Best Buy Plano

Easy to find and staff were helpful

My Experience with Best Buy's Open Box Program The computer I purchased was a Dell Slim Desktop (DECS1250-7224BLK-PUS) through the Open Box program. It was specifically listed in Excellent condition, & I paid $678.99 because it looked like an outstanding deal. At the time of writing this review, Best Buy lists this same computer at $1,439.99 & a sale price $969.99. Before purchasing, I also read Best Buy's Open Box information, which states that each open-box product is tested or inspected to verify proper working order before being assigned a condition such as Excellent, Good, or Fair. That gave me confidence to buy it. Unfortunately, that confidence lasted about five minutes. The first thing I found inside the box was an internal Best Buy tag stating: "AGENT FUNCTIONALITY CHECK REQUIRED" "PLACE ITEM IN PRECINCT TO BE TESTED." I hoped someone had simply forgotten to remove the tag. Unfortunately, what happened next made me seriously question whether this particular computer had actually been properly prepared before being sold. Wi-Fi didn't work. Before I ever called Best Buy, I had already invested well over an hour troubleshooting a computer that should have been ready to use. I eventually had to connect it with an Ethernet cable just to complete Windows setup. Once Windows loaded, I found numerous missing hardware drivers. Customer Service's 1st recommendation? Return it. Instead, I asked if I could take it to my local Best Buy in Valdosta, GA because I genuinely wanted the computer & hoped Geek Squad could correct the problem. That turned out to be the best part of this experience. Geek Squad technician Davis, another technician, & Tatiana were professional, patient, and genuinely tried to help. They agreed the computer should be properly restored instead of simply installing missing drivers and sending me home. Later that day they called and explained they could not properly restore the computer using their recovery and diagnostic tools. Their recommendation... Return it. Each trip to Best Buy is about a 1-hour round trip for me. By this point I had already spent hours troubleshooting, made 2 trips to Best Buy, and later spent another 45+ minutes on the phone with Best Buy Corporate. The local store's answer was "Return it." Corporate's answer was "Return it." The supervisor's answer was "Return it." At no point did anyone offer a meaningful resolution beyond simply undoing the sale. I also asked to speak directly with the store manager but was told that wasn't going to happen. I was further told the local store could not do more because it would create a loss for their store. As a customer, I purchased from Best Buy, not from an individual store. I didn't think making things right should depend on which store's budget the computer came from. I spent years in upper management for a Fortune 50 company. I understand policies, but I also understand there are times a company takes a small loss to make a customer experience right, especially when the problem originated within the company. Names & reputations matter. Unfortunately, I didn't see that mindset from either the local store or Corporate. Returning the computer simply put Best Buy back where it started, & financially it put me back where I started as well. What it didn't restore were the hours I lost, 3 one-hour round trips, multiple phone calls, and a great deal of frustration. In the end, I purchased the exact same Dell computer directly from Dell for about $300 more. That purchase included a 3-year warranty and technical support, benefits my Open Box purchase did not include. I originally chose Best Buy's Open Box program because I wanted to save money on a computer listed in Excellent condition. Instead, I lost hours of my time and confidence in a company whose reputation influenced my purchase in the first place. The only reason this isn't a ⭐ review is because Davis, the other Geek Squad technician, and Tatiana genuinely cared & did everything they could within the limits they were given. They earned the ⭐⭐.

Pikachu!!!

What a nightmare with those workers there. Waited 1 hours to be served..