Buc-ee’s built a cult following — and an ugly complaint record
New Better Business Bureau records show 33 Buc-ee’s locations with F ratings after 88 consumer complaints — and counting — went unanswered
Valerie Plesch/For The Washington Post via Getty Images
Buc-ee’s has spent years selling a fantasy of roadside competence — the giant stores, the spotless bathrooms, the brisket, the beaver, the whole fluorescent cathedral of consumer reassurance. But a new rating from the Better Business Bureau suggests something far less flattering about the company behind the spectacle: When customers have a problem, Buc-ee’s appears to be remarkably bad at dealing with it.
Thirty-three Buc-ee’s locations across five states now carry F ratings from the Better Business Bureau after 88 customer complaints went unanswered, a consumer black eye that lands hard for a company built on the promise that it does roadside retail better than anyone and everyone else.
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On the complaints page, all 88 are marked unanswered, with issues spanning product problems, service and repair disputes, customer service complaints, billing issues, and delivery problems. The oldest unanswered complaint dates to March 2023, and the newest to February. Of the 38 Buc-ee’s locations listed on the BBB site, 33 have F ratings, two have A ratings, and two have C- ratings.
The BBB says it forwards complaints to businesses within two business days, asks for a response within 14 calendar days, and it treats nonresponses as a factor that can hurt a company’s grade. A Buc-ee’s official told the BBB that the company doesn’t respond to complaints submitted through the bureau — a public record of a business deciding that one of the country’s most familiar consumer-escalation channels doesn’t merit a response.
The customer-facing record is ugly, too. Buc-ee’s BBB review page shows an average of 1.44 out of 5 stars across 43 customer reviews, with recent posts describing overcharges, no-return fights, defective goods, lousy food, and the now-familiar irritation of customers struggling to reach anyone who can actually fix a problem. The BBB says customer reviews don’t affect a company’s letter grade; the F is tied to complaint handling, and the dismal reviews are just extra foam.
The BBB isn’t a regulator (it’s a private nonprofit), and its ratings aren’t a legal finding or a health inspection. But that caveat only goes so far. A company this large, this controlled, and this obsessed with its image doesn’t pile up 88 unanswered complaints by accident. Buc-ee’s can keep the mascot, the merchandise, and the mythology. The public complaint trail says something much less flattering about the company running the place.