This Console Is A Bit Buggy

Editors' Choice, repair shop, Revolting, USA | Right | November 27, 2020

I do video game console refurbishment. Because I don’t want to deal with people too much directly, I tend to only work with consoles I’ve bought. However, I’ve made exceptions for friends and family on occasion. A friend’s friend hears about this and asks if I’m able to fix one of their systems.

Client: “Yeah, I got a PlayStation that won’t turn on. I bought it from a dude on Craigslist for like fifty bucks.”

Me: “Cool, which PlayStation?”

Client: “A PS4.”

This raises a red flag. Normally, a PS4 would go for at least $150; the only time it would be sold that low is if you knew the other party.

Me: “Sure, go ahead and bring it over.”

He drops it off and it looks legit. At first. I plug it in to test, and sure enough, it won’t power on. I go to pop it open and see a MASSIVE pile of cockroach bodies. From what I can tell, it was the sheer amount of dead bugs causing issues. I go and message the guy.

Me: “Good news is I think I found the issue. Bad news is that because of what it is, I’m charging extra.”

I also attach a picture of the situation. I expect the guy to get upset, saying it’s just a few bugs.

Client: “Oh, s***, that’s disgusting. How much is it overall?”

Me: “$75, but if there’s another issue, it might be more.”

Client: “Go ahead and do it.”

I clear out the bugs and then do a check of the hardware. Aside from a couple of wires being replaced, it looks fine. When I test it again, it turns on and acts normal. I give the guy the news and tell him it’ll just be the $75.

Client: “Awesome! I can come by tomorrow to pick it back up!”

When he comes by, he pays and hands me a gift card to a major coffee chain.

Client: “Hey, thanks for being willing to deal with that at all. I probably would have just bagged the system and brought it back as a biohazard or something. So… thanks.”

We ended up becoming really good friends. He even got me a load of various parts for systems at a flea market he stopped by. He also got me a toy cockroach that sits on my work desk.

This story is part of our Best Of November 2020 roundup!