phone ($500). When I got there, the female at the front desk took my phone back and after awhile came back out and told me that it had water damage and NOW it would be $125 to FIX it just so they could pull the pictures off. That phone is less than a year old and I have not spilled anything on it, nor was it ever dropped or even scuffed up, but she said that the charging port had corrosion on it, so it wasn't going to be an "easy" fix after all. She told me that they were not going to be open on Saturday, so it would be Monday before they could get it done. I reluctantly said okay but reiterated that I needed to send the phone back to Verizon right away. Monday late afternoon, I called and asked what the status was on the phone and the guy who answered said that he would find out and give me a call back. He didn't. Tuesday afternoon, I called AGAIN and asked when she thought I'd be able to get the phone back. Now, she stated that they weren't sure how long it would take or how much it was going to cost. I told her that I needed to at least have an idea of how long it was going to take and that I don't have an endless amount of funds to pay for them to do a lot to "fix" it. It's Christmas time and times are hard for most of us. Plus, this was supposed to be an easy task. She told me she couldn't give me a time frame or an amount but that they could stop the repairs if I told her what my max price was that I could pay. Now, I was starting to get frustrated and I said that I felt like that was a little sketchy to not be able to tell me anything. I got the feeling that if I gave her a max amount, that would "miraculously" be the amount (if not a little more) that it would end up costing to repair. Then she started to get very short and rude to me and told me that she would have them put the phone back together and I could come pick it up TOMORROW.......... WITHOUT them even doing ANY repair AT ALL and then she HUNG up on me!! So unprofessional, rude, sketchy and suspect. I believe I had the right to let them know that I was on a time crunch and that I didn't have an endless cash flow for them to do who knows what kind of "repairs" on a phone that, for goodness sakes, I just need the PICTURES off of. She had my phone an entire week, did nothing to repair it, treated me extremely disrespectfully and also cost me the $500 fee for not returning the phone in time. So, make your own assessment and decision on whether you want to take the risk on experiencing this kind of...

It was a super disappointing experience. The place was highly recommended by another repair shop so I decided a long drive should be worth it. But I think over the last year, the service and technicians at A-1 have changed. First of all, do not expect fast service. They are so backed up that even to diagnose a problem it takes a week of you not having your device. Second, they notified me everything was fixed and to come pick up the device, and when I did, it turned out the email was sent by mistake. Which is not an easy “mistake” drive for me because I am 35 minutes away from the place. Lastly, the place reeks of smoke and weed, so I was a little concerned about leaving my device there for that long in the first place. Overall, I would not recommend this place. It may have been good in the past, but technicians and front desk people have changed and it is just terrible.

Response to the Owner:

While I appreciate the effort to respond, even if it took over two years, your reply unfortunately reinforces much of what was disappointing about the experience.

Let’s clarify a few things: the round-trip drive was 36 miles, not 10, which is a significant inconvenience when an unnecessary trip is made due to a mistaken email. My device was a Samsung Chromebook, which is far from an “off-brand” or obscure model. No parts were replaced, and it still took a full week just to diagnose the issue.

The use of humor to deflect responsibility, combined with a condescending tone, doesn’t reflect well on how you view your customers. It’s also clear the response was generated by AI, not written personally—which is fine, but worth noting when you’re trying to convey accountability and customer care.

At the end of the day, this wasn’t about expecting miracles—just basic communication, professionalism, and timely service. I stand by my original review so that future customers can make...