Western Computer Reviews 209

Iphone had a problem with the charging port; had tried some solutions myself to no avail but Western used their experience to quickly clean it and it's all working again. A simple fix, but very quick and effective.

Excellent customer service experience at our local store in Cheltenham. We were made to feel welcome, they brought a laptop out to show us they had the model I wanted to buy, they valued my old laptop and agreed for me to trade it in. Then suggested I took both laptops home and once I was happy that everything had transferred to the new one, I could go back with the old one and they will process a refund for the trade in, right then and there. I could not have asked for more and will definitely be going back for future purchases.

I went into Western computers as I was getting nowhere with Apple directly. Will was very knowledgeable, he was able to sort the issue with my AppleID there and then. The staff are really friendly and take time to ensure each customer is happy.
10/10 would recommend!

Will, at the Cheltenham branch, was very helpful and sorted the problem with my IPhone.

Took booking through Apple for iphone battery replacement nearly a week earlier. Asked me to unlock phone on arrival then said had no battery. It is clear from other reviews happens a lot. Staff were not surprised and not really apologetic.

The guys in the Cheltenham branch are amazing. I’ve been in twice with issues with iPhone updates and iPhone not syncing with I watch.
Always very calm and helpful with a 40 year old who doesn’t know what she’s doing. Also amazing with my bored 7 year old while waiting for issue to be sorted.
I will never go anywhere else
Thank you so you bunch of legends

We recently migrated to Apple from a custom linux/ubuntu set up from a career as a academic/computer scientist. Now retired, we wanted to be able to get support and not deal with complex technology as we get older. We had superb service from Joost at Western Computer. He migrated all our data and emails from Ubuntu to Mac, for the price of £99 which we thought was superb value for money. He worked on our computer at the weekend, and kept us informed of progress. Would not hesitate to recommend or to use again. One tip, it's often not possible to get through on the phone, because they are often with customers in the shop who get priority. but you can contact them online and via email and they will reply.

Great experience and service at Western Computers Cheltenham. Joost was very helpful and professional

My husband and I went to the Cheltenham branch of Western Computers this afternoon to purchase a new iPhone. We are very happy to recommend this store and Will in particular who helped us. He was extremely knowledgeable and patient and explained it all well. We will return to this store for any further advice or Apple products we require.

The service I received from Brad and Brad was exemplary. They answered all of my questions with smiles and really helped me choose the laptop that was right for me. As a local business owner I cannot recommend Western Computer and the Brads more highly.

Booked my Mac in at the Oxford Branch to sort a serious problem. Was seen immediately by a professional and friendly person who sorted the matter and gave me advice on how to manage future such issues. Could not have been happier and more grateful.

Having had an accident and broken my phone screen, i booked a slot in the Cheltenham branch. I was helped by Will who was very thorough in explaining what needed to happen to get it fixed. Amazingly, they were able to turn it around in a few hours, which having not had it working properly for a few days, was a huge relief. The apple-approved technicians did a great job and i know that the work is guaranteed so i can have a high level of confidence that it has been done well. Highly recommend.

What a shame. This company used to be responsive, supportive and helpful. Now they don't answer the phone and don't reply to emails. I am extremely disappointed and will no longer recommend them to my friends and business. I guess I'll be going elsewhere to refresh my Mac, iPhone, and iPad equipment.

My airpods pro recently became faulty in the left earbud (the microphone was only picking up audio at a very low volume and I was getting feedback when on calls with people). After raising the issue to Apple Customer Support they advised that I need to take them in to get looked at and gave me the option of the Oxford Western Computer store, or the Reading Apple store, the Oxford store was closed so I decided to vist them.

When I arrived I was disappointed to find out that I had to leave my airpods with them because they did not have any engineers in store on Saturday. It seemed a bit silly to me since you'd expect Saturday to be the busiest day of the week given most people are only available on Weekends, but oh well. He advised that they should be ready to collect again on Wednesday

On Thursday I got an email saying they found no issues? This was quite suprising to hear given I had even recorded a voice memo of myself where I could hear the audio issues with my own ears. I responded to explain how I very much disagreed with their findings, and then they responded a bit later to tell me that after running further tests outside their usual parameters they have identified an issue and will be ordering a replacement. This just makes me question what tests they did to begin with, because it was not hard in the slightest to identify the issue, and I clearly explained what the problem was when dropping them off.

To add further pain to misery, the last I heard was on Thursday the 19th of October. Since then it has been radio silence. I chased for an update on Wednesday the 25th, and again yesterday. Both times I recived an automated response saying I will hear back in 24 hours, but to date nothing.

Hoping that leaving a review it might prompt them into responding to my case as I would like my AirPods back, and working as Saturday this week will be three weeks since I dropped them off. For reference, I belive the case number is 35799

What a great bunch of guys. So helpful and easy going. As a self confessed technophobe they didnt make me feel an idiot or patronise me. Matt was an absolute star and very knowledgeable. I have bought all my apple products from them over the last 10 years and will continue to do so. Many thanks ;)

Following the purchase in store of a wall charger and usb cable today, Rob sorted out various niggles on my iPhone in a most helpful and friendly fashion, together with advice for my MacBook Air. Much appreciated. I have often dealt with Western Computer over the years and have no hesitation, whatsoever, in recommending this company. P J - ancient Cheltonian.

I’ve just bought the iphone 15 and was served by Joost in Cheltenham.
Absolutely amazing service, he was professional, friendly and helpful in fact he offered over and above what he needed to do,
I’ve used Western Computers several times and all the staff are brilliant. Highly recommended 🤩

Pre ordered the iPhone 15 pro max , got a message saying the product won’t come due to system recognising me as farud???? I. Want a refund but they won’t even give that ?? Never again with these scammers , beware before purchasing

Did a pre order for an iPhone 15 Pro 10 days ago. The pre order for the website was for the 22nd September.

Had a confirmation and they took the cash.

Have heard nothing since. No phone. No update. On here and online I can see I am not alone.

Looking on their website they are saying they are out of stock now and new orders could be up to three weeks.

I have not had issues in store with Western and found them to be pretty good, and that is where I purchased my previous iPhones so they have done well out of me.

But I think if I do a pre order for an item where it clearly says a date then I should expect that item on that date, or an update as to a delay.

Come on Western, let’s have some customer care that matches the effort you put into sales.

Update on 26/9/2023 following Western Computer response:

I will not be cancelling my order as I am a big supporter of local business where I can and your in-store staff have always been excellent and polite.
I have purchased iPads and iPhones from you on previous occasions with no issue.

It is the online experience I am taking issue with, and still do.

I do appreciate the time you have taken in your response here, but I do not feel I should have to go searching on your website for updates in 2023 when really the onus should be on you to email me with any updates with regard to my order. When I purchased the phone there were no messages about three week delays on the front page of the site as there are now ?

Yesterday I used your bot helper and got no response even though I left my phone number. I am only after some idea of where I am in the queue here and don’t feel that is too much to ask.

If you specify a date on your website, as you admitted “Pre-order now, available from 22.9”, but then have to defer to terms and conditions because you don’t have stock on that date, or have to come here and say it’s first come first / first serve, other retailers are having the same issues etc etc then you should update your customer.

I never said I expected it on the 22-9-23 either.

I am still looking forward to receiving the phone, but do feel your online customer experience should be more push than pull when it comes to updates.

Thank you for your time.

I’ve given Western Computers online a second chance but unfortunately I’ve had the same poor service again. I ordered an iPhone 15 Pro Max a week ago within 30 minutes of it being open for pre-order. I had an email stating that the order was being processed. They took the money from my account (£1199.00) the next day. I’ve checked every day online for progress with the order but nothing has changed. I’d hoped that they would post the phone so that I received it on release day. Unfortunately that has come and gone and I don’t know what is happening with my order. So a week ago they took my money and they haven’t even posted the order to me yet. Amazon do not take money from your account until it is dispatched to you.

I’ve tried using the phone number displayed on the online store but it’s not actually possible to speak to the online store. Weird that they have it on the site? I’ve tried the online chat all day today but all I get is a bot. No human unfortunately. I’ve sent emails but no response.

No doubt they’ll argue that they’re busy but for me it’s just poor service and far far worse than Amazon or the Apple Store.
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In response to your reply below:
You wrote: ‘The message across our stores and our website was "Pre-order now, available from 22.09".’ How can this be true when I have an email receipt from you for my order dated 15.09? The full £1199 was taken from my account 16.09.

I still have not received a reply to my email sent to you 4 days ago and counting…

Western Computers took £1199 from my account a week before release and then just went dark; sent no more information to me and didn’t respond to my emails or online chat.