Central Computers — Local services in San Francisco

If I could give 10 + stars I would. I was in a pinch due to a pending video interview. So wouldn't you know just when i was informed that a potential employer wanted to do a video interview my Mac suddenly started making weird noises. Immediately I called Apple and went in to see the genius bar. Apple told me my computer was beyond repair and it was probably the fan but unfortunately my computer was OBSOLETE! Which basically means we won't repair it and then I was told that they did not have the parts anyway. Sadly, I went home and starting calling around to have someone give me a second opinion because surely, this strange noise has happened to others. Every place I called in san francisco for computer repair was either closed at 9:15 am or no one picked up the phone. I then remembered Central Computers and called. Not only where they open but the service department picked up the phone call. I spoke with a guy named Victor who I promptly told that I was in a panic because i have a video interview and my MAC is making strange noises, I then asked if he could hear the noise. He replied yes and I said do you think you have any idea what that is? He replied that it sounded like the fan but he could not be sure but to bring the computer in so that he could do a diagnostic. I took a leap of faith and took my computer in because after all APPLE told me my computer was obsolete and they could'nt fix it. I went in the next morning and Victor greeted me with a smile and I promptly told him I was the panicked lady with the MAC. Without hesitation Victor asked me to open to my laptop and said I 'm more than certain this is your fan. He asked me if he could further test and took my computer in the back and i'm thinking did some kind of wizardly stuff, came back and said I've isolated the issue now I want to make sure it is the fan. He then asked if he could further test by opening the computer and replace the fan with a working fan to further determine if this was the problem and wouldn't you know, no noise with his replaced fan. I was astonished because I was told my computer was OBSOLETE and parts were not available? Victor guided me to a website, even sent the link to my email address for me to order. I ran home, ordered the part as a rush, went back to Victor at Central Computers for him to install. It was rather busy that morning so I waited patiently while Victor worked his magic with other customers. But get this, I thought I was special but Victor treated every customer just as he had treat me: with care, concern, professionalism, knowledge and more importantly a genuine smile. Needless to say, he installed my new fan, no more noises and I had a successful video interview! Thank you Victor and thank you Central Computers for being in...

UPDATE 9/24: these scumbags took a MONTH to process the refund and STILL tried to sneak in a restocking fee. 1 star.

Too poorly equipped and poorly trained to enforce their own aggressive return policy. I purchased a 1000w SFX power supply for an AMD 9800X3D and RTX 5090 system. After a week, the system would power off suddenly and refuse to turn back on after periods of sustained high output. I went in to exchange the 1000w for a more expensive 1200w unit. Instead of a quick exchange process, I had to waste 30 minutes arguing with the employees and get treated like I was running some kind of scam by exchanging an item for a more expensive one. I repeatedly asked them to put the PSU on a tester or at least run a stress test to see that it was not able to supply its power rating. Eventually, I inferred that this major computer hardware vendor in downtown San Francisco didn't even have a

I have never written a negative review before, and I'm sorry to say Central Computers San Francisco is my first.

After multiple weeks with a delayed timeline for my laptop repair-- with vague and changing explanations--I finally asked for it to be returned. Throughout the time, there was no apologies, empathy of the impact, or ownership to their role. The emails from the assistant store manager were slow, unhelpful, and bordered on rude.

Look--I work in customer service. I get that people may not see what goes on behind the scenes. I also understand timelines change, and we're all overworked in a pandemic. But the lack of communication and customer service was bad enough to actually motivate me to write this. Especially since the worst of it came from the Assistant Store Manager, with the Store Manager's knowledge.

Customer service is a minimum for good business. And store managers need to realize that once they're involved, they are representing their company and need to actually work with the customer.

I'll add one star for the initial service I received. Thanks to the initial intake technician and Vince for doing what you could.

I don't know what the other Google reviewers are seeing that I'm missing. VERY...