LEEDS, Ala. — Buc-ee’s, the Texas-based travel center chain known for its oversized stores and spotless bathrooms, has been hit with an “F” rating from the Better Business Bureau over what the consumer group calls a pattern of unanswered customer complaints.
The BBB’s Houston office says the failing grade stems from Buc-ee’s failure to respond to 88 complaints filed over several years, including issues such as disputed charges, problems with returns and customers reporting difficulty reaching the company for help. The bureau says Buc-ee’s does not list assistance phone numbers on its website and that emails from customers “frequently go unanswered.”
Out of 38 Buc-ee’s locations listed on the BBB site, 33 currently carry an “F” rating, while two have “A” ratings, two hold “C-minus” ratings and one location is unrated, according to recent BBB data and national coverage of the issue. Buc-ee’s has not publicly responded to the BBB’s claims in reports reviewed Thursday morning. News outlets in Texas and across the country began highlighting the rating this week, pushing the controversy into national attention.
The BBB grades businesses from A-plus to F based on factors such as the volume of complaints, whether a company responds to and resolves those complaints, how transparent it is about its practices and any known government actions. Customer reviews do not directly affect the letter grade, and businesses are not required to be BBB accredited to receive a rating.
In Alabama, Buc-ee’s has stores in Athens, Auburn and Leeds, with the Leeds location serving as the closest outpost to Birmingham. While the chain is under fire for its customer service record, local health inspection data tell a different story about the Leeds site.
Jefferson County Department of Health records show a Buc-ee’s food service operation at 6900 Buc-Ees Blvd. in Leeds received a score of 100 on a regular inspection conducted Feb. 3, 2026, with a previous inspection on Aug. 4, 2025, scoring 99. The listing identifies the operation as “BUC-EEs TRAVEL CENTER #43 (Fudge/Sweets)” and notes the establishment is smoke-free.
That means the BBB’s failing grade for Buc-ee’s is tied to how the company handles consumer complaints, not to local food safety inspections or sanitation scores in Jefferson County. For Birmingham-area customers, the most recent county data indicate the Leeds Buc-ee’s food service operation passed with top marks.