Best Buy — Local services in Chicago

I upgraded my cell phone Friday 10/15/21. Erin the salesman explained that I was eligible for an upgrade on my i phone. He then said there is a promotion going on and I would receive $800 for a trade in through Verizon. He verified the promotion with 3 other employees and told me I could just drop off my old cell phone at a Verizon store and they would give me the trade in value with the Best Buy promotion. The 1,100 i Phone 13 Pro would only cost me $300.

The next day, I called Verizon on Clark and the saleswoman said I could only drop my old cell phone off at a corporate store. I then told her about my new phone and the promotion I received from Best Buy and she said that there is no current $800 promotion and I should go back to Best Buy because what they told and sold me is incorrect. I returned to Best Buy and spoke with Marco the store manager on Saturday. I explained that I paid 1,100 for my new phone and there was NO promotion on my account according to Verizon. Marco said, Verizon is telling me incorrect information and the promotion is still running. I asked him to please show me the promotion I received and he and a sales rep printed out the promotion for me. Marco quickly read part of the paper with the promotion and pointed to my my older i Phone XS and said, the promotion is correct and I just need to drop off my old iPhone at Verizon down the street; talking fast and brushing me away.

When I got into my car I reread the paperwork and in the first paragraph, last line it states, the promotion is for QUALIFIED NEW LINE ACTIVATION FOR VERIZON. I went back into the store waiting over 20 minutes to speak with Marcos again. While waiting I asked Denise to read the first paragraph about the promotion and explain what that means. Denise said you get a $800 with a new line of service.

Finally Marcos was free. He seemed shocked to see me again. I asked him to read the first paragraph out loud to me and explain it. He read it slowly and then stopped before the last sentence. I asked him to please continue to finish the sentence and he mumbled the words, The PROMOTION IS FOR QUALIFIED NEW LINE ACTIVATION FOR VERIZON. I then asked him, What does a new line activation mean to you? He said, it means you need to open a new line. I then said, I upgraded my phone last night not opened a new line. He did not do anything to help or fix the situation even though I was completely mislead.

He said you can get the promotion for that as well. He was flat out lying. I asked him to write that on my paperwork and he said he couldn't. He never once apologized or admitted to his error/falsifying information. I never qualified for a promotion and I ended up spending $1,100 on a phone that I was told was on promotion. Marcos being the store manager and acting extremely confident about his knowledge of promotions completely lied to my face and did nothing to remedy the situation besides tell me to go to VERIZON. I do hope this situation will...

I’d like to share a frustrating experience I had at Best Buy’s North Avenue (Chicago) location. I recently decided to purchase a new Samsung cooktop to replace my old one—originally bought from Best Buy five years ago—after one of the burners stopped working.

I found what seemed like the perfect match online: Model NA30N7755TG, SKU: 6261811, listed as an Open Box – Excellent Condition item at the North Avenue store. Given the need for precise countertop fit, and seeing it was even an upgraded model, I decided to move forward. Despite the 90°F heat, I drove nearly an hour to the store.

But upon inspection, the product was clearly not in “excellent” condition. It had visible scratches and looked used. I was offered a small discount. Feeling pressured after the long drive, I was prepared to accept the item—but when I asked about the iron griddle (listed as included on the website), I was told it was missing and unavailable. I mentioned that this part alone costs nearly $300 from Samsung and that failing to disclose its absence was misleading to customers. In response, the sales representative became noticeably rude. Only at this point was I informed that the cooktop had been a display unit since 2018—a 7-year-old store display model. With every new piece of information, my shock and frustration kept growing.

Nowhere on the website did it mention the product’s age or that it had been on display for that long. This lack of disclosure is extremely misleading.

When I raised these concerns with staff, the conversation became increasingly dismissive. To avoid escalation, I left the store without purchasing the item.

Later that evening, I checked the product page again—and noticed that the listing had suddenly been downgraded from “Excellent” to “Good” condition, confirming my concerns.

I contacted customer service via chat, and although the representative claimed the product had been pulled from sale, I was still able to see it listed online under Good Condition, still missing any mention of the missing griddle, display status, or age. After a lengthy chat, I was offered a new unit at full price—nothing more.

This was a highly disappointing experience from a retailer I’ve trusted for years.

-“Open Box” may mean a 7-year-old display model with missing parts.

-Website listings can be inaccurate and lack critical disclosures.

-In-store interactions may turn unprofessional when you raise legitimate concerns.

-And customer service might offer no real resolution.

I hope this serves as a warning for others who, like me, rely on Best Buy's product listings...

I have posted a total of zero reviews over my lifetime of Googling.

THIS IS A SINCERE, DISHEARTENED, AND 100% EARNEST ZERO STAR REVIEW.

The complete disrespect, incompetency, price gouging, and blatant dishonesty have led me to review the Best Buy location at North Ave , as well as the Geeksquad team that works at both this location and the Bucktown location.

My journey to hell started back in February for the home theatre and indoor-outdoor speaker system purchases and installation for a new condo purchase.

It has not ended since.

The Magnolia Room team was not only un-knowledgeable about the extremely high-end products they attempted to sell me -- and up-sell me on multiple times -- but also conflicted directly in the advice for purchasing they gave me from the GeekSquad installation team who arrived.

After a pre-install visit, two full work days initial installation, another half-day follow-up installation, and a final additional follow-up installation, they have reversed course several times and, most insultingly, unapologetically, as they lied to me blatantly about the discounts they promised me, eye to eye, in store, and then directly contradicted in their notes to CYA to their managers.

I was skeptical of using Best Buy but sucked it up for the one-stop-shop promises. NEVER.AGAIN. Truly. I am an investor and negotiate for a living and have never seen such nefarious, malicious intent couched with smiles and ignorance by the Magnolia Team, and blatant aggression from the management when confronted about the issue.

If you'd like to be promised one thing and then price gouged for tens of thousands of dollars in hindsight, I cannot relate. I have lost serious faith in corporate America -- and this is coming from a staunch free-market capitalist.

The slap in the face is a wake-up call. I guess I shouldn't have let them fool me once, twice, three, four....10 visits to the store and 5 on-site installations later, I guess I'm convinced.

AVOID. AVOID. AVOID.

Choose Amazon and an electrician or handy-man. Disintermediation isn't always a bad thing. Worst Buy is a horrible horrible thing. I urge you not to...