Wipe And Restore

Let me preface this by saying that the staff at Wipe and Restore did «repair» my iBuyPower desktop computer for free. I should be fair and state that. Let me also note that my computer is still not functioning, and although it will turn on now, it is no longer communicating properly with my LG monitor. (Yes a new cable was suggested, purchased, and used.)
We dropped off my desktop computer at Wipe and Restore in mid July of 2014. We don’t use it too much, but it wasn’t turning on, and I don’t want an investment to sit idly. The staff said they would evaluate it and call. We waited four months without a call, piece of mail, or email. Finally, my husband went by to see what was the matter, and one of the staff said that they’d tried to call us (we never received a call, voicemail, or even noted a missed call on our cell logs) and that the motherboard needed replaced. My husband agreed to the repair, and they said it would take about 2 weeks. 2 weeks came and went without updates, so we just picked up the computer. We expressed our frustration, and the staff «fixed» it for free.
I’m a champion for local business, and I always go local first. I won’t be using Wipe and Restore again.

First and foremost, I think I am probably one of the fairest and most understanding people around these days. I always try to support local businesses and to give people second and even third chances to make things right, unless they lie to me, damage my property, & try to deceive me, and unfortunately that’s what happened here. I was actually referred to this business by a former satisfied customer who was very confident in their ability to repair computers, not just to wipe and restore hard drives. I also had several conversations with the staff describing my situation before I even decided to bring it to them, so this was not any kind of quick or flippant decision.
My experience with Tom, whom I believe is actually the owner/​proprietor, really happened approximately 18 months ago, but I was just looking through some old papers and came across his written response to a complaint with the BBB (Better Business Bureau) that I had to file. Only because he blatantly lied several times in his response, I felt like the public should have the opportunity to judge for themselves.
Even though I ended up allowing the BBB case to be closed because there was no point in arguing with Tom any further, I will say that this place might be okay if you only need your computer wiped and restored, yet I seriously would not take it to them for ANY OTHER repairs or services, and take photos of your equipment before you leave it with them.
Because I saw it with my own eyes, they don’t have much space in the back office area, and so they appear to think it’s a good idea to stack other computers, laptops, etc., on top of your equipment, which left horrible scratches on my laptop, EVEN THOUGH I brought it in the somewhat bulky protective case when I dropped it off. However, they assured me they did not want the protective case at all & that I should leave only the laptop. I asked them 3+ times if they were absolutely sure, and they said yes, so that’s a lesson learned for me.
So, ultimately, Tom tried to fix my laptop but couldn’t, which is fine; however, he immediately made me a ridiculously lowball offer to buy my 320(+/-) GB hard drive, which made me all the more suspicious when another repair shop was able to fix it within 2 weeks, only after ordering parts. Also, when I received my equipment from Tom, it was put back together improperly because he was rushing to do something with his daughter.
Again, I am not a spiteful person in the least, but just wanted everyone to understand the business practices and the limitations of this business, that’s all. Perhaps they are very good at the simple «wipe and restore» aspect, but just make sure you take pictures of and bring a protective case for your electronics no matter what they tell you.