Play It Again Sam — Local services in Lakewood

In February 2019, I called Play It Again Sam located in Lakewood, OH and spoke with Bernie (the business owner). I took my vintage Pioneer SX950 receiver in to the store for repair. The issue was that, when powered on, it would play for about a minute or so and then stop. I was told by Bernie that the repairs will take about a month.

March came and went without any calls from the store regarding the status on my receiver.

I called the store in April and was told they were extremely busy and that they haven't had time to look at it yet and I was assured that the repair should only take another month. ​

May 2019, I called the store again and was told by Bernie that the necessary parts have been ordered and are coming from China and as soon as they arrive that the stereo would be repaired. ​

I followed up with another call in June and was told that the parts arrived but they did not repair the problem and that the receiver has additional issues which they have attempted to repair. Bernie also told me that the Pioneer repair manuals are wrong and that they currently have two different Pioneer SX950 receivers in the shop at this time and that they will be used as references to assist in the repair of mine. ​

On July 5th, I called again and was told that they still do not have the receiver repaired. I asked Bernie to put it back together to the same condition that it was in when I brought it to his store and I would pick it up to take elsewhere for repair. He then told me that I would receive a bill for over $200 for the parts that they had installed. I had never been provided any estimate for parts or labor either verbally or in writing prior to this date.​ Bernie assured me that they will still be able to repair the stereo and I reluctantly agreed to leave it with him to fix.

August, 2019. I made a visit to the store and spoke with Bernie and again, I was provided with a list of excuses as to why they have not fixed the stereo. He again stated that the Pioneer repair manuals are wrong and he wanted to know where the stereo came from. I told him that it had been my brothers since new and I received it in 1997 after he had passed away. It was boxed up and stored until 2016 when I decided to start using it again.​ I also reminded Bernie that I had taken this stereo to his shop on two previous occasions for unrelated problems, in which they had repaired. He stated that now it was missing parts and that it was impossible to use without them. How ironic that I have been able to use it for nearly 2 years before taking it to his store in February 2019. I then asked Bernie if I could see it. Bernie took me into the backroom and pointed to the floor. I was shocked to see what they had done to it. My stereo was on the floor in a disassembled mess and the larger pieces were leaned between the leg of a table and the wall. The smaller parts were laying directly on the floor. It was not in a tub or box and parts were scattered everywhere. I was able to take pictures of the care that my vintage stereo has received while in the custody Play It Again Sam.

In good faith, I took my vintage stereo which has an extreme amount of sentimental value to me, not to mention the actual cost of a Pioneer SX950 receiver to Play It Again Sam for repair. In return I have received over 7 months of grief and a fictitious bill for repairs and I have not received my stereo back.

Play It Again Sam has been contacted by an attorney which I have hired and there has been no response form the store. Therefore, I am now in the process of pursuing legal action against this...

Took a Yamaha CR-1020 to Play It Again Sam in August of 2018 for a relay issue. Gave Bernie (owner) a detailed description of what issues I was experiencing. Paid my $40 deposit, and was told it would be a couple months for a repair. Fast forward to January... I decided to call and check in. Whoever answered the phone said they were waiting for parts and it would be ready soon. Fast forward to May (mind you, of 2019), and I finally got a call that my unit was ready. When I went to pick it up I asked Bernie what the issue was. He glanced at the repair form and said it just needed a basic cleaning. Even though I had cleaned and opened up the unit myself. I'm no electronics expert but this seemed fishy, in no way was there any detail or explanation for the work they did, or what the cause of the issue was. Regardless, I paid the $60 ($100 total for service) and figured the issue was solved. Two months after getting my receiver back it started having issues with the relay again. I took it back to PIAS with my receipt and wanted an explanation. Let me just say this. Never in my life have I been treated so poorly as a customer at any sort of establishment. I kept my cool and tried to reason with Bernie that, clearly the issue was never solved, I paid them money, this needs to be rectified. Bernie condescended me, told me any of the reading or research I had done of the issue was wrong, that any of the people I had talked to didn't know what they were talking about, etc. I'm extremely disappointed in this business. I want to support a locally owned place like this. However, the ownership is deeply flawed (to put it politely), and I will never return. I have also urged everyone else I know interested in vintage/hifi audio equipment to never do business...

Rude store owner: Months ago I bought a secondhand Detrola KM837. It's a 4-in-1 system from the early 2000s. All the functions except the record player are everything I need. I tried replacing the needle to improve the sound distortion but after several other quick fixes decided to call up Play It Again Sam. I was excited because the shop is minutes away from my house. How great would it be if I could get some advice and find a new local business to support in the process!

I should have read the reviews, because my experience was so similar to others. I called the store before coming in, explained what model I have and that I was hoping they could look at it. Bernie immediately told me no, they don't service Detrolas, and that I should "put it down" because it's "made in China". I'm not sure if he's intentionally trying to scare away potential customers or just has zero social skills, but he could have easily said they don't work on those models but he would be more than happy to recommend a comparable system.

I shared my experience with friends and someone knew immediately what shop I called just by the horrible customer service, distinguished by a highbrow attitude. I fully intend to keep the 4-in-1--I may only use it for the other functions, but I know damn well that my next record player isn't coming from Play...