PowerLight Systems Computers

My son’s laptop stopped working so I decided instead of going to a large box store, I would give the business to a local shop near my house to help help support small businesses. HUGE mistake! They claimed they were not able to fix it so my son went in to pick it up. When he got there he was pushed into a hard sell tactic for one of their used/​repaired units that are totally outdated. When he refused they returned his laptop to him and as promised, didn’t charge a fee since they couldn’t fix it. Upon examining the laptop, it appears they never even tried to fix it. The old guy who works there after
for about 10 minutes, quoted us a price that was almost too good to be true. But then a few days later we got the call about a faulty motherboard from their supplier and they couldn’t trust them for another one so they would not fix the laptop. Yeah right! So we were pretty disappointed that this shop not only lied to us, wasted our time, and instead of fixing the laptop for the quoted price, used the opportunity to sell us their junk. But the worst part is they had the nerve to swapout the memory chips and think my 14 year old kid would not notice. The laptop went in there with 8+2 for a total of 10 gigs and came back to us with 4+4 for 8 gigs. WTF!
Since then, I just bought my son a new laptop and he is now happy. I had to finally write this review so people know how shady their operation is. I could have gone back and confronted them about this issue but decided to instead move on and learn my lesson to never trust this shop again and to tell my fellow Unilocalers of my experiences, Avoid this place at all cost!!!

These guys have been very helpful in fixing my computers. I have also bought a used computer here and they transferred everything over from the old computer. Great prices and honest, friendly service.

Can’t comment on their service since they never even looked at my printer even though it was in their shop for 3 weeks. When they accepted it he told me it would be ready in a few days. When I went to pick it up he said they’d had to move it to the back to make room… how hard would it have been to pick up the phone and let me know they weren’t going to even look at it???
Save yourself the trouble and skip this place!

These people are extremely limited in their knowledge and ability to do much with computers. You would do better waiting your turn with Geek Squad than to put your energy/​computer in this place. We lost a lot of valuable data when we purchased a refurbished machine and they did a data transfer from our old system. The guy «Bill» that works there isn’t even an Engineer… who knows what his credentials are yet he does a lot of the work when people bring in their units… not to mention he is one of the rudest people I’ve ever met. He’s absolutely disgusting with how he responds to people saying he’s too busy etc. Unbelievable. When you’re a paying customer and you have concerns or questions, then are answered with «I’m too busy»…are you kidding me! So you can’t get Bill to help you much then you can’t get the owner to stop talking. You cannot have a normal conversation with John Pierre (the owner). He litterally talks non stop. You can’t get a word in edgewise. This place really messed up our data transfer from the old disk drive and we wish we could take them to court but it probably wouldn’t be worth it. If you’re reading this review because you’re considering using them, DON’T !

Beware of Bill at this location, he is ultra sensitive if you question his work or ask him to explain what he has done or will do. If you don’t go with his recommendations he will not stand behind the work. He treats women as if they are an object to be talk to and not with and will call you «Lady» instead of using your name. I have never before had such unprofessional service from a vendor. The owner, JP, never once tried to mediate the situation but rather tossed his own «gasoline» on the fire.
Sadly, I came to this place by way of a referral. Since then I’ve heard nothing but negative things from other computer techs in town and other customers who have used their service.
We don’t even know if our system was fix but do know they said they would never work on it again. Which means they do not stand behind their service.
Consumer beware!

I found this place to be fine for my needs. I needed a new power supply installed and they did it the same day and didn’t charge me an arm and a leg.

I’ve been going to Powerlight for years and I love them. They’ve always done a great job, JP is a really sweet guy and I can trust them. I bought my last laptop from them and am urging a friend to do the same.

Never take your computer here to get «fixed.» All the manager manages to do is ruin it. Because of «JP» I have lost all the data on my computer; the worst part was he tried to blame the loss on me and say it was my fault. This guy is a snake – watch out!

JP has fixed my computers over the years. I can’t thank him enough for his honesty, his professionalism and the fact that he always pinpoints what may be wrong with my machines and fixes them.
He is extremely reasonably priced and explains exactly how the machine operates and what is causing the problem.
I have also had him build me a new computer, my daughter a new computer, my sister a new computer.
If you want straightforward honest place to bring your computer then this is the place!

After reading the above reviews, I had to double check to see if this was the same place that we took our computer to. Unfortunately it is. My wife took our Dell computer to PowerLight to have a virus removed. We chose PowerLight mainly because we did not want to go to Geek Squad, we thought that an independent establishment would provide better service, and usually such places do. My wife was told that if the virus was only on the operating system then our files such as pictures, music and school papers would be saved. My wife was also told that it would not take long to fix. Actually, we did not care so much about the time, just as long as they could get rid of the virus and save our files. After a few days my wife calls to check on the computer, the owner tells her he’s found the virus and all our old files should be fine, the computer should be ready in a day or two. Well, a few more days pass, she calls again, the owner can’t even remember who she is. After reminding him what computer it was, and what we brought it in for he starts to remember, well its not ready yet and he’s behind because one of his technicians is out. Well, now we are starting to get a bit annoyed as this is starting to go on for a week now. We reminded ourselves that as long as our files are intact who cares how long it takes. About 4 more days pass and we call to find out that they have taken the virus off, and our files are OK. The owner tells us that we need to bring in the Windows back up disc. Now, we have a Dell computer and Dell’s do not come with a backup disk — it is on the hard drive. We called Dell’s tech line and they said that there is an icon on the desktop that allows the technician to access the back up software. Well, the geniuses at PowerLight erased it! We spent almost an hour on the line with Dell trying to see if we could have them send us a copy of the disc, which they did. Dell also said that the repair person we were dealing with should have known this before they erased it. So we drop the disc off, and wait. The owner claimed he would have it ready right away after he received the disc. Two days go by, my wife calls and again they act as if they do not know who she is, after he finally remembers who she is he tells her that the computer still is not ready because he sent his technician to fix his friend’s computer! I did not make that up, he actually told her that after he’s had our computer for two weeks now! Well, again our main concern was that we get our old files intact. The next day my wife calls again, she is told that it will be ready at the end of the day and all is well with the computer — virus gone, files intact. She told him she would be by around 5 o’clock (PowerLight closes at 6) and got there about 5:30 to find a locked door.
This guy knew she was coming there straight from work to pick up a computer he’s sat on for two weeks and decides to close early? Luckily, she could tell someone was in the back and after banging on the door for a few minutes he decides to let her in and finally pick up the computer. Well, hey it took a while but he said our files were OK so no harm right? Well actually no. Out of about 13,000 MP3’s we had on the computer, we now have about 20 or so. It does look like most of our pictures are intact. School papers, nowhere to be found. They’ve also done something to our sound card or its driver, we have no sound, and all the bells and whistles that came with the original computer, all gone. We now have a shell of what our computer used to be. I have never, ever, dealt with such a not just an incompetent, but just absolutely careless outfit like PowerLight. I heard all the horror stories from folks who took their computer to Geek Squad but this absolutely takes the cake. These liars and rip-​off artists should”t even be allowed to service an AM clock radio! Don’t waste you time or money with these people. We are truly sorry we selected PowerLight, don’t make the same mistake we did.

I had been through several computer repair spots before I found JP at Powerlight Systems. He is amazing. He not only fixed my computer that day (while I waited), he explained to me everything he was doing. Let’s just say I’m not the most advanced when it comes to hardware or software, so the fact that I actually understood what he was saying was fairly exciting for me.
He’s great, he’s local Alameda (via Europe) and he follows through on his promise. I highly recommend him!