A1A Computing

Couldn’t be happier! Art and Andrew were invaluable as they suggested ways of upgrading my 6 year old Mac Book Pro to smoothly tackle video editing. Their incremental approach was thoughtful and explained to me in detail. Even with boosting the memory and then discovering and replacing an «unhealthy» hard drive (which was no real surprise to me considering how slow the machine was booting), the upgrade and the data transfer only took one day. I was up and running again that evening. And, what an amazing improvement in the responsiveness of my Mac Book!

This review is only based on customer service due to the fact that it was so terrible I never got any repairs done and therefore can’t comment on their technical skills. So a few weeks ago I went in to ask a few questions about installing OS X on a PC, different options for macs etc… The girl at the front had no clue what I was talking about and said «wait what, you want to install a Mac on windows?» When I heard that I knew I was in trouble. Anyway after a few minutes of me trying to explain the question, simply just the question, she turns around and asks the tech. The audacity of this guy… Doesn’t even look at me and says no they don’t do that here. I’m thinking that’s fine I guess that’s totally understandable. What I don’t understand is how you don’t greet the only customer you have when they walk in, or the fact that the person responsible for first talking to that customer nor anybody else there that day has any idea what on earth customer service is. I get it, she doesn’t know a lot about computers but needed that job, totally understandable. But does she not know how to say hi? And again, I get it, the tech probably doesn’t want to waste his time with me because he knows he can’t help me, but does he not know how to stand up and introduce himself? Finally, not that I would have used it, but as I left they didn’t offer a card or anything concerning if I had questions in the future… I mean I get it you can’t help me with what I came in for but I do have a computer, and it’s more than likely going to need some fixing up in the future, so why shoot yourself in the foot like that?
Honestly the whole experience was surreal I thought I had walked into a shoot for a video somebody was making to instruct employees what a terrible customer service experience feels like. It was just sort of sad the whole thing, watching somebody run their business like that is depressing. Maybe they aren’t trying to be the best repair shop in LA and that’s fine people have different goals in life, but are they even trying to make money? Like the service was so shitty… After I left I wondered if it was a front for laundering money, because I couldn’t understand how they would make money otherwise and be able to afford their lease.

This place is where you should go for Mac repairs or to purchase a refurbished computer. Art is very knowledgeable and will give you a fair price.
In my personal experience, I had a 7 year old Mac Book Pro that was having one issue after another. I took it to the Apple store multiple times and they kept charging me for parts. When I took it into A1A, Art sold me a refurbished Mac Book and gave me a fair price for the old one. He was able to transfer everything from my hard drive and offered a 3 month warranty included with the option of purchasing an additional year warranty after 3 months. I didn’t need to use it for the year.
This week the battery gave out and I took it back to A1A to be repaired. The price was fair and I was able to use the coupon on this page. Happy customer! I would recommend A1A.

These guys are great! A1A was able to update my software in ONLY one day and was inexpensive! They were professional and called before making any changes. I highly recommend going to see them :)

A! A Computing fixed my computer in one day, was not expensive and was so helpful!
It was a PLEASURE working with them!
I highly recommend them!

AMAZING! FAST, EFFICIENT, THOROUGH, AND EASY!
Got their info from my friend who runs a business. I was think for sure if they help major companies and business like that then it will be out of budget for me… WRONG
My MacBook screen had a fuzzy line down the center, had no clue why. Turns out, I needed a new screen. It was ¹⁄₃ less then the Apple Store. When I brought it in It was running soooo slow; Pete did updates and rebuilt the hard drive (I am not a computer person so excuse the verbiage) It runs amazing now. I have called twice, they were still helpful! I WILL refer people, and I won’t be going anywhere else.
My computer is brand new now! Thanks Guys!!!

I was recommended to A1A computing by the owner of TLC Creative, Kevin who is the go-​to-​guy for lazar lighting for events like Dancing With The Stars, Lakers to the Super Bowl. It’s his job to stay on top of technology and this is who he uses. On his recommend I purchased a nearly new MacBook Air from AIA in 2009 and I still use it daily.
Over the years A1A has upgraded and repaired it as needed. Art, Pete and the behind the scenes staff are knowledgeable, personable and reliable. Rob handles the mobil repair and is top notch. Their prices are fair and their work efficient. As a result I have recommend their Mac repair services and used gear to numerous friends.
These are people that can be trusted with your equipment!
Sincerely,
James Groth
Malibu, CA

This place is the absolute best! They saved my hard drive, when 2 other computer tech stores (recommended from apple) failed to do so. They have great customer service and are extremely knowledgeable. I highly recommend them and strongly believe that no one in LA tops their service!

A1A computing replaced a hard drive on my IMac. They upgraded it for me and did a great job for ½ the price it would have been at Apple store. I used my Unilocal deal. Hard drive is still going strong a year later!

Can only say good things about this store. I sold them a few old Macs over the years with good experience and had my first encounter with their Mac service.
My 27Mac was ready to get the 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD upgrade treatment. Great price (a fraction of what Melrose Mac quoted), quick turnaround (dropped it and picked it up two our laters) and friendly service, what can you ask for more.
BTW free parking in the back (sometimes there are the small things in life that count too)

The service, price and congeniality of A1A Computing is fantastic. I have brought all my computers here at one time or another and always leave satisfied! I have recommended them to others and they have the same response as I… thank you A1A Computing!

These guys are great. Fix anything and make it better.
I brought in an old internet radio. They even called Germany to figure out how to fix it. They figured out it needed new software and they figured this all out. A radio I would’ve thrown away– now I get to enjoy internet radio beautifully because if them!
My older Mac has been made new with extra space! Love these guys!
Prices are reasonable too!

I recommend that you do NOT try to sell any of your computer components to A1A. I had a poor experience with them in 2010 selling an original generation G4 tower & I had hoped their business would have improved since then. Fool me once, shame on them. Fool me twice, shame on me, I suppose.
These are the facts:
— on 4/​8, I dropped off a perfect working condition Mac Mini 1.66ghz along with 2 perfect working condition LCD monitors. Still wasn’t expecting much for them; was even considering just donating them to the Salvation Army. Should have done that. They said they’d call & have a quote for me the following day. Not so.
— on 4/​10, not having received a response, I called & got a quote of $ 100. Great! Said my check would be ready in 6 weeks (which sounds rather absurd as it is, but I wasn’t in a real hurry). 6 weeks would be ⁵⁄₂₁.
— on 6/​21, not having received any response for 10 weeks, I called to see what happened. Was told they didn’t know why a check hadn’t been cut; everything was in order. They’d get to the bottom of it right away & call me back the next day.
— on 6/​25, not having received a call back, I called again. They told me things are still in order, however their accountant only comes in once a week (Tuesdays???), but even though today happened to be a Tuesday, they weren’t there because they MIGHT be on vacation this week (!?!). Said they’d have the accountant get right on it as soon as they returned.
— on 7/​12, not having received any response, I called back & was told things are good to go but that they can’t cut a check until Tuesday of the following week (⁷⁄₁₆).
— on 7/​16, I called before going over there in case there was yet another problem. Turns out, there was another problem. Can’t cut a check til Thursday ⁷⁄₁₈ now.
— on 7/​18, not having received any call during the day, I called around 3pm & was told my check was ready. Woo-​hoo! I drove over there only to be handed a check for $ 75. Which is not the $ 100 I was quoted. Upon bringing this up, I got a «wow, I don’t know how that happened. I thought it was $ 75.» response. I wouldn’t leave until they also cut me a check for the additional $ 25, which they promptly did with apparent ease (considering how difficult everything else had been). 14 WEEKS LATER I finally received a check (s).
Amazingly, this is the EXACT SAME THING THAT HAPPENED IN 2010. Same completely shady business.
Bottom line: never again.

Four months ago my daughter’s laptop crashed. She is a poet and depended on her computer for all her manuscripts. This was a real emergency. A1A was professional, friendly and compassionate to her situation. They expedited the diagnosis, saved her data and replaced the hard drive in just 1 day. We have had to call them again recently due to some corrupt update that downloaded. Once again their attention to a
possible disaster was professional, helpful and friendly. I have had quite a bit of experience with computer technicians in my workplace. A1A staff is the best! I highly recommend their service.
M.T.

My 2007 white 13.3″ macbook is my everything laptop. It handles my video editing, my photoshopping, my quickbooks, my life! So… when it was time to upgrade my wife to OSX I picked up a refurbished macbook 2007 white 13.3″ from these guys with their 90 day warranty. This machine runs wonderfully! The team here at A1A computing are experts at restoring, cleaning and preparing machines for your life and all it demands from the technological world. The batteries come from a third party and have great life expectancy. Their A/​C charger is also third party and it occasionally creates «noise» through a stereo system when no .midi, .wav, .mp3, .mp4, .mov is playing. Its always temporary and no biggie. I’d recommend these guys for any refurbished products! WOO!

Problem: my stock 120GB 5400 RPM apple hard drive was nearly full.
A1A Solution: upgrade to a snappy 500GB 7200RPM hard drive capable of storing all of my stuff.
Icing on the cake: I had clear and constant communication with A1A during the process and they delivered everything to me on time. Keep doing what your doing, I’ll definitely be back and let people know about y’all.
–Manny

My experience with A1 has been great. They fixed a couple of my Powerbooks over the years and I’ve never had any issues. They have plenty of accessories and advice. Best thing is I dont have to wait in a long line for a «Genius».
For the people complaining. My advice is to learn about your computer’s issues before taking it to get repaired. Same advice I use for car repairs.

I have to say I am confused at the plethora of negative reviews here… In fact, reading them almost made me not visit the store. I ended up trying them because they were highly referred by two clients of mine, so I decided to take their word over the reviews here.
I am SO glad I did. This place and the staff were wonderful. Fair prices, knowledgeable, no nonsense explanations, free parking. It is a bare bones, kind of throwback to when people were not trying to take advantage of you at every opportunity.
So, I would highly recommend this place for sure.
B

They should allow you to put no stars for a company because this company doesn’t even deserve a star.
I brought them my computer and they couldn’t of f**ked it up worse than they did! I brought it in b.c. it had a virus. When I came to pick up my computer the girl said «We saw that you had Vista on your computer so we upgraded you to Windows 7.» Or something like that b.c. I can’t remember the exact operating program.
So I’m thinking (1) wow that was nice of them b. c I know it’s expensive to get that program but also wondering how I got it for free? and (2) WTF! You didn’t even bother to ask me if it’s okay to do that?! Maybe I like Vista. They definitely should of asked me for doing that to my computer as that’s not why I brought it in.
Sure enough a month later the program expires and says I have to buy it. And it starts causing more problems on my computer. It’s as if the software had a virus on it. So I take it in and tell them to remove it and they do (I think) but my computer is still acting up. So I go ahead and spend the money to get the software they first put on my computer without my permission and that seems to fix the problem.
Also, when I first got my computer back they didn’t re-​install my sound on my computer so it was missing. I had to go back and show them that it was missing b.c. they didn’t understand so they ended up re-​installing it back onto my computer. But the fact that I had to sit there and explain it to them and do their job for them when I know nothing about fixing computers was sad.
It was a NIGHTMARE of wasted money and time as this was an ongoing problem with them for a month.
PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!

I just moved in across the street from A1A and have a simple issue with old Mac keyboards. To me the old ones are great. They have really good feedback unlike the new ones which don’t have that «click» to them. I tried buying a new keyboard designed to be «just like» the old ones but its not even close and its LOUD.
This brings me to A1A as I called them to see if I could walk one or two of my backup keyboards over for a quick cleaning. Someone answers and then puts me on hold for 4:45. That gave me plenty of time to read their Unilocal reviews. Ouch.
When I got the guy on the phone, I told him that I just opened an all-​Mac shop across the street and that I was a long standing Mac Enthusiast client but we now work across the street. I asked if they have ever repaired or cleaned an old Apple keyboard and the guy said YES. I asked if I could bring it over and have them do it while I wait. He had to check with his tech and because his tech is «busy» they can do it but for a RUSH fee.
I miss Mac Enthusiasts.
I will clean the keyboard myself.
And I will give these guys a 1-​star Unilocal review because they have no clue whatsoever about customer service.