BEWARE of *** Notebook. P Mall [Need Advice Below]

[vinniereno]

First of all let me begin by stating..
Beware of ***, Pacific Mall, Markham (I will announce the name if he carries out with his threats and returns me a box full of laptop parts instead of my VAIO)

Here is why:

On the night of October 4th, my Sony laptop short circuted after accidently plugging in a powered usb cable which my laptop didn't support. In the morning the next day, I rode the TTC from my place in Toronto to Pacific Mall (decided that because Chinese is easier to communicate for me), an hour and a half distance. To make a long story short this is what happened afterwards.

10/5, Store(owner?) takes a look at it, says USB part of laptop brunt out, should be replaceable although I would only have 1 USB port left. I said fine that was acceptable, and to fix iit right away if it could be done under 60 dollars. (Paid 28.50 at this time just for the diagnostic check)

10/6, I trek again to Pacific Mall hoping it is fixed and just a small problem (the impression given to me was that it was). Store owner asks why did I come, I told him for my computer, the Sony one. "Ohh, that one" he says and commences to tell me that it will take maybe a week to fix (no mention about this yesterday, and no telephone to me either about it) and that the price has risen to a whopping 250+. Alarm bells were going off in my head, but stupidly I choose to ignore my thinking and just wanted to get this fixed fast (I had a paper coming up and needed this laptop to use badly). I said go ahead, fix it!

10/13 (around), I phoned in asked whats up, how is the repair job on the VAIO coming along, when can I pick it up. He is totally bewildered, asks me why I am calling him, do I have no patience, why must I rush him. Being confused myself at this point, I point out that he himself told me to phone him in a week (a week ago). He says I must have patience, takes time, can't rush the repair job (hilarious, it's just taking out the short circuited parts and puting new ones in). After hearing almost a lecture from him about why it is so important to give him lots of time and not rush him, I just decide to let it go. Whatever, as long as hes doing his job and I have a laptop to use in time for my paper. He tells me that it will be done on Sunday next week (specifically).

10/22 (The Sunday), I take another long journey on the TTC to pick up my laptop. Entering his store, he is bewildered once more. "Why did you come, did I ask you to come?". WTF? I told him that it is Sunday, I'm picking up my laptop which has been here for 17 days. I NEED my laptop. He says no no no, it's not done! The service is not done! Why are you rushing me!!! Don't you know that it CANNOT be rushed?!. He denies telling me to come today to the point of calling me a liar. I'm so confused at this point, I sputter out but but but, you told me to pick it up today and it'll be done. He skillfully dodges this and fires back about I should have phoned him first, he would tell me it is not done and I wouldn't have to come all the way here. Good point. BUT if he specifically told me a date, isn't it his responsibility to call me if he can't meet it? At this point, I ask where is my laptop, I want it back, I don't need your "service" on it anymore. He tells me it is in his home, all torn to pieces and he can't put it back right away so I will need to wait until this Friday. I say fine, fix it in the meantime, if you can't just return it. He seems relieved and says no problem no problem, give me a call on Wednesday and I'll tell you whether the fixing has been a success or not (gives the impression that it's going to be repaired by then).

10/25, Today, I just got off the phone with them. He is ONCE AGAIN (it's so infuriating) bewildered and asks why did I call. Have I call to rush him again? Didn't he say he cannot be rushed? I just absolutely give up at this point. I say it's fine, forget the entire thing, just return my laptop back. At this point he is jabbering about complete nonsense. I had said that it was a waste of time leaving my laptop at his store, I could have got it fixed in this 3 weeks and used it instead of trekking an hour a day to use the public ones in my university not to mention all the TTC fares and time (at least 6 hours) I have spent on the bus (I didn't even mention these points, just said leaving my laptop there was a waste of time). He then retorts, in his opinion it is I that is wasting his time... I have nothing to say to this, its absolute nonsense. I just said give me back my laptop. He says it's still in pieces I say fine, I'll come pick it up Friday. He tells me no way. That it will take him till Monday just to reassemble the pieces. This ticks me off again, I told him I needed it put back together and given back to me before Sunday (I have no time after that as mid-terms start), which is already a concession on my part. He says "NO WAY". I will give you the pieces on Sunday and you can put it back together. I ask him whether it takes five days to put back together a computer. He starts sputtering off again and tired by this I just slam down the phone.

This is my true experience.

I know people are going to blast me about why coulnd't I just spent more money on a proper store and how what you get is what you paid. But keep in mind that this store is a authorized retailer to sell many brands of laptops and it had seemed professional enough on first glance having a big "authorized service shop" sticker on. Also the amount I would have paid was even more than it would be at a big box store because I just wanted the repairs to be faster.

If I do recieve a box of parts back from him instead of my laptop is there lawful way of proceeding with this?

[UrbanPoet]

is there any written documentation recording the events and services?
or is it just "gimme a few twennies.... ill fix it...".
Its good to have thigns documented by the store and yourself with signatures on both ends. I believe this is what happens @ staples, bestbuy etc...
with $250 you coulda gotten it fixed by techs @ staples or Best buy =\

[IronMac]

I'd go back and get my notebook. Did you pay him yet? Something is seriously wrong here.

[UrbanPoet]

i dont wanna sound rude... but wtf would you trust your laptop @ some pmall shop? Thats gotta be at least grand worth of gear....

[vinniereno]

i dont wanna sound rude... but wtf would you trust your laptop @ some pmall shop? Thats gotta be at least grand worth of gear....

I know, I just came from Vancouver, got into a university here. I didn't have any problems with small computer shops in Vancouver (A-power, a lot of Richmond ones, etc). Came to expect the same in Toronto. Turns out I was wrong

[rayner55]

i wouldn't ever trust pmall for any repairs at all. if u brought it into an established place like best buy at least everything is all official and documented. and they'd never give this kind of crap to you the way that store in pmall is doing.

him holding that notebook of yours, that's too much power that he's got abusing over you. and the fact that there might be a chance of purposeful damages to your parts when he returns it to you.

[vinniereno]

I'd go back and get my notebook. Did you pay him yet? Something is seriously wrong here.

I wanna get my notebook but as he said if I pick it up Sunday, he'll give me the parts and I can put it back together myself. I really have no time after Sunday and all in all, this is just really pissing me off TTCing three hours round trip to pick up something that may or may not be ready (I have a feeling he won't confirm over the phone as always)

[IronMac]

Did you pay him yet? And, if you did, how did you pay? I hope it was with a credit card because you can then simply do a chargeback on him once you get your notebook back.

Do you have any sort of documentation?

[vinniereno]

it's puzzling that you would go on a long bus ride just to go Pacific Mall

who cares if you want to speak in Chinese

if you plan to work in Canada, you have to practise your English

My English is fine, as is probably evident by my post (unless it isn't?). It is easier for me to speak Chinese though.

[vinniereno]

and the fact that there might be a chance of purposeful damages to your parts when he returns it to you.

This is what I am afraid of.

[IronMac]

What I'd be worried about is that the guy has LOST the notebook or has damaged it somehow. I hope that he really is an authorized dealer/repair shop for your notebook brand. You can always complain to Sony about the poor level of service.

Alternatively, if your Sony is under warranty, take back the notebook and go to another Sony repair shop. CALL Sony first to complain and ask them what they are going to do about it.

[vinniereno]

What I'd be worried about is that the guy has LOST the notebook or has damaged it somehow. I hope that he really is an authorized dealer/repair shop for your notebook brand. You can always complain to Sony about the poor level of service.

Alternatively, if your Sony is under warranty, take back the notebook and go to another Sony repair shop. CALL Sony first to complain and ask them what they are going to do about it.

My laptop is out of warranty (by 1 month =( ). I don't think the shop was a Sony authorized repair but it definatly was Acer/Asus/Fujitsu and some other brands.

[vinniereno]

I'm thinking that all signs point to how he has somehow damaged it.

[kingsley]

Looks like you have crap negotiating skills so you're going to be eaten alive at a place like pacific mall.

Time to look for a new laptop.

[gqbluez]

Lesson learned. I would never trust such an expensive purchase with shotty stores at Pmall. They are notorious for horrible customer service. If you've paid them good luck with ever getting your money back. But as stated above if it was a credit card you should initiate a chargeback but since those stores at Pacific mall hate credit cards you probably paid with cash.

For $250 you could have bought a service plan at Bestbuy which specifically states that it covers any and all types of Power Surges and you would have likley got a replacement.

Do not shop at Pacific Mall for expensive purchases like those. Theres no consumer protection there and those people couldnt give a rats ass about you after you've given them youre money.

[masterballer]

i would stalk him at night and find out his car and plate #, then one day go there and "fix" his car for him.

[yuwing8]

I can guess this is notebook outlet* at p.mall? There's a bunch of complaints about this store already in RFD. My gf bought an extra battery for her laptop but never received it or got any phone calls about it. note that this is before september. worst thing is, she lost the receipt somehow...

You MUST put everything in writing!

I would record what he says over the telephon and in person. you should have done it at least 2 weeks ago when he gives you so much BS.

My English is fine, as is probably evident by my post (unless it isn't?). It is easier for me to speak Chinese though.

silly excuse. commuting 1.5 hours just so you can speak in chinese instead of english isn't worth it IMO. there are other computer stores in downtown...

* edit: said pacific notebook isntead of notebook outlet. my bad. notebook outlet is the bad one i think. but both are pretty ****** if u ask me. There's this one guy at pacific notebook named andrew that i hate because he gives you no respect.

[ladybug193]

i would stalk him at night and find out his car and plate #, then one day go there and "fix" his car for him.

:twisted: teehee :)

[Narci]

lessons learned.

there are a myriad of computer stores on college and spadina that speak chinese iv you need soemthing repaired. Just stay away from Canada Computers and Factory Direct.

[Nonopeno]

TO OP:

My friend has the exact same experience from that shop. He dropped his laptop in class, and afterwards he said he was unable to format it even though computer runs fine(which I dont think was a hardware error in the first place), therefore he took it to the store. After "diagnostics", guys says motherboard needs to be replaced.

Left it there for a while, when he got it back, guy simply says they couldn't fix it. The laptop won't even turn on anymore! (as i said it was working before) STupid friend just walks out of the store.. When I finally got time to take a look at the laptop, here are the things' wrong with it that weren't there before:

1) won't even power on
2) huge scratches
3) Missing screws on backpanel
4) loose keyboard
5) This pisses me off, A crack in the LCD..

now come on... they won't take responsibility of everything they have done.

so good luck fighting this store, i suggest to bring a few friends, and don't leave until they give u a working laptop (boot it up and show them), call cops if necessary..

good luck man...

[UrbanPoet]

get about 15 of your friends and walk into the store and ask him whatsup >=D

[najibs]

get about 15 of your friends and walk into the store and ask him whatsup >=D

That's it...RFD meet at the notebook repair shop in PMall :twisted:

[chickenbones]

Sorry, but are you went to pmall's notebook store, know for scamming people? Did you pay cash with no receipt?

[UrbanPoet]

RFD pick up hockey and baseball game on saturday... meet @ Pacific Notebook @ pmall.
bring ur own equipment

[P__S__2]

That's it...RFD meet at the notebook repair shop in PMall :twisted:

Count me in....(seriously)

[najibs]

Count me in....(seriously)

If I didn't live all the way in Sauga, and if a half dozen or so of us would seriously go, I'd totally be up for it, and help the OP demand his notebook back, or else...

[P__S__2]

If I didn't live all the way in Sauga, and if a half dozen or so of us would seriously go, I'd totally be up for it, and help the OP demand his notebook back, or else...

or else the store would get raided...then you will see a bunch of notebooks for sale in the BST lol.

[twboy1999]

lol
i heard a coupel of story about that store online

it is the laptop store on the side off the mall rite

[trixstar]

lol
i heard a coupel of story about that store online

it is the laptop store on the side off the mall rite


yea.. i think its that one too..

[yuwing8]

2 at the sides... one is pacific notebook and the other is notebook outlet.

[Homer88]

Notebook Outlet is the physically bigger store. And I think that's the bad one out of the two... Since I know one of the owners for Pacific Notebooks and he seems like a decent guy.

[FearSonic]

If it's Pacific Notebook, I wouldn't mind coming. I walked in looking for a laptop sleeve and they treated me like I was going to steal something. So I stole something.

Just kidding, I walked out and bought a sleeve elsewhere.

[vinniereno]

Thanks alot for all the support guys. I called a buddy up and he says he'll get back to me. Seems like he might have other ways of pressuring the owner. To clarify, I've only paid 28.50 so far (for the diagnostic). I don't know how much money he is going to demand before handing my notebook back, but he isn't getting a cent, with the amount of "service" and atitude I got.
However notice in the front page I wrote "Proceeding with this lawfully". I'd rather proceed with this slowly than land a big mess on my laps.
I do realize that under no circumstances should I have gone to P Mall. Maybe I ought to read RFD more often. Who knows what other good advice Id had picked up.

[trixstar]

Thanks alot for all the support guys. I called a buddy up and he says he'll get back to me. Seems like he might have other ways of pressuring the owner. To clarify, I've only paid 28.50 so far (for the diagnostic). I don't know how much money he is going to demand before handing my notebook back, but he isn't getting a cent, with the amount of "service" and atitude I got.
However notice in the front page I wrote "Proceeding with this lawfully". I'd rather proceed with this slowly than land a big mess on my laps.
I do realize that under no circumstances should I have gone to P Mall. Maybe I ought to read RFD more often. Who knows what other good advice Id had picked up.


thats some niceee english...

edit: ohhh u came from vancouver.. i thought u came from chiina for a sec.. lol. p-mall screwed me up..

[najibs]

I'd rather proceed with this slowly than land a big mess on my laps.


:lol:

[vinniereno]

thats some niceee english...

edit: ohhh u came from vancouver.. i thought u came from chiina for a sec.. lol. p-mall screwed me up..

Lol, P Mall does give that mistaken perception*. I'm from Vancouver, just came to university here in the east.

*Correction from najibs:D

[ak-47]

let's all dress up as police officers on hallowen and raid the store :lol:

[najibs]

Lol, P Mall does give that mistaken preception. I'm from Vancouver, just came to university here in the east.

You mean perception? :cheesygri

[trixstar]

let's all dress up as police officers on hallowen and raid the store :lol:

will you bring ur ak-47?

[ak-47]

will you bring ur ak-47?

hell no
when the real polize come they'll shoot at me furst!

[trixstar]

hell no
when the real polize come they'll shoot at me furst!

rofl!!

[doraemi]

too bad its pacific notebook. If it was notebook outlet, i would gladly come and help you out. I'm sure the posting of my bad experience is still floating around.

Using my MAD chinese skills, i managed to make the sales guy there almost run away....it was sad how he can be intimited by a short asian girl...and someone who has a limited computer knowledge...but still can overpower him in tech talk


hate pac mall
lets burn the place down

[UrbanPoet]

we should get signs and protest.
And we should do this outside Canada Computers.

[elusion]

which store is it? i'll pull a mission and clean that place out...:twisted: :rolleyes:

[GateGuardian]

I bought my laptop from Pacific Notebook and the service there is pretty decent. My asus power supply had some problem and they fixed it right away.

Will I buy my next laptop there? Prob. Not. I'd rather go to Milestone PC (CanadaSys) for an ASUS laptop. They seem to know what they're doing.

[P__S__2]

which store is it? i'll pull a mission and clean that place out...:twisted: :rolleyes:

No need to, I already took care of that. :twisted:

[trixstar]

No need to, I already took care of that. :twisted:

are you going to post some laptops in the BST? make sure they power up first..

[yuwing8]

I've also had a problem with the owner of this particular store. since the secret's out, i'll just say it since I don't deal with them anymore.

The supervisor/boss, Andrew, is a total jerk. He treats you if you're wasting his time. The other guy on the other hand (the thinner, taller guy with glasses) has a very nice attitude. But since the other guy is just an employee is not part of this, i'll leave him out.

I bought an asus laptop from there and after 8 months the harddrive broke down. there's a bad cluster in there and i knew it had to be replaced. altho it was still operative (windows boots fine and stuff), once the laptop tries to access the bad cluster, windows freezes... since I didn't have any spyware or viruses, I knew it was the harddrive.

anwyays, i rode the bus (1 hr from south of scarborough) all the way there to ask for the replacement. they took a look at it and jsut reformatted it with winXP and gave it to me back after it booted fine. They thought i was wasting their time because it was clearly 100% working fine (to them)... until i got home after 1 hr of commuting on the bus and accessed the bad cluster and it froze again. they even wanted to charge me $30 for diagnostics (software related problems aren't freee in the warranty), but I told them how was I to know whether it is hardware or software!?

Anyways since it was sunday afternoon, i coudln't go back. I had to wait until the week after. so i did and I took a picture on digicam of what the blue screen of death wrote after it checked the harddrive.. "bad cluster"... and i showed it to the guy and he just shooed me away, took the laptop. I think it took about a week to get it back. It should've taken over night since it's only replacing the harddrive but watever.

now i got home with my laptop with new harddrive... then I downloaded this centrino battery life saving software thing and I was fooling aroudn with it until i got a message saying that the harddrive was 1-2 years old! I was like... isn't this supposed to be new?! So i went back there to tell him that the harddrive isn't new, it's refurb. then andrew said "We don't have to put a new in. it is in fully working condition right now isn't it?" then before I could answer, he cuts me off and serves another customer. so i went there for nothing basically.

now I've sold the laptop and bought an apple ibook. the customer service at apple is so much better. I can't wait until my ibook breaks down near the end of my 3 year warranty so that they can give me a new macbook ;). ah the generosity of big companies...


edit

found another bad review of them:
http://www.spraci.com/boards.php?task=show&id=105490&board=x0canada&username=&area=x0canada&ucode=&parea=x0canada

edit 2
in terms of pacific notebook vs. notebook outlet,
pacific notebook seems to be more trustworthy to me but they have absolutely **** customer service from andrew. the other employee is very good.

most if not all of the notebook outlet employees know absolutely nothing (just very basics and read off labels or calculating prices off their calculators). but they do have very good pricing and they have $100 free coupon for extras. for example, get ram or extra battery etc.

the lesser of two evils is still evil. so i'll shop elsewhere like canadasys. lots of great reviews from them!

[P__S__2]

are you going to post some laptops in the BST? make sure they power up first..

Already tested, pics will be up tomorrow.




(jokes) lol

[d_jedi]

now i got home with my laptop with new harddrive... then I downloaded this centrino battery life saving software thing and I was fooling aroudn with it until i got a message saying that the harddrive was 1-2 years old! I was like... isn't this supposed to be new?! So i went back there to tell him that the harddrive isn't new, it's refurb. then andrew said "We don't have to put a new in. it is in fully working condition right now isn't it?" then before I could answer, he cuts me off and serves another customer. so i went there for nothing basically.
If it's a replacement under warranty, most of the time you don't (at least, you're not guaranteed to get) a brand new one.

[Canuck_2005]

If it's a replacement under warranty, most of the time you don't (at least, you're not guaranteed to get) a brand new one.


This is true, But I would assume if his laptop is fairly new it would have had a 5400RPM laptop drive, and if they replaced it with a 2 year old drive it is probably 4200RPM. If that was the case I would be pretty pissed too but i guess there is no way to really find out now lol

[NiftyScent]

http://www.shopintoronto.com/Computers___Electronics/Computers/Pacific_Notebooks/429945.htm

"Your mobile computing solution provider. We specialize in the Sales, Upgrade, and Repair of notebook computers. Emergency repair service available (under 24 hour turnaround)"

:lol:

[vinniereno]

http://www.shopintoronto.com/Computers___Electronics/Computers/Pacific_Notebooks/429945.htm

"Your mobile computing solution provider. We specialize in the Sales, Upgrade, and Repair of notebook computers. Emergency repair service available (under 24 hour turnaround)"

:lol:

This quote just made my day. They should be sued for false advertising if that's the case.

http://www.spraci.com/boards.php?task=show&id=105490&board=x0canada&username=&area=x0canada&ucode=&parea=x0canada

I went to bring in my laptop for service at Pacific Mall. The laptop store is called
Pacific Notebook (www.pacificnotebook.com). The guy named "Andrew" is rude, he will only
respect you if you are a really buyer. Reason for saying that because i took my laptop
for service and he was not able to solve the problem, he blamed me for wasting his
"valuble" time. I went to pick up my laptop, the problem is i live far from pacific mall,
so it take about 1 hour and 15 mins to get there, i called him to ask when you are closing
and he told me 8 and i wanted him to wait just a little bit like until 810 he refused to
because he told me with exact words, "no i'm not going to wait for you, i said i close at
8 and i wil close at 8", but again i asked him to please wait because i'm on my way, i was
on the bus and about 15mins away from pacific mall, he said " NO i'm not waiting, i have a
family waiting for he for dinner and i'm not goign to wait". and he said after ok "i'll
wait until 810", i'm like ok, but i got there at 8:00 and the guy left.

so i went the next morning to pick up the laptop and he gave me this attitude were he
said this laptop is useless and there;s not point in fixing it, i'm like well can i trade
it in hes like yes. so then i asked him like 2 questions but he replied back saying "how
about you talk to me if you are really buyering a new laptop" i'm like come on, is this
the attitude you gave to your customers, and he didn't reply back and ignored me and i
just left.

honestly for those people out there do not buy from these this company they have attitude
and no respect to you, just want your sale. in fact they scratched my laptop even more,
like there's dents on the side for no reason. would bring your laptop there and get this
respond from them?

here is my complain to you guys
hope you shop somewhere else besides them

:lol:

This is like my horror story at a smaller scale, same lousy customer service but at least he only lost a day, as opposed to 3 freaking weeks like me.

[elusion]

if anyones serious for the meet and greet at pmall at one of the 2 notebook places...im up for it...:lol: play some jitz (fooseball) afterwards. :D

[najibs]

if anyones serious for the meet and greet at pmall at one of the 2 notebook places...im up for it...:lol: play some jitz (fooseball) afterwards. :D

Instead of an RFD meet and greet, this one will be a meet and beat :lol:

[nickia]

First of all let me begin by stating..
Beware of ***, Pacific Mall, Markham (I will announce the name if he carries out with his threats and returns me a box full of laptop parts instead of my VAIO)

Here is why:

On the night of October 4th, my Sony laptop short circuted after accidently plugging in a powered usb cable which my laptop didn't support. In the morning the next day, I rode the TTC from my place in Toronto to Pacific Mall (decided that because Chinese is easier to communicate for me), an hour and a half distance. To make a long story short this is what happened afterwards.

10/5, Store(owner?) takes a look at it, says USB part of laptop brunt out, should be replaceable although I would only have 1 USB port left. I said fine that was acceptable, and to fix iit right away if it could be done under 60 dollars. (Paid 28.50 at this time just for the diagnostic check)

10/6, I trek again to Pacific Mall hoping it is fixed and just a small problem (the impression given to me was that it was). Store owner asks why did I come, I told him for my computer, the Sony one. "Ohh, that one" he says and commences to tell me that it will take maybe a week to fix (no mention about this yesterday, and no telephone to me either about it) and that the price has risen to a whopping 250+. Alarm bells were going off in my head, but stupidly I choose to ignore my thinking and just wanted to get this fixed fast (I had a paper coming up and needed this laptop to use badly). I said go ahead, fix it!

10/13 (around), I phoned in asked whats up, how is the repair job on the VAIO coming along, when can I pick it up. He is totally bewildered, asks me why I am calling him, do I have no patience, why must I rush him. Being confused myself at this point, I point out that he himself told me to phone him in a week (a week ago). He says I must have patience, takes time, can't rush the repair job (hilarious, it's just taking out the short circuited parts and puting new ones in). After hearing almost a lecture from him about why it is so important to give him lots of time and not rush him, I just decide to let it go. Whatever, as long as hes doing his job and I have a laptop to use in time for my paper. He tells me that it will be done on Sunday next week (specifically).

10/22 (The Sunday), I take another long journey on the TTC to pick up my laptop. Entering his store, he is bewildered once more. "Why did you come, did I ask you to come?". WTF? I told him that it is Sunday, I'm picking up my laptop which has been here for 17 days. I NEED my laptop. He says no no no, it's not done! The service is not done! Why are you rushing me!!! Don't you know that it CANNOT be rushed?!. He denies telling me to come today to the point of calling me a liar. I'm so confused at this point, I sputter out but but but, you told me to pick it up today and it'll be done. He skillfully dodges this and fires back about I should have phoned him first, he would tell me it is not done and I wouldn't have to come all the way here. Good point. BUT if he specifically told me a date, isn't it his responsibility to call me if he can't meet it? At this point, I ask where is my laptop, I want it back, I don't need your "service" on it anymore. He tells me it is in his home, all torn to pieces and he can't put it back right away so I will need to wait until this Friday. I say fine, fix it in the meantime, if you can't just return it. He seems relieved and says no problem no problem, give me a call on Wednesday and I'll tell you whether the fixing has been a success or not (gives the impression that it's going to be repaired by then).

10/25, Today, I just got off the phone with them. He is ONCE AGAIN (it's so infuriating) bewildered and asks why did I call. Have I call to rush him again? Didn't he say he cannot be rushed? I just absolutely give up at this point. I say it's fine, forget the entire thing, just return my laptop back. At this point he is jabbering about complete nonsense. I had said that it was a waste of time leaving my laptop at his store, I could have got it fixed in this 3 weeks and used it instead of trekking an hour a day to use the public ones in my university not to mention all the TTC fares and time (at least 6 hours) I have spent on the bus (I didn't even mention these points, just said leaving my laptop there was a waste of time). He then retorts, in his opinion it is I that is wasting his time... I have nothing to say to this, its absolute nonsense. I just said give me back my laptop. He says it's still in pieces I say fine, I'll come pick it up Friday. He tells me no way. That it will take him till Monday just to reassemble the pieces. This ticks me off again, I told him I needed it put back together and given back to me before Sunday (I have no time after that as mid-terms start), which is already a concession on my part. He says "NO WAY". I will give you the pieces on Sunday and you can put it back together. I ask him whether it takes five days to put back together a computer. He starts sputtering off again and tired by this I just slam down the phone.

This is my true experience.

I know people are going to blast me about why coulnd't I just spent more money on a proper store and how what you get is what you paid. But keep in mind that this store is a authorized retailer to sell many brands of laptops and it had seemed professional enough on first glance having a big "authorized service shop" sticker on. Also the amount I would have paid was even more than it would be at a big box store because I just wanted the repairs to be faster.

If I do recieve a box of parts back from him instead of my laptop is there lawful way of proceeding with this?

Don't trust those P-mall dealers! I got ripped off by one shop when I took my xbox to repair:mad:
I hate P-mall with passion:mad:

[veejam]

reading this thread actually pisses me off and this isnt even happening to me. it makes me wanna trash the store up!!! i feel bad for you, if there is an rfd meet, im there!

[ak-47]

pretend to be a serious buyer, ask him lots of questions, just waste as much time as u can

make him take the new laptop out, ask to examine it by opening the package

then up to the second you have to pay him, you fart and run away :twisted:

[DaVibe]

Be funny if like 30 people crowd the store at the same time.
All RFD people yelling random things.

WE WANT OUR COMPUTER! (even though we never put in a computer) ...
Oh it'd be gold.

I'd be there as well.

[DaVibe]

Silverman Helps, straight up.

[Luffy]

count me in

[maxgohan]

count me in for a meet, this story really upsets me
I'm down to beat up some repairmen

[Brownbear]

Be funny if like 30 people crowd the store at the same time.
All RFD people yelling random things.

WE WANT OUR COMPUTER! (even though we never put in a computer) ...
Oh it'd be gold.

I'd be there as well.

Haha
if we do this
count me in.

[IronMac]

Seriously, I'd advise against such a meet-and-greet. The store's just gonna call mall security and have everyone booted.

[rickyzhou]

Hey, thanks for the read vinnie.

There's a staples about a 5 minute walk away from pacific mall. like half the people working the place are chinese. and they're fluent in english as well. hell, everything around the scarborough/markham areas have chinese people in there ;P

[akito925]

I'm thinking that all signs point to how he has somehow damaged it.

also.. WHY Is the notebook doing at the GUY;s House? it should be at the work.. the GUY's house is not a authorized laptop repair shop.. even I could do that.. my garage is a authorized laptop repair depot...

don't know why you decided to goto a chineses shop.. if you say your english is good.. maybe when you speak english it is not very good?

[akito925]

Haha
if we do this
count me in.

count me in.. I waste their time too. I wat to buy two notebooks.. hahahha

[FuNPoLiCe001]

"hey, hey, beee a man. doooo the right thing"

someone had to say it :cheesygri

but sorry to hear about your problems. Don't ever trust Chinese stores for something that requires customer service, EVER.
You should just stand in front of his store with a print out about all the problems you've had and hand it to people.

[vinniereno]

also.. WHY Is the notebook doing at the GUY;s House? it should be at the work.. the GUY's house is not a authorized laptop repair shop.. even I could do that.. my garage is a authorized laptop repair depot...

don't know why you decided to goto a chineses shop.. if you say your english is good.. maybe when you speak english it is not very good?

People seem to have taken offence at the fact that I choose to go to a Chinese shop. It's not that all Chinese shops are bad, the ones I went to in Richmond, BC were spectacular. It's the fact that there are bad apples, and I happened to get one. It's my second month here in the east, I didn't know many places to fix and Pacific Mall just seemed to be a logical choice (at the time =().

[vinniereno]

"hey, hey, beee a man. doooo the right thing"

someone had to say it :cheesygri

but sorry to hear about your problems. Don't ever trust Chinese stores for something that requires customer service, EVER.
You should just stand in front of his store with a print out about all the problems you've had and hand it to people.

First great idea I heard all day (but it's early)

[EH100501AC]

They probably took out all your expensive parts or parts worth anything and replaced it with either old or broken (or soon to break) parts.

[Jump]

My friend always says that storeowner is "mainland Chinese". I'm guessing that makes a difference? I think he wanted to buy a TV there once and when he tried to ask for a discount cause he was buying two, he got bitched out and got a long winded explanation about how the store needs to make a profit. :lol:

[elusion]

Seriously, I'd advise against such a meet-and-greet. The store's just gonna call mall security and have everyone booted.

it wont help knowing some security guards there :twisted: I know 2 of my buddies that work there

[najibs]

it wont help knowing some security guards there :twisted: I know 2 of my buddies that work there

Maybe you can get the guards to join in on the protest, too.

[JetHeller]

I don't want to offend you. But it sounds like you are a p*ssy. If that guy had talked to me like that the first time, I would have taken my laptop elsewhere right away and told him to go f himself. I think most people would have done this. And if he refused to give it back I would have just called the cops and gotten it back.

I think this is half your fault for allowing this guy to push you around. Especially this guy who sounds like a lunatic.

[UrbanPoet]

pretend to be a serious buyer, ask him lots of questions, just waste as much time as u can

make him take the new laptop out, ask to examine it by opening the package

then up to the second you have to pay him, you fart and run away :twisted:

lets all line up and do this to all the associates for one day so they make absoloutely no sales for an entire day.. and do this on a saturday which is probably their peak business day.. tahtd be halarious.

[ch1zo]

OP..im sorry to hear about your misfortune
i hope u get back ur laptop!

these guys deserve to lose money...so im in on the meet too:D

[Thai]

Holy crap man! If it was me, there'd have been a whole case of WHOOP-AZZ open on him!

[nsd]

Seriously, I'd advise against such a meet-and-greet. The store's just gonna call mall security and have everyone booted.
Are you sure ? So if we go in the store and bug them without actually touching/destroying anything they can kick us out ?
We should pull one of those improv missions like the BB one from a while back (http://www.improveverywhere.com/mission_view.php?mission_id=57), but only bad somehow :D.

[ericyjh85]

First of all let me begin by stating..
Beware of ***, Pacific Mall, Markham (I will announce the name if he carries out with his threats and returns me a box full of laptop parts instead of my VAIO)

Here is why:

On the night of October 4th, my Sony laptop short circuted after accidently plugging in a powered usb cable which my laptop didn't support. In the morning the next day, I rode the TTC from my place in Toronto to Pacific Mall (decided that because Chinese is easier to communicate for me), an hour and a half distance. To make a long story short this is what happened afterwards.

10/5, Store(owner?) takes a look at it, says USB part of laptop brunt out, should be replaceable although I would only have 1 USB port left. I said fine that was acceptable, and to fix iit right away if it could be done under 60 dollars. (Paid 28.50 at this time just for the diagnostic check)

10/6, I trek again to Pacific Mall hoping it is fixed and just a small problem (the impression given to me was that it was). Store owner asks why did I come, I told him for my computer, the Sony one. "Ohh, that one" he says and commences to tell me that it will take maybe a week to fix (no mention about this yesterday, and no telephone to me either about it) and that the price has risen to a whopping 250+. Alarm bells were going off in my head, but stupidly I choose to ignore my thinking and just wanted to get this fixed fast (I had a paper coming up and needed this laptop to use badly). I said go ahead, fix it!

10/13 (around), I phoned in asked whats up, how is the repair job on the VAIO coming along, when can I pick it up. He is totally bewildered, asks me why I am calling him, do I have no patience, why must I rush him. Being confused myself at this point, I point out that he himself told me to phone him in a week (a week ago). He says I must have patience, takes time, can't rush the repair job (hilarious, it's just taking out the short circuited parts and puting new ones in). After hearing almost a lecture from him about why it is so important to give him lots of time and not rush him, I just decide to let it go. Whatever, as long as hes doing his job and I have a laptop to use in time for my paper. He tells me that it will be done on Sunday next week (specifically).

10/22 (The Sunday), I take another long journey on the TTC to pick up my laptop. Entering his store, he is bewildered once more. "Why did you come, did I ask you to come?". WTF? I told him that it is Sunday, I'm picking up my laptop which has been here for 17 days. I NEED my laptop. He says no no no, it's not done! The service is not done! Why are you rushing me!!! Don't you know that it CANNOT be rushed?!. He denies telling me to come today to the point of calling me a liar. I'm so confused at this point, I sputter out but but but, you told me to pick it up today and it'll be done. He skillfully dodges this and fires back about I should have phoned him first, he would tell me it is not done and I wouldn't have to come all the way here. Good point. BUT if he specifically told me a date, isn't it his responsibility to call me if he can't meet it? At this point, I ask where is my laptop, I want it back, I don't need your "service" on it anymore. He tells me it is in his home, all torn to pieces and he can't put it back right away so I will need to wait until this Friday. I say fine, fix it in the meantime, if you can't just return it. He seems relieved and says no problem no problem, give me a call on Wednesday and I'll tell you whether the fixing has been a success or not (gives the impression that it's going to be repaired by then).

10/25, Today, I just got off the phone with them. He is ONCE AGAIN (it's so infuriating) bewildered and asks why did I call. Have I call to rush him again? Didn't he say he cannot be rushed? I just absolutely give up at this point. I say it's fine, forget the entire thing, just return my laptop back. At this point he is jabbering about complete nonsense. I had said that it was a waste of time leaving my laptop at his store, I could have got it fixed in this 3 weeks and used it instead of trekking an hour a day to use the public ones in my university not to mention all the TTC fares and time (at least 6 hours) I have spent on the bus (I didn't even mention these points, just said leaving my laptop there was a waste of time). He then retorts, in his opinion it is I that is wasting his time... I have nothing to say to this, its absolute nonsense. I just said give me back my laptop. He says it's still in pieces I say fine, I'll come pick it up Friday. He tells me no way. That it will take him till Monday just to reassemble the pieces. This ticks me off again, I told him I needed it put back together and given back to me before Sunday (I have no time after that as mid-terms start), which is already a concession on my part. He says "NO WAY". I will give you the pieces on Sunday and you can put it back together. I ask him whether it takes five days to put back together a computer. He starts sputtering off again and tired by this I just slam down the phone.

This is my true experience.

I know people are going to blast me about why coulnd't I just spent more money on a proper store and how what you get is what you paid. But keep in mind that this store is a authorized retailer to sell many brands of laptops and it had seemed professional enough on first glance having a big "authorized service shop" sticker on. Also the amount I would have paid was even more than it would be at a big box store because I just wanted the repairs to be faster.

If I do recieve a box of parts back from him instead of my laptop is there lawful way of proceeding with this?

UNBELIEVABLE!
This Chinese Storeowner is giving a bad reputation to not only the Chinese community, but also the entire Asian community as a whole. After reading your experience, I just wanna rush over to that store and punch that little old scrawny crook in the face and burn down his shop.
I've been to Pacific mall this summer during my trip to TO and I was dismayed and even ashamed of what went on inside there. Not to mention the $5.50 bubble tea some of the shop were selling.
Anyway, good thing you are spreading the word and alert other RFD members.

[lithiumli]

damn, i feel sorry for you. i hope you get it all resovled. i would be so pissed. i would put a rock through his window....lol (but i think that's illegal ;) )....lol

[NiMSo]

Oh my... do you not have a backbone? :confused:
How could you put up with that?


I'm Chinese, so I think I have a right to say this :lol: :cheesygri :D.
I would NEVER trust a small Chinese electronics shop. In fact, I would have trouble trusting any small Chinese business dealing with pricy goods. I'm sure there are legitimate ones, but all too often they're shady... >:(

[ZenOps]

As a person who builds and repairs laptops in his spare time I can add this:

I won't touch a laptop or desktop that has a burnt out USB port. If you know a little bit about computers, you know that unlike serial parallel and PS/2, USB has a direct connection to the CPU. When the USB fries (usually because people try to insert it upside down and at an angle) usually the chipset and CPU are damaged as well as there is basically no protection circuitry in between. In which case I hate to tell people, that they should probably cut their losses and get a new computer.

But with all things in the repair business, its hit and miss. I once had a guy repair a lawn mower which died the next day.

[felix]

I won't touch a laptop or desktop that has a burnt out USB port. If you know a little bit about computers, you know that unlike serial parallel and PS/2, USB has a direct connection to the CPU. When the USB fries (usually because people try to insert it upside down and at an angle) usually the chipset and CPU are damaged as well as there is basically no protection circuitry in between.
I thought usually only the systemboard or I/O card needs to be replaced??

[keanefan]

I didn't know many places to fix and Pacific Mall just seemed to be a logical choice (at the time =().

No. Pacific Mall is too far for you.

you should read your laptop user manual or look on Sony website and try to find phone number for repair shop near your house

[ZenOps]

If you have to replace a system board because of a fried chipset in a laptop, then you basically are replacing the whole thing (except screen, drives and maybe memory)

If its on an add-in card, the cost to repair may be minimal. For desktops, if one has another CPU of the same type lying around, its sometimes worth seeing if it works.

[trixR4kids]

dam man, nth u can do though, tell us the store so we can boycott it, cuz that store needs to be closed down for scamming school students

hate stores like that

[cookie-monster]

Given what ZenOps said, perhaps the lesson isn't as expensive as it first seems.... the laptop may not have been worth salvaging anyway?

One way of looking at things, OP.

If that's the case, when OP gets it back, should he just sell off any parts worth anything, and put that toward a new lappy? If he took pics., could knowledgeable RFDers help him figure out what to sell and for how much? Just trying to help OP make the best out of the situation (and with no computer knowledge myself)... :)

[bmw_xperience]

you are too nice to go to Pmall... the retailers there are all EVIL~~~ haha..

Well for short circuit computers it will take lots of time to fix. Over the summer I had a short circuit motherboard... I thought..

After 2 whole months of figuring out what happened it turned out that my power supply started the whole mess, burned my MB, CPU and one of my ram sticks. So for all those ppl who thinks fixing sumthing that short circuited is easy think again... It could be easy but the electric after shock can affect other parts as well.

It would be easier if you just buy a new laptop.

[jonkaho]

do they sell lots of crappy computers at these stores?

[gillianchung]

i dont wanna sound rude... but wtf would you trust your laptop @ some pmall shop? Thats gotta be at least grand worth of gear....

is it really worth saving a few bucks

1. buying from someone that's really shady

2. buying 2nd gear probably gear with heat

3. unreliable sources with about a grand worth of dough

i'm not sure.

i never will spend over a grand buying anything on rfd from anyone, let alone pmall.

not that i like future shop, but there are other altneratives, like an apple store, or your university friendly bookstore.

buying 2nd hand / buying from some shady store, just....i dunno, i find it mind boggling people can AFFORD TO PAY OVER A GRAND

YET!

want to save, in relative terms, a few pennies and have a HUGE RISK.
this goes to people who got scammed on buying laptops on the forum as well.
it doesn't hurt the economy to go purchase it from a legit retailer folks, it's not a few hundred bucks, we're talking over a thousand.

[Kasakato]

Thanks for bumping 2 month old thread with useless information.

[Cacti]

Thanks for bumping 2 month old thread with useless information.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[cookiejunkie]

is it really worth saving a few bucks

1. buying from someone that's really shady

2. buying 2nd gear probably gear with heat

3. unreliable sources with about a grand worth of dough

i'm not sure.

i never will spend over a grand buying anything on rfd from anyone, let alone pmall.

not that i like future shop, but there are other altneratives, like an apple store, or your university friendly bookstore.

he must be bored...

buying 2nd hand / buying from some shady store, just....i dunno, i find it mind boggling people can AFFORD TO PAY OVER A GRAND

YET!

want to save, in relative terms, a few pennies and have a HUGE RISK.
this goes to people who got scammed on buying laptops on the forum as well.
it doesn't hurt the economy to go purchase it from a legit retailer folks, it's not a few hundred bucks, we're talking over a thousand.

he must be really bored

[Jkim]

I wonder what happend to OP and his labtop

[Cacti]

I wonder what happend to OP and his labtop

Yea after reading this thread i wonder if he got at them or just let it go.:confused:

[CrazeeV]

P.Mall Service Is Disgusting.....Of Couple of friends and I are planning to make a documentery with hidden cameras and stuff.......theres also a couple of stores at P.mall that sell Bootleg DVDs so I was wondering if we can go on and pick some up and just walk out and if they try stopping us and telling us we are stealing...ill just say "you dont want me calling the cops do you.":lol:

[cmge]

P.Mall Service Is Disgusting.....Of Couple of friends and I are planning to make a documentery with hidden cameras and stuff.......theres also a couple of stores at P.mall that sell Bootleg DVDs so I was wondering if we can go on and pick some up and just walk out and if they try stopping us and telling us we are stealing...ill just say "you dont want me calling the cops do you.":lol:
thats a smart thing to do... :rolleyes:

[twboy1999]

DO IT
DO IT
DO IT

i support u



P.Mall Service Is Disgusting.....Of Couple of friends and I are planning to make a documentery with hidden cameras and stuff.......theres also a couple of stores at P.mall that sell Bootleg DVDs so I was wondering if we can go on and pick some up and just walk out and if they try stopping us and telling us we are stealing...ill just say "you dont want me calling the cops do you.":lol:

[yuwing8]

i once walked out of a dvd store with umentionables under 18 :D

[chlorine]

P.Mall Service Is Disgusting.....Of Couple of friends and I are planning to make a documentery with hidden cameras and stuff.......theres also a couple of stores at P.mall that sell Bootleg DVDs so I was wondering if we can go on and pick some up and just walk out and if they try stopping us and telling us we are stealing...ill just say "you dont want me calling the cops do you.":lol:

they won't care if you call the cops, but I somehow don't think they will let you get away with the DVDs. but you can try, maybe you'll get on the news.

no need for hidden cameras really, everything is in the open...

[jimgiggles]

I hate P Mall.. I swore to myself the last time I went there that the next time would be with dynamite :)

What a horrible place

[JAGpilot]

Pmall is good for nothing. All the stuff is used/pirated/counterfit crap. Asian people go there thinking "oh I want to do everything Chinese" and in return they get screwed. They think that because your chinese you won't complain. Let me tell you when I go to FMP they go out of their way because they think I'll get the feds in if they do anything bad.

Moral of the story. Stay away from Pmall and any other chinese mall.

[keanefan]

All the stuff is pirated/counterfit and its poorly done at that.

No.
Not all the stuff is pirated/counterfeit.

Not nice to tarnish a whole group / shopping mall just because of a few bad stores.

I don't even notice these bootleg DVD stores.

[chlorine]

Pmall is good for nothing. All the stuff is used/pirated/counterfit crap. Asian people go there thinking "oh I want to do everything Chinese" and in return they get screwed. They think that because your chinese you won't complain. Let me tell you when I go to FMP they go out of their way because they think I'll get the feds in if they do anything bad.

Moral of the story. Stay away from Pmall and any other chinese mall.

Can you be any more ignorant?

There are many many more legit stores at PMall and FMP than ones that sell fake/pirated goods. Sure Chinese ppl like to go to Chinese malls, duh!!! Why do you think non-Chinese come to PMall, because while they know they might not get the best customer service, they come for good prices on certain goods or goods that are not available elsewhere locally (e.g. computer stores like Canada Computers, cell phone stores, car accessories, etc...).

At FMP, there are a few pretty reputable opticians, stores that carry authentic adidas, Fred Perry, seven jeans and the like...

While you may not agree with these stores' policies, sometimes the price is the most important thing, especially here on RFD.

Please do stay away from PMall, as it is crowded, so fewer people the better for the rest of us.


Back on topic, did the OP ever report back?

[mecca89]

would it be wrong if I suggested that the guy just go and punch him in the face and take a complimentary laptop? or is it just me...

[keanefan]

There are many many more legit stores at PMall and FMP than ones that sell fake/pirated goods. Sure Chinese ppl like to go to Chinese malls, duh!!!

He's confusing independent store owners with chain stores.

He's used to seeing the same chain stores in every mall and doesn't understand the concept of independent store owners.

But yes, you have to be wise with your money.
Some stores are dishonest but some stores are legitimate.

But business in general is about "screwing" you for your money

Expensive products that people buy in any store don't really cost much-
people are paying for the brand name, marketing, hype, status, etc

[JAGpilot]

He's confusing independent store owners with chain stores.

He's used to seeing the same chain stores in every mall and doesn't understand the concept of independent store owners.

But yes, you have to be wise with your money.
Some stores are dishonest but some stores are legitimate.

But business in general is about "screwing" you for your money

Expensive products that people buy in any store don't really cost much-
people are paying for the brand name, marketing, hype, status, etc

I'm used to seeing all kinds of stores including chains. I do go to FMP for small stuff like cell phone accessories and occaisionally the food court but buying big ticket items there is risky. I'd much rather go to Best Buy or Futureshop for repair than "Lucky Star Computer" or whatever these independent places are called). I only buy big ticket items from chain stores because they have the backup in case something goes wrong.

[bpopd]

Interesting.

I can't say I had a good experience with them when I went there.

[aimfox]

what store was this? i want to know because i have been to all of the pmall notebook stores.. dont tell me this is the one called the notebook outlet or something

[CrazyJo82]

what store was this? i want to know because i have been to all of the pmall notebook stores.. dont tell me this is the one called the notebook outlet or something

I'm curious to know which store too... it does sound like it's either that notebook outlet or those notebook stores... i wouldn't trust them... (i think i trust myself fixing my own problem then asking for THOSE people for help)

If you really need computer fixed... Canada Computers and PC Gate is good and reliable.

I would not send my laptop to BestBuy or Futureshop... I was watching CBC Venture where they did a test on how some store fix computers. It was a simple window corruption repair (easy solution of reinstall windows) and BestBuy tech... tried to make a simple repair and charged you $50 for this and that. One former BestBuy tech said, he was actually fired because he helped an old lady fix a simple problem (i think it was just turning on the computer) and did not charge anything. Some places, take your personal flies...

I'm trying to find the link... will post when i find it.

EDIT: it was actually Marketplace. Here's the article: http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2007/10/03/geeks_tips/
EDIT2: link of the video... http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/getting_gouged_by_geeks/

[Rx-87]

lol... how did a 2007 thread come back to life...


Aside from that... yes.. be wary when dealing with computer stores that are not "direct dealers" of the product...

[Whitedart]

lol... how did a 2007 thread come back to life...


The thread should be locked. The OP started the thread Oct 25th last year. After a flurry of messages and rallying of the troops here, the OP has not been back here since October 26th to indicate the matter was rectified or further action taken or ????.

[kuqdew]

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OP AND HIS LAPTOP??

Please update

[nextwish]

After reading your post I assume your laptop is out of warranty otherwise you shouldn't have paid ANYTHING including diagnostic check and that ridiculous 250 dollars. You should always try to lookup your manual first or search online for manufacturer repair policy before going for 3rd party repair services. Even if your NB is OOW you can still try to call your manufacturer tech support line (usually its toll free) to get you a rough idea how much you need to pay to get it fixed.
Believe me I know this first hand because I work in this field and I would highly recommend you always send back to your manufacturer service center because 1. under warranty - you don't have to pay a dime unless they don't offer free shippings and their service center is too far away 2. OOW - try to bring your notebook to closest service center (if possible), often small issues they will repair for free and you can also choose not to get it fixed if quote is too expensive but either way diagnostic check should be FREE. 3. Any manufacturer repair center should fix all notebooks within one week unless problems are occur randomly/intermittently. 4. they use original parts to fix your notebook unlike other unauthorized service centers god know they use what to fix it. 5. If your notebook took 2+ times to fix or if it will take a long time (say a month) it is possible they offer a brand new replacement without any charge.
Worst possible scenario - your notebook is OOW, no service center near you, shipping cost too much (such as international shipping) you are out of luck and you are absolutely no choice but to go to some local computer shops please take few minutes of your time search store names here/google find out if they are reliable to avoid any potential rip off.