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Wednesday, November 09, 2016

GadgesFix Leeds - Service Review

I gave them my LG V10 to repair on 7th October 2016, Thursday. It had gone into boot loop and I was not able to fix it with factory reset so I thought I would try real professionals before giving up on my favourite phone.

After explaining to the owner that it was a Hong Kong variant of the V10 I told him that I don't put it on any hard surface because of the camera on the back, I don't want it to be scratched. He assured me that they would put it in a bubble wrap before sending it to the tech department. I was happy with that.

He gave the phone to another clerk to log it into the system and the first thing the clerk did was to put the phone down on the glass counter! I picked up the phone and reminded the owner that that's exactly what I was requesting to not do. The owner admonished the boy who put the phone on a plastic sleeve this time and that was that.

The owner quoted me £35-£45 if it turned out to be a software issue and £50-£60 if it needed hardware components. Then explained me that their minimum charge is £25 which they prefer to get in advance. When you want service you need to pay. I paid the £25 there and then without grumbling.

I asked if they would call me with updates and was told yes, but that I could also find out the current status by going to their website and clicking "Repair Tracker".

Cool. So far so good.

Next day I tried to use the repair tracker on their website. After I entered my details and the ID number that they had given me, I received an email that they had received my enquiry. No status update, then or later.

No update until Monday. Then on Monday morning I called them, and talked to the owner. The first update he gave me was that in their system it was showing "Collected by customer".  When I insisted that I had not collected it, he said that they could not fix it because it was a Hong Kong model. (I had told him this myself when I handed the phone in!) He promised to call back with clear status.

He didn't.

After waiting a couple of hours I went to their shop in my lunch break and collected the phone. I didn't get any details or discussion about the problem, just a quick apology that they could not fix it and if I had paid the charges. Then he checked that I had paid and was at ease.

On my part, I was out £25 with nothing to show for it. I give them 2 out of 5 stars simply because I don't want to act like a dick otherwise there was nothing in the whole experience for me that I would count as good. There was nothing in the service that would make me recommend their shop to anyone.

Not to imply that are not professional or anything. They are. But they were more professional about their money than your problem.


Good day? Bad day?


Being a positive person, I am careful never to call a day "a bad day" it condemns that day beyond reprieve. However, my positivity is being stretched to the limit today, it's not even 10 am yet and it's already been a 6 WTF day.

WTF 1: Got up very late.
WTF 2: Snowing outside.
WTF 3: Trump is president of America! (Big WTF this one!)
WTF 4: Realised that I am losing Indian money because leftover money from last India trip is in 500Rs. and 1000Rs. notes which the Indian prime minister has just made obsolete.
(Every India trip I leave some leftover currency in my wallet for the next trip. This lasts me for a day or two when I land in India and I don't have to find an ATM immediately. Last time I made an error in judgement and withdrew more money than I needed just a day before my flight back to UK. So, this time I had more money left over in, guess what, 1000Rs and 500Rs notes. Suddenly realised with a start this morning that I am losing that money. WTF!)

WTF 5: Guitar teacher cancelled lesson for tonight as he is unwell. (I was counting on this to get me through the day.)
WTF 6: The Lemsip I bought yesterday is sachets not capsules. (I should have looked more carefully but they also need to put the words Sachets on the package).


Now, let's see what positives I can find in these.

I got up late but got ready in time and left the house in enough time to catch the same train I do every morning.
The snow slowed me down but still...I was in fact 3 minutes early at the station.
Despite changing to the heavier jacket, I didn't leave anything back - train ticket, office key card, headphones, smaller headphones that fit inside the jacket hoodies. All ok.
Although I do care about what happens to it, I don't myself live in America.
Yes, I will lose that money. No getting around it. But I can obviously afford it.
Without the lesson I will have time to work on the song I am writing. I was counting on my teacher's help but this will give me time to practice and present to him a more advanced project next week.
And I don't have to go back out in the snow once I get home.
I had a colleague who could lend me 2 Lemsip capsules and I can pay him back at lunch time. I have the money to buy new Lemsip and I know I can exchange the Sachet packet in the afternoon on the way back.
It might be snowing outside but I am inside a well-lit, warm building with access to the internet.

Things will get better from here.

And to borrow from my last post - we're still flying.