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I talked with the president of the Center for the Study of Services, the nonprofit organization that publishes the Philadelphia-area version of Consumers' Checkbook as well as versions in six other cities.
Robert Krughoff is a hands-on, jack-of-all-trades kind of boss. Not only does he head the organization, which he founded 30 years ago, but he also writes most of the articles in the magazine, including the one on computer repair.
Other articles in this month's issue deal with computer buying, video equipment repair, local pest control firms, and other subjects.
"I enjoy being involved in the various articles, perhaps more involved than my staff wishes I were," said Krughoff, who has a law degree and an undergraduate degree in economics and who previously worked for the federal government. His organization has 35 employees, and each article is the result of the work of a team of about 10 researchers.
The researchers comparison-price-shop and survey the magazine's own readers as well as the readers of Consumer Reports magazine (the organizations publishing each magazine are completely independent) for their experiences and opinions about local stores and service firms.
Before revealing the best and worst of local computer repair shops, I wanted to share what Krughoff had to say about getting a personal computer fixed. It is good advice. For detailed advice, buy the magazine, available at local Borders, Barnes & Nobles, and a few other bookstores. Here is what is most important, said Krughoff:
It is better to take a broken PC to a local repair shop than have a repair technician come to your office or home. Though this is less convenient, the repair shop will have access to better diagnostic tools there. It will have time to observe the problem if it is intermittent. And the cost will be lower.
Write down the exact nature of the problem you experience when it occurs, including what you see on your screen, what you hear, and how long the problem lasts.
Before the repair work begins, get a written estimate and request that you receive an invoice afterward detailing the parts repaired or replaced, the cost of the material and labor for each, and the warranty on each.
Pay by credit card, which will provide you with some protection if a dispute arises later.
Use your computer as soon as you get it back, and notify the repair shop immediately if you are still experiencing the problem.
Small sample sizes prevent the magazine's ratings of individual stores from being statistically accurate in a strict scientific sense, but Krughoff said that large differences in scores even with small sample sizes can be meaningful. Nonetheless, take what follows with the proverbial grain of salt, using it as just one piece of information along with others such as personal recommendations from trusted sources.
The best local computer repair shops for both quality and price, according to the magazine, include Comp Solutions, of Clayton; MacMobile, of Upper Darby; Marlton Computer Service, of Marlton; Mindy International Computers, of Abington; Motto Computer, of Wilmington; and Oxford Computer, of Broomall.
The large stores - Best Buy and CompUSA - got the worst ratings on quality, though some individual Best Buy and CompUSA stores did better than others. |
