Alliance Computers of Harrisburg

Reviews 3

A

Anonymous User

This company is actually beyond terrible. I am new to the area and decided I would check the place out a few months ago. At first, I was excited to see that the prices on their products are fairly cheap. After buying a few things here and there, I ended up returning quite a few items because it was junk. Here are a few things to look out for when dealing with Alliance Computers. 1.) Alliances products are so cheap because they buy them from a distributer that sells junk. After shopping there a few times, Ive returned almost everything Ive purchased because it either did not work out of the box or it stopped working after just a few uses. 2.) Their sales staff is horrible. The employees at Alliance usually have no education or certificates that back up what they "know". Also, there is a huge turnover rate. Every time that Ive went into the store, there has been a new face. When I asked a sales clerk if so-and-so was working that day, they laughed and told me that they were either fired or quit. A high turnover rate does not look impressive to customers. 3.) I asked one of the employees what their was the pay was like since I was looking for a new job (this was before I realized what a scumbag this place was). The employee told me that all sales clerks start out around $9/hr and technicians make $10/hr... But the employees get paid under the table! Theyre all hired as "Independent Contractors". 4.) The staff is always lying to the customers. The one gentleman that was working there answered the phone and whomever he was talking to asked for Denny. The salesman told him that hed have to run back and see if he was available and asked him to please hold. The salesman NEVER went to check! He proceeded to ring up my items and as soon as he was done, he went back to the phone and told the person on the other end that Denny was busy! I chuckled and shook my head. 5.) Has anyone ever seen the overpriced used systems at this place? They are usually dirty, gross, and in terrible condition. 6.) If you need an item and you cannot find it on their shelves, do not ask them if they have it. They will tell you that they do not, but they can "gladly special order it for you..." I mistakenly asked a salesman if they had an odd-ball item that I was looking for; he went on about how they can order it in for me in under two weeks. I was curious to see where they order parts from and who this "distributer" is that theyre always talking about, so I asked if he could please get me a quote. I stood in front of the salesman while he looked for this item, he first checked a local company, D&H, then NewEgg, and lastly eBay. I had already been to NewEgg and eBay to see if they carried the item and knew about what their prices were. The gentleman wanted to order me a part that I saw was coming from Hong Kong and he told me I could have it in two weeks... 7.) While I was in the store, I saw two customers bringing their computer back that had just recently been in for repair. They told the staff that their computer was not fixed and still acting up. Apparently Alliance does not realize that customers rely on their computers and need them all the time. The one salesman continued to explain to the lady that returned her computer for repair that itd be a few days until someone could take a look at it again! Be careful when dealing with Alliance... They usually carry junk and from what I hear, their service stinks.

JE

Jeremy Jarecke

My first visit was educational and left me with high hopes, I was just scouting the place, they have a lot of parts, and the employees seemed approachable. I returned with my PC and was given some basic tips as to what could be going wrong, and was directed to the appropriate parts for the fix. I returned the next day with continued problems, and was told that a diagnostic could be done for 35 dollars and to expect a call in 3 to 5, maybe 7 business days. I waited patiently, and did not recieve a call. I finally contacted them 13 days after I dropped the machine off, and was abruptly put on hold. In the time I was on hold, (approx 10 minutes) I made my way to the store to speak with someone in person. I spoke with the employee that put me on hold, who instructed me to hang up, and informed me that I was 9th in line. I asked how this could be possible, as it had already been her for 13 days. They had no answer, so I spoke with a manager who told me that turnaround time is usually within a week. He then offered to go speak with the service manager for me. I told him I would contact him later in the day to discuss the matter with him. I tried twice and each time he was indisposed, (lunch and a meeting). The second call I asked the associate for advice and he recommended upgrading my diagnostic service to priority or next day. Both at least doubleing the cost. I then informed him that I wanted to cancel the diagnostic and I would be picking up my machine. He said OK and that was the end of the conversation. When I arrived to pick up my machine, the employee that I spoke with in the morning was there, but did not help me, the manager said that he had not had lunch yet and was leaving the store to get lunch, this being 5pm. A third employee helped me get my machine, which I had to point out to him. When I got the machine to the car, a note was posted on it saying that I had canceled my service, and a diagnostic had been done on it, and the processor and the motherboard were incompatible. I was disappointed that after 13 days I was still 9th in line, and was kept on hold for 10 minutes on my initial call. And when I entered the store, still on hold, I found the person who put me on hold helping other customers. I did not feel valued as a customer, and in their place, would have atleast tendered an apology, or an explaination as to why the service had been delay for so long. Instead I was ignored, and ushered out the door. I have to admit that under better management, this would be a great business, as the merchandise is abundant, but it appears from the multiple community awards displayed in the windows, that a once mighty service provider has fallen.

A

Anonymous User

My first bad experience was when I took a LCD monitor that was no working in to be diagnosed. It took weeks for the diagnostics to be completed and I had to call them for updates. Not once did they call and leave a message providing a status. In the end I was told what part was bad and that they could not find a replacement part, but suggested I purchase one of the LCDs they sold in their store. After taking it home and doing some research I contacted the LCD manufacturer and was able to purchase the needed part and have it shipped to me for $44. Which after the $26 it cost for the diagnositcs was still well below the prices on the LCDs they sell. My second bad experience came when I took a number of old computer parts in for store credit. I was required to list all of the parts on a sheet of paper and after two weeks I still had not recieved a call telling me what store credit I could get. In the end they were willing to offer me $26, which might I add is less than I could get for more than one of the items I took in. That being said I requested an itemization of what was worthe something and what was worthe nothing. I was told that they could not provide an itemization as they evaluate the value of the store credit for the items as a whole, not individually so why did I have to list each item? They could not even provide a listing of what was worthe nothing as and I quote, "everything is worthe something." If I did not know the value of some of the parts I took in I would not have been the wiser when they told me the store credit which apparently they just made up.

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