jago in Parkdale

AMI was recommended to me by a rep at Downtown Camera, when they couldn't help me with service on, or replacement of, my 6-year-old out-of-warrantee item. Upon walking into the shop, I didn't know what to make of it. The place is tiny -- a little 'hole-in-the-wall' establishment, walls packed floor-to-ceiling, literally, with electronic appliances and parts, (seemingly pell-mell style, although I'm sure there's some sort of method to the apparent madness here), in various states of disassembly. I had to actually weave my way through waist-high towers of naked (unboxed) televisions, CD/DVD players, stereo components, keyboards, etc., all garnished with assorted remote controls, calculators, circuit boards, and other electronic miscellanea, to reach the service desk -- again literally, an old office desk -- strewn with the proprietor's paperwork, and more bits of electronica. But looks can be deceiving, and I considered the possibility that perhaps the place was so peppered with bits and pieces of just about anything you plug in to a wall because they got 'just so much business'. I was pleasantly surprised at the speed and quality of service. I was given a clear and understandable explanation of the diagnostics that would be performed to determine the problem, and was asked how much it had cost me when I bought it -- because, once an estimate was ready, he said, it wouldn't make sense to charge me more than I'd payed for it new, if replacing it with a new unit would be cheaper. Honest, practical thinking, and this was coming from someone who could've just taken my money. I was told I would have an estimate by the next day, and left my ph#. Sure enough, the next day Oscar called me at work (I'd left my home#, and when my gf got the call, and gave them my work#, he actually called me at work rather than simply leave a message for me! That extra effort was much appreciated.) The price was agreeable (after dropping it off, I'd priced comparable items, in case I'd have to just buy a new one). Oscar's fee was commensurate with current prices for new units, but was still much less than I'd spent initially. Besides, since I'd only been able to find "similar" items, but none actually compatible with my needs, it made sense to go ahead with the repair of the item I already knew would work for me -- if only it still worked. I was pleasantly surprised that the item was repaired to full functionality, and back in my hands, in just 24 hours. I'd walked through the door prepared to wait anywhere between 1 to 4 weeks. But in his own words, Oscar "tries to work quickly to fix it". And boy, did he ever. Oscar is a friendly, very likeable guy. Easy to chat with, he seems eager to befriend and endear himself to his clients, with sincerity. He strikes me as a forthright man who knows what he's talking about, and will give you the straight answers you want. I left the shop with the conclusion that maybe the reason the place is so cluttered, maybe the reason they got 'just so much business', is that they're 'just so good' at what they do.