My rant email to VIS (Mac repair shop, Reading)
I’m so mad I’m posting this here. The store in question by the way is VIS in Reading:
“Hi there I have used you friendly folks a few times now. The last I think was to get my DC-In board fixed after I lost the powerlead end in my powerbook G4. Now let me point something out; I have been up for fixing my own mac in the past but stayed away from it because I was always fearful of a) losing screws b) damaging screws or c) mos worrying of all, damaging the components. I have taken my powerbook to you folks a couple of times for fixes and its been great, if not a tad pricey. But hey, I don’t mind if its a great service. Now the machine is getting on a bit and the the hard drive is getting full. Its now past its warranty. So I figure, OK lets install a new drive. Installing a new drive on a powerbook isn’t that easy, largely due to the number of screws to take out, but its a lot easier than installing a DC-In board. So off I go, 1.5mm hex key at the ready, 00 philips screwdriver. Check. I’m following the official apple guide and all is going well.
Its somewhere around here though that I start swearing at VIS.
Firstly about 3 screws are missing. These are, I admit, in tiny places (e.g. behind the battery, in the memory bay door) but come on?! I pay over £100 and I expect all the sodding screws there. OK, I can deal with it - its not life threatening.. just a tad annoying.. I haven’t met a plumber yet that forgets something or does something a bit wrong so why should a mac repair shop be any different? Next is the screws at the top of the keyboard by the screen. Hmm.. something doesn’t look right. The hex screw on the right has, well, practically no effing hex mark left in it. Its round when the one on the left is hex shaped. I look around for other instructions on the net and find this remark “Remove the two 1.5 mm hex screws in either corner, next to the display (a T6 Torx driver will work, but repeated use will strip the screws)”. So guess what, I tell myself, VIS have gone and used a effing T6 Torx when it should have been a 1.5mm hex. Feck!
This has seriously cheesed me off! Folks, I pay you, professional repairers to do a good job. I do things myself and hey, if I make a mistake then thats my bad luck.. but I paid you, after deliberating about a fairly large some of money, to fix it properly and you have basically cut corners! Now, you can argue “We would never have done that” Well fine - so you picked up somebody else’s dodgy hex screw and placed it in my mac. Thanks. Whatever way you look at its not great. I now have a mac that can’t actually be opened. Perhaps you have replaced the 1.5 hex with some VIS only repair tool - clever trick.
Grumble, grumble, grumble… Sorry to be ranting.. its only because I have just discovered this. Can I pop in and ask you to kindly remove/replace that screw?
Cheers
Will”
