Best Buy — Attraction in Hickory

I bought a prepaid Verizon smart phone with a $30 vzw prepaid card of $30. I was new at this and had tons of questions. Most of the employees on duty was huddled in one corner talking to each other. Not that it's really any of my business but I was too excited about this new phone I was finally going to get. Since I have wifi at home, I approached one of the employee was huddled in the group, if I buy this prepaid smart card, is there any way I can just purchase the minutes and the texts? I understand that it's a smart phone that have data compatibility, I still just want minutes and texts and for the data part it'll just connect to my home wifi. She recommended the $30. When I checked out they asked for my phone number and email and I gave her that information to manually type it into her registerer. When confirming on the screen I told her everything was correct except for my name. So she took her right hand out and slapped it in the air, rolled her eyes and said "oh, forget it, it's ok." Well my head was thinking what do you mean? If anything happens how would anyone know I really bought this phone, but I reassure myself that I will get a receipt anyway. So I left it at that. When I got home and tried to activate it, I couldn't. VZW prepaid told me that I had to pay the additional cost of $10 something because the $30 plan was strictly for Verizon pre paid FLIP PHONE after 3 hrs of being on the phone with them and having to cancel and not even activate the new phone yet, I was like forget it. I went the next day for a return and bought me a whole new vzw sim card plus added money onto my debit card to pay the differences when calling to activate but instead wanted to use my old compatible phone with the card I bought because instead to not waste the $30 card cause it's not refundable. When they try to add the card, it was showing up a scratch code for airtime not valid. And customer service told me that I needed to follow up with Best Buy because they can not find me in best buy's system because of course the cashier told me to forget about confirming my details all because she didn't want to punch in 10 more letters and confirm my name. I was not going to waste my time so I completely lost 45$ I was told when they put or is about to activate the phones they go ahead and put the scratch code in there and even though EVEN THOUGH IT wasn't successful they still took the funds off that card. I was demanded to give them the phone number associated with the card but it was returned and I didn't even get that far to getting a number and or activating the phone itself. The more I argued the more they told me that as soon as I begin answering the questions to activate the phone, I was already assigned a number but it just wasn't given out to me yet to protect the phone numbers from the people who really likes/want number. Something about people had went the whole 9 yards and argued for a number they choosed and wanted. Which that I don't know about, all I know was i needed options, I was told two different thing, didn't get a solution and ended up losing money. There's no way to refund/trace my 30$ unless the know the phone number. They tried to look it up by the IMEI or phone identification number printed on my receipt but couldn't find it. Not to mention after all that my sim card had a PUK lock code and told me to call my carrier. And they gave me an attitude and told me to call my carrier, all because I went and bought it from best buy to begin with it got all messed up with vzw which i know best buy only sells things from vzw and cannot be holded accountable. But I am holding best buy accountable because if there had been sales associate who would take their time to explain or teach and greet, things wouldn't had gotten...

Subject: Unacceptable Customer Service Experience – Hickory Location (3/21/2025)

Dear Best Buy Management,

I am writing to formally express my disappointment with the experience my husband and I had at your Hickory location today (3/21/2025) while attempting to resolve an issue with my online order.

I placed an order online, which initially stated it would be ready for pickup today. However, on the day of pickup, the status was suddenly updated to indicate the item would not be available until 3/28. This was completely unacceptable, considering the item was paid for in advance, I was originally told it would be ready within a day, and I could see that the store had it in stock.

Upon arriving at the customer service desk, a young woman in black assisted us in trying to determine what went wrong with the online order. However, before we even had a chance to fully explain the situation, another employee—a middle-aged blonde woman in a pink sweater—immediately called for a manager, stating, “Manager to the desk, customer angry about order.” This was both inappropriate and inaccurate, as neither my husband nor I were exhibiting anger at that point—we were simply seeking a resolution. It was apparent that assumptions were being made, which was both frustrating and disappointing.

When the manager arrived, they looked up our order and stated that there was no way to transfer the payment to allow us to take the in-stock item home. Instead, we would have to cancel the online order, wait for a refund, and then repurchase the item in-store—essentially requiring us to spend over $1,000 upfront just to get the item today. As my husband began to respond, the same employee in the pink sweater interrupted him, dismissively stating, “Well, we just work here, and that’s how it works.” Not only was this unprofessional, but it also undermined the manager’s role in resolving the issue.

I politely asked her to refrain from further interjecting, as the manager was already assisting us. However, when my husband attempted to continue explaining that he had never encountered this issue with previous pickup orders, she interrupted him again. At this point, her behavior escalated to outright hostility, leading to a completely unnecessary confrontation! As we walked away, she continued making inappropriate and offensive remarks, including personal insults toward my husband. The manager had to pull her into the back, yet she was still yelling across the store. Amidst all the commotion, I did not catch her name, but I will ensure that the appropriate individual is identified and that this matter reaches the intended recipient.

This interaction was beyond unprofessional—it was hostile, unprovoked, and completely stressful for me being 3 months pregnant on top of it all. After speaking with others, I have learned that this is not an isolated incident with this particular employee. Several other Best Buy customers within my neighborhood has had similarly negative encounters with her.

Because of this experience, I chose to take my business elsewhere and purchased my item from another retailer. If it were up to me, this employee would no longer represent your company. I fully intend to escalate this matter to the general manager and corporate office, as no customer should ever be subjected to such treatment.

I expect a formal response regarding how this situation will be...

My new TV Console that I purchased less than 2 months ago, along with a Blue Ray 3DPlayer, a 62" LG Ultra HD 3D Smart TV and a new Xbox One (for my Son). After 2 weeks and 3 TV 's later I finally had a TV that I wanted and one that worked. The Geek Squad in Hickory, N.C. really impressed me with their people skills and their electronic skills, especially a young man who's name is Jamie. He showed me a lot of things I did not know about TV's and all the other things I had purchased, I am a disabled Vietnam Vet in a wheel chair and it's very difficult for me to leave my home. It took me 4 trips the first week to Best Buy in Hickory, N.C. to resolve different issues. Each time the sales people and the managers worked with me and together we got things worked out. The next week we had issues and again we worked them out. But, today I called Best Buy with one more issue, my TV Console. I had to purchase one for the second TV because it was wider. It was assembled at the store and delivered to my home. The two center glass doors were not installed properly, the right one was a 1/2 inch taller than the left one and it was hard to open. After two weeks of headaches, I was just glad I finally had a TV to watch, a 1/2 inch to high on one door would not stop me from watching TV. But, last night I was trying to open the right door and it felt tight and when I pulled it a little harder the top right hinge broke loose from the frame, with the screws still attached to a piece of wood. The wood just split. I had my Son take pictures of the Console and told him to go back to Best Buy. Now the doors are level, but there is a 1/2 inch gap at the top right hinge. He called me to inform me that the sales lady said that they would replace the Console, BUT, I would have to pay $69 for a delivery! I ask to speak to the manager, Martha. She said the same thing and was very rude, even when I tried to tell her it was not properly installed and that's the reason it broke. After her repeating herself four times I hung up on her and tried to call the home office. All I could get was customer service. I told the first person this same long story and he agreed with me. Then he said that he could transfer me to someone that could help me. I then spoke with second person and she wanted me to tell her my problem. I said Really, can you not look up the conversation I just had. She said sure and put me on hold. After a few minutes, another lady ask for my name and what was the problem. I told her the same thing, could you please look up my first conversation, because I told him in great detail what my problem was. She did, then informed me that it was up to the store to make the decision. I then asked for the district managers, name and number. She hung up on me! I called back again and another lady told me, it was up to the store and I would have to call the store to get the name and number of the district manager. I did, the second person I talked to said that they did not have a district manager, she was supposed to be the manager on duty? So what do I have to do now to get the $69 delivery charge, fixed. I live off of a once a month government check, it took all of my savings and with the help of Family and Friends, I now have something that I've always wanted, with the exception of a broken console. Can anyone, please, tell me what...