Power Corrupts

Damned and blast. The Power Supply in my Mac G5 went tits up. A call to my usual suppliers (CancomUK.com) revealed that they no longer offer servicing on the premises and would require the machine to be sent away (some 3 or 4 weeks) which was completely unacceptable.

Cancom, however, gave me a contact number for a company that I had never heard of, called Backstage Services, in Esher. They promised a turn around of 2-3 working days. I was a little surprised, but if they say they can I will give them a go.

THe G5 was dropped of at their offices in Esher on the Wednesday 22nd April, with a promise that it would be ready on the Friday.

Friday came and went (OK they did call to say that they were waiting for the part), which I have to say didn’t surprise me, knowing what Apple are like, they don’t hold any stock, no matter what you order they have to assemble it prior to shipping.

Anyway, Tuesday I get a phone call to say the part has been delivered and that the machine will be ready for collection in the afternoon.

Whilst they managed to return the machine without connecting the DVD drive power supply and the internal speaker everythingelse seems fine.

Will I use them again? Yes, why? Two reasons; One, because they had the right attitude, they called regularly to update, and I am sure the next time they work on one of my machines they will get it “bang-on”. Two, because I didn’t think that £130 (inc VAT) was expensive.

Want to give them a try? Here is their website, Here or phone +44 (0)1372 471100 and speak to Guy (the MD) and say that Paul Burgman said to give them a try.

If there are any suggestions that I would make is their website is a little simplistic, which is great, in some ways, but, if I was to be involved in repairing and maintaining apple macs (which I was for many years for professional photographer colleagues) I would also maintain a trouble shooting guide on the site. OK my G5 problem was easy to work out, not much diagnosis required for a PS failure. But some problems are less easy to resolve. And who has their diagnostic disks and favoured utilities to hand?
Cheers Suckers.