Western Computer Reviews 209

Very friendly and knowledgeable staff who were patience personified in leading me through the complexities of Apple's digital maze. Thank You!

After calling their central support , I was advised to take my iMac to the store for the staff to assess. they would run diagnostics ( for a cost) and then be able to specify all hardware / software issues and fixes required. No need to book just roll up. So I did .

The staff had a completely different story to the service line. No diagnostics offered , the staff member said I needed a new hard drive without so much as turning the machine on. The store were not interested in even looking into the problem. They said that their 'support line' that I had called were useless and "did not know what they were talking about". When I asked if the hard drive replacement ( a week in the shop btw) would be reversed if it did not fix the issues , I was told no , there are no guarantees.

I suggested that they needed to look at sorting themselves out, as a result of bad advice , and the lack of any real interest in looking into my problems , I had wasted considerable time and money. I left the store as a "never to be customer" .

Some 'manager' fellow who had materialised from a back room but not participated in the conversation then followed me out of the store saying things like "If you don't want to be a customer get out of my store" and " you are abusing my staff". I had simply expressed my displeasure at their approach , and suggested they get their act together so other people did not waste time and money coming to their shop under false pretences.

Once at the door the "manager ( loose term)" tried to close the door in my face. Once I stopped that , I asked for his name , which as he was so polite and customer focused he refused to divulge.

Truly one of the worst customer service experiences of recent times.

My advice to anyone considering taking any business to Western Computers , particularly the Leamington Spa branch, should think again.

I was having an issue with my macbook, and they said that it would be £100 just for diagnostics. I found this utterly bizarre because if you take it to an Apple Genius bar they will tell you exactly what the issue is for free. I did exactly that and sure enough, they diagnosed for free. For comparison, our local independent computer repair shop would have charged £10 for diagnostics. Western Computers Chester also then went on, before even looking at the laptop, to quote me a price for fixing it which was more than it would be to buy a brand new one. Needless to say I didn’t let them do anything and I won’t be returning. They have no idea what they’re talking about. They guys in the Apple store and in the local shop both laughed when I told them this place tried to charge me £100 just for diagnostics. On top of everything, their attitude just stank.

I visited the Chester store yesterday as my iPad had crashed. I received excellent service from Sammy the store manager. I’m not very tech minded but he explained things clearly and spent time trying to resolve the problem. It being a hardware problem I made the decision to purchase a replacement. He thoroughly checked the iPad met my needs and installed it for me. I am delighted with my purchase and am extremely confident that any future needs will be dealt with as pleasantly and efficiently. Excellent

I booked in my iphone for a battery replacement as advised via the website. Then I was told to ring the day before to check there was an available battery. All fair enough so far!
However, when I rang the day before I was then told I then had to wait until 9am the next morning to hear if they had a battery ( bear in mind my phone was booked in for 10am and I live 20 miles away) By 9.30 am and no response so I then rang and waited 15mins to get through to be told - they had no battery!! They originally had 4 in the store but all had been used and there was now a problem sourcing more from Apple!
Why make customers book in ( and take time off work) if they can't guarantee the job can be done. Surely you make sure parts are reserved for booked in jobs before you allow customers to book in at specific times???
All extremely frustrating and smacks of bad management.
Think hard before you repeat my sad tale yourself!!???

I took my macbook in for a replacement screen a week before my alevels needed to be handed in. with this explained to them that under no circumstances i could loose my data as it wasn’t backed up they proceeded to get my laptop into such a state it was unrepairable.
they offered to replace the board they had broken but at risk of wiping my device. obviously this wasn’t an option due to my a levels being in a week. they recommended taking it to a data specialist which i did and who struggled to get the data off as the components inside the laptop had been fried. this couldn’t has happened from my laptop falling off my bed.
however when emailing western computers they insisted it wasn’t their fault which is obviously a lie.
i am now left without a laptop after they were the ones who fried it.
this is not something i would expect from a apple verified company and i am now bringing up this case with apple themselves.
if i could give 0 stars i would !

We took our macbook in for a screen replacement and they handed us the machine back 'dead'. We paid them £99 for the privilege and it subsequently cost us £850 to retrieve the data they'd lost!
They have completely washed their hands of us.
Please do not trust this company with your Apple device. Take them to an actual Apple store.

One can always tell how popular a store is when it takes a couple of passing visits before one sees a gap to get in.
In upgrading my IPad this week, the service and overall help received this week has been absolutely brilliant.
Joot who I believe is the manager ( if he’s not he should be ) clearly runs a great ship.
I only need to make apple purchases few and far between, but when I need anything again, this is the place for me and if you are in the market for Apple gizmos , head for the Regent Centre Cheltenham
Bmm

On two occasions, when I was really worried, Western Computers in Cheltenham have come up trumps. I can’t thank them enough, particularly Matt, who dealt with me on both occasions with patience, understanding and skill. His questioning mind and lateral thinking solved one especially difficult query to my great relief.
I have no hesitation in recommending the Cheltenham branch of Western Computers to all. I have heard a good report in respect of the Cirencester branch also.

Got an email Re health check on Apple devices from Western.
Took in Mac, asked if I wanted data from Hard drive back on, agreed.
Told to return in 2 hours. Then called, needed extra 30 mins.
Went to collect, another 1 hour 15 mins for data to be uploaded. Dan said that he could stop it and that it was easy to reload the hard drive. I was not happy at all about this, so he gave me Apple support number incase I had problems.
I did have problems and 2 technicians from Apple and 2 hours 40 mins later, I was told that the hard drive had been closed down incorrectly and they couldn't retrieve the data.
I was made an appointment to return to Western Preston the next morning.
No sleep as you can imagine - years of lectures, handouts, questionnaires, leases etc etc!
Left the Mac with Dan for 90 mins, he said that he was getting somewhere and that he would get the Mac back to me later, he would let me know.
Thursday 12pm called Western to find out about Mac.
Spoke to Pete, no way should this rude guy be allowed to speak to customers.
He said that Dan had told me about Mac - that it was OK and what time it was being returned - untrue. He said that i was my fault because I insisted on taking my laptop - all untrue.
I complained to Dave about these issues, he never even contacted me back. When I emailed him again, he replied
'I have spoken with all staff involved and feel that it was an unfortunate series of events that the team tried to resolve as best they could.'
Apart from poor service, appalling customer service, and the lies, this was an extremely anxious time.
The staff should have some idea how long a check takes and advise the customer accordingly. If a device needs to be kept for 2 hours, half a day or overnight so be it, but to compromise data is unforgivable.
Several years ago I gave this firm a glowing review, what a huge difference
The reply from this company was untruthful again 😳

Several emails enquiries without a reply . Eventually I was assured by email that a same day replacement battery could be fitted in the Oxford store for my iPhone if I booked an appointment as early as possible via the website. I did this , waited weeks to get a 10.10 appointment, arrived promptly and told it would take six days! No explanation why it would take this long , no apology just a disinterested assistant who shrugged when I explained I had an email chain supporting the same day service. I made a special journey to Oxford to get to this Apple approved dealer. Don’t bother , a total waste of time and dismal customer care. Stay away…. Oh the power of a poor review. This morning I have the reply posted here . Totally false , I had assurance of a same day repair plus my phone ( which wasn’t even looked at in store) has its original unchanged screen in situ. I have also this morning received a response to my original email to this company dated July 2021 which possibly indicates the reliability of their customer care.
I rarely post negative reviews but this company need to take my comments and the others posted on line seriously . Disappointed.

Booked an appointment through Apple for water damage. The man quoted me £99 to look at the laptop and then from that they would know how much it would be to fix it. He persuaded me that it wasn't worth it as it would cost the price of a whole new mac book. Went to apple, they looked at it for free and fixed it for less than half the price of a new mac. Outrageous. The man was simply trying to fraud a student of a new laptop. No way would the cost be over £1,000 to fix the laptop, as he suggested.

Jack at Cirencester branch gave us excellent service. He showed amazing patience explaining repeatedly to a senior citizen the intricacies of her new purchases.

M.M

Big applause to Western Computers. From initial phone enquiry with Pete to the in store purchase at Leamington Spa an hour later, a fantastic experience. I’ll be using these guys from now on. They have the stock, they have the knowledge and they even have student discount and the warranties. Do yourself a favour - don’t sit on your derrière worried about stock levels at A**** and get to one of their stores.

I Ordered an iPhone 12 was told it would be delivered to the store 4days later, 8 days after ordering it we were still waiting with no update, Brad (the manager) was very unhelpful and his reply to me was, order another one off of Apple website as that would arrive within 2 days and return which ever one arrives after. I ended up coming back in to get a refund as know one knew when it would arrive after being told a date, and there customer service is shocking as none of them seemed to care. Wont be using again

I had a problem with my apple ipad, I had lost all emails, Spotify, Kindle etc Western Computer in Cirencester was recommended.
Well what can I say, I received the most fantastic service I couldn’t recommend the shop and staff more highly. Joost was fantastic. He was very kind about my very old iPad, he’s worked a miracle and it’s up and running again. However, new one on Christmas list along with a new iPhone too. Thank you

I went into the Leamington Spa branch today to try on an Apple watch Series 7 to compare the size with my current Series 3. I had very poor service from the member of staff (a tall man who was bald) who was extremely patronising and gave me wrong information. There was not a Series 7 watch available to try on and he insisted that all of the watches including the Series 3 were exactly the same dimensions with only the screen size that was bigger so it made no difference which watch I tried on. I said that I knew they were different dimensions to which he replied "you don't understand" and then walked away from me. When I got home and checked on the Apple website the watch dimensions are different with the Series 3 being 38.6mm x 33.3mm x 11.4mm and the Series 7 being 41mm x 35mm x 10.7mm. I would expect your staff to know this and also to listen to customers. This is disappointing as I have always had good customer service from your staff in this store before.

In response to the reply below as someone with a very slim wrist a few mm can make a big difference to the fit of the watch which is why I wanted to try it on! I already knew that my straps would fit it but it was the size and weight of the Series 7 I wanted to check and compare with my Series 3. Fortunately I can go to an Apple shop tomorrow and do this properly.

If you wish to purchase an apple product please don't choose Western. Use Apple directly. I have experienced first hand the abject failure of Western customer service regarding a failed phone case. Have now spoken to Apple customer service. Brilliant as usual and made a new purchase. You may be in for a shock if you return an item to Western.

Which?
You have the right to reject your item and get a refund within 30 days of possessing the goods.
You could also ask the retailer to repair or replace your item within six months of purchase.

My product was outside of the 30 days. More like 60. I did not reject or ask for a refund. I simply wanted a replacement. The fault was not repairable. Case failed and an edge just snapped off. No indication of damage to the case by dropping. No indication of damage to the phone. No scuff marks or any other marks suggesting abuse of the case or device. By right, you have up to six months to request a repair or replacement. Just saying...

Sammi was very helpful & answered all my questions , taking time to fully explain key points . - The staff serviced my Mac well , & in a good timeframe . - Will be recommending the staff & business to all my friends & family . - Well done Chester branch .

I brought my Macbook in for repair under Apple's keyboard replacement program and, after a thorough inspection by TWO members of staff, it was confirmed that the repair would be carried out FOC as it was a common warranty issue (one employee even explained how he had the same issue with his own Macbook and it was repaired under warranty).

Upon returning home I received an email claiming that the unit had suffered physical damage (this is categorically NOT the case) and therefore cannot be repaired under warranty. Conveniently, Western said they could still address the repair but I would have to pay for the privilege. What a surprise!

I have since raised the issue with Apple directly and they have confirmed that it is indeed a warranty issue and they will now repair the unit themselves completely FOC, thus confirming that Western Computer fabricated the issue to maximise profit. AVOID.