Be VERY careful with these cowboys!
I deeply regret giving this establishment the benefit of the doubt. I needed a custom-built machine urgently. I had visited their Bagatelle branch on a few prior occasions, and was continually disappointed by their staff not being willing or able to help.
However, when I visited their Trianon (La City) branch and received the same "customer service", a gentleman behind the glass who had been observing things, eventually introduced himself and showed genuine empathy for what he was witnessing, and so I decided give them a chance.
I eventually landed up dealing with the owner, and we put together a solution based on his expertise and based on the components they had in stock.
Unfortunately, they did not have the 64GB memory I required, but they kindly agreed to swap the 32GB memory out once they received stock.
I made it clear on several occasions that I intended to build the machine myself, but the owner insisted that they build the machine, citing concerns about thermal management.
I was then called back later that day, +/- an hour later. It was already built, 3 hours ahead of the agreed time. The quick turnaround worried me more than it impressed me. And to my dismay, the first thing I noticed was that some screws were loose inside the chassis, and were rolling around the horizontally installed motherboard (after it had been powered up). Cringeworthy stuff !! I should have been more assertive at this point.
When I got back to my home-office and started installing and configuring the operating system, I realised that the thermals were a significant issue, with some cores running over 90 degrees Celsius, and others hitting the 100-degree mark. I headed back to the store, where the owner kept interrupting me every time I tried to explain the issue. Why was this guy so defensive and just flat out rude?
One of his staff was actually apologetic not to mention embarrassed and even gave me the details of the consumer protection unit in Mauritius. But now with more hindsite I'm not sure he was all that genuine or sincere.
Anyway, I found myself under attack and grew increasingly exasperated and annoyed. After eventually loosing my cool and calling a spade a spade, the only thing left to do was to walk out as things were getting ugly.
To fix the overheating issue (the CPU, not me getting hot under the collar), I had no choice but to disassemble the machine they built.
I couldn’t believe what I discovered: The motherboard was loose, incorrect screws were used at various mounting points. Moreover, one of the NVRAMs was not screwed in and mounted properly, and the packaging tape had not been removed from the heat sync. Additionally, the motherboard, PSU, and chassis were not grounded.
A five year old could have done a better job!
Through my own efforts I managed to get the temperature issue under control. It was just a matter of changing the direction of airflow and undervollting the CPU.
The whole situation could have been avoided if he did not insist that they build the machine in the first place. And yes! I do wonder why he was so adamant that they build the machine. Especially since the quality of their work is so very questionable. And I am not convinced it was because of his concerns regarding the thermals.
To be honest I just wanted to forget about this regrettable experience, but now the memory kit eventually arrives, with a faulty module... GIVE ME STRENGTH! When I raise the issue via WhatsApp, the response (with attitude I might add!) only adds insult to injury.
It's worth noting that this establishment refuses to provide telephonic support wether it be pre-sales or post-sales... and IF you do get a response ... expect attitude!
So, on my next dreaded visit to FastClick it took one VERY long hour to simply exchange the faulty memory they provided.
There are no words in any language to describe the level of exasperation experienced with these cowboys.
Overall, it wasn't surprising at all to learn that FastClick is infamous for selling used components as new and then provide TERRIBLE if not HORRIFIC after-sales service.
In my experience, these guys are unquestionably the most discourteous, unprofessional, incompetent and rudest retail establishment I have ever encountered anywhere on planet earth.
2 February 2023
Unprompted review