I've had computers crash on me several times and my husband has a friend that's always been able to save what ever we've wanted off of it. I would be really upset because I bet you could have saved your pictures if you'd have found the right computer guy. It doesn't sound like they even try. You might want to see if you can get it back to look for another tech!
I send all of my pictures on to York Photo so I don't have to worry about losing what I have on my computer. I can order my pictures from them and have been very happy with the price and the service.
www.yorkphoto.com