Best Buy — Local services in Atlanta

On December 2nd, I came to this location to collect the phone I had purchased during a Black Friday sale. At first assisted by a woman at the cash register, a guy named Tim suddenly took over the task of transferring all my data to the new phone. Throughout the process, I found myself repeatedly stating my phone number, creating an impression that it was being erased from the system each time. Eventually, my information registered in the system.

The next phase involved the data transfer from my old phone to the new iPhone 14 Plus. Now previously, I had purchased an iPhone SE (3rd generation) during the summer, and the data transfer at the Apple Store involved holding the old and new phones side by side. However, at Best Buy, I noticed Tim clearing my old phone's data without activating the new one or placing them side by side. Despite voicing my concerns and being reassured Tim's way was correct, I gave Tim the benefit of the doubt, and assumed Best Buy had a different process than Apple.

As the transfer, especially for iMessages, encountered complications, my doubts about Tim's competence grew. It seemed like he was rushing, juggling between me and other customers, and improvising and relying on confidence rather than a solid understanding of the phone transfer process. Despite the issues, we reached the end of the process, and all the information on my old phone was officially wiped. Surprisingly, Tim handed me the new device without completing the setup and said that I could finish the remaining steps on my own.

Heading to my car, I realized I needed to set up the phone before leaving the parking lot (I needed my GPS to get me home). Returning to Best Buy for better Wi-Fi, I found Tim still at the store and asked if I could complete the setup process there. Tim pointed to the Geek Squad area, assuring me they would assist if needed.

As I progressed with the setup, the new phone failed to receive any text messages or calls for verification, leaving my phone number in limbo. Multiple attempts by Best Buy reps to fix the issue proved unsuccessful.

Finally identifying the problem, Sydney from Best Buy informed me that Tim should have placed my old phone next to the new one during the transfer. Unable to use my GPS without completing the setup process, I couldn't verify my identity as the new phone lacked a connected phone number. My old phone, wiped by Tim, no longer recognized its connection with my number. Fortunately, my carrier was nearby and in walking distance, preventing a potentially bigger problem.

The frustrating customer experience persisted, however. Just to be prepared for the worst, I calmly asked Sydney, “So what if my phone carrier is not able to help me out? Where is Apple?” Sydney said, “Oh, well, Apple's about like X number of minutes away driving-wise.” I calmly explained, “well, I can't do that because I don't know where it is car wise. Direction-wise, I don't know where I am without my GPS.” Sydney then said to me, “Oh, well, you can take the bus there.”

The audacity of suggesting such an inconvenience left me speechless. First your employees mess up my phone. And now you’re telling me that I’ll need to find an ATM (its dark and cold outside at this point), get charged a fee to take bus money out (not to be reimbursed), find this bus stop, wait for it (MARTA is not reliable), and go to another store to fix the problem that YOU GUYS made?! Best Buy’s staff should’ve been offering me a ride to go to Apple, if anything at all. But again, thankfully my phone carrier was able to fix the issue. They were also just as confused as I was as to why Tim didn’t do the phone transfer the Apple way.

In writing this review, my intention is not to be mean, but to encourage better training for staff. Best Buy employees should be well-prepared to handle iPhone setups, or at least direct customers to knowledgeable colleagues. They should also provide better solutions than "take the bus." This entire experience was unacceptable, and I hope this feedback ensures that others don't endure similar...

This review concerns the purchase of kitchen appliances from Best Buy and its Pacific Rim store. I don’t know if my issues arose from apathy or aptitude but I would strongly suggest that you take your business somewhere else to avoid customer service issues. Appliances are a commodity, you can pay the exact same price somewhere else (most companies will price match). You may want to consider that route to avoid the embarrassingly poor customer service and lack of accountability you will find from the kitchen appliance department of the Best Buy store here.

For me, a simple installation of kitchen appliances has resulted in damage to my countertops and the matter is still unresolved after many months. Best Buy conceded their mistake right away. But getting them to address and attempt to remedy their mistake has proven an impossible challenge. The bottom line seems to be that no one cares.

I could have purchased the same appliances at a different store and avoided the time-consuming and frustrating customer service issues I encountered here. While I understand that mistakes sometimes do occur, what I cannot understand is how unconcerned Best Buy is about fixing them. There seems to be no personal accountability there, including but not limited to the district manager who, despite multiple promises he would reach out to me to discuss my concerns, still has not bothered to call. These issues are not limited to just this store, as I have had recent issues with Pacific Store at the Best Buy Perimeter store as well.

In short, the following summarizes my personal experience from the past several months (and the issue still is not resolved):

• Failure to Perform. Best Buy has repeatedly failed to properly install appliances I purchased months ago. • Several no call, no show appointments during window of time they scheduled for service installation appointment. • Failed to Refund Overpayment. The company has been nonchalant in reimbursing me after they installed less expensive range vs the range and wall oven I originally purchased. • Refusal to listen to, much less resolve, concerns. Despite multiple assurances I would hear from him, district manager David Wagner, has not returned my calls to discuss my issues and concerns.

RJ was the salesperson who I initially dealt with who assured me that the appliances selected would fit. I have dealt with Andrew as well who told me he could not find a cooktop that would fit my existing cooktop: this was false and I easily found at least 2 reasonably cooktops that would the existing cut-out on the Best Buy website. I have dealt with several managers including Mike B and MIke S but most recently Gerado. He told me that he would "make things right" once he corrected these mistakes.

While dealing with him, I have had several no call/no show appts. Additionally, with him I have had several installers who have severely altered my countertops and cabinets to make appliances but resulted in permanent disfigurement. Also, the range that was finally installed costs less than the cooktop and wall oven I had originally purchased. He now will not respond to my messages; characteristic of professionalism and customer service for this store.

Not a good...

I ordered a phone from Best Buy during their Cyber Monday deals ($200 off). I chose in-store pickup for the device and it was supposed to be delivered on December 4. When I purchased the phone online my card was immediately charged and I got an email confirming my order. I received an email on December 4 saying my order is delayed and if Best Buy is unable to fulfill my order by December 18 they might have to cancel it. My order was canceled by Best Buy on December 6 with no explanation (well before December 18).

I called online customer service and they told me the order was canceled because no phones were available. However, during this entire time, Best Buy was still offering the same exact phone for sale on their website and allowing it to be delivered (although the price was no longer available with the discount). I pointed this out to the online representative and after giving me the run around, they say they checked the store resources and they do have the phone I ordered in stock and I should go to the store to pick it up. When I arrive at the store they tell me they have the phone but they can't sell it to me for the discounted Cyber Monday price because my order was canceled. When I told the manager that Best Buy was the party who canceled the order and that it was not my issue, they still refused to sell me the phone because their system "would not allow them to honor past deals.” I was told that if my order wasn'’ canceled I could have picked up the phone at the price I paid for it. Instead, I was instructed to call the customer service line again because only they could give me the price I paid for the phone originally. The manager in the store said he put notes in my order stating what happened, so the customer service people could see the issue.

I called customer service again and they were no help. They had the audacity to say I could buy the phone at the higher price and if Best Buy drops the price within 30 days they would price match. Best Buy is not an honorable company. They sold me a phone during Cyber Monday with my expectation they would deliver --especially since they had charged me for it. They canceled my order internally, then tried to sell it back to me at a higher price. My guess is that they no longer wanted to honor sales made at the discounted price and they decided to not fulfill my order. They canceled my order and tried to sell it to me at the non-discounted price.

BEST BUY WILL NEVER GET ANOTHER CENT FROM ME AFTER THIS EPISODE. THE COMPANY HAS NO INTEGRITY AND THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS...