Alpine Computers — Local services in South Lake Tahoe

UPDATED 1/10/2018

I received a missed call from Keely from Alpine Computers this morning. I called her back and we discussed my experience as outlined below. Keely offered to swap out the new hard drive and install the old one, as well as provide a full refund. I jumped in my car, drove over, and within 5 minutes of arriving had my laptop back with the old drive installed, plus a check for $300 in hand.

This is a huge relief. Keely was extremely nice and accommodating, and I appreciate Alpine Computers taking the time to make this right. It would have been very easy to simply blow me off and take my money, but they didn't. Thank you.

Formerly loyal customer, now I'll never go back

Before I get into why I'll never return to Alpine Computers, let me preface by saying that I've purchased quite a lot from the South Lake Tahoe location in the past, including a refurbished Dell tower last summer, not to mention a variety of peripherals, cables, etc. Brandon was especially thoughtful and attentive to my needs, originally winning over my loyalty.

Unfortunately, my recent experience with Chris was the exact opposite of my experience with Brandon.

It started several weeks ago, when my MacBook Pro began having issues on boot up. I called Alpine looking for a new machine, but Chris convinced me to bring it in for repairs. I dropped it off the next day and explained the issues I was experiencing. A few days later, I got a call from Chris to let me know that the issue was a failing hard drive, and that I could get a replacement 1TB drive installed for $300. I was also promised that if the new drive didn't fix the issue, the money I paid would go towards whatever was needed for the final fix. I gave the go ahead, and about a week later, I had my laptop back in hand. I noticed it had a new 500GB drive rather than the 1TB drive Chris had promised me, but oh well – the important thing was it worked.

That was until 8 hours later when my “fixed” laptop once again crashed and failed to boot. I brought it back to Alpine, and after spending 15 minutes attempting a quick fix, Chris shelved it and told me it needed to be sent to a motherboard specialist. Nervous that my $300 was wasted, Chris assured me that I would get a free estimate on this second round of repairs, with Alpine at least picking up the shipping and handling to send the laptop to the motherboard specialist. He promised to get back to me by Monday with an estimate.

Monday came and went, then Tuesday, then Wednesday. On Thursday morning, Chris finally calls me back, saying it'll be another $300 to $500 on top of the $300 I already paid, but they wouldn't know for sure until the laptop was given to the specialist. Additionally, I would be paying for the shipping and handling to actually get it to the specialist, despite multiple promises from Chris to the contrary.

So this is where I'm at now – $300 out of pocket, a computer that's still broken, a list of broken verbal agreements from Chris, another potential $500 out of pocket, and no guarantee that the computer will even work after paying through the nose.

So then – would you take the risk? Would you return to a store that neither guarantees its work nor keeps its promises? To make matters worse, Chris has been pushy, rude, and unhelpful throughout. I always feel as though I'm wasting his time when speaking with him, rather than receiving the sort of attentive service I experienced with Brandon.

In closing, I'd like to say that I'm a journalist that works from home here in South Lake, and I need a local computer place that I know I can count on. Unfortunately, Alpine Computers is no...

I should have read the other 1 star reviews before coming here. Been a computer user for about 23 years, so been to few repair shops, this was by far my worst experience in 23 years. I have powerful Toshiba laptop, 12 gigs of Ram, 3.2 ghz processor, and it stopped powering up, so I brought it in, expecting that the cable between power button and mother board came loose, so they'd open it up and connect it or replace it. I was told that they only have one tech guy Chris, who is out, so he'd look following day. Following day, I got a call from Chris, who said that laptop looks really old, and he doesn't recommend fixing it, and that he is not even going to look at it. I was like...it's just power button...he said if you want complete restoration, he could give me a quote, but it'll be expensive, otherwise I should just buy a new laptop and he'd do memory transfer for $129. I am glad I have enough common sense not to buy into such BS...most people would probably believe such an "expert". Long story short, I picked up the laptop that they didn't even care to open up and diagnose, and called another tech guy in town, who came over my house, opened the laptop, reconnected the cable from mother board to power button, took him less than 30 mins, he charged me $40, and that was it. The laptop is working perfectly. Also, their used laptops in store are WAY overpriced...they are selling a used laptop that shows some wear for $549, which they reduced from $599, and exact same refurbished laptop in pristine condition with zero wear costs $369 on Amazon. I say these guys need to clean...

Overall experience: 🌟 Best time buying a time critical replacement for my computer I've ever had. In, questions asked, prices compared, equipment bought, and out in about 15 mins.

Stock: 🌟 They have a good selection of hardware for the modest size of the place, or they do special orders if you can wait for a product to come in.

Customer service: 🌟 Firstly, they are courteous, which threw me off at first as I expect the same type of know-it-all annoyed "expert" to talk down to me for 20 mins you get in most computer stores. John, was patient and helpful both when I called and when I came in. Not pushy, just informing.

Price: 🌟(plus bonus 🌟)Everything in South Tahoe is hiked in price. So I was expecting to bite the bullet and pay through the nose before I even walked in. To my surprise the prices were decent. Then, they hit me with the military discount! Shut up and take my money!

Facility: 🌟 Clean, sanitized, and capable of social distancing, which they seem practice. It's on the second floor, but there is a handicap accessible option to get there... At least that's what the sign at the bottom of the stairs says. Parking was easy and moderately available which is rare in Tahoe.

If you check my other in-depth reviews military discount is automatically plus one 🌟. So..... congratulations 6/5 🌟 but Google will only let me give 5! Hope to drop in during my next...