Best Buy Minnetonka

I returned a Christmas gift purchased through Best Buy (Marketplace/third-party) and this has turned into an absurdly broken refund process with some of the worst customer service I’ve experienced in years. Return date: 12/31 At the time of return, I was told the refund could not be completed immediately due to the Marketplace system and that I would receive an email confirmation. Neither I nor the purchaser (my mother-in-law) received any email. Support then insisted it had been sent (it was not — the last email I have from Best Buy is from 2022), cancelled the initial attempt, and said a physical gift card would be mailed. Nothing ever arrived. This became a repeat cycle of calls with contradictory answers and no ownership: “It was emailed” (no email) “We’ll mail a gift card” (nothing received) “We can see the purchase on the account” followed by “you need the receipt anyway” Escalation attempts were blocked and I was repeatedly pushed back into the same scripted process The most frustrating part is that the story changes depending on who you talk to. In-store I was told the refund was already completed — not to a new gift card, but back to the original payment method from November, which itself was a Best Buy return/digital gift card. In other words: Best Buy claims the refund went to a prior store-credit-style card/account, but no one can provide clear documentation, traceability, or an actual resolution beyond “find the card” that I know for a fact was already canceled by the first CS rep we spoke with. I drove to this Best Buy where the return occurred to resolve it in person. The initial employee was polite, but the manager above the MOD who stepped in was dismissive and clearly focused on getting me out of the store rather than fixing the problem. His response was essentially “the refund was done” and I should “find it,” even though the refund destination is clearly unresolved. His tone escalated to the point where I had to say: “Look, I understand you’re frustrated, I’m frustrated too, but that tone isn’t ok.” I just spent the last two hours on the phone with bestbuy support per this managers advice, which resolved with a supervisor telling me “it’ll work this time”., So now I have to wait another 10 business days (I returned it in December) just to see if bestbuy is still totally unable to provide customer service. It’s honestly impressive that a company with physical stores and on site managers can be less accountable than an online only marketplace when something goes wrong.

The camera guy Yeti is an absolute professional. He knows what he’s doing and I was blown away at the level of service by this retailer. 5/5 recommend going back here. The only way to win in this e-commerce world is through great service. I can’t believe the experience I had. Great job Best Buy. Even better job Yeti. Thanks for being excellent.

Picked a great time to shop.

Good advice and fast service.