At the beginning of January, I felt while holding a cup of coffee. A few drops fell on my laptop keyboard, and I didn't immediately clean them off because I was slightly injured.
I tried using an external keyboard for a couple of weeks, but really wanted to have my keyboard replaced. I called and spoke with Chris who asked what kind of laptop I had. I said I had an HP Envy and he said they could fix the problem. I said I would be there within the hour and he said either he or his assistant would be there. He quoted $60.
When I arrived, a little over an hour later, his assistant, Christian, was the only one in the shop. Christian said he would try to clean the keyboard, but if that didn't work, he would replace it.
The next day, Chris told me that they couldn't clean the laptop and that the keyboard cost more than they thought, and it would be $70 for the keyboard alone. He also said it was harder to replace than he first thought, and that the charge would be $120. I said they should have known what they were up against, because I told him from the beginning what kind of laptop I was bringing, but to go ahead and replace the keyboard.
A couple of days later, I called to see if the laptop was ready, and it wasn't. The fifth day, which was a Saturday, Chris told me the laptop should be ready by 2:30pm. I arrived at 2:30pm and was told they still needed to put the laptop back together. When I went back at 4:30pm, I first noticed that the keyboard was a different color and asked if it was the right one. I was told it was. I then noticed that there were several dents in the laptop case. It appeared that the wrong screws had been used and had started to come up through the case. I then noticed a couple of marks that appeared to be pry marks. Chris told me that the keyboard was so sticky that they had to use a screw driver to pry it. I said there was no way it was that sticky with about four drops of coffee. I then noticed that the keyboard was very loose and moved around and there were gaps and it was no longer flush in the case. Chis said they would take it apart again, and would try to hammer the dents back out.
I asked if I could come back later but he said it would probably be better for me to come back the next day. I agreed, even though I live in San Pedro, and his shop is in Redondo Beach.
When Chris called the next day to say it was ready, I went back and the keyboard was still loose and I said I thought it was the wrong one. Chris said that they could try to take it apart again, but when I saw the dents had not been removed, I said I didn't really want them to work on it again. He said he wouldn't charge me for service, but only for the keyboard. I gave Chris $70 cash.
When I got home and started working on the laptop, I noticed that the keyboard was not only the wrong color, it had a completely different feel and was absolutely the wrong keyboard. The whole keyboard was still very loose. I called Chris and said I wanted the $70 back, and he agreed to mail it to me.
I then called a shop in San Pedro. After they had worked on the laptop for just two hours, I got a call that it was ready to pick up. The owner of the shop said that the keyboard was no longer loose, but it was the wrong keyboard so wasn't fitting properly. He said that I would probably be surprised to learn that the keyboard was missing 20-30 screws and that was the reason it was so loose. He said they could do nothing about the dents and pry marks.
The keyboard is now warped and fluctuates when I try to type and is nearly impossible to use. The case looks terrible because of the dents and pry marks. I would buy a new laptop, but I just bought this one last May when I was planning my wedding. The week before the wedding, my mom was diagnosed with peritoneal cancer, so I spent more of the year split between planning the wedding and scheduling my mom's doctor's appointments. I told Chris all of this and let him know that I had not started paying on the laptop. I can't afford to buy a new laptop because I haven't paid for this one.
I sent Chris text photographs of the damage to the laptop and left him several messages. He will not return my call. In my last message, I let him know about the missing screws, and that as a business owner, I would think he would like to know that his assistant was completely incompetent. I said that they should have let me know they didn't have the skill set to fix the laptop when I first called and that they have ruined my laptop and asked for the money to replace it. Again, I have received no call back and have not even received the promised $70. This laptop is ruined and Chris and his assistant Christian at Southbay Technology Gurus destroyed it and will not respond to my request for a resolution.