This is my letter to Best Buy after today's experience.  
 
3 times in the past 10 days I went to the best buy store in the mall in Guilderland, NY and waited at least 35 minutes each time for help from a salesperson because I wanted to purchase a plasma television. I did not receive help any of those times. The first time there was not even a salesperson in the department and a manager seemed to care less when I asked where they were. Today was the third time and this time I managed to track a salesperson down who told me he had at least three other customers to help before he could get to me. When I asked was he the only one there he said no it was him and one other guy but he did not know where the other guy was. I then went looking for a manager and I saw two employees chatting with each other by the cameras. When I asked to be directed to a manager I was told that one of them was a manager. I doubted this as both were dressed exactly the same. When I mentioned that this was the third time I was in the store trying to buy something but not finding help the guy just shrugged and said "sorry."  
 
When I tried to get the name of someone higher up I was told they did not give out names.  
 
So, here I am complaining to an online system that is going to generate a stupid email telling me how much it means to Best Buy to have me as a customer and that my issue will be dealt with in a few days. Then I'll get a canned response that basically resolves nothing.  
 
Frankly, your sales staff, floor managers and process are terrible.  
 
I'll be taking my business elsewhere. Oh yeah, and the hour and a half of my time that you wasted I will dedicate to putting this story out there on other boards and internet sites to try to keep someone else from running into the same crappy service.

Hey guys,  
 
Do you guys know that Best Buy is not a BBB (Better Business Bureau) accredited company? BBB has received over 460 complaints against Best Buy in the past 36 months, an over half of them are still unresolved. This goes to show that even though big box stores offer great discount, they do not care about their customers. Google best buy and you'll see the numerous horror stories ppl have posted. Decide for yourself it it's worth it to shop there. Is the money you saved really worth the headache and hassle?  
 

Terrible. The biggest nightmare I have had in buying anything from any company. I ordered a wine cooler I needed for work on November 4th. I waited over 35 days for delivery just to get a call the day before saying "we don't have this item, we don't know when we will". All of this after 1 month that I had already paid for the item with my credit card that was promptly charged. I mailed customer service twice, never got a reply. I called in and got transferred 50 times with no one that could give me a definitive solution.  
DO NOT BUY FROM THESE GUYS. They are an insult to business and should shut down.  
Nothing but headaches and frustration.

BestBuy Sucks. They are really bad in online selling. Highly recommended "DO NOT BUY FROM BESTBUY.COM"  
 
They can't hear you. They are just there to redirect the call. I did very well shopping, but they are not able to solve shipping issue.  
 
Buy from BEST BUY only if you want to take tension.

I highly recommend that all consumers avoid online shopping at Best Buy unless you are 100% certain you will not have any need for a return or exchange.  
 
I purchased two video games online to be given as gifts. I used a Best Buy gift card for payment, and chose the pick-up-at-store option. When I picked up the merchandise at the retail location, I asked for a gift receipt and was told I needed to call the online business for it. I promptly called the online "service" number and was directed to call in the morning when the receipt department was open - I was told the hours for the department were 8am-9pm. I did as advised, and was told by the morning phone rep that there was no such department. I asked to speak with a manager who told me that a gift receipt would not be available if I didn't ask for one upon the initial order. Clearly, the option for a gift receipt was not clear nor prominent enough to notice.  
 
Furthermore, I was told that if an exchange or return on the unopened gift was desired, the merchandise would need to be returned to a store, then a phone call would need to be made (by me, separately) to the online department, and then a gift card would be reissued to me and delivered in about one or two weeks by mail.  
 
Stick with Walmart and Amazon - much more friendly experience.

This review was modified by its author, mn-purchaser, on 12/14/08 6:46 PM.

A time ago I remember doing case studies in college on Best Buy's customer service and strategy. Well, I must say I am extremely disappointed with their customer service/policies. I purchased a $600 camera from a sales rep that sold me a lousy quality camera. I took it back to the store less than 15 hours later to exchange for a better camera to find out that I was to be charged $82 to restock the darn thing (15% restocking fee). I wanted to exchange for another camera that received better online reviews (the one I was actually going to buy, but the sales rep persuaded me otherwise). Even with the exchange they were charging me the fee. This is absolutely absurd - the camera was returned perfectly in just hours later and I had to pay for this fee. No one even told me about the fee when I purchased it - should have read the fine print on the back of the receipt. Anyway, I will never buy from Best Buy again. I will always buy from Amazon since they do not charge these type of fees hours after purchasing the product. You will never see me in a Best Buy store again!!!!!!!!!!!

Bait and switch, plain and simple. They advertised a laptop package (HP G50 140NR and Canon 3-in-1 printer) for $279.99. It did say in stores only, so I checked my store availability, printed out the ad, and went there. When I got there, I was told that they are not honoring that price, but I could purchase the same laptop, no printer for $600. I got no resolution through the salesman, manager, or 800 number. When I returned home, I looked up "Best buy not honoring" on Google. I guess it turns out they do this alot!  
 
I've filed a complaint with my local BBB. Not that it will help. But this is the 3rd time they've done this to me! Horrible business practice!

I own a custom made laptop that would not start up. I did not buy it at Best Buy and it is out of warranty. I took it to Best Buy for repair on the 2nd of November 2008, and they said they charge $75.00 up front for a diagnostic. I told them that it was the motherboard, but they said they have to do their own diagnostic. It was supposed to take ten hours. Two days later they still could not tell me what was wrong. They "Thought" it was the mother board. They provided no printout or written proof of a diagnostic, they charged me $75.00, and then they told me they could not repair my computer. The person behind the counter ("Cory") even said that I should just "Throw your computer in the street and buy another one". They charged $75.00 to my credit card and gave me nothing in return but an invoice. They had the wrong computer on the invoice. The computer on the invoice is an Acer, and mine is a custom made Hypersonic PC. No one at the store was any help, and I emailed Best Buy customer service. They refused my request for a refund, and said they would address my concerns to management. I have since found a small computer repair shop that is repairing my laptop with no issues.

BEST BUY MORE LIKE WORST BUY!  
I have just had the worst experience with Best Buy ever! Here are the basics I learned about Best Buy through this horrible ordeal:  
 
1) They only care about money  
2) The make customer service so terrible it motivates you to buy a warranty so they can make more money  
3) They make customer service so bad you get fed up and don't get what you deserve so they make more money  
 
Bottom line this is a company that has truly abandoned the "customer is always right" so they can make more money.  
 
Please for your own sanity DO NOT EVER buy anything from Best Buy. They should change the name to WORST BUY!

Tis true. They do totally suck. After I bought a faulty camera from my local store. I returned it for replacement. They made me argue with them for ages for before replacing the camera. What a bunch of duche-bags!

NEVER NEVER NEVER BUY appliances from this crappy store. I purchased my washer dryer and paid $70 for installation and deliver. They came to install and said can't install gas dryer. I had to buy that for $134 on top of that. when the other guys came to install they charged me $75 for the gas connector. 300 freakin dollars for installation of washer and dryer. I spent hours with best buy and no one told me that i will end up paying $300 for this. I could have bought from Lowes with free delivery and isntallation. My mistake I got scammed into the 15% discount. STAY AWAY FROM THIS STORE. SCAMMERS SCAMMERS

Three different friends advised against buying a large item from Best Buy when I told them I was in the market for a new home computer. They all stated that Best Buy was known for unsound business practices. Should have taken their advice. A Best Buy Ad showed two Dell desktop p.c. pkgs. that seemed to be what I was looking for, at a good advertised price. I drove to the store & was told that they were out of the two advertised items, but they would be happy to sell me something "similar" that was "in stock". Of course, the "similar" items were considerably higher in price than the advertised specials. I checked the Best Buy website and found that the advertised specials were also listed online. I placed an online order & attempted to have the items sent to the store in our area. The site would not allow the order to be sent to the store for pickup, but insisted that I pay add'l shipping charges to have the pkg sent to my home. When the box arrived, I found a broken, scratched tower, with drive doors that would not close. The unit appeared to be a refurb. I took the entire package to the local store, & they accepted the broken unit for return with no question. The store mgr was summoned & she proceeded to do a "hard sell" on another "comparable" p.c. At home, I checked my online credit card statement to be sure that they had, indeed, completed the credit to my account, and found that they were almost $20.00 short on the return amount. When I called the store to see why, I was told that I was responsible for the shipping charges, & I should have purchased my p.c. from the store! Wasted shipping chgs and gas to drive back & forth to the store would have certainly paid for a solid p.c. from a reputable dealer. Buyer beware of Best Buy. Lesson learned. Will not do business with Best Buy again!

Bought a washer from the Best Buy OnLine store. In six weeks, the washer broke. Because I was past the 30 day window, Best Buy would not replace the washer. Instead, a parade of GE repairmen have been at out house (and on two occasions, didn't show up)Everything imaginable has been repaired, and still it doesn't work - Best Buys response - "Oh, that's GE's problem". Rude, condescending customer service people. I am six weeks without a washer. The time span included my son's leave from Afghanistan, where he is an infantry turret gunner. You talk about dirty clothes. I will never deal with this company, store again and encourage others to avoid it. Corporate greed rears its ugly head.

I have a love/hate relationship with Best Buy throughout the years. I love the products that they're selling, however their customer service is horrible. There was an experience that I had when I was shopping for a laptop. After wandering around, there were several employees just standing there doing nothing at all. I wasnt helped or anything. After I finally found a laptop I was looking for, I asked one of the employees if they have them in stock. Off he runs into the backroom in search for it without any sense of urgency. 15 minutes later, he comes out and tells me they're out, turns his back and walks away.  
 
Most of the time though, I never really got helped when searching for a particular product. Worst of all, it's almost impossible to find an employee to help you.  
 

I bought a Toshiba A200 from Best Buy last year and I had problems from the beginning. First the hard drive was damaged and I had to exchange the laptop. Right now it is having problems with the wireless card. I can not connect to any wireless network. The laptop is still under warranty because I bought an extensive service plan.  
 
I left the laptop to BB for repairing. However the BB technicians sent my laptop to Toshiba, without letting me know. I am a student and I need a laptop on a daily bases. I have tried to rent a laptop from BB by they do not have a loan program. A sales man suggested to apply for a BB Card and avoid paying for the second laptop. However , my request for a card was denied and the call center lady was very rude and called me unemployed people because I am a student. I had to pay for the second laptop from my own pocket and return it whenever the first one is repaired.  
 
I will never buy any Toshiba product and definitely I will not use BB services any more.