Buc-ee's blasted by Better Business Bureau. Any Florida stores involved?

• The Better Business Bureau gave dozens of Buc-ee's locations an "F" rating for failing to respond to customer complaints.
• Common complaints involve car wash issues, faulty merchandise, and incorrect credit card charges.
• The locations with "F" ratings are in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas.

Editor's note: The exact number of Buc-ee's locations receiving an "F" by the Better Business Bureau has changed several times in the days since the first March 11 USA TODAY story.

American travelers love Buc-ee's, the Texas-based chain of massive gas station/convenience store travel centers that provide a wide variety of beaver-branded snacks and merchandise and sparkling clean bathrooms.

Well, most travelers. Dozens of Buc-ee's locations on the Better Business Bureau website have received an "F" rating as of March 13. The nonprofit consumer organization says it's because it says the cult-favorite chain failed to respond to 88 customer complaints.

Anyone can submit a complaint about a business on the Better Business Bureau website, the same way they can post reviews to sites like Yelp. The oldest of the outstanding complaints stretches back to March 2023. The most recent is from last month.

Here's what to know.

Did any Florida Buc-ee's get Better Business Bureau complaints?

No. To date, no complaints about the two Florida locations in St. Augustine and Daytona Beach have been filed with the BBB.

What are people saying about Buc-ee's?

Common complaints about specific Buc-ee's locations include issues with the car wash, broken or ineffective merchandise, and erroneous card charges. Several customers also said they filed a complaint on the Buc-ee's website but had not heard anything back from the company.

The BBB said 88 unanswered complaints have been filed against Buc-ee's locations in the last three years. In the last 12 months, 27 complaints were closed, the nonprofit said.

Buc-ee's did not immediately respond for comment about the "F" rating when contacted by USA TODAY on March 11.

Which Buc-ee's got Fs from the Better Business Bureau?

The Buc-ee's locations that received an F rating are in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas.

How does a business receive an 'F' rating from the BBB?

The Better Business Bureau, a nonprofit organization that aims to provide transparency about businesses to the general public, assigns ratings on a scale of A+ to F. Ratings are based on information the nonprofit can obtain about the business, including public complaints, according to the Better Business Bureau's website.

"BBB ratings are not a guarantee of a business's reliability or performance. BBB recommends that consumers consider a business's BBB rating in addition to all other available information about the business," the group's website says.

How many Buc-ee's are in Florida?

There are two open now, in St. Augustine and Daytona Beach, and at least four more in progress in Ocala, Fort Pierce, Tallahassee, and Port Charlotte.

The Fort Pierce location in St. Lucie is slated for a 2027 opening, according to the company's contact page. The Ocala location, which has been in the works for years, is planned for 2028. No dates have been announced for the other Florida spots.

What is Buc-ee's?

Buc-ee's began in Texas in 1982 and stayed in the Lone Star State for years, but the chain has been making inroads into the Sunshine State and elsewhere. Locations are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and serve as one-stop shops for travelers and locals.

They're known for cheap(er) gas at each location's insane number of gas pumps; a wide variety of hot food, bakery items and fudge prepared on site; a wider variety of store-brand snacks, grocery staples, sauces and an entire wall of jerky; and a large section of home decor, kitchen utensils, clothing, barbecue grills, Florida souvenirs, and more.

Buc-ee's was rated by GasBuddy.com as having the cleanest restrooms of any convenience store chain in the nation. In May 2024, USA TODAY's 10Best chose Buc-ee's as the 10th best for both Best Gas Station Brand and Best Gas Station for Food.

C. A. Bridges is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida's service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.

(This story was updated to add new information.)