Davis Computer - Davis Wiki

Their current location on Olive Drive Photo of their old location on 5th Street

Location

1123 Olive Drive

Hours

Mon-Fri 9:00AM-6:00PM

Sat 10:00AM-5:00PM

Sunday - Closed

Phone

(530) 759-0134

Website

http://www.herontechnologies.com

E-mail

<sales AT herontechnologies DOT com>

Note: Moved to Olive Drive as of June 2009! From 5th and Pole Line.

"Heron Technologies is changing its name to Davis Computer - Over the last several year we have been debating on changing the name of the company. There have been numerous questions about why we want to change the name and logo. One argument why we should not change the name is because we have established a reputation and a name for ourselves in Davis. The name of the company was originally chosen at random. The logo was designed by a college friend and was suppose to depict an abstract heron. Over the years I have been asked hundreds of time why our logo is a picture of a sperm swimming downstream. So the final decision is to change the retail name of the store to Davis Computer. The company will still be Heron Technologies but DBA Davis Computer. It is easier to write and spell. Thank you for your years of support." - Khanh (owner)

Heron Technologies has been a brick and mortar store since 1996. They have real sales people and technicians that you can talk to. Established by 2 college students, they have been able to service the community's computer needs for over 13 years. They are licensed by the city of Davis and have a BEAR license from the State of California to repair electronics. All technicians have at least the basic A+ certification for computer repair. Compared to other brick and mortar stores in the Woodland and Sacramento area, they are one of the lowest-priced places to repair your computer.

Heron Technologies sells computers (desktop and laptop), Plasma and LCD TVs, computer components, and cellular phone service/accessories. Their main business is computer service and sales. The rates range from $65 per hour for standard service, $75 for scheduled service to $110 for emergency service. They carry the largest selections of cables in Davis. If you need a VGA cable or wireless cards, then this is the place to go.

Heron services out-of-warranty Apple computers and all PCs, servers, and printers. They are authorized for HP, Sony, IBM, Toshiba, Linksys, Logitech, and more. They do not service Apple computers still under warranty — the closest place is the Apple Store at Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento.

See the Computers and Electronics entry for businesses that sell computers, or the Computer Repair entry for help when they break.

Comments:

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Also see comments before 2009

2009-05-31 19:49:42 They gave me a really good deal on Arctic Silver 5, and that stuff can be expensive. A+! —NicholasKnoblauch

2009-10-12 11:19:36 They have been posting cell phones on Craigslist for a couple of months for about $100 or more than they cost anywhere else (check Amazon or just about anywhere else). Many of the phones they are asking way way to much $ for are already outdated or discontinued. —GarrettGallegos

You have been trained by the big corporations and assume to really know how the system works. Let me tell you how small business gets screwed. When a small cellular dealer gets into the business, he/she is forced by the carrier to purchase the phone for full retail price. Only when the phone is activated do they reimburse you for the advertised price. Example. If you purchase a phone for $199.99 and the web price is $49.99, only when activated and not canceled with in 6 months does the carrier return the money to the dealer of $150.00. So for your information we are selling the phones for what they cost us. They are brand new phones. If you were to walk into the AT&T store or Verizon Corporate store and you were still in contract you would pay more for the phone. So before you go posting garbage maybe you should spend some time to talk to a store sales person and get the skinny before you talk trash. And yes you can get stuff on the internet for less. That is probably why so many people don't have jobs. Screw your neighbor to save a buck or two. It seems to be the new american way. —Khanh

2009-10-12 11:23:02 PS: I'm fine with the fact that they charge $10 for a SATA cable, just because I understand they have to pay rent and what not and can't do that while charging $1-$2 like Monoprice.com (hint), and there isn't anywhere else in Davis to get one except OfficeMax if you're lucky. But the prices they are posting for cell phones on Craigslist just seems like a huge flagrant scam. —GarrettGallegos

And how much do they charge for shipping and if the cable is bad how much does it cost you to return the cable. We dont talk about that. People like this seem to be the ones who don't really give a dam about anybody but themselves. I employ real people. I Pay heath benefits. We pay a living wage. And yes it cost money. Maybe I should charge a dollar and pay my employess minimum wage so they can use state and federal resources to help them survive. —Khanh

2009-10-28 15:46:30 Khanh, You're right, it sounds like it sucks for you, but I don't think anyone forces you to be a cell phone carrier or run a computer shop where you get the bad end of that deal. I merely wanted people to know what I thought if your phones on Craigslist, which hasn't changed. I don't know what you mean by New - those phones look ancient. I'm not just talking about some markup % bs for you, I'm at talking about whatever the 200-300% price discrepancy is which I still don't understand... I'm happy to buy my imported STUFF wherever I want since it isn't locally produced and is imported from Japan or China to begin so don't make yourself sound like such a saint. Sorry, sounds like you are good people and run a cool business, but maybe its just the wrong industry for a small biz like you, maybe the big carriers screw you over as an independent dealer, maybe they ship you old phones that are impossible to sell, but I can tell from the phones you post on CRAIGSLIST that something is wrong somewhere. Good luck to your business. —GarrettGallegos

Some people have nothing better to do but try and make small businesses get burned. You hide behind your Wal-Mart mentality. I did not make my comments for you to feel sorry for us small business owners. I made my comments to defend myself against the ignorance. Your comment that I am trying to make myself a saint is uncalled for; obviously all electronic items are imported. I was talking about shopping local, keeping the tax revenue, and keeping local people employed. I noticed that you did not comment when I brought up the cost of shipping. If you had to return the product there would be no savings and a whole lot of headache. Your statement that the phones look ancient is ridiculous; why don't you come and check them out yourself? They are recent models, brand new , and in boxes. You also ignore the fact that if you did go into a retail store and buy a phone out of contract you would pay more for the phone. I also love that fact that you say that you can tell that there must be something wrong with absolutely no evidence. That is how cowards work to discredit people. Please don't forget that some people only care about number 1. That sound like this user. They hide behind the walls they create. You can come into the store and meet me for yourself. For anybody else reading this please understand that this is the only way I know how to deal with competitors making comments. They try and discredit you so they can gain business. All of the comments made lead me to believe that this person is either a competitor or somebody who just has it out for us. The worst part of the Davis wiki is that it is impossible to know if this is a legitimate person making a comment or a competitor hiding behind an alias. The fact is that we still have a local computer store. I will try and keep it open as long as consumers want local service. Thank you all for your years of support. Please take all the comments with a grain of salt. Over the last 14 years there are less than two dozen negative written comments out of 61,000 invoices. In the 14 years of business we have collected over $529,000.00 in tax revenue for local and state government. Thank you for supporting your local small business. If you are looking for a deal, just ask the staff and we will give you the best price we can. —Khanh

2009-12-21 18:58:42 The reason I'd pay Heron Technologies a little more for something vs saving a few bucks here or there is that I know that if I have a problem with said purchased item I can take it back to Heron and get the problem solved one trip. Heron is local, they have a business license, they've been around since almost DOS . If you buy something on craigslist, you're getting either second hand items, with little to know assurance that if it breaks within a day you can return it. Sure you could go to fry's and save a few dollars but look at my prior comment regarding my one said trip to fry's. I spent more in gas and wasted time trying to get them to replace a broken item they sold me I ended up getting a full refund, telling them to shove it, and went to Davis Computers where I bought an item ONCE and it's been working to this day.

The only benefit I see to craigslist is that if you get screwed you can write up a snappy paragraph and hope to be put into the "Best Of". Bottom line is I'd rather pay more for somtehing quality and know I can take it back to the store and get the problem(s) fixed right away. I'm sure the many thousands of customers who've shopped at Heron/Davis Computer feel the same way.

Cheaper is not always better. The fact that everyone who promotes this on the wiki these days seems to be a UCD student amazes me. What exactly do they teach at that college?

—ChrisThompson

2010-02-27 23:48:34 I bought a computer from Heron two years ago. The price was very high for what I got, and the network card died last week. In a separate dealing with them, they "fixed" an external hard drive for me a month ago, but a component they used failed; they did not help in replacing it, but left it to me to contact the vendor, ship it to them, and reinstall the new interface - not what I'd call customer service. —franklr

* If you purchased a computer from us 2 years ago then the network card would have been built into the motherboard. We sell Intel Boxed product that comes with a 3 year express exchange warranty. We would have warranteed the motherboard for you at no charge. So the fact is that I don't believe you. There is no way to contact you or verify your claims. I believe this comment to be untruthful. This sounds like something that a competitor would put on our wiki site. —Khanh

On further research I have found that this is a legitimate customer, the issue with the external hard drive is that the product was 2 years old. We offered the customer help to RMA the drive but at a charge. The information to him was free but there was a small labor charge and shipping charge to have it shipped to the MFG. The customer was not satisifed with the choices. He commented that it was our product and we should have taken care of it. As for clarification, we sell the product and will help return the product to the MFG under warranty for usually up to one year. After that it is the responsibility of the customer. At most stores they will take a retrun up to 30 days and that is the end of what they will do to help. Usually they do not even help get the information to the customer for RMA. We are verry sorrry that he was not satisifed with the choices. We do not make the product we only sell the product and will help as much as we can. —Khanh
If they customer has not resolved the issues he can come back to the store and as a special circumstance I will have my RMA department help expidite the RMA. The only charge to the customer will be the shipping back to the MFG. —Khanh

2010-03-28 15:30:06 I don't care if you think Heron's customer service is bad, NOTHING is as bad as Fry's, where they stare at you or ignore you or just plain don't know what they should be selling you. Any hardcore geek in D-town knows that sometimes you just want to buy a soda from 7-11 (Heron) instead of going out of your way and fighting the crowds at the Megalo-mart (BB, Fry's). Benefits, limitations, it's what computing is about. —YesItsMe

Yes unfortunatley as it goes some people think that our customer service is bad. As complaints go in the 14 year of business in Davis we have recieved 3 Better Business Bureau complaints. You can call them or do a search on their website anytime. The question is held to what standards. We try as much as possible to give the best possible customer service. Somtimes people just don't want to pay and they get pissed when they have to shell out the dough. Thanks for the comment I will try and keep it in mind. —Khanh

2010-06-24 14:37:52 In reading all the comments about this business, I just wanted to chime in and put in my two cents. I attended UC Davis from 2000-2004, when Heron Technologies was the only computer store in town and was located across from the Baskin Robbins. It was a smaller store, and in the 10 years since, I see they have been continuing to expand. Heron has always been a small business owned by a Davis local family, which was nice because nowadays it's really hard to find stores like this because the big businesses (Fry's, Best Buy) tend to put these places out of business. I think that was always the best part of Davis at the time; that everything was local and had that small town charm (okay, except for that In N Out right by the freeway!). It's nice to see individual businesses surviving. I know that whenever I wanted computer parts, I would much rather come to Heron and let them know what I needed than go to Fry's; Fry's is great for selection but 9 out of 10 items are open boxes that may or may not work, and their customer service is a nightmare. Because Heron is a smaller store, you're able to get more one on one service right from the moment you walk into the store. You may pay a little more for the same items, but you get quality and service. Just like a restaurant...if you pay $20 for a meal, what kind of service do you expect? If you pay $200 for a meal, do you expect the same service, or do you expect better? Heron gives excellent service, and if you feel like you aren't getting service, you can speak directly to the owner and let him know your concerns. I don't know about you, but I don't think the owner of a Best Buy or Fry's has ever come out to assist with my customer service problem. Heck, I don't even think the owners are on site at those stores at all. —VictoriaD.

2010-07-24 08:38:44 These guys were great! They had my computer for a couple of days and were giving me status updates a couple times a day and their fee was more than fair. I would use them again in a heartbeat! —KimberlyRobben

2010-07-26 13:44:21 Davis Computers provided good service for me when repairing my ancient laptop. I paid one fee even though I brought it in several times because it was behaving unpredictably. They gave me practical advice and a proper amount of attention. I'll agree with other comments that their in store products are a little pricey, but for a local computer repair I recommend them. —HeatherRauch

2010-08-02 17:40:08 Just wanted to say what a great business this is! Mike and his tech repair crew are top-notch, good honest local folks offering friendly, personalized service. They completely recovered my crashed laptop hard drive a few months ago, and saved all my files, music and photos — all for a fair and reasonable price. Fast turn around too! I tell all my friends to come here if they suffer any computer woes. Thanks again, guys... —JohnKarolewski

2010-08-31 06:59:26 I've been going to Heron for years.... now Davis Computer. Last month i took my failing laptop in desperate and cash poor. They fixed it in a day and for the minimum cost. They could have sold me all sorts of other "solutions" but instead just took it apart, cleaned it (which it desperately needed) and sent me on my way for under $100. Their integrity was impressive and GREATLY appreciated. —larawestergaard

2010-09-16 22:32:14 Dropped off a "Late 2006" iMac to have the disk drive replaced. These require a little surgery. Technically I am able to do this myself but it was more cost effective to drop this off and continue consulting at my hourly rate. It saved me a trip to Fry's and I'm sure they have the tools and space to get the job done more quickly than I. The guys seem pretty nice. Had a fun conversation that spanned everything from Macs v. PCs, Droids, iPhones, iPhone apps, and comics with the fella that took the order (so it can be nerd friendly). The place (including the parking lot) is very neat and professional. They turned it around in less than 2 days. I was mildly disappointed that I had to call to find out it was ready but then I checked my invoice and he charged me the "Scheduled Service" rate for 3-5 days. I was also pleased that it wasn't a PC-only shop. —KennyKoller

2010-10-29 11:10:50 I am really pleased with Davis Computer Store's customer service and products. They built our new computer system and have provided numerous service calls to our home and business. I appreciate the quick response and professional service they always provide. I find that they are people-friendly, generous and thorough in ensuring all things are in working order. —KateSedillo

2011-07-25 09:42:25 Wow! Thanks you guys for recovering all my info from my mini G drive and putting it in another drive for me. Saved my so much $$ Thanks again! —MatthewJFisher