Lesson learned-get referrals and reviews. I was in a pinch and needed to have my computer working immediately. I called him and explained the problem. He came very quickly. Others in the past (whose name I wished I remembered) always began by telling me the plan and how they would diagnose and fix along with fee structure. Not Al. He came in and began working--did not appear to do diagnostics. Made what appeared to be wild guesses about the problem-blamed it on things like the mouse or downloads--but seemed speculating. I was surprised by how high the bill was but paid him. When he left I noted he had overcharged by one hour. When I informed him, he offered to refund or put in a CD/dvd burner instead. After hundreds spent the computer was still not working. He came back, installed the burners and fiddled with the computer. More hundreds spent. When he left the computer was still not working. He advised me to call RR to install a disc to access wireless. When the Roadrunner tech came, he said the computer was a mess and he could not install anything. Seems all the reviews and PR on the internet are by ""Able Al"". I have yet to use the computer. it has the exact problem it had originally-and it seems to be similar to the McAfree problem I have since read about. He will not refund anything. His solution was that I should bring in my computer and he would re-install widows-something I could have easily done myself or had it done for 10% of what he charged-even a kid could have done it.He denies that , saying that wouldn't have been possible without the cd player working. (actually the cd did work although it was cracked-the DVD burner did not work. ) I would avoid Able Al's if you want a working computer. If you want someone to spend hours doing things like cleaning the computer key board and making very presumptuous statements that appear to be prying, and if you don't care if your computer works, Able Al may be a good fit.
Pros: Very available-came almost immediatly
Cons: ""mistakenly"" overcharged, did not fix computer,
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