808 Computers — Local services in Hawaii

I am going to echo the posting from three days ago by tom zz and the posting I made on Yelp April 5 2021.

I started working with Robert, owner of 808 Computers, in January 2021 as part of my planning to visit the Big Island for three weeks in March 2021. I was searching around for a computer store or service who would be willing or offered to rent computer monitors as I would be working remote during my time on the Island.

Robert kindly offered up two monitors without any need for payment, credit card guarantee towards returning the equipment, nothing other than offering his trust in me to be honest and honorable to my commitment.

Upon arrival on March 11, his team handed over two brand new 27" Dell monitors in the original boxes and packaging, only taking my name and phone number, then saying goodbye, see you in a few weeks, all as offered by Robert prior to showing up.

We returned the monitors on March 31 in the exact shape and packing we were originally provided, handed over a nice bottle of Hawaiian made rum as a very small token of our appreciation. His store associates were very friendly, kind and helpful with smiles (from what I could see under the mask lol). I was prepared to pay per day without question, but again, no charge, just return them in the same condition as you received them.

This to me demonstrates his company's desire to go over and above for servicing their customers in a way which no others in that area were willing to do. I commend and with absolute appreciation Robert and team's explicit trust in handing over $400 work of equipment to a stranger with no guarantee I would return. I did my best to reciprocate, but in my mind still wasn't enough for this generous gesture.

If you are considering 808 Computers for your service or other computer / networking needs, I would highly recommend them. They demonstrate true professionalism, but also the Aloha that comes with being part of the Hawaiian islands, community and culture.

Thank your Robert and team for making our time on the Island that much better. We will certainly be returning in part thanks to you.

...and by the way, for those of you who tend to focus more on the bad reviews than good, keep in mind 808 Computers has been in business for quite a long time and continues to be a small business serving a local and somewhat remote community. They put effort into and take pride in truly spreading aloha (for those who bother understanding what that truly is) towards others. They charge reasonable prices from what I can tell for a good service. Their storefront and operation is quite impressive if you happen to go there.

So, before you go look for another local service because of one or two bad reviews (which usually turn out to be nothing but someone wanting to deflect their own problem on others when not happy for reasons other than the service itself), keep in mind that for every one bad review there are close to 10 great or really good ones.

Mike D.,...

We had our computer serviced last week at 808. A young man by the name of Andrew, working the counter, helped me. I explained to him that we weren't connecting to the internet AT ALL, and Andrew took our computer and told me he would look into it. By the way, Andrew was extremely polite and helpful and I felt confident that our computer was in capable hands! When the computer was ready, I picked it up at the counter, and at that time, I was helped by a young man by the name of Skyler. Skyler explained to me what service had been done to the computer and at the time I asked Skyler if I had any problems with the computer, did 808 make house calls. He informed me that yes they did, that if after being serviced, if I was still having the same problems I could set up an appointment. Sure enough, upon hooking the computer up, still no internet! Skyler showed up at our house to take care of our problem, and it took him some effort to diagnose what was wrong, but he did it! And this was on Super Bowl Sunday, of all days! But we must say, Skyler was an EXTREMELY capable person in performing his job in finding what the problem was and we must let 8808 Computers know what an excellent employee they have in their employment! Skyler was polite and explained in detail what the cause of the problem we were having was. My wife and I will ALWAYS go to 808 for our computer service and let our friends and family know what excellent service they provide. Please let Skyler know how much we appreciate his knowledge and his patience in taking care of us. Thank you so very much Skyler and 808, for having such an excellent person...

Simply went in to buy new batteries for our laptops I found the batteries on Amazon but they don't ship to Hawaii they cost $38 each plus shipping, when I ask the young man about getting replacement batteries he quoted $210 to $250 and that was for one battery! I know you've got some overhead costs but what a rip off! I'm a 60 year old businessman here's a little free advice to the owner if you want a successful and thriving business take care of the little things that bring in business I'll be getting a new hinge replacement for my wife's laptop elsewhere. ( Bottom Line) 808 Computers will charge $150 for malware cleaning whether you need it or not when you walk in the door regardless it's a mandatory charge. No Thank you.

Reply to Owner: Thank you for the offer to fix my wife laptop for free but I don't mind paying for work to be done we are having repairs done elsewhere.. I would like to point out that the batteries are exactly the same as the originals and I can post pictures to prove it. We never ask for any testing on our computer I even told the young man that I can install the batteries myself he told me that's not the way you do business that he would have to do some testing, this could be a case of lack of communication or training of your staff. I've changed my rating to 3 stars. I think instead of trying the put down about the batteries you could have replied there has been a misunderstanding please come back and speak to you in person. Kind Regards Mike...