Insider Pages Reviews for Eli the Computer Guy

1 Stars: "Had-Been" Potential Customer (by Lois T.)

Lois T. — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 08:17:00 GMT

Hi Eli - I'm currently in the market of needing my PC repaired and after reading the negative response from the business to this most recent unsatisfied customer I am absolutely turned off. I'm an analyst in customer service for a bank and this sort of unprofessional attitude doesn't cut it. To tell a customer "good riddance", wow....you certainly don't treat customers that way, big no no. In fact, with that attitude, I wouldn't be surprised if all these positive reviews are fictitious. Learn to respect your customers, they're the ones that keep your business alive. Ill be looking elsewhere for my computer needs, thanks.

1 Stars: Unprofessional, Very Inadequate, Very Slow (by insiderguy g.)

insiderguy g. — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:54:00 GMT

It looks like I am the only unsatisfied client to find this website and do a negative review, so I will word this very carefully so you, my reader, do not think I am some crank. I googled "rate eli computer guy" specifically because I wanted to share my loathsome experience.

I brought my laptop to Eli. It was running slowly - it seemed like the disk drive was laboring, and my virus scans would take many hours.

Mia seemed distracted when taking my information, but she promised the staff would look at my computer in a couple of days and I would get a call within a week at most. After more than a week went by, I called. They had not looked at the machine yet. I ended up going back to the store to get the computer because I needed it for a business trip.

I dropped it off again because they insisted I would get "priority service" this time. In two days I get a message that my computer is done. All it needed was a virus scan - it is fine. When I arrive, I turn on the machine, I get a blue screen of death. Robert, the rep, explains to me how that did not happen when they had my laptop running, etc etc. All the firm did was REMOVE my pre-paid virus software, install Eli's preferred software, and charge me $100+ for this service (I don't remember the exact charge). So, I naturally left the machine with them and said "no, figure out what is really wrong with it please. no charge I presume".

A week later - we are now looking at 3 weeks since I dropped it off - Robert said the disk drive is bad. I still had an extended warranty for parts/labor at the big box store I bought it at, so, I naturally took the machine back to the big box and got it fixed.

Eli Computer Guy wouldn't give me the money back for the mis-diagnosed drive failure, so instead they did a back-up of my data at no further charge. I decided this was good insurance because the Big Box may lose the data.

It took THREE VISITS to the Eli store to get my recovered data back. Twice, Robert simply did not burn me a DVD with the information (even though I told him specifically what time I was coming back for the disks), and then, he tried to explain they charge extra for DVD's and that I had to bring my own flash or external hard drive to get my data. I simply did not leave and waited until he did the burn. I had to show him which folders to look at - unless I instructed him, he "guessed" which folders I needed backing up.

On top of all this, each visit to this store took average about an hour, because of all the dysfunctional bickering and side-tracking the staff goes through during the day. They take phone calls and then ignore you when you are standing there. Other people walk in and then they drop what they are doing and help that new person. Profanity is spoken the entire time. The techs mention how they hate computers... HATE computers?

Overall, I would be very cautious to visit this store. It feels good to try the local "mom and pop" businesses for sure, but in the end, a level of service and professionalism is expected. I did not receive the expected level of service and my time is too valuable to waste in this manner. In the future I will not consider Eli Computer Guy for my IT needs.

5 Stars: My HP dv8000 saga de-mystified (by Eric H.)

Eric H. — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:41:00 GMT

I first heard of Eli the Computer Guy on the radio. Perfect,... my dv8000 had just died after a life-n-death battle with a the virus that has the nerve to tell you that "YOU HAVE BEEN INFECTED". After serveral attempts at nuking the system drives and re-installing Windows, it decided that it wasn't gonna have all that monkeying around under it's dress. Called Eli, brought it in 2 days later and they thoroughly went through it. First it was suspected that the motherboard may be bad,... no that wasn't it. Then the drives may be bad,... noooo, that wasn't it. Then there's was the probable problem with the BIOS,... noooo not that either. So what was it? Ready? A bad memory stick! Yep,... a bad memory stick shut down the entire thing. Well they (Marcus) found it and fixed it,... and I'm happy and relieved. I just wished they didn't load that awful McAfee anti-Virus stuff on it. Now I'm having trouble loading my Kaspersky on it. Even when I uninstall McAfee from the Control Panel, the Kaspersky installer tells me it can't continue until I remove McAfee, and beyond the Control Panel Uninstall, I have no idea how to do that.

I highly recommend Eli and his band of Computer Guys. They treated me well and kept me informed, and didn't overcharge!

5 Stars: Eli the Computer Guy is great! (by Mallory M.)

Mallory M. — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:40:00 GMT

I'm so happy that I found Eli the Computer Guy, or I would still be without my computer! I had 3 computers that needed some serious work, and Eli the Computer Guy was right there to help. The staff was extremely accomodating and friendly, and replied to me quickly and helped me get in to get everything fixed.

I thought 1 computer was shot and I had lost all of my pictures and music, but Eli found a way to save everything, and restore all of the original settings! They fixed my second computer and cleared off viruses, and it runs better than it did when i first bought it!

I recently had a problem where I kept getting an error message and couldn't get the computer to turn on. I called the customer support number for the machine I have, and they told me that it sounded like my hard drive crashed and I needed to reinstall everything, and that I would lose all data on my computer. I emailed ETCG and had a response within a few hours, and it worked perfectly!

So double thanks to Eli the Computer Guy, Marcos, and Mia for helping me fix my computers, twice! If you want to be treated fairly and deal with friendly, enjoyable people...I highly recommend using Eli for any of your computer tech needs!

5 Stars: great service (by John R.)

John R. — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:08:00 GMT

i was impressed with their quick service, straight forward facts and providing the best possible service without taking the customer to the bank. i would recommend them any day over the blue box

5 Stars: The Cruise Lady, Inc. (by Mary Eve V.)

Mary Eve V. — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:57:00 GMT

Excellent Service. The representative came one day after we called. He fixed our problem within one hour and my computer is working again! We will definitely recommend your company to anyone who needs computer service!

5 Stars: Simple, Great (by Pete W.)

Pete W. — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:33:00 GMT

Jason at ETCG brought new life to my old laptop that would've otherwise been in the trashcan. He installed a new, memory-thrifty Linux operating system that performs all the standard windows functions in a much better way.

5 Stars: Great Job (by Patricia K.)

Patricia K. — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:54:00 GMT

I have seen ETCG ads all over the place, and after meeting Eli at the Book Fair, I decided to call to help me with a serious problem involving a very expensive printer that was too old to use the new USB technology. When I explained the issue, he said his Tech person would probably be able to solve the problem within an hour.

Agim came to my home office on time. Because he had talked to me beforehand, he knew what technology I needed (a wireless router) and brought it with him.

Within a half-hour, he had solved the problem and my printer was working perfectly. Then he made sure that all my computers (a PC desktop, a PC laptop, and a Mac Book) were able to use the printer..

I have used the Geek Squad and Geeks on Call before, and I can tell you that ETCG is a million times better.

5 Stars: Excellent and fast service! (by Emily W.)

Emily W. — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:39:00 GMT

My computer had completely crashed. I was worried I lost all my important data...photos, music, documents for school. I found Eli The Computer Guy and they said they could probably recover my data for only $99. Well they were correct and fixed my computer! Now I don't need to buy another one! The staff was great and I would recommend Eli the Computer Guy to anybody! They are wonderful, very helpful plus great deals and good advice!!!

5 Stars: No title (by Jill W.)

Jill W. — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:19:00 GMT

Jason had to work extra hard for my computer, but it works great now and was worth every penny. The staff were extremely personable and friendly. I would recommend to a friend which I already did. Thanks!

5 Stars: Yay! (by David C.)

David C. — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:56:00 GMT

I love this place! I used to turn my laptop on and wait forever before it did anything...it was slow as slow can be. I took it to Eli the Computer Guy, where they cleaned it up real nice and now my laptop runs like a dream. So happy with my experience!

5 Stars: TechStar Industries IT Review (by Richard v.)

Richard v. — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:50:00 GMT

Eli the Computer Guy himself, along with his crew of IT Specialists are extremely responsive and are able to explain the in's and out's of our company's IT world in such a way that the lowliest novice could understand.

Priced very fairly especially considering the quality of the work, Eli the Computer is the way to go if you are looking for smooth, seamless IT integrity! Highly Recommended!

5 Stars: great service (by Nickie F.)

Nickie F. — Sat, 31 May 2008 18:39:00 GMT

I sauntered in to Eli the Computer Guy 's shop with a question about why I wasn't accessing the internet since my wireless modem is built into my notebook. I'd tried everything to gain access to no avail. After listening to my problem, Marcus looked at my laptop and made a minor adjustment. It may have been minor for him but it was a major help to me. Thank you Marcus. The shop is a real asset to the Mount Vernon community.

5 Stars: Dr. Neil Scheffler, President, Baltimore Podiatry Group (by Neil S.)

Neil S. — Thu, 29 May 2008 20:36:00 GMT

This is a copy of an email sent to my friends.

Friends:

This is an unsolicited recommendation for a computer repair company...Eli the Computer Guy. 410-685-2808
900 Cathedral Street, Baltimore 21201. http://www.elithecomputerguy.com/

Here's the story: My computer hard drive was running out of space...I tried to delete files, move files to a removable hard drive, etc. Nothing worked! I "Googled" computer repairs in B'more last PM (7:40), found Eli, saw they were still open and called. There was Dana, not Eli but she sounded better than Eli looked on his Web site. She and I tried to figure out what was wrong. This was without my name, phone #, or, most importantly, without my credit card info. She said that they needed to see the machine. I expected I might need an additional hard drive with more memory. OK, their online menu and prices looked fine. So, today, I schlepped the tower down to Cathedral Street, put 2 quarters in the meter and went in. Still no Eli, but there were Agim and Mary.

I explained my plight. Agim plugged in the machine, worked on it for a while and found that my backup software was not backing up to the external drive as planned but back onto my C drive. We deleted the unneeded backup, my drive was now only half full, and I was loving life again.

Now the best part. I went to Mary to settle up. She said "No Charge!" It seems that if they can help fairly quickly and easily there is no charge. They both said to keep them in mind for any other computer problems and to recommend them if my friends need computer help. So I am. They were great! Pleasant folks that know computers and, I believe, would only charge reasonable rates. These people took their time, that I would have been happy to pay for, and helped me.

So, the bottom line is, keep them in mind if you have computer woes, I certainly will!
Neil

5 Stars: Office Manager - A.R. Simmons & Assoc., Inc. - Hunt Valley, MD (by Kaye R.)

Kaye R. — Wed, 14 May 2008 19:05:00 GMT

Eli has been providing us with computer advice, equipment and repairs for the past 3 1/2 years. They arrive when they say they will, they quote me prices before they do the work and I have followed several of their suggestions. While I may know what I want the end result to be from my computers, I don't always know what is needed to get that result - but Eli the Computer Guy has always lead me in the right direction. We have used his repair services, used his help in purchasing new equipment and he has done backups for us and kept our computers virus free. I have found him to be very honest and that is important as I am not an IT person. I highly recommend Eli and his company.