Galleries Computing - Bristol

Carl H.

To be frank, this shop is a front for a con man. I gave this shop my laptop to repair a cracked screen. They proceeded to hang on to my laptop for 3+ months. Whenever I would ask for an update, they would say it would be finished in a couple of weeks. This evolved into them saying it would be complete in a couple of days. There was always an excuse for why it wasn't complete. In retrospect, I don't think they ever said anything truthful to me for the duration of the time they had my laptop or that they ever had the intention of actually fixing my laptop. I finally took my laptop back, in a worse state than what I dropped it off in and gave it to another shop to fix. The other shop was able to fix it in a week and a half for less money than what this business charged. This business told me they would refund me and to no ones surprise, they haven't refunded me and have ghosted me when I have asked for the money back. I've read multiple comments about this business before posting this and in my experience all of the 1 star ratings are an accurate depiction of what it's like being a patron of this business. I'm honestly surprised that there are any 5 star ratings.

Tomas F.

Hamid has fixed a number laptops for me and I couldn't be more pleased with the service. Absolute bargain for the work he has carried out, a safe bet if you need anything fixed. Takes great pride in his work and couldn't recommend enough.

Support local business and go see him for any issues you have. I would give 6 stars 🌟

Ruben

I did not want to write this review but I feel like I have no choice. Hamid worked on my laptop for a couple months with the initial promise that I would be refunded if he was unable to fix it. After several months of back and forth, he told me he can't. I have since been trying to contact him via phone, whatsapp and email and have been unable to get a response (despite seeing messages as being delivered and read). I have left the UK as an international student so am unable to go to the shop.

Marcus H.

I don't really want to write this review, but feel as though I should really share my experience to help others make a good decision about using Galleries Computing. This is my personal experience of Galleries Computing and does not necessarily represent the views of my employer.

Working in a technical role for a nearby business, we used Hamid hoping to support a local Bristol based business and (primarily) save time by outsourcing laptop repairs instead of doing them in house.

After an OK trial repair (despite attempting to change the quoted price in store), we explained we would need to move forward with standard 30 day payment terms which Hamid said was fine.

However, it was clearly not. Hamid chased almost daily for payment updates for three weeks.

After payment was made, texts and emails then went unanswered. It took 6+ weeks to get the final laptop back - only for the repair to be rushed and of low quality. The lid barely held itself open.

The attached video shows the laptop hinges loose because he had seemingly discarded the bracket that should be attached to the screen. In an effort to try and forcefully attach the hinges, he appears to have just screwed through the top case instead. Additionally the WiFi antenna cable was just left loose in the middle of the laptop.
To his credit, Hamid did provide this new top case free of charge, but he wouldn't have needed to replace the existing case had he done the repair properly.

The other repairs were generally "OK", however had some very minor issues. For example, it seems Hamid uses heat to remove screens when it is not needed, resulting in some buckling of the top case.

Hamid did offer to put the final laptop back together for us, but at that point his entire repair cost had been pointless because I'd already had to take it apart to fix it myself and use my own brackets from a spare laptop. We were just happy to have the laptops back (generally) further undamaged.

Overall, Hamid seems like a genuinely nice guy trying to make an honest living. He is let down by organisation and quality issues with his/his staffs work. I wouldn't want him working on my personal computer so, unfortunately, we won't be outsourcing repair work to him again.

Jack E.

I Called looking for a specific power cable that I had struggled to find elsewhere. They looked around the shop and called me back to confirm they had it. They even offered for us to come back if the cable was wrong. Great service and fair prices.

Aaron

Very good service - Hamid quickly found the problem with my laptop and recovered my data, all for a modest price.

Jonas

While I don't enjoy leaving negative reviews, I feel I should share my experience with this shop, and unfortunately, I cannot recommend it.

I brought my company’s laptop to the shop due to a broken hinge. Apparently, a proper replacement for the hinge didn’t exist, so I was okay with getting the hinge fixed in any possible way (probably my fault).

The first fix was very poorly done, the hinge cover was badly glued and not properly aligned. After a few days of working from home without much movement, the laptop broke again. I returned to the shop, and Hamid kindly said that he would fix it for free, a gesture I appreciated.

The second fix was better, despite the use of glue being a bit excessive, I was okay with it. The problem was that when I went back home, I realised that the battery, camera, and microphone were not functioning, so I had to take the laptop back to the shop once again. Hamid managed to fix the battery relatively quickly; apparently, there was a cable disconnected. Unfortunately, the camera and microphone remained non-functional, and he not only refused to take responsibility for it but also accused me of having dropped the laptop, even though I was 100% sure that I hadn’t.

To make matters worse, Hamid wanted to charge me additional money for the issues. When I mentioned leaving a negative review due to the camera and microphone problems, he became agitated, shouting and threatening to break the hinge if I didn't return the money. His reaction was perplexing and intimidating.

To sum up, I had to revisit the shop multiple times after the first fix. While the broken piece was okay fixed, the camera and mice haven’t worked since then. Regrettably, I cannot recommend bringing a new laptop to this shop. Despite this, I acknowledge that Hamid is a hardworking person who can be helpful for specific types of repairs.

Feminist S.

If I could give this zero I would. Initially went there because of good reviews but had a really awful service. Gave my laptop in January and got it back in MAY after my endless chasing. laptop was not fixed after months of backwards and forwards, excuses and no apologies. Insisted that I was going to collect it regardless in MAY (so 5 months waiting) and after all that the issue was still not fixed. No apology for how long it took. Very rude. Don't hand it over.