The Mac Support Store

This place is getting busy for a good reason - they do good work and treat people well. I'm an editor working in Final Cut Studio and one of my two Mac Pros needed a logic board replacement. They gave me a fair estimate and I approved the work. Throughout the process I was given updates, usually by email or text of repair status. I had my Mac back in about four days and everything works.

Some words of advice: if you're planning on making the trip, preregister on their site beforehand. It saves time. They also have rentals in case you're stuck without a Mac.

Pros: Great service. Friendly staff. LOCAL!!!

Cons: Lines getting longer - but still faster than other places

Posted 10/13/09

They returned my broken computer in the same condition that I left it with them and they still charged me $300. When I brought it to their attention, they insisted I must have broken my computer again. I asked to prove work was done and they insisted I leave the store. I called Apple & they can see any work that an "authorized" dealer does since the dealer needs to register the computer in their network. Funny NO WORK was ever reported on my computer so Apple is taking care of the issue and fixing my computer for free! These guys at the support store even collaborated my story after hours of fighting me that I was in the wrong. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY HERE. DO YOUR HOMEWORK! I wish I did before I went to them.

Pros: NONE

Cons: they lie, cheat & steal - READ ALL REVIEWS

Posted 07/08/09

I was experiencing some problems with my MacBook and I took it to the Mac Support Store because it was local and I didn't want to schlepp all the way to Manhattan or Staten Island. I was wrong. First of all, the building is impossible to get into. You have to dial a code which should alert them to buzz you in, but the buzzer goes to voicemail. I had a diagnostic performed on my MacBook, which was free, and I received an email telling me that I needed to replace my hard drive and my optical drive, and they charged me for backup services, which I did not need. The estimate was over $700. It is impossible to reach them over the phone, 4 out of 5 times it goes to voicemail. When I finally got through to them they did not make an effort to explain why I needed what they said, it was a "take it or leave it" kind of attitude. Well, I left it. I took back my MacBook and brought it to an Apple Store. They ran a diagnostic and found that there was nothing wrong with my MacBook at all. The Mac Support Store said that my optical drive was "shot", which it was not, and that my hard drive failed verification, which it did not. Had I not gone for a second opinion I would have spent $700 unnecessarily. Bottom line: don't go there - or, if you do, get a second opinion before you have any work done by these people.

Pros: none

Cons: read review

Posted 06/24/09

I brought my 17" iMac to the Mac Support Store last Saturday because it would not turn on and I didn't know what was wrong. Just one week later, I have my computer back, fully functioning with a new hard drive. I couldn't be happier with the service that I received here and would definitely bring my computer back. Whenever I had to deal with the store, the employee at the front desk was always professional and helpful. I would definitely recommend this store.

Pros: Quick repair, convenient location

Posted 06/13/09

Sorry to say, I agree with the negative reviewers. For several years I?ve been supporting this store, even back when it was on 9th St. I bought several computers from them for myself, for my office, and referred others to them. I wanted them to succeed, because I want an apple store/repair shop to be successful in Brooklyn. The store is in my neighborhood, and that would be very convenient. But two repairs that I?ve done got me suspicious that something?s awry there. I own a PowerPC G5. A top of the line system. One day it had trouble turning on. I gave it in, and to make a long story short, they claimed they had to replace the hard drive, logic board, and a host of other major components, at a price tag of $2500. Luckily I had 6 days remaining on my warranty, so I didn?t pay a penny. Since then the computer hasn?t been working smoothly, but because I made my then recently purchased MacBookPro my main computer and hardly used the G5, I didn?t realize that it wasn?t working smoothly until much later on. I didn?t understand how is it possible that the entire system got fried, but, heck, if they say so it must be so. Right? Well, not really. Recently my several-month old MacBookPro stopped responding (I bought this MBP from them, btw). I used it at 4am, and at 9am it was dead. I called Apple tech support, and they determined the hard drive died. Gave it in to the Support Store, and was told it should take 1-3 days to diagnose, and 1-3 to repair. Ok. A few days later I get an email from them saying that the HD needs to be replaced. I authorize that, and from then on I only got hell. Waited several days ? nada. Sent several emails ? no replies at all. Called several times - and got vague answers (?we?re now doing *extensive* diagnostics, after we?ve done the *regular* diagnostics?, yeah, right). The rep couldn?t tell me what?s wrong with my system and kept giving me the runaround. 3 weeks after giving it in, they told me that in addition to my HD being dead, my logic board had to be replaced and some other major components. Just as it was with my G5. Odd. And this is a new MBP! They don?t keep any parts in shop (?!?!), so I had to wait another week to get it. Sounded to me like they were exaggerating the problems so they can collect more from Apple. They in fact claimed they had to replace the logic board SEVERAL times. How can that be? Finally, after all these weeks, I got it back, only to discover that my airport card is missing! Gave it in, again, and after three days they claimed the Air Port card failed. Failed? This was a brand new computer! They probably just forgot to insert it. Anyway, had to wait another week to get my MBP back (since, again, they don?t keep any parts in shop). All in all, this ?6 day repair? took almost a month and half, after numerous emails, phone calls, promises, delays, getting the runaround, etc. Bottom line, should I ever need repair, I will certainly go into the city. The schlep to TekServe is certainly worth it. I have more faith in TekServe than these clowns in Brooklyn and hopefully, the waiting period will much shorter.

Pros: In Brooklyn

Cons: Incompetent, long wait, something's fishy there

Posted 03/15/09

This place ROCKS. I had my iPod fixed there but also wanted to see how garageband worked. Guy there gave me a full demo answered a zillion questions and I was sold. Bought the works and I love my new toys. Had a few more questions later and had no problem calling them up. I LOVE having this place there when I'm home from touring. They know it all but don't act uppity about it. Sweet....

Pros: Down to earth...good repair work

Cons: Can't think of any...

Posted 03/04/09

A friend had data recovery there and said they were good. True, they're cheaper than TekServe, but the quality of their recovery work was very good in my opinion. And, I got everything back including all my family pictures which can never be replaced.

They were very clear that they don't integrate your files after recovery, so I was already aware that it would be up to me to do this..and I made some time to get it done. When I had a question about getting the data back into my address book I called them and they were willing to walk me through it (and I didn't abuse their good intention). They also have a service where they do the integration after recovery but I passed on that because it was $50 more. However I would suggest it for anyone who isn't comfortable with working with data after data recovery.

My friend's and my own experience were excellent and I *would* recommend them for data recovery.

Pros: Professional data recovery and much less expensive than TekServe

Cons: No complaints here

Posted 02/22/09

Terrible experience. Needed hard drive recovery and replacement and wanted to support Brooklyn business (also cheaper than Tek Serve). Didnt recover most of my files, lost email, bookmarks, documents. couldnt get email and other applications to work well, spent 2 hours in the store, hours at home and on phone with APple to get back up. will never get those hours back or sadly any of those files.
They didnt know what they were doing and are far below the standards for customer service which we expect with Macs.
If you need something not done by Apple itself, go to Tek Serve. Do NOT come here.

Pros: in brooklyn

Cons: incompetent, dont do the job,

Posted 02/21/09

I had called the Apple Store before I knew about this place and the Apple Store doesn't even fix iPods! The Apple Store just wants to sell you another iPod, which is annoying.

I brought The Mac Store my 3G iPod and later an iPod Classic 160Gb and had no troubles whatsoever. No bent parts or shoddy work. And they turned it around in the time they said they would. The guy there talked a little fast but that place is VERY busy and I saw him wanting to keep up with the many customer service requests. It was a good experience and I would recommend it.

Pros: Top-notch repairs of 2 iPods plus service guarantees

Cons: None

Posted 02/17/09

How Apple authorized this place as a repair shop is beyond me. I dropped off my Ipod almost 3 weeks ago to have the audio port replaced. I also asked for the face plate to be changed. Simple repair one would think. After about a week they got back to me to tell me the port needed to be replaced, which I already knew. They told me the part had to be ordered and when it came in they'd repair it that day.

Two weeks and I hadn't heard back from them. I called several times and was even told it came it but just needed to be unpacked. So yesterday I call back again and they told me the part hadn't come in. At this point I made it clear I wasn't happy with this process. This was supposed to be a week long process, tops! I asked the guy on the phone how you can be an authorized Apple repair shop and not have a part as simple as an IPOD port? He said in a condesending tone , "that's not how we do things."

At this point it was clear this place was amature hour. They did call me back a few minutes later to tell me the port was in and they'd install it today and would be ready the next morning. So mid afternoon rolls around and I call them to make sure it's done. He tells me the back plate won't go on and they have to order the part. Basically they broke it while fixing it. And again, THE APPLE REPAIR SHOP DOESN'T KEEP PARTS THEY NEED TO REPAIR THEIR PRODUCTS!!

I then went on this site and saw all the negative reviews. 12 out of 40...30% negative!! How pathetic!! There is even one review from June with someone with the exact same issue as me. They broke the back plate and he didn't get his IPOD back for 12 weeks. I then printed out the review, went to the store and told the guy to just give me my IPOD back. They forced open the side with a screwdriver and bent it!!! Like they couldn't forsee the need for the plate?

Like I said before. TOTAL AMATURE HOUR! Avoid this place at all costs!

Pros: The place didn't catch fire while I was there.

Cons: Everything. Read review.

Posted 02/16/09

Five stars and two thumbs up! They transferred everything from my Gateway to my new Mac Mini (I love it!). Very good work and done in a day. I was able to recycle my ancient PC for free-free-free. I already recommended them to my friends and they have told me the place is dope. Told ya so LATISHA!

Pros: Pros

Cons: I really can't think of any

Posted 02/16/09

What I like about this place is they gave me another option on my repair. My imac needed an ethernet port to get on the internet and I didn't have the money to fix an ethernet port. So instead they suggested installing an airport card to get on the internet. This made sense since I had a wireless network at home anyway but didn't realize I could make the imac wireless. And the repair cost less. I think any business that's willing to offer alternatives like that should be commended. High marks in my book on this place.

Pros: Gave me options for repair

Posted 02/13/09

Their iPhone battery lasts much longer than apples original. And they have other custom services. iswitch is next because I am switching from dell to mac. I am sick of dell and they can transfer specific files from dell to mac. They know PC but don't tell you unless you ask. They should offer pc service but I am glad to have this place for my mac masters.

Pros: custom services

Cons: nyet

Posted 02/03/09

My entire time there was fantastic. They are very calm, very smart, and very good at their work.

There are other companies I can think of that could learn from The Mac Support Store. How to treat customers and provide the quality of work that is advertised is most important. A small business doesn't need a lot of money to promote excellent values. I entrusted them with my Mac Pro repair and would do it again. They are ideal of how a business should operate.

Pros: Two thumbs up

Cons: none

Posted 02/01/09

I bought a used MacBook there and had no problems with it. I once called them for a password reset and we did that over the phone in five minutes.

If it's the same "clerk" you mentioned he came around the counter and answered every question I had. He took the time and was very nice AND knowledgeable to boot. I've also sent a friend there who bought a used 24" iMac for a great price and he uses it every day for Final Cut - NO PROBLEMS.

Seems like you should have brought it back to them if you were having a problem. I also saw their "no return" policy, but I'm sure they wouldn't turn you away if you *really* had a problem with the sale.

Posted 01/27/09

Why have a store, if you don't, or the people who work there don't give a bowel movement.
I plunked down almost $500 for a used computer, and the response was this very antiseptic processing of my card, and a question about if I would like to purchase some extra item.............No," Thank You for your Purchase", no info on the product. The sales(not)man just wanted to take my money and get me out. He didn't even offer me a plastic bag to carry the item out in. They did not even mention the No Return Policy. I read it later

They should call it The Mac Sheister Store

Pros: The guy didn't smell

Cons: having to give money to jerks like this

Posted 01/26/09

I am an electrical engineer and completely understood and agreed with the diagnosis they gave me.

Not being electrical engineers, I was impressed with their knowledge levels of various engineering concepts like analog signal processing. With this level of understanding why only fix macs and ipods?? But I am not complaining. I saw they build their own external hard drives so it made more sense. They are very smart and very good about their business, and I am eager to see what they build beyond their own hard drives.

Pros: Was impressed by their knowledge that went beyond my expectations

Cons: If I had any they would be very hard to think of

Posted 01/25/09

The Mac Support Store is in industrial Gowanus and never having been to that neighborhood I must say it's becoming really hip. Bell House is there and a few more places are quickly opening. Looks like Gowanus is quickly becoming the next "it" nabe.

To the point: my kids hated the B/W G3 they inherited because it was too slow. MSS did a marvelous job with my B/W G3. They added more RAM and a bigger hard drive, updated the operating system (10.3?) and my kids now love it. They surf the web and play games and use it for research for homework. Great service guys and thanks for the info on "getting more mileage from an old mac!"

Pros: Gave new life to a slow mac

Cons: No cons

Posted 01/23/09

I'm tech-illiterate so I really don't like going to places like this but....they used plain english to explain what was going on and I was much relieved. If I didn't understand at first they explained it a different way and I eventually got it. I also sent an email to check on my repair and they got back to me in in less than an hour. I would recommend them to anyone else that's tech-illiterate.

Pros: Plain english, no techno-babble

Cons: nada

Posted 01/22/09

All the other places I called wanted ALOT more money for recovery of larger drives as opposed to smaller ones. Only the mac support store had a flat rate policy for data recovery. It doesn't matter if you bring them a 50GB drive or 500GB drive -the price is still the same-$499 and they only charge you if they're successful at recovering your data. They don't recover applications but they did recover *everything* in my home directory where all my precious family pictures are. I'm very pleased that they asked me what files were the most important before proceeding with the recovery. Afterwards I bought a backup drive and the best part is time machine backs up all my pictures automatically. Thank you mac support store!!!!!

Pros: Best data recovery prices and professional

Cons: none whatsoever

Posted 01/19/09

So far brought 2 iPods there for repair. Swift work-right price-sweet place. All I'm gonna say is keep up the good work. I won't be going anywhere else.

***Peace and Love***

Posted 01/16/09

Kudos to this place in that they value their customers. Friendly staff, super service, no pressure, and all APPLE. Brooklyn has been way overdue for a service place like this, and I'm glad it's here.

Pros: Ideal service and attention

Cons: Nope

Posted 01/14/09

I own a graphic design firm with about 8 macs. Two of them are older, slowed to a crawl and needed servicing. I took them here and they told me about upgrade options I didn't even know were available - specifically, upgrading the processor. I authorized the work plus a new OS install and they upgraded both machines. Now they're back home must faster than before and I will have at least 2 more years of production use. From one business to another, you guys are really great - keep up the fine service!!

Pros: Gave me options I wasn't aware of and guaranteed their work

Cons: None that I can think of

Posted 01/13/09

I brought some older Macs there for recycling and there was a guy loading the stuff onto a big cart. I had to ask him where the stuff was going since hearing nightmare stories about recycle stuff going to China. He said he worked exclusively with a company in NJ and had strict arrangements with the owner that the stuff be kept in the US. He also showed me credentials from the Park Slope Civic Council (of which I am a member.)

It's great this place is offering this service for free. Better recycled now until the new law goes into effect sometime in 2010 that all homes in Brooklyn must recycle themselves. Great community benefit !

Pros: Free local recycling. Community awareness. Company promoting green values

Cons: NONE

Posted 01/11/09

I knew my Mac Pro needed to be repaired for the last few weeks.Other places quoted sky-high prices. The Mac Support Store's price was a *little* better than the other places.

BUT, I'm a member of Freelancer's Union and was extremely glad to discover a 10% discount through them for The Mac Support Store. Absolutely a great cost-savings for freelancers here.

The repair was well done and took a little longer than I expected, but they kept me informed along the way. In the end I was really please with their candor and quality of work. Awesome to have them here when I need Mac service.

Pros: 10% off through my Freelancer's Union membership (it's on the MSS website)

Cons: Repair took a little longer than expected, but they kept me informed.

Posted 01/08/09

I HATE going to Manhattan to waste a day to have my Mac repaired. Was soooo happy to hear about this place from a friend. Service was great and they're good people.

Posted 01/07/09

I didn't even know about this place! I'm in Bay Ridge so usually I go the the Apple Store in Staten Island. After a few lousy trips to the Apple store I decided to find something in Brooklyn. I called Apple and they actually recommended The mac store for repair of my older mac. I was lucky to find them because in terms of service they're better than Apple store. Being there I realized the difference between the two places. The Apple store tries to sell you new stuff and the mac store is focused on repair service. The mac store has a decent amount of retail stuff, and they sell new macs, but I wanted to see about getting a few more years from my old one. They upgraded the ram and hard drive and transferred all my data over. Not once did they mention I should just buy a new mac. My kids are happy with their "faster new mac" and so am I.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, but one star deducted because they need to advertise themselves more. I'll tell Bay Ridge though ;-)

Pros: They don't automatically try to sell you a new Mac just because you have an old one

Cons: Had to call Apple to find out about them

Posted 01/05/09

Sometimes their free diagnostic is inconclusive - meaning that they sometimes aren't as accurate about the cause of the problem. They were upfront about this and even were able to declare the historical percentage of whether one of the two faulty parts in question were more or less likely to be the root cause of the problem. That impressed me.

They also said it could be a "compound issue" which they said appears sometimes, but so far never in the case of this particular model (Power Mac G5 Quad). They suggested we start with the power supply which had the higher percentage of failure and then re-diagnose the results. I gave them my approval to go ahead and they were correct. The power supply was the problem. And the power supply was a much less expensive repair than the logic board, which was the other part in question. And I was both relieved and happy with their process.

To me that kind of service is great. They're certainly methodical. And they were smart enough to have gathered historical data on previous repairs to make an educated guess that proved correct. I am very pleased with my repair and laughingly suggested they're more like doctors than repair techs.

Keep it up Mac Support Store, your approach and work is top notch.

Pros: Great approach to troubleshooting a problem before repairing it

Cons: Diagnosis took longer, but was well worth waiting for

Posted 12/30/08

They fixed my video ipod in about a week at a fair price. Then I brought them the first ever iPod and they said it may not be worthwhile fixing because it's very old. But they would provide the free diagnostic and I could then decide to fix it or not. They were correct. The repair price on the old iPod was too high and I recycled it which they also do for free. The price to repair my video iPod was very good compared to other places that were closer to me. I would go there again.

Pros: Better prices than other places

Cons: Had to travel further but it's still in Brooklyn

Posted 12/29/08

My Mac wouldn't boot past the Apple screen and i didn't have a backup. I took my unhappy Mac into two places in Manhattan. Both places I went to said I needed data recovery which cost a small fortune, and both places said it was more expensive than usual because I had a 500GB hard drive...and they charge by the size of the drive. Est. charge was $1500-2000!! They also said it was costly because of the amount of labor involved. So I began looking elsewhere.

Then I happened across the Mac Support Store in Brooklyn while searching for alternatives. Their website said they charge a flat rate no matter what size the hard drive. I called them and they told me that was their policy, and they only charged for success (which the other places said they do also). It was well worth saving five-hundred bucks, so I went there.

I'm happy to say they recovered everything I wanted including my family pictures, and their price was much, much better, AND their service was friendly and attentive. They also suggested I get a permanent backup drive but I told them I already had a backup drive. To their credit they didn't try to sell me one. Instead they gave me a few suggestions about how to backup on a daily basis.

I was very pleased overall, and was glad I made the trip out.

Pros: Less expensive data recovery

Cons: They should have another place in Manhattan. Otherwise they were super.

Posted 12/28/08

I was able to setup my own wireless airport but I am not a network guru. I couldn't figure out why my airport signal kept dropping our *completely* on my older G4 laptop sometimes, while a friend's mac worked fine all the time. And I have some friends who definitely are gurus and they were stumped. So i called this place to see if they could come out. based on the info I gave them they said the job would be 1-2 hrs (they charge $99 p/hr which is reasonable).

After checking my airport settings, they said that looked right and wouldn't need to reset the router. They enabled "Interference Robustness" on my laptops airport card, but no go. They reseated the airport card and still no change. I was feeling pretty hopeless by now.

Then they asked if I had any cordless phones around. I did and showed it to them. They took one look at it and said because it was a 2.4ghz phone it might be the case of the dropoff in the signal. I made a call on the phone and sure enough the signal totally dropped after about 5 seconds on the phone. I couldn't believe this until they explained that the older laptops operate on 80211g which is on the same frequency as 2.4ghz cordless phones. They said Apple fixed this issue with the later airport cards. We tried about 6 more calls and every time the phone was in use my airport card would not work.

I couldn't afford to buy a new computer. They suggested I replace the old phone and buy a 5.8ghz cordless, which is waaaaay less expensive than a new macbook. Seems the 5.8ghz phones were made because a lot of people (and not always mac users) had the same frequency problem. I go the 5.8 phone for about 30 bucks and haven't had any problems with my laptops signal since. And why didn't Apple tell us this???!

Their advice was well worth the time of the call, which was about 90 minutes. I would call them again...no question.

Pros: amazing advice and problem solving

Cons: NONE

Posted 12/26/08

I heard from a friend that usually there are no lines at this place. They must be getting busy because I had to wait about 10 minutes to check in my iBook. Not that I really minded since I've waited an hour at the Apple store to speak to a "Genius". Tekserve, forget it....once waited there for almost 2 hours.

The big surprise was finding out they sell Macs! It's like a mini-Apple store in there! You would never know it unless someone told you. I told the guy they should advertise that they sell macs and he said they mostly focus on service instead of mac sales because enough customers asked for it. They have a pretty nice showroom with Macs and other stuff. Once my iBook was repaired I also bought a wireless keyboard too. Great place to pickup other stuff too. Who wants to go into the city for a keyboard?? This place rocks!

Pros: They sell macs and other stuff

Cons: They don't advertise they sell stuff and they should

Posted 12/23/08