My experience with Best Buy's customer service number 1-888-BEST BUY was exceptionally and unbelievably poor. I spoke with three different people and was horribly disappointed. Here's my story:

I wanted to buy an IPOD Touch for my oldest son. He had been waiting for one for weeks before Christmas and now we were finally able to get him one. So yesterday, Friday, I checked the Best Buy five minutes from my home but they didn't have any in stock. After checking online and finding availability at a Best Buy 30 minutes away, I ordered online and chose in-store pickup. I was so happy thinking I'd have it in hand in less than an hour so I was willing to drive to a store 30 minutes away. The online order told me to wait for a confirmation email to take with me when I picked up the item. When I got the email, it said that the item was not available in that store. What?!? I ordered and paid online only because the item showed available in that store. The email said to call the customer service number 1-888-BESTBUY for help. I called the number and explained my situation. I told the customer service rep -- Tony -- that I had ordered and paid online believing that the item was available and ready for pickup at a Best Buy store 30 minutes away (within approximately 45 minutes according to the website). He was very friendly and said he'd see what he could do to get it to me asap. After he chatted with me while diddling on his computer, he said that he would change the order from in-store pickup to UPS One-Day Delivery, no charge, and that I would receive the IPOD Touch tomorrow (Saturday)!! He said to watch for an email to confirm this. Needless to say, I was already upset that I wasn't able to pick the item up at the store that was 30 minutes away. Now I was having to wait till the next day to get it. I was thinking at that point that I should've gone to Fry's but it seemed that I would be getting the IPOD Touch the next day.

The next day, Saturday (today), at around 2pm I still had not received the IPOD Touch and worried that if there was a problem there wouldn't be much time to resolve it. So I again called the customer service number 1-888-BESTBUY to follow up on the order and make sure that everything was ok. I was routed to customer service rep Debbie this time. She was not friendly from the very start and sounded tired and frustrated before I even explained what I was calling for. After I told her why I was calling, she pulled up my order and informed me that there was NO RECORD of my conversation story details with Tony on my order. The only thing she saw was that the order had been changed from in-store pickup to free one-day delivery. The clincher is that she told me it takes one day for an order's change to be processed. That means that the change from in-store pickup to one-day delivery wouldn't be processed till Monday so I would not be receiving my item till Tuesday "if there aren't any problems"! I was so upset I could hardly speak. When I had ordered and paid for the item online I fully expected to be picking it up within the hour. It got changed to the next day. Now I find it will be a minimum of FOUR DAYS LATER! I told Debbie how upset I was and that the situation was unacceptable. She said there was nothing she could do and that I "would just have to wait till Tuesday". I asked her why Tony would tell me that I would get the IPOD Touch the next day if it clearly wasn't going to be processed till Monday, she said she didn't know and that "I guess he lied". Whoa, what kind of training do Best Buy employees receive?!? I was absolutely flabbergasted at this point. I figured I had to talk to someone with more authority so I asked her for her supervisor.

After being on hold long enough for my condition to go from upset to fuming, I was connected to Katie. I had to repeat my whole story from the very beginning. I made sure that Katie knew how upset and dissatisfied I was. She told me that she didn't know why Tony promised delivery by Saturday. She defended all the things that went wrong, from Tony's lies to Debbie's rude attitude. Katie at one point did apologize and say she would do what she could. Do you think I really believed her, especially since she defended Tony's lies and Debbie's rude attitude? Then she said that all she could do is forward this "problem" to their "Research Team". The Research Team would then determine if I should get a digital coupon via email and how much it would be and that that's all she can possibly do. When I asked for HER supervisor she told me that she was it, the top of the line and that there was nowhere to forward me to. She said I was already going to receive my item and some sort of coupon and what more did I want? And then after I repeated that I was very upset and dissatisfied, she told me that there was nothing more she could do and if I kept on she would terminate the call. I was livid by now and explained that I knew this wasn't her fault but that the situation was being handled poorly and I was not a happy customer. I wanted her to do something concrete and substantial for me NOW because I had two teenagers who loved electronics and Best Buy was rapidly losing me as a customer forever. All she would repeatedly say was that she was going to have to terminate the call. I asked for a phone number to a formal complaint department and she said she was it -- customer service. What a laugh.

Today is Saturday, December 27, 2008. I guess I have to wait for the IPOD Touch to arrive next Tuesday. We'll see what happens. The one thing I know for sure is that I will not step foot in a Best Buy store again. My two teenagers will have to shop at Fry's or elsewhere.

This story occurred right before the Christmas. As a loyal BestBuy customer, I was treated unfair by a Leesburg, VA BestBuy Store manager and asked to leave.

I ordered an item using my virtual credit card number over the Internet and then selected “in-store pickup” to save the shipping charge. When I went to the store with the printed email proof, my driver’s license, and the virtual credit card number with CVC code and expiration date information to the Leesburg, VA BestBuy to pick up my item, I was told that I could not get the item, though my credit card is already charged. The reason was that they have to see the physical card used to purchase this item. A virtual card, according to this store manager, would not be acceptable.

To ensure online shopping security, my credit card can provide consumers the option to generate a temporary credit card number that can be set with an expiration date and credit limit (normally preferably to be the same or slightly larger than the price of purchased product). I, as many as many online shoppers, have applauded for the virtual credit card system. By this means, customers can take the advantage of the e-commerce or e-shopping with limited concerns about credit card safety.

When I tried to explain what the virtual credit card number was to this store manage, Mr. Don B., he did not show any interest of listening. Instead, he said, ”no matter what, without the credit card, I cannot give you the item.” When I asked him what I can do since my credit card was charged and the item was a Christmas gift that I needed to get for my friend before Christmas, he said the only option I had was to call BestBuy Online and cancel the order. If it were not a Christmas gift and timing was not an issue, I could just follow what he said to save the hassle. However, timing was really important and in the email BestBuy sent to me, the item is available now in the store for me to pick up. Then, I suggested, “how about I call BestBuy Online and you can talk with them directly so that you can see I am the exact person for the item and there would be no concern to pick up the item then”. Even then, I was still thinking that he might be a good manager just trying to defend customer’s product safety. However, he refused to participate in the efforts.

In fact, I, as a customer, have not made a mistake in ordering the item, paid with my virtual credit card number, and came to the local store to pick up my item. This issue was originally only related to BestBuy’s policy that did not consider the option for virtual credit card number. When the problem occurred, the store manager, instead of trying to help frustrated customer out, refused to participate in any possible remedial efforts. Even when the customer offered the patience trying to solve the problem with the store manager’s participation, he just flatly refused. It is not the way a store manager is supposed to behave, based on my understanding of American retail managers’ roles.

When the option of talking with BestBuy Online was refused, I expressed to him my frustration, “I cannot believe this. It is paid with my virtual credit card number, I offered my driver’s license, my virtual credit card number with CVC codes; if there is any other information, I have no problem to offer; but how comes I just cannot get my order?!”. This store manager said, ”mam, further talking about it will not get you the product. I will have to ask you to leave.” I asked, “what? Asking me to leave? What makes you this right? I am coming to pick up my order that is paid, but I am asked to leave?” He said, ”yes, I ask you to leave. If you do not leave now, I will call police.” When I asked for what reason he can call police for this, he said because I yelled to him. I wish I had video recorded all this. I yelled? Ridiculous! Maximally, I might have slightly raised my voice when I was so frustrated, but I did not yell! Why would I yell? I was talking to him and just try to get my order that I paid. Why would I need to yell then?

The funny thing is that he then wanted me to leave immediately. For him, it seemed that one more second of my presence in store, even just look around the store, would threaten him and he wanted me to disappear immediately.

I left BestBuy, and feel the whole thing is so ridiculous!

This one takes the cake! Spent $1400 on new mac PC. Worked fine the very first day, but on day TWO, the letter "p" on my keyboard decided to retire. Fine, I take my TWO DAY OLD, $1400 mac for an exchange, with receipt in hand. Was told at the store that since the keyboard worked SOME of the time, they couldn't swap it out. Um, excuse me? I just paid $1400 for a computer that worked for just one of two days, and you're telling me too bad? At the store, Keith wouldn't exchange it, asked for his boss- Bennie then said same thing. I'm fuming at this point, demanded to speak with the entire store mgr. Then Brenda, who looked like a regular clerk, says she's the manager, and they won't exchange it. I ask who she reports to. She says nobody. I say baloney (or something like that), and deciding I'm getting nowhere at the store, leave and call corporate. The clowns at the store even had the nerve to say I should have bought the extended warranty! This is on a TWO DAY OLD computer! So anyhow, get nowhere at tier one of corporate, demand to speak to HIS boss. While on hold, i'm listening to BB pre-recorded info, saying bring back most merchandise, including computers, w/in 30 days, with receipt. I WAS TAKING BACK A TWO DAY OLD, DEFECTIVE, $1400 COMPUTER! Gets worse, they say ok but 15% restock fee. I say baloney, no way am I going to pay you more money for selling me a defective computer. After going round, and round, and round, and round, for hours, both at the store, as well as dealing with corporate, I was told that the restock fee could be negated by giving me a gift card. I said no way, I don't ever, nor will, shop here again. I said instead, you are going to give me an exchange, without any baloney fees, so I will get what I rightly paid for. I refused to budge, was adamant that I would go directly to the CEO if need be, so corporate finally said "'Ok, you can go pick up your exchange." So, got a new mac, after MUCH, MUCH, MUCH, MUCH hassle, they finally realized that I was not gonna back down, and believe me, I can be a royal pain if need be. Just tell whomever you're on the phone with at corporate that you're not in a hurry, in fact you have them on speaker while you're watching TV and drinking beer, so you have all day to resolve the problem, whatever it takes. But be very clear that you are not going to quit until the problem is solved. Don't cuss at them, otherwise they can hang up on you. But if you are as much of an butt to them as they are to you, eventually they will finally do what they should have in the first place. A company with policies like this is DOOMED.

I bought a Toshiba laptop computer through bestbuy. It turned out to be nothing more than a useless piece of Junk. Yet best buy wont refund my money, they wont offer an exchange... but instead I had to pay out of pocket for them to return it to toshiba and have toshiba repair it which they told me I would get my 35 dollars back that i had to pay up front if the computer was covered by the Manufaturer's warranty.

I found out the computer was covered yet bestbuy would not return my 35 dollars as promised origionly.

Have been attempting to replace a flat screen LCD TV that has no picture for 3 months.. have both the manufacturers and Best Buy's warranty... the lack of response and complexity of the service system much be designed to screw the customer.. still no TV... NEVER BUY FROM BEST BUY.