What a complete letdown.
I don't get many days off, and today was one of those rare chances to knock out a project: mounting a Samsung Frame TV. I did everything right. Ordered an open-box unit from Best Buy on Bluebonnet. It was marked as "good condition," with no notes about missing parts. I trusted that, like in the past, Best Buy had inspected and confirmed everything was there.
I brought it back to Central, opened it up, and immediately realized it was missing the mounting bracket, the remote, all documentation, basically everything but the screen. Disappointed, I contacted Best Buy support. As usual, the representative was polite and apologetic, said it wouldn't be a problem, provided a case number, checked stock availability, and informed me that I could bring it to any Best Buy location to resolve the issue. I appreciated that and thanked her.
I chose the Millerville location because it's closer to me. Big mistake.
The moment I walked in, the energy was off. Even the greeter seemed fed up. After explaining the situation to the first associate, who had never even heard of a case number, a supervisor came over and fumbled around in the system. He eventually brushed it off and said, "I don't think I'll need the case number anyway." I pushed back, explaining everything had already been worked out with support. His response? "They shouldn't have told you that."
Instead of exchanging the TV (as promised), they decided to process it as a return, but only after they verified it worked. Mind you, I never plugged it in. I repacked it and drove straight back once I realized it was missing components. They spent over 10 minutes trying to figure out how to power the device on. Three employees were huddled around the TV, completely baffled.
At that point, I asked just to get my money back. I wasn't interested in watching the Geek Squad struggle with a power cable. One of the supervisors, a young woman whose name started with a C, was incredibly rude. She snapped that if I wouldn't let them do their job (which was apparently figuring out how to plug in a TV), I could leave.
Eventually, and only after I stood my ground, they refunded me.
What made it worse was how they handled the situation. When I pointed out how poorly it was packed (the screen was facing the accessories that had been left loose in the box), the supervisor just shrugged and said, "Well, it's an open box." I reminded him that it was labeled as "inspected" and in "good condition." That clearly didn't mean anything.
I've spent over $6,000 at Best Buy over the years, including photography gear (Canon 7D, Canon R6, lenses, and flashes), appliances, and more. Today, they made it very clear that loyalty doesn't matter. They didn't care about the inconvenience, my wasted Saturday, or how poorly the store handled the return.
And just to emphasize: four employees couldn't figure out how to plug in a TV. Just the power cord.
This was one of the worst customer service experiences I've had in years. I'll never spend another dime at Best Buy. Do yourself a favor: buy your electronics online or from a store that actually values your time and business. read more