I am extremely disappointed with my experience with Best Buy, especially because what should have…read morebeen a simple pickup order turned into an incredibly frustrating situation at an already difficult time for our family.
We ordered a tablet and keyboard for pickup because the Best Buy website indicated that the order would be ready within one hour. My niece starts her first day of university tomorrow, and these items were a gift from her grandmother to help her start school. We were also dropping my niece off where she will be living for school and then returning home, which is not close to this location, so the advertised pickup timeframe was an important reason we placed the order this way.
After almost three hours with no update, I called because I noticed the store would be closing in approximately 30 minutes. The automated system told me that the order was still being worked on. However, when I eventually spoke with an employee at the store, who I believe was named Laura, I was initially told there was a hold because my mother's bank had not paid the transaction.
I work for the financial institution that issued my mother's card, so I am familiar with how our transactions are processed. The funds had already been taken from her account, and she had received no call, email, text message, or mobile banking alert indicating that the bank had declined or placed a hold on the purchase. When I explained this, the explanation suddenly changed, and I was told that it was actually a Best Buy team that needed to review the transaction further.
I asked what additional information was needed so we could resolve the issue. The employee said she did not know. I asked if I could speak with the team reviewing the transaction so I could provide whatever they needed, and I was told that team does not speak with customers. I even offered to bring my mother to the store with her identification and the physical card used for the purchase and was told that would not help either. At that point, I was left wondering what exactly a customer is supposed to do to resolve a hold when no one can explain what is being reviewed, what information is needed, or who can actually help.
The reason we placed the order for pickup rather than simply bringing my mother with us to shop in person is also important. My grandmother is currently in hospice and her condition has been getting progressively worse. Today, she had been running a fever, and we did not want my mother to have to leave her mother's side unnecessarily. She simply wanted to buy her granddaughter a tablet for her first day of university and make sure she started this new chapter on a positive note.
What made the experience even more disappointing was the customer service. I felt that the employee I spoke with was extremely dismissive and showed very little interest in helping find a solution. When I asked to speak with a manager or supervisor, I was told I could not speak with one directly. The employee then placed me on hold to ask whether a supervisor could call me back and assured me that I would receive a call within a few minutes.
That call never came.
It has now been approximately two hours since I was promised a callback, the store has long since closed, and no manager or supervisor ever contacted me. My niece now begins university without the computer she expected to have because she did not bring her previous laptop with her, believing we would be picking up the new one today. We also live far enough away that simply returning during the week is not an easy solution.
I understand that fraud prevention and transaction reviews exist for a reason, and I have no problem with a company taking reasonable steps to verify a large purchase. What I do have a problem with is advertising a one-hour pickup, providing conflicting explanations about a delay, giving the customer no way to resolve the issue, refusing access to anyone who can explain what is happening, and then promising a manager callback that never happens.
A simple delay would have been frustrating but understandable. The complete lack of communication, accountability, and willingness to help is what made this experience unacceptable. At the very least, I expected someone from management to follow through on the promised phone call and attempt to find a solution before the store closed. That did not happen, and this experience has left me extremely disappointed with Best Buy.
