AVENUE 18 COMPUTER in Santa Monica

Review №1

2020-06-28 01:24:47

With more time working from home due to recent pandemic, I needed speed and IT assistance to ensure my work was accessible and updates were accurate. I was referred to John Compton at Avenue 18 by a friend in the entertainment business of screenwriting who had worked with him for many years. She highly recommended him. John is quick, professional, and is a life saver for my IT needs in more ways than I can ever say. As a senior vice president of a large insurance international brokerage, my home office needs to be efficient and easy to operate. Thankfully Avenue 18 is here to my personal IT office problem solver. It is why I highly recommend him to others, especially now that remote office work is my new normal. Thank you, Avenue 18.

Review №2

2020-06-18 23:55:55

John Compton has maintained our computer systems for my Architectural practice in Santa Monica since 1991 and during that time we have never had a server crash or lost any data. John builds and supports all our computers and we have enjoyed up to 8 years duty life on his PC builds. John seems to know when to upgrade our systems, and maintains 24/7 monitoring of all our computers, sending us reports via email. John has helped all of my staff focus on design work and not on computer issues. Recently an electrical short in the ceiling knocked out 2 computers and fried my modem. John quickly identified the failure and we had Spectrum replace the modem giving us our internet back quickly. It took 3 more days for all the power outlet problems to be fixed by the building electricians and John was invaluable in finding working power during the repairs. I have had a positive experience with John all these years, and he is popular with the staff and my wife who uses her home PC to manage family business matters. John is polite, attentive and frequently humorous making his visits that much more beneficial and low stress. We keep John and Avenue 18 Computer on a very reasonable monthly retainer that covers our 10 users and 9TB Network Attached Server.I fully recommend Avenue 18 Computer to businesses and individuals who need excellent help.

Review №3

2019-08-03 18:48:05

Been using John Compton for almost five years when I realized I was no longer capable of keeping my machine going efficiently. First he tuned the old computer, added memory, to make it last a little longer and added sorely needed backup systems. When I needed more power John built a very fast quad screen machine that should go for a long time. I am paranoid about loosing data, so John has several automated backup systems going.He seems to know all the techie maintenance and diagnostic tools available and keeps up on the latest versionsMostly remote servicing. Logs onto my machine and does whatever is necessary. The last time he came here was to install the 4-screen. He does regular remote maintenance to make sure the backups are up to date, the latest software versions are on the computer, and restore performance if it has deteriorated.Needless to say, I am satisfied with what he does for me.Tom BudlongLos Angeles

Review №4

2022-08-18 21:27:57

Wonderful experience! Called in the morning and spoke to John. He had Abe, his technician, come to my home and within a few minutes my fears of a costly repair vanished. Abe took the time to examine everything and came to a sound conclusion. Highly recommend for their top notch service.

Review №5

2020-06-03 23:47:50

I never write bad reviews as we all can have bad days or experiences, however this time I had to. The owner was demeaning, blatantly lied and turned it around on me numerous times. Then, for what I was paying him to do he had me do the work and sent links to do it myself. He pushed me to add an app which cost money after a trial, finally after questioning his it he admitted it was to make his job easier on my laptop. Initially he said he would need me remotely for about 10 min then he would do the work in few hours. I was on for an hour with him and he kept asking me to call back for the duration. It got worse so I said, I will just pay you and be done there are worse things going on in the world to be upset over, he literally mocked me and that statement. When I asked how much more we had to do he said nothing until I pay him and hung up on me. After all of this I looked at my computer he put his company apps on my desktop and google page has 2 tabs going straight to his website. Who does this? I had a bad feeling after our initial conversation, he was pushy and wish I trusted it! I have contacted another specialist and she was shocked by what happened, what was done and charged. I would look around, less expensive help isnt always worth it. Sometimes you have to speak your mind and this is one of them. I never called him names or anything, only asked for him to be accountable to his word. A few days later I sent him a text saying I would like a partial refund and he sent back a very derogatory and name calling text.

Review №6

2018-05-01 17:22:38

I have been using Avenue 18 Computer for over 10 years now, and wouldt think of taking my computer to any other place. They have saved me hundreds of dollars over the years. They are very courteous, and do excellent work. They have a quick turnaround, and at times, fix my computer on line. Their prices are fair and cannot give enough thanks to them. To me, they are the best in the business.Happy customer,A. Gaston

Review №7

2019-03-13 05:31:16

I had a pretty awful experience with Avenue 18 computer and the owner.I had a waterdamged computer. I called and enquited about the 65 dollar diagnostic offer that they had and it was stated that they would check my commputer for 65 dollars to see what was wrong. I was very specific about only wanting basic diagnostics to see what worked and what didnt.The owner picked up my PC (in an old van that was not clean or organized). I do not remember even signing anything. After he left, i realized how much of a vulnerable spot I was in.He kept on mentioning replacing hardware, usb drives, etc - trying to do an up-sell. Whatever, thats fine, i declined.He said the system was zapped, but the hard drives were OK and the SSD had some errors. He told me he copied the contents of the SSD to one of the hard drives. (i didnt ask for that, but that was nice of him).He then sent an invoice when I declined further service. The invoice was listed as being $165! He charged $100 for Standard Field Service Labor. I dont know what that means, as the $65 covered all of the diagnostics that we agreed upon. However, since I had no contract form the start, it put me at a loss - he had my computer and my personal data. I had to pay up or else. Instead of apologizing and adjusting his error for overcharging, he insisted I pay for service not requested ($100 to transfer 128gb? Seriously?). I declined and he argued over text with me. I finally agreed to pay him $80 (which i dont think was reasonable, as it should have been $65 as my word is my word, and his should have been too). He deleted the data he backed up on my hard drive and made me wait an extra day.TL;DR - Dishonest. Agreed to $65 of service and he asked for $165 at time of invoice. I feel vulnerable violated that I trusted this guy with my personal data. Unprofessional. He has lost all trust.EDIT - My reply after owners response below: Im not blaming them for lost data or a damaged computer - Im blaming him and giving a 1 star because he charged me $100 more than we agreed upon. I dont question his technical ability, only his honesty.

Review №8

2019-02-23 03:50:33

I made a huge error by only giving him one star I meant it for someone else who was here the day before. On a scale of 1-10 he definitely is a 10 therefore deserving 5 STARS.. Stupid error on my part hes also very personable.

Review №9

2019-12-11 23:10:40

Knowledgeable and helpful. Great service.