Tech Tips | Where to shop for a Windows computer

Have you ever purchased a computer from Best Buy or Walmart or any other “Big-box” store? What was your purchase experience like? What about support? Did you go back to the store you purchased the computer from for help or did you go to a third party? What was that experience like? For the most part, buying a computer and getting support after purchase is a nightmare. And, sadly, this process is the norm for the majority of people. Let’s fix that.

Don’t feel like reading? Here’s the quick version:

1. Don’t ever buy a computer or tablet from Best Buy, Walmart, Staples or any other “Big-box” store.
2. When buying a Windows PC the only store to get it from is the Microsoft Store because they offer Microsoft Signature Edition PCs.

Where to shop for a Windows computer

The Microsoft Store. Plain and simple. This is the best place to purchase a Windows computer from. Honestly, it’s the only place. Here’s why:

Microsoft Signature Edition PCs

You know when you get a new computer and you start it up for the first time and it’s kind of slow and there are a lot of pop-ups for strange programs? And that same computer, after 30 days of use, starts bugging you to pay money to subscribe to anti-virus software, odd media programs and weird plug-ins. Yeah, sadly everyone knows that experience. All of that extra software is called crapware and it’s needlessly duplicating software that’s already built into Windows. Not only that, it’s slowing your new computer down to a crawl. Crapware is why you hate your computer. It’s what has made your computer slow and it’s why Windows keeps crashing.

To combat this, Microsoft introduced Signature Edition PCs. What you get is a large selection of PCs from a variety of manufacturers (HP, Asus, Lenovo, etc.) at great prices without the crapware. I can’t stress how important this is and what a difference it makes for the customer.

Informed & Educated Staff

The staff at the Microsoft Store are well educated and will recommend a product based on your needs. Also, they don’t work on commission. When all is said and done they want to see you happy.

Warranty

The warranties that the Microsoft Store offers on their products are great and should be seriously considered at the time of purchase. They often come with 1 year of Microsoft Office 365 and cover accidental damage on up to 2 claims. 2 claims?!!! That’s unheard of. If you’re buying a computer get the warranty. It’s that simple. (PS: Don’t ever buy warranties from Best Buy. They serve the company, not the customer. Plus, it’s next to impossible to claim because of the countless loopholes.)

Support

The Microsoft Store offers the best support for Windows computers. Seriously. No one else even comes close. The staff are qualified and know exactly what they’re doing. Even if you didn’t buy your computer from the Microsoft Store you can still take it to them for help. There may be a cost involved but 99 times out of 100 it’ll be cheaper than Best Buy and your issue will actually get resolved. I’ve heard too many horror stories about the support given by Best Buy techs. I wouldn’t wish them on my worst enemy.

Where are they located?

Here’s the downside. Microsoft doesn’t have a lot of stores in Ontario. In fact, they only have 3:

• Mississauga, Square One Shopping Centre
• Toronto, Toronto Eaton Centre
• Toronto, Yorkdale Shopping Centre

Of course, there’s always online which is my preferred method. However, if you want advice or support you’ll need to get to one of these stores. So, what do you do if you live 2 hours away from Toronto? You either order online or you drive there. I’m not kidding. You spend 4 hours travelling and money on gas because the difference is worth it. You owe it to yourself because you are going to be using this computer almost every day for the next few years.

You know how you hate the computer you currently own? You will love the computers / experience at the Microsoft Store.