This is my experience with the Microcenter store i...

This is my experience with the Microcenter store in Cambridge.

There really is no way to say it otherwise: this is my go-to computer store. Over the years, it has begun to lack in stock for peripherals such as headphones, mice, and most of all joysticks, but that has less to do with the store and more to do with the change in computer trends. Despite this, when it comes to computer hardware and building your own PC, this store has always had everything that I needed or could ever want. Every employee I've ever spoken to there either knows the products to the nose, or knows someone in the store that does and directs me to them. I've run into a few employees that shouldn't have been employees, but they were at least smart enough to call the curmudgeonly veteran to assist me.

I'll never forget the old man working in the store who walked up to my shopping cart, told me that he had tried and failed the build that I was attempting, and advised different products (a different motherboard, specifically) which became my rig for 5 years.

I am sad that the Cambridge location no longer has a gaming section, and that their peripherals are scant in terms of variety. Unfortunately, they have done this as a result of consumer preferences. When no one buys joysticks, when an entire section of the store dedicated to gaming makes little revenue, and when people tend to purchase very particular brands of peripherals, I can't totally blame the store for tuning the floor to what makes them money. Still, it's frustrating that I have to use Amazon or Newegg for these things.

Yet, Microcenter has been at this location as long as I can remember. I remember my father bringing me here for his own needs, and I now find myself to be a loyal customer. It is not simply nostalgia that brings me back, but the good customer service, the knowledgeable staff (I've always managed to get them), and - most importantly - the store policies. The return policies are a far cry from ten or twenty years ago, but are still quite fair. The protection plans are a bit pricy, but end up being a steal with items that are wont to break (like headphones).

I don't know what other locations are like, but the Cambridge Microcenter has been my go-to for years and, barring any dramatic shift, will continue to be.

Edited to add in light of reading other reviews: the very few times that I have attempted to call the Cambridge store, I have run into trouble. Yet, I am a walk-in kind of person, so this does not affect my review. If you're a call-in kind of person, beware.