Best Buy — Attraction in South Portland

On 2/14/2025 my partner and I went to the South Portland Best Buy to purchase a high end gaming mouse. My partner picked out two mice that did not have displays available for him to try out, so he decided he would purchase both, open them there, and return whichever he liked least. These mice totaled over $300.

He went to check out with an employee there named Tyler, who appeared to be in a very bad mood for whatever reason. I understand that we as humans have big emotions and inevitably have bad days, but this employee was actually insane, something is very wrong with him.

He told my partner to go check out else where, but then immediately proceeded to scan the mice? My partner pulled out his wallet to pay just as a little old lady came up to stand beside us. Tyler dropped everything he was doing with us and asked what the woman needed. A little confused we sort of just shrugged it off and my partner picked up one of the mice, Tyler then proceeded to yell at him not to open it to which my partner responded that he was actively cashing him out, he was buying them and wanted to feel them.

Here’s where Tyler yells at him again, calling my partner stubborn for not listening to him and LUNGES OVER THE COUNTER to try and rip the mouse out of my partner’s hands, knocking things off the counter and onto the floor. You read that correctly, this Best Buy employee attacked a customer. My partner relinquished the box and Tyler took both mice and slammed them down on a different counter while the two of us as well as the little old lady stood there stunned and confused. My partner calmly asked if this man was okay and what was even going on, what was the matter? Tyler continued to just call him stubborn, it was so uncomfortable and odd. The older woman said to Tyler that he was helping us first, to which he responded that he was a sales associate, not a cashier, so why was he scanning the mice as if to check us out??

After very cautiously trying to get some answers out of this ticking time bomb my partner eventually asked for the mice so we could go check out else where, like Tyler so desperately wanted us to do apparently. On our way to the front the little old lady said to me that she would not be buying from this store after all, and I do not blame her after that outrageous display of unprofessionalism. We were all pretty shaken by the outburst and physical attack.

We reported the incident to the manager on duty, who appeared to promptly go address the situation and we were handed off to a much more normal employee, who had actually seen what Tyler had done as well and was just as flabbergasted. Unsure of whether or not appropriate action was taken against this belligerent employee, a phone call was made to the ethics hotline, and I sure hope he is taken off the floor. Permanently.

I sincerely wish I was making all of this up.

Both mice were tested and then returned. We went and bought the mouse from a different nearby store. We will never give money to this...

Immensely disappointing and unpleasant experience. Best Buy used to be good, it's now a waste of time and money. Staff don't know what they're doing but insult others. I bought a laptop online from Best Buy after confirming with a customer service agent that it had a feature I absolutely needed and that was unclear on the website. It took about a week to be ready, I picked it up and spent several hours setting it up to find that I couldn't find the feature I had needed (pen compatibility). The next day I wasted 3 full hours trying to troubleshoot with live agents over 2 conversations, the live agents said they were transferring me and then nothing happened. One of them had suggested an in-store appointment to help me, so I made an in-store appointment at this location. When I got there, we spent the 20 minute appointment with the geek squad member changing his mind every few minutes about the problem without any explanation or results. At first he said it should be compatible. Then he said my pen was the problem. Then he said that the computer was a problem. And so on. He said I could buy a new pen or return my new laptop, I reiterated that I would keep it if it was compatible with a pen but that is a non-negotiable feature... and asked if we had any idea about how we could figure out if it had that MPP 2.0 feature that I needed and the original agent said it had. He said "Oh, no, this particular laptop, it just doesn't have MPP 2.0" ... Okay, What? What was all the questioning and back and forth about, then...? I politely said that I do need to return it then and he started the return which will hopefully actually go through.

Some other problems with this experience: they don't have any test pens on-site, as confirmed when I asked if they had other MPP 2.0 pens on-site to test if it was just an issue with my own pen. Also, if I were keeping the laptop, it would've been a problem that he was holding it in a way that the back of the screen was the surface in contact with the table and the trackpad was in the air. I don't think laptops are meant to have their screens have the weight of the entire laptop balanced on them? Lastly, the geeksquad spoke disparagingly about and insulted the online and phone customer service reps; "they don't know what they're doing". It seemed unnecessarily rude and since the staff here were just relying on google searches and google ai in front of me, I don't think it's fair of them to insult the other customer service staff when they aren't any better... Best Buy has gone way downhill, it isn't worth your time or money. I can't get my dozen hours back, but hopefully I can help you avoid the same...

Stopped in with my young son to buy him a CD player he had found on your website. He had a picture on the phone of the item. I asked him to take the pic and find someone that works there & ask for help finding the item. I stood a ways back and watched him look around and find help, he’s a young kid who is learning how to ask for help when he needs it. He found Andrew at the front of the store entrance and asked him where he could find the item. Andrew pointed him in the direction & abruptly turned his back on him. My kid walks over to where Andrew told him they were - I follow him - nothing on the shelves. We are literally 10 ft - 15 ft away from the employee. I said “excuse me, we came back over to where you directed us and could not find the item. He was visibly frustrated & then proceeded to give me directions (speaking to me like I’m an idiot and am unable to follow directions) to where this item was supposed to be located. I turned around and asked Andrew “can you please show us where the item is we aren’t seeing it” he told me he couldn’t leave his spot. I said you’re 15 ft away and there is no one else in the store it’s empty. He then aggressively walked over to where my boy and I were standing. I told him you don’t have to be so rude. He then stated “what I find to be rude is you thinking you can tell me how to do my job” he then proceeded to stop where the item was supposed to be & said “obviously we are out of them”. I said to him “great customer service” and started clapping & thanked him. I went straight to the register & asked to speak to a manager. I was told he was a manager. There must be some kind of mistake or maybe it’s just complete incompetence - there is no way anyone in their right mind would hire “Andrew” as a manager. If this guy is indeed a manger in your store you folks need some serious customer service training. Another associate stepped out of the Geek Squad area & stated that he was one of the managers. I looked Andrew directly in the eyes & explained to him why I was so frustrated. His response was we don’t have the item in stock - what do you want me to do - which is fine - it happens but we could have got to the point a lot faster if he had just done his job in the 1st place. How difficult is in a retail setting to help a customer locate an item? Especially when it’s empty!! What a colossal waste of time…If he’s the best help available that you can find - then your company & anyone that asks him for assistance...