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Ripoff Stay Away
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

TEMPE, ARIZONA -- This place is a ripoff. Stay away!!! I took my crashed hard drive to my local chaldier store and was charged a $149 evaluation fee. I was told it would only take 2 days to to do the data recovery evaluation and that the max price would be $1149 and the evaluation fee would apply to that cost. It took them 3 days for the evaluation which was no big deal but the cost was OUTRAGES! They said the data recovery was going to be and extra $988 for labor and $240 for parts. Total cost $1377.

The guy at the local store even told me me it should be less than the $1149 as he has never seen any repair go that high. Well, mine was over that! They also had 3 different price levels. The one I noted was a 2-week turn around time. For and extra $300 I could have it in 1 week and if I wanted them to work 24/7 it was another outrages price. I told them it was too high of a price and had found another local person to do it much cheaper and would they match the price or even come down on the price. Ryan said "NO WAY".

So, I picked it up and it took it to Desert Data recovery in Phoenix. What great people. No evaluation fee and a flat rate of $750 for data recovery plus parts. Parts cost $116 and they would have my data recovered in 1 week. They delivered with the price quoted and in the time frame. They also recovered 99% of my data. If you read other reviews here about Data Doctors you will find I am not the only one writing bad reviews.

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Data Doctors Ripoff artists
By -

FOUNTAIN HILLS, ARIZONA -- Data Doctors operates on this one simple premise. Give the customer a free coupon through mass mailing, and local media newspapers to get you into the store for their "free computer checkup," then hopefully find something wrong with the computer (which is what you're there for in the first place) and then bill you $89.00 minimum per hour and 25% + on parts markup. They will not tell you what is wrong with the pc in many instances as a ploy to get you to commit to their service, and send you away just as stymied as when you first came in if you don't commit.

Not only are they horrendously overpriced, but the Franchise distributor wants a prospective franchisee to buy the stores in three packs. That way he knows "you are motivated to run the operation." What a nice guy huh?......Put you into major debt then charge you huge royalty fees. Seems the only thing serious here is Data Doctors attempting to become overnight successes off of each individual that is foolish enough to invest in them. There are many less expensive alternatives to computer repair and computer repair businesses at much less the cost and hassle.

A typical scenario is this: Customer brings in a slow acting computer in for the "free checkup." A technician boots the pc, and paints a dire picture regarding spyware, possible viruses, and other mundane issues which may or may not exist. The technician tells you that it will probably take 3 or more hours to get the computer to off the shelf condition totaling about 270.00 U.S. You agree and put the 89.00 non-refundable deposit down. The technician spends anywhere from 1.5 20 2.5 hours depending.

Now here is the clincher, this list was sent to me from a former customer and this is Data Doctors 20 point diagnostic check that you pay 270.00 for. Every item they utilize to fix your pc is free and can readily be found on the Internet. Possible viruses and other mundane issues which may or may not exist.

DATA DOCTORS 24 POINT PC CHECKLIST: 1) Removed Hard Drive from system and connected to Lab machine. (Not Necessary, and can be done without removal) 2) Performed Anti Virus Scan utilizing 2 separate scanning programs-Found and removed __ infected files. (Nothing more than running an anti-virus program on the c: drive) 3.) Reinstalled drive (Easy Enough) 4.) Ran MSConfig utility to check for excessive processes and performed a normal start up. (Something a child can do at home) Type MSConfig in the start\run\ and uncheck what you don't want to load on startup. 5.) Checked System date and time for accuracy. (Another no-brainer)

6) Disabled System Restore and deleted unnecessary files. (Completely unnecessary) 7) Ran the windows disk clean utility and deleted temp files. (Again can be done at home for free by R clicking on you c: drive and left clicking on properties and choosing delete temp files.) 8) Checked the windows device manager for duplicate entry€™s and/or errors. (No performance increase)

9) Boot to Windows Safe mode to run Spyware cleanup. (A free utility called spybot free for download of the Internet accomplishes this) 10) Installed and ran Anti-Spyware Applications. (Once again 2 free downloads off of the internet Ad aware and Spybot) 11) ETrust Pest Patrol deleted __ Spyware files. (Redundant) 12) Activated Spybot'€™s Host File blocking utility (All done automatically by the free utility...download here)

13) Ad-Aware found and deleted __ (Again free...download here ad-aware.) 14) Spyware Blaster found and deleted __ 15) Hijack this found and deleted __ (Another free download) 16) Created Disabled Start-up folder and copied unnecessary start-up applications over (Not necessary) 17) Checked Windows device manager for updated drivers and missing hardware drivers. (Anyone can do this at home) 18) Verified Internet Connectivity and logon (Duh)
19) Installed __ Microsoft critical updates (Free Windows update that can be done at home)

20) Installed __ Microsoft recommended updates (Free Windows update that can be done at home) 21) Updated Antivirus software if applicable (Free with any anti-virus utilized by you.) 22) Performed a second complete virus check (Redundant) 23) Performed error Check and Defragmentation of primary Hard Drive (Once again free and all found in the Windows System tools) 24) Performed Interior and exterior cleaning of system ( $4.00 can of Airduster,paper towels. and Windex)

Is this worth the $300.00 that they charge folks? You be the judge. One can buy a brand new pc for a few dollars more.

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Don't Use Data Doctor Off Of University And Price
By -

TEMPE, ARIZONA -- I had initially brought my computer into Data Doctors based on of a referral and let me tell you I will never refer this location to anyone. My laptop was continually rebooting itself and I was unable to log on to it for more than 10 minutes. I brought it into data doctor and they "said" that it was due to my hard drive and the replaced it, charging me $450. When I got home the same problem persisted. I brought it back in. On top of that all of the start up script that were supposed to be removed were also still there. I brought back into be fixed, picked it up a week later and got it home once again and my lap top still rebooted itself... NOTHING WAS FIXED.

Although this time when I logged onto my computer a diagnostic pop up came onto the screen and said that my Intel wireless driver was out of date. At this time I talked to the manager and told that my computer was incorrectly repaired and INITIAL problem was never fixed. He told me that if I brought my computer back in he would fixed it (FINALLY, after four weeks!!) and refund me $150 for the inconvenience. Well when it come time to pick my computer up (the manager) refused to refund the money. (Dishonest!)

And although the technician told me that they had rebooted the Intel driver and was now working Ben told me that nothing was done and it was working fine the entire time (because if he admitted work was done that would admit that the previous 2 times I brought it in the work was insufficiently completed).

He tried to blame the problem on my wireless router but I had tested this problem on THREE different wireless routers!! He lied to make his technicians look better and was OK with leaving a customer extremely dissatisfied with the work done! Ben is a dishonest business man, please do not give Data Doctors your business.. especially this location!!!!

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Highest Possible Praise for Data Doctors - Boulder, Colorado location
StarStarStarStarStarBy -
Rating: 5/51

BOULDER, COLORADO -- I am inspired to write this review not only because of the excellent service I have consistently received four times in the past two years at Data Doctors in Boulder, Colorado, but also because of the negative reviews other have posted about different locations. I have no idea what goes on at other locations, but it sounds as if senior Data Doctor management might have to send its franchisees to Boulder for training on how to build a corporation-wide culture of customer service.

Given that I went to college with a slide rule and have never been interested in computers other than how to use e-mail and basic programs, it would have been very easy to overcharge me or sell me something I did not need. But on every visit to Data Doctors, I felt treated with honesty and professionalism, as well as explanations I could understand. The final bill was never higher than the low end of the range I had been quoted. And the work was always completed within the quoted time range.

Furthermore on my most recent visit (Jan. 2013), a few weeks ago, Ash (a true gem of a service employee that Data Doctors should seek to clone for some of the locations where customers were not as satisfied as I have been) fixed my smartphone e-mail feed at no charge; just as on my PC, it had failed to operate properly after I had been spammed. Not only did Ash not charge me for the extra service but I was unable to give a her a tip to buy lunch, because that is a violation of policy; overhearing this, the marketing manager, Robert, said he would take Ash to coffee on my behalf.

When I need a new PC (hopefully not for many years of regular check-ups, etc. at Data Doctors), if Ash is still working there, I will buy a new computer from Data Doctors, even though I am sure that someone more knowledgeable about computers could find the same configuration at less expense.

And should I pick a "lemon" I expect that Data Doctors (Boulder) would rectify the problem immediately in person at the store, without putting me through the frustration of dealing with menu-driven options leading to customer service reps. in foreign countries reading from scripts that do not address my problem, making me feel more like a criminal than a valued customer, as some American telecommunication companies are won't to do. People move to Colorado for sunshine and top class skiing' maybe they should also come for the top class customer service we get at our Data Doctors.

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Data Doctors Rating:
Star Star Star Empty star Empty star
3.0 out of 5, based on 2 ratings and
4 reviews & complaints.
Contact Information:
Data Doctors
1400 E Southern Ave - 10th Floor
Tempe, AZ 85282
800-486-0048 ext. 70 (ph)
www.datadoctors.com
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