Let Me Repair Cape Town

Hi all,

Think of this thread as a rant and then obviously, give me your thoughts / comments.

1st issue (but nothing major... bare with me!)

The other day, I get a laptop from a client that I have to take in for quote / repair at LMR (Let Me Repair) who are based at M5 Freeway Park in Maitland.

I walk in with the laptop and stand in the said queue.

Guy helps the guy infront of me, then the guy next to me (all this took about 15 minutes which is a long time for just 2 people at any supplier!) then I'm all excited because I'm next (no, really, I am!) then couriers come in and the people behind the desk help them - no problem, I'm pretty cool.
Then another guy comes in, and they help him - now I move myself right infront of the guys face and another client comes in and that guy gets helped again.



This pisses me off and I slam my keys down on the table which gets the attention of the guy and he asks me "have you been helped?" to which I reply "NO, that's why I'm standing here for the last 30 minutes infront of you with the laptop in my hand" - he gives me a shocked look and proceeds to help me.

Booking in the laptop on the day took another 20 minutes - he had to ask X person this, Y person that - look, minor but still... it's a problem which they need to look at.

Let's move on!

I get a HP Colour printer from another client - time to go back to LMR for a quote to repair.

I get there and I get served pretty quick, nothing major but 5 minutes in, the guy tells me that sadly, HP quote has been generated and it will cost ±R2200 to repair the printer - I am a bit shocked but hey, whatever.

He has to generate a quote which has to be e-mailed to my boss so my boss can pass it onto the client for YAY or NAY thing.

I give the guy my company details and contact numbers and e-mails something like 3 times and he says it is all done, he will be sending the quote shortly - I ask him for a print out (normal thing) and he says "No, it's directly from the system and goes via e-mail" so I think - okay, whatever and I leave.

This is where it gets really interesting!

2 days later my boss asks me whatever happened to that quote to which I reply "it was supposed to be e-mailed to you long ago" and he says no - call LMR and get it from them ASAP.

I call the call centre number which is 0861111038.
Check the web site, I have - there is NO CPT branch telephone number.

I push 1 for HP and then 1 because I don't have a reference number (I wasn't given one) and the message hangs up on me.

WHAT?!?! Just hangs up on you after telling you they can't help you? So no attempt further? They can't search via phone number? e-mail address? Really?!? NO HELP AT ALL?!?!

Anyways... I try again.

I push 1 for HP and then 1 "I have a number" and lady picks up.

I explain the story to her and then ask her "can I have Cape Town's number please" to which she replies "Sorry sir, I am not allowed to give you the number" WHAT?!?! Are you being serious?
So after 5 minutes of me trying to make sense of this and HER being addiment that she can't give me the number, she takes a message and promises to past it along to the CPT branch for me.

3 hours later, I haven't heard anything so now my boss is on my case and I get told to call again.

I call, same procedure and I speak to another lady.
I tell her the story AGAIN and ask her for the number - she replies with and I quote: "Sir, I don't know the number, we've never been given the number for the CPT branch" and I'm just shocked... I spend the next 10 or so minutes giving her a hard time stressing the point "how can you NOT know the CPT branch's number" and she apologises profusely which is understandable... and after a few more minutes, she says to promise to get the message sent to the CPT branch (it was 11am) and I said that if I haven't heard anything by 12 I will call again.

13:00 comes and I call again, after struggling from person to person I finally get through to the lady and she tells me that she has pushed my request through via escalation and will get the number for me soon.

WHAT? Escalating what? I want a telephone number... I didn't want anything else.

Guys, right now, I'm so the moer in it's not a joke!

I goto a client and decide afterwards, stuff this - I'm going to drive all the way to that damn place and sort this out.

I get there and my first question upon arriving is "Do you guys have telephones here" to which the lady lady replies "YES" and then my question "I want your telephone number here" and she replies with "No, sorry sir, I can't do that - we are not allowed to give the number out - I need to call the call centre number"

OMG I let rip! and eventually leave there with the telephone number: 021 511 9016

Save this number - it's apparently the most important bloody number in Cape Town the way they 'protect it'

Now, as a service partner for HP, BenQ, Nec, Packard bell, Fujitsu & Hauwei and others you would think they would offer a better service.

Now, one more issue, but this happened on the day I bought in the laptop and thought I'd mention it.

A old man arrived with a HP printer - making alot of noises.
The lady who helped him had the bloody check to tell him that she can't help him - he must call HP and follow a procedure of running tests over the phone to confirm there is a problem with the printer and THEN bringing it in to them for repair. If that doesn't make you want to :facepalm: at LMR, then I don't know what will.

There is clearly alot of issues with LMR and how they run their business!!!

useless lot.

I send printers out and let those companies deal with LMR, costs about the same and no stress on my side.

Lol, why didn't you just go in and did you get the quote then?

I feel for you, Gdiza. Service delivery in SA is really kark, and unfortunately it's not only in the IT industry. I too have to deal with these morons, and the way they handle things a person would swear WE are the fools who broke it and THEY are dong us a moerse favour by helping us

AstroTurf said:

useless lot.

I send printers out and let those companies deal with LMR, costs about the same and no stress on my side.

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The problem is, they are the same as MTC repairs (Which I think has vanished) - bloody pathetic - and to think that HP, BenQ, Nec, Packard bell, Fujitsu & Hauwei actually LET these idiots SERVICE their products... they don't know what SERVICE is!!!

phoneJunky said:

Lol, why didn't you just go in and did you get the quote then?

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I did eventually go in and get the quote - I told the guys straight - I am NOT leaving here till I have a printed copy.

It wasn't 1 page either - I think it was 10 pages! 9 pages of BS and 1 page saying "R2200 to repair the unit"

Glad everything worked out eventually then.

phoneJunky said:

Glad everything worked out eventually then.

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Well, that is debatable... they still have a laptop of ours - they've had it for a few days, no updates, no pricing on repair, nothing - we waiting to see what happens there.

Yeah this is pathetic. I hope they glad that they have given themselves a bad name now. And whats with not giving out telephone numbers? That makes no sense.

I thought this was a post by Tony Ehrenrich on fixing Cape Town... My bad.

Juice

Dev()n said:

Yeah this is pathetic. I hope they glad that they have given themselves a bad name now. And whats with not giving out telephone numbers? That makes no sense.

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I think the problem first starts at the call centre - they don't know anything.

I'd love to hear the explanation behind "why we don't give our number out"

Let me Repair has a reputation to maintain and they take a pride in it!

I can't believe HP is still with this group but its given them a VERY bad name. They should make a horror movie based on this company!

Juice said:

I thought this was a post by Tony Ehrenrich on fixing Cape Town... My bad.
Juice

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LOL i also thought it was about fixing Cape Town itself.

Juice said:

I thought this was a post by Tony Ehrenrich on fixing Cape Town... My bad.

Juice

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Hehehe, beat me to it.

Every place HP has used to service their equipment in CPT has had poor service ICSS, MTC, and now LMR

Yeah lots of bad reports of this company. The reason why I'd never buy HP again.

Sadly call centers are the in thing these days, just try and call someone at your local bank and you are up against the same thing.

they suck
they take forever
they don't know what it what
and are AHOLES!!!

if you google hard enough you will find their "secrect" phone number, but after phoning in 2 or 3 times they will tell you they have been instructed to not say anything to anyone...

took them over a month to replace a clients HP printer... 1 because I think they lost the replacement model, since half way a new order number had to be generated.

sad thing is HP let these guys be there agent and then they just drag the HP name through the mud... you try tell a business sorry for the months delay on your warranty.. the HP agent is a joke... lol... and then 1. they never speak to you again, because it was "you that took a month" not agent... 2. they never buy HP again...

so now I tell clients when its a warranty claim, it might take a month for the replacement model as the agents in cape town live on another planet. If its an out of warranty repair I go to Printer parts cape.

A friend gave me a contact and I've forwarded this thread's address onto HP South Africa for viewing.

LMR is the worst "service" shop in country. I have had major fights with them and have also spoken to people very high up in HP re. them. I went as far as to threaten that we will make an officail announcement on our website that we will no longer sell ANY hp products due to the fact that LMR cannot provide any level of service. LMR's record though is having an Epson receipt printer of one of my clients restaurants for 3 months,,,this for a service?? THEY ARE K@K....

MightyQuin, what's your website?