Best Buy — Local services in Gainesville

I have used this BestBuy for most of my electronics related purchases for years now and I can confidently say, unless you absolutely have to go to this bestbuy, avoid it like the plague.

A few months ago I called in to ask if this store had a short (1ft or less) aux chord to connect a microphone to my camera. Both of which were, or at least could be purchased FROM this BestBuy. I was told over the phone that they had exactly what I needed in stock. When I arrived, I searched for probably 15 minutes before getting help and after roughly 40 minute of myself and the BestBuy employees searching , I was finally told that “this is just going to have to be ordered on Amazon.” I expressed my frustration at the time, but this encounter alone was not worth writing a review on.

This week however, I called to ask if my M3 Pro MacBook Pro was a device which they would be able to repair a keyboard on, or if I would need to take it to Apple. I was told that they do repair these keyboards in house and that if I made an appointment, they would be able to take care of it for me. I decided to wait a couple of days (hoping the faulty keys would start to function correctly again) but eventually decided I wasn’t able to do my work with the laptop, and it was covered by AppleCare with Enterprise, so I decided to set up the appointment and again I confirmed they would be able to repair my M3 Pro MacBook Pro. I was told that since I had AppleCare on my MacBook, it would not cost anything to repair and it would be done in 20 minutes. I was shocked and pleased to hear this, but admittedly I was also skeptical and I had no expectation of it actually only taking 20 minutes.

Once taking the MacBook to the appointment, I was told by the Geeksquad member that they do not repair MacBooks and that they would have to send it off to Apple’s repair center where it would likely be 3-5 business days before it is fixed. Not only this, but I was charged $100 to do so.

I am currently bedridden and paralyzed from the waist down and this laptop is my hub for my work, social life, and I use it to charge my phone, Apple Watch, headphones, and any other device I have, as I have trouble reaching down to plug and unplug things from the wall/extension chord. $100 is not that big of a deal, but not having this laptop for an entire week is completely life altering for me and I could not be more frustrated and disappointed with this BestBuy’s incompetence and complacency regarding the complete disconnect between whoever answers the phones, and the actual workers in the store.

Once I get my laptop back, it better be as good as new, and I will NEVER RETURN TO THIS BESTBUY LOCATION, and perhaps any BestBuys for that matter, which is very disappointing considering I am currently living less than 10 minutes away...

I have been nothing but disappointed with this location. We purchased 2 pre-orders here and neither one of them were handled satisfactorily. The first was a promotional add on that was shipped to the wrong address because Best Buy did not say they were shipping it, and defaulted shipment to our old address. Best Buy conveniently washed their hands of the situation, claiming we would need to go through UPS, and the order was unable to be edited or rerouted by UPS either. The second was for a phone, which is far more concerning. Were were notified that the order was ready for pickup on release day (this notification was also verified by an employee so I am not just trying to be dramatic) but when we arrived to the store, we were informed that they did not have ANY of the phones checked into the store. I want the record to show that I have spoken to 7 different employees between store associates and customer service employees over the phone, and none of them could tell me why that error would occur or how they could make up for the inconvenience. Two days later, Best Buy CANCELLED our order without asking or informing us. We are currently sitting on two different phone plans because we switched carriers, and are unable to cancel our original plan until we are able to get the phone to be able to use the new plan. I was transferred between 4 different customer service representatives just to find out if we could cancel the cancellation or if it would affect our new phone plan. At least the call center tries to make the appearance of being willing to help. The staff at the Gainesville location, not so much. The first associate we spoke to was trying his best to help, and it was appreciated, but he was with GEEK SQUAD not Best Buy. The gentleman who appeared to be the manager on duty (I say it like this because he was wearing a baggy t shirt and a vacant expression so it was hard to tell if he actually worked there) came up to "help" the associate. He was there for 2 minutes, did not acknowledge us as customers, and walked away with no significant help to the situation. He gave off the air of just not wanting to be there. I'm sorry to inconvenience you for something that your store messed up. This whole process has been ridiculous and we have been passed off from employee to employee as though no one wants to be a part of the situation. Please keep this in mind when deciding whether or not to shop at Best Buy period. Their systems have been unreliable, many of their employees have been either rude or inattentive on frequent visits, and it is very difficult to get straight forward answers when...

I have been in this location at least a dozen times through out the past couple years, and have always had a bad experience. The employees at this location prefer to huddle together and talk all day in the middle of the store, instead of assisting customers. When you approach them to ask them for help, they act as if you are inconveniencing them, and provide little to no assistance.

I recently went in there to show my wife one LG's new displays I had seen at another location, and most of their displays were off and in non working order including the one I wanted to see. I asked one of the associates about it, and apparently setting up displays is contracted out and there was nothing they could do to show it to me. It is hard to sell tv's if you cant show your customer the picture. I went around to look at another item on my list, and they had 2 stock ladders back to back placed in front of it.

This is not the first bad trip here. Some of the issues I have had in the past at this location were:

Asked an associate near the laptops whether the ram in one could be upgraded. Which it would be fine if she didn't know on that model, but she didn't have a clue what RAM even was. Had to go ask someone, came back and told me that the hard drive was upgradable. I clarified I was asking about RAM not Hard Drives. She had no idea what I was talking about.

Went in to look at washer and dryers, had a question about delivery. Had to ask a nearby phone and table department for help. The obviously were unsure about delivery times or costs. Called for an associate 3 times until a manager came over. He was rude and acted like he didn't want to be bothered with us.

Needed to purchase a cover for my Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition. Associate handed me the wrong one. Pointed out that I needed a 2014 edition because I read they were incompatible with previous versions due to re positioned buttons. He argued with me until another associate walked up and explained that I was correct and they were out of stock.

I have been to a dozen other best buys in the region and country, and have never been in one as bad as this. It has actually become a running joke with my friends and coworkers about how abysmal their...