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Monday, September 27, 2004
Customer service really works (at Sears)
My 14-month old Sears refrigerator crapped out last month, just two months out of warranty. Sears sent a repairman but refused to cut me any slack on the warranty. After the repairman off-handedly mentioned that my fridge was surely defective straight out of the factory, I called Sears again and they offered $60 to cover the $187 repair bill. That still seemed pretty lousy, so I wrote a letter to the CEO of Sears, Alan Lacy.
A few days later I got a very encouraging phone call from Dana, who manages customer complaints addressed to Mr. Lacy and other Sears executives. She told me her game plan to argue my case to my local store manager, and explained that she could go to his boss, the regional manager, if necessary. She suggested that Sears should replace my fridge, which I said was perhaps more trouble than it was worth, given that the repairs had already been done.
The second time Dana called to tell me I was in fact getting a new fridge for free (in addition to full reimbursement for the repair work), I wised up and didn't try to talk her out of it. I don't know how she managed to turn around the local store's original position, but she has more than restored my faith in Sears customer service. Thanks, Dana!
PS -- Oh, yeah. The reason I share this story is all about reputation. Unfortunately for Sears, most people with working Sears appliances probably don't run around singing alleluias to Sears. So the task of building a good reputation can be slow. But someone with a really bad experience will be only too happy to spread the word. So recognizing potential "bad stories" and converting them to "good stories" is key. And that's just what Dana did so capably for Sears.
PPS -- You can read my letter in the first comment below this post.
84 comments:
- Bruce Hoppe said...
Mr. Alan Lacy
Sears, Roebuck and Co.
3333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179
Dear Mr. Lacy:
I have had a very unsatisfying experience with Sears that I would like to bring to your attention.
In June 2003 I bought a new Kenmore refrigerator from Sears in Burlington, MA. In August 2004 the refrigerator abruptly stopped working, never cooling below 60 degrees. I lost all my food and tried defrosting the unit but to no avail. I called Sears to schedule a repair. The earliest appointment was seven days later, so I waited a week for the repairman, all the while with no refrigerator.
The repair was scheduled August 27, 2004, from 8:00am – 12:00 noon. The repairman (Jean C. Goda, ID 0695791) did not actually arrive until 2:00pm and worked until 3:30pm, costing me almost an entire day stuck at home. He told me my refrigerator had a bad weld from the factory and all the Freon had leaked out. I could pay him $220 to fix it, or decline the repair and pay him $70 for the house call. I told him the refrigerator was only 14 months old and he offered to sell me a service contract for $67, which combined with an associated $100 rebate actually reduced my cost to $187. I accepted this reduced rate, he repaired the defective weld and replaced the Freon in my refrigerator.
Before he left, I told the repairman my refrigerator had an odd habit of collecting water just below the vegetable crisper drawers. I have had to mop out large puddles of water with a towel every couple weeks since buying the refrigerator. He checked the drainage spout and told me it was clogged, another defect straight from the factory. The repairman said he needed a fresh tank of nitrogen to clear the clog and offered to come back, which to date hasn't happened (though he did call once in the past week in an attempt to find me at home).
I am very upset that my new refrigerator from Sears had a bad weld and a clogged drain, which have so far cost me a full refrigerator of food, one week without a working refrigerator, one day sitting at home waiting for a repairman, and $187.
I called Chris at the National Customer Relations Center and he put my complaint through to Roland Kelly, Manager of the Sears in Burlington, MA, where I bought my refrigerator. After consulting with Roland, Chris got back to me and said Roland would offer me $60, or half of the $120 labor charge to fix the Freon leak in my refrigerator. I told Chris I felt like Sears was nickel-and-diming me but he insisted that $60 was a take-it-or-leave-it deal. I told him I would take the $60 and I asked for your address so that I could tell you this story.
When I bought my refrigerator I felt good about Sears and I believed that Sears represented a quality product with good customer service. Now that I know my refrigerator came out of the factory with a defective weld and a clogged drain (according to my official Sears repairman) I feel very differently. My Sears Kenmore refrigerator was apparently built to fail just as the warranty expires, and Sears so far has only grudgingly agreed to pay less than one-third of my repair bills. Meanwhile I have been continually reminded by Sears that I did not buy an extended warranty. It seems that bad welding is part of the Sears customer service marketing plan.
I request full reimbursement for my $187.00 repair bill. This seems like a very reasonable investment on your part in the name of customer service.
Thank you for your consideration.
Dr. Bruce Hoppe
Arlington, MA
Do you have fax or phone number for Dana. Sears seem to want to make Alan Lacy's phone / fax number difficult to find. It is easier to find his home address - perhaps one should write to him there:
Alan Jasper Lacy
If the CEO responds at work, I don't think it is necessary to write him at home.
I appreciate the address and experience notes. I have a Sears washing machine that failed. I have had a repairman out twice already. I was told it was a faulty pump that was a manufacturing defect, but I did not have an extended warranty. I would have grudgingly paid the $300 for the new pump without complaint except that the pump was replaced and the washer still does not work. They agreed to reimburse me for the pump but insist that I pay a trip charge. It's not a lot of money, but it is the principle of the matter. I will be writing the CEO at the business address provided.
Thank you for the information. I have been having troubles with Sear's customer service since November 2005. It seems the top fo the line kenmore diswasher I bought in Jan. 2006, came with the wrong lower rack which broke the soap cup. I do have an extended warranty, but it seems Sears parts department has sent me the same rack as is in my machine, twice. I have had over 5 appts (some made without asking me), 4 repairman, some rude, one who told me that they designed the dishwasher wrong and designed the wrong lower rack and put the soap dish in the wrong place.
I have been constantly been playing phone tag, one department tells me to speak to another, and to each I have to tell the entire story (I keep both detailed telephone and appt. logs). I have had repairmen who seem not able to either speak or understand totally English and who have walked out of my apt without doing anything while I am on the telephone, on hold, with Sear's customer service.
Since the machine is defective and I have made ever attempt to have it fixed by Sears, I Have asked for a new machine, to which the warranty department has told me they can't but will allow me to go to a rent a store and rent a dishwasher (can you believe that?).
I think I will not only send a letter via the US Postal Service but fax the letter to him at the home office. Here is the information I have, for those of you who need it:
Sears, Roebuck and Co.
3333 Beverly Rd.
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179 (Map)Phone: 847-286-2500
Fax: 847-286-7829
Attention Mr. Alan Lacy, CEO
I bought a washer, dryer and refrigerator at Sears in the fall of 2000. I will never buy any major appliance there again.
After my washer broke in Nov of 2005, I paid $154 to get it repaired. Now 4 monthes later it is broken again(same problem). I called Sears to make an appointment and the woman offered me a maintainance agreement for $189 and informed me I should have bought the agreement in Nov because this visit would be covered. I informed her no one offered the agreement or even mentioned one existed. She proceeded to try to push the agreement on me now.
After arguing with her for 10 minutes I asked to speak to her manager from whom I got more of a run around. I asked for the name of a person I could call and speak with. Apparently Sears has only one number they give out for everything and I can talk to "Brad" anytime.I got no last name of Brad and no number at which I could reach him because we all know there is only one "Brad" employed in the entire Sears company.
I won't even tell you about the refrigerator issues I've had with them.
I realize now their "Sears Service Pledge" means nothing.I will never buy anything from them again.
I am a good Sears customer, pay my bill on time. I made a payment on my due date of 04/07 and sears charged me a late fee of $39 stating I paid after the cutoff time of 1pm. I paid online at 2.44pm. Does it matter what time I pay as long as I pay it on the due date.Worst they bluntly refused to take that late fee charge off my account.What awful service.
Another strike against Sears. I may also write the CEO. My Sears dryer quit drying and I was prepared to pay to repair it. First available repair date was 10 days out. I made an appointment, provided my dryer model, etc. (figuring they would need it to bring parts) and gave a description of the problem (not heating/drying). Upon arrival, the technical took apart the dryer and confirmed I would need a heating element. Cost to repair would be $220. I decided to go ahead with the repair and then he says 'let me see if I have the part on my truck'. Of course, he didn't. It would be another 10 days before they could be back out with the part. If a refuse this option, then I'm out the $65 trip charge -- but good news, I could apply it as credit towards a Sears dryer. Being in desperate need of my dryer, I opt for the trip charge and resign myself to going out to get a replacement. Repairman leaves. A short while later, as I am leaving to go to the nearest Sears, I call ahead to verify they will honor the credit as promised. No, they do no such thing.
Fed up, I went to Lowe's, bought a Maytag and had it delivered/installed the next day.
- john said...
Well, now that i know where to get some answers i will do so. My complaint is about a service, or lack thereof. I don't have a truck so i requested that a service call be made to my home. A date and time was given. I had to take 4 hours of my annual leave to be home at the specified time.
I was home at the required time (between 1 and pm). The phone rang at 1:30 pm and it was Sears telling me that they had overbooked the calls today and would not be coming. I was floored, angry, felt cheated, etc. I decided i would not let this go and spent the next 3 plus solid hours on the phone.
i think i spoke to everyone that works for sears. I discovered that sears has long forgotten what the term customer service stands for. I probably even insulted a few people by telling them they were overpaid secretaries (not gender related) because all they could do was to pass along messages. It took me a very long time to even get a number for the corporate office in illinois. The seemed reluctant to offer this info. A woman named Amy in the routing department at 800-469-4663 was especially abusive about her position. Seems she doesn't need customers to keep her job. She told me that appointments mean nothing and that sears could break them whenever they wanted do. How cavalier! I went through an Axel badge number 55148 who was especially good at tap dancing. He constantly tried to get rid of me and i eventually got him to direct me to his boss in Texas. End result of that was that he gave me the home office number. I got the same tap dancing from someone named Rodney, badge number 60185 who only gave me the run around.
After 3 hours plus i finally got ahold of someone named Sharon who supposedly is in Customer Service at 800-549-4505. She seemed like she was going to help but in the end i was more or less brushed off. I kept being told that i HAD to deal with people in my area who won't even answer the phone. I am in new jersey, btw. Every time i tried to call the number i get a recording to leave the make and model of my equipment and they will get back to me. Here it is 1:00 the next day and still no call.
So, now i have the person to contact to maybe finally get some action. The only thing they offered was to reschedule the appointment so i could take leave again to be there. This is NOT acceptable and i want to be reimbursed for the leave i had to take. I don't think that is unreasonable and if sears ever wants any business from me again they had best consider honoring this request.
It seems that big business has forgotten it is people that keep them going. The attitudes of the entire workforce seems to think i owe them something. I would fire the lot of them
John Cloud
We purchased the Kenmore 795.73269304 from Orchard Supply Hardware in Fresno CA in Jan. 2006. This was after much shopping (including solo trips by my husband and I / shopping together and shopping with our two kids, ages 9 and 7). We were so excited the night we picked it up! Even the task of removing the deck rail to get it into our home didn't ruin the thrill of a new fridge! It was an energy star and we were looking forward to seeing the savings on our bill and it had an ice maker which meant no more running for ice! HA! I am writing this on May 24th, 2006! I still haven't seen any savings or chilled any drinks with fresh made ice! I have called Sears repair center and waited for sevice techs, and waited for parts and a tech again! My 10 year old ugly GE fridge was less trouble than this has been! The first tech to come out blamed my children and the humidity in my home, the second tech diagnosed a problem w/ the "mother board" and a defect in the model that required sealant and a new gromet, the third guy struggled to properly install the gromet and found the new "mother board" to be defective, the fourh guy came at the end of a long, hot day and installed the "mother board" and we crossed our fingers (he also mentioned if that didn't fix it we might need to have the ice maker replaced). I called now to report it still isn't working correctly. I was offered an appointment a week away which I cannot take because my son is having sugery in Sacremento CA and we will be back and forth with Dr. appts. (I have explained this to the disp. and asked for anything else soon.) I now am scheduled for June 8th! I really wish they would just bring me another refrigerator and take this one out of here! That's about the only thing that would keep me from sharing our horror story about Sears and Kenmore with another 100 people or so! I would love to contact the CEO or someone who gives a darn about the direction a previously great company is headed. By the way, we pretty much furnished our first home together (15 years ago) with appliances and furniture from Sears. I am not so sure we will shop there again after this ordeal!
do you have dana's phone number or lacy's? My fridge went out thursday and now 7 days later we are waiting for paperwork. I want to dump this stainless steel $600 fridge on his lawn.
Boy, does Sears like to give us the run-around. I have a Kenmore refrig. will be 5 years old end of this July. It went out on Memorial week-end, stocked with $150.00 worth of food. Called Sears repair & waited 2 wks for a sat. appt. Day came & repair man called at 10:00am said he was on his way, 1 hr later called center to see where he was. Leaving last stop, your next. 2 & 1/2 hrs later on the phone with center again, still no show. they called routing ctr & manager said "can't find him," will call customer back in 1 hr. Meantime, thanks to caller ID, tried calling tech myself, no answer of course. 2 hrs. later, no call from routing manager, on the phone again
trying to find out where he is. This time they said to bad we can't find him you'll have to reschedule, but I must be available between 8am & 5pm. Told them, I was the 1st time & now they will be working with my schedule. Customer service told me they could not do that or promise anyting other then between 8 & 5. I was so pissed off by this time, I told them to forget it & I'd call corporate on Monday. Went to my Sears store & got corporates # & called on Monday, (I live 10mins from corporate headquarters). Customer service took my complaint & gave me a claim #,(tech recorded he was at the house at 11am & no one was home, which was a bold face lie!) rescheduled me on my time after 4. Tech tried to come earlier, by calling but I refused. Finally, tech tested my refrig. & said compressor went bad. it was still under manufacturer warranty so they would order one & put it in, no charge. Next, week another tech came & installed new compressor, plugged frig. in & it did the same thing, which is compressor, lines & freezer door frame, were burning up with-in 10mins of plugging in. Tech called his supervisor, (he was stumped), super after about 30mins was stumped to. Solution they said was not to use the refrig. (NO KIDDING). Since, I did not have a service agreement there was nothing the could do about it, but I won't be charged for the new compressor or service call.(funny they're the ones that said it was the compressor in the lst place & it was under warranty). So here I sit with my new compressor & still no working refrig. It will be a month this Thurs. since refrig. went out. My next step is? Maybe, call corporate again or better yet take a ride over there. good luck to you all.
Have I got story on how bad the customer service at Sears is
may 23 in okla. city ok. around 94 degrees inside the house
my elderly parents wait on the repairman to show up to fix it guess what
he can't and around (just guessing) 15 vist later and no I am not kidding it is still not fixed their latest vist was 6-28-06 guess what its even worse they took the t-stat apart and could not get it fixed (no small wonder)and guess what they are not coming back untill 7-10-06 and they are on sears medical emergency list the repairman informed me since they have a heat pump connected to the system that was pretty complex?
dad even pays his home warrenty 3 years in advanced how sad the elderly is treated this way
I brought in my heavy duty wheeled weed eater which is under an extended warranty plan to the Sears Repair Center during the last week of May.
To date I have received three separate calls, by a different individual each time, to determine if I had received the parts.
I politely informed them them that they have the weed eater, hopefully, at their authorized service center and that is where the parts should be sent.
I request that they replace this defective weed eater with a new one
as they have now extended the repair date to the end of July, which is unacceptable.
Unless, this problem is satisfactorily resolved soon, I will be filing complaints with the better business bureau and request that RICO / State Attourney General review this matter.
- E. Kress said...
Dear Dr. Hoppe,
Service has changed for the worse at Sears, I'm afraid. We've had an ongoing saga every day for nearly three weeks trying to get our refrigerator repaired. First, two misdiagnosises, then parts not being shipped, then service calls cancelled or delayed for no reason. it's particularly aggravating since I have medicine to store in the refrigerator.
You can no longer even access Mr. Lacy's office or anyone near it. If you ask for his office you are diverted to the Customer Service Center where they tell you they are doing all they can though they have done nothing. We've spoken to three people from there today, and we still have no resolution.
The best advice I can give is never to buy from Sears. They are too big and there is no recourse anymore when service is nonexistent. I hope your refrigerator lasts, because you will get no satisfaction from what is laughingly called the Sears Service Center.
Elise Kress
Arlington, VA
I purchased a grill at SEARS about a year ago. I have never been happy with the grill. It does not grill anything. The lid must be kept shut in order to bake your meat. (Kenmore brand)
On September 14, 2006 I had a Sears service repairman out (3rd trip) to look at the grill. I would have called more often for service but I work and can not miss a day for grill repairs.
He told me that it seems to working fine. But he could order me a part? I asked him to stay at my home unitl I could reach a manager for his department. He left before I could.
I called the 1-800-4-my-home number and ending up speaking with a woman "Brenda" who said she was a supervisor. Who explained to me that she would not replace the grill. And that if her tech said it was fine it was fine. She was rude. The tech has said on his previous visit that I should unhook the gas line from the tank and reattach it for the grill if my flame to low. And stood by this same statement on this visit.
Brenda said she never used a grill and so he must be right. (she is a service manager and has never used a grill??)
I had wanted to exhange this grill and purchase a different grill at sears. I was not asking for my money back. I just needed an authorization code for the exchange and to be credited that amount on my NEW PURCHASE.
I have all Sears appliances, beds, TV, etc., and have made three large purchased at their store in the last month (Kirkwood Highway, DE). The salesman knows me my name.
I will NOT shop at Sears in the future. This experience has made me realize that I am not a valued customer (even if the sales staff makes me feel vauled) and I will be taking my business to Lowes or JC Penney's the next time a shop.
Sears needs to reevaluate their customer service practice. And if the treatment I received from Brenda is customer service. Stockholder beware.
Debbie R in New Jersey
Is Mr. Alan Lacy still the CEO of Sears? We are having lots of problems with our Sears/Kenmore refrigerator like water puddle underneath the vegetable bins, even after it was repaired (by my own cost). As a matter of fact, the repairman opened the freezer chamber and poured some hot water in the water drainage system of the refrigerator. I paid more than $150.00. What an easy money!The compressor was changed once by Sears within the (compressor) warranty period. But the problem of water accumulation came back shortly. We are tired of removing water every week. The water is slimy because of some kind of bacterial growth. Foods are getting spoiled in short time. On the top of it, the outside of our white regrigerator is showing many rust spots through the paint and really looks ugly. We bought this refrigerator from Sears at HIcksville, NY 111801, in April, 2000. I guess we have to throw away this expensive refrigerator as we do not have Sears' warranty any more. Our last refrigerators lasted more than 15 years, we changed that only to match our remodeled kitchen. This rusting of the outside is awful! What a terrible quality control! We are not going to buy any more appliances from Sears. However, do they care? They can fool everybody once and still can make a profit.I took some digital pictures of the outside of our rusty refrigerator. I want to send them to Mr. Lacy. Does any one has his email address? Please let me know. Thanks.
Asok Chaudhuri
I bought a Kenmore dishwasher with extended warranty worked fine for 2 years, then the control panel went bad, waited 2 weeks for the repair service, then i waited another 2 weeks for the part to be shipped to my house. another week for the service guy to show up. He replaced that electronic panel, worked fine for 4 weeks now i have the same problem again. Just talked to the service center and was told the next appointment is on Oct 31st. I find this is not acceptable and I be probable another four weeks with out a dishwasher. I for one never buy from Sears again. If i would have it bought from my local appliance guy, it would have been fixed already. Wunder why companies like sears have finacial troubles.
Sorry guys, I have you all beat, Sears showed up to fix my washer/dryer-repairman fixed the washer first, then ran it thru a cycle while he fixed the dryer. He wasn't paying attention - the hose he just replaced fell off the back of the washer and flooded my basement. He then proceeded to take all the towels he could find in the washroom (about 10-15) and all the clothes and mop up the basement floor. He left the mess there for me and told me my dryer needed a part. He had to order and reschedule. No dryer-tons of wet soggy towels and my kids clothes and this fool leaves! Of course he never showed up to finish the job - the dryer is still broken 3 weeks later. THANKS SEARS!
Dear Sears Person who will undoubtedly give this letter merely a cursory glance and promptly throw it away forgetting about it within five minutes,
My boyfriend and I moved into a condo in July of 2005. The appliances were of varying ages and conditions, but overall were fairly new, high end and well cared for. Within the first week of our move things began to break: Our refrigerator would not get cold and was repaired, our garbage disposal broke and was replaced, our oven broke- twice in one week- and was repaired each time, our dishwasher broke and was replaced, and our washing machine broke three times. Three. Times.
So when our dryer began getting hotter than the sun in an equatorial nation in the dry season, we decided to replace our washer/dryer stackable. We were told by an exuberant sales associate that the delivery men (at a charge of $60) could install our dryer. But wouldn't you know it, the only delivery truck in America without duct tape delivers our dryer and they can't connect the vent. But hey- that's ok; we can buy our own and set it up. Sure… they can't test the machine since they can't hook it up… but what could go wrong?
We hook it up and do a wash. By the end, I have oil an inch thick on my floor. So we have broken a record? Turn-around time for a repair need less than five hours?
Repair guy is helpful. He can send a guy out between 8am and noon the next day. Can't do better than that I guess… We clean up what we can and open all the windows so we don't choke on oil fumes.
The next day I decide I want a new machine- if something costing two thousand dollars breaks the first time you use it, you return it. I call and arrange this and despite the maddening auto-attendant, finally get a Human Resources (?) person to help me. She has a delivery company call me to pick up the old one and drop off a new one tomorrow. GREAT! I remind them that I still need the repair guy because it's still leaking oil all over my house. We hang up.
But… I know how this works. Someone has cancelled my repair guy. I know this with the certainty that I know I will never, ever buy a thing from Sears again. So I call repair and Suzy, the Demon From Hell hired to answer the phone, tells me that sure enough someone has cancelled the repair guy because, get this, the machine is no longer broken. It has healed itself! It's a miracle!
I tell Suzy, DFH, the whole story. In a robotic voice, she tells me that the first repair guy she can send is Saturday. I re-explain that I have oil on my floor. No dice. Suzy has dug in, probably in part because now I'm a lunatic. No, she won't transfer me to someone else. No, she won't transfer me to a supervisor. No, there is no one on gods green earth who can override the great and powerful Suzy- she who answers the phone. So I call her the name that rhymes with runt hang up.
Back to the auto attendant. Back to Human Resources. Same woman, says she'll have delivery call me again because blah blah blah something something…
My tale is not over. My house stinks of oil. My Sears Gold Card sits in front of me cut up into tiny failed pieces of plastic. I will never, no matter how many years pass or how desperate I am for repair or a new appliance ever step foot in a Sears again. I'll buy German appliances that cost thousands to fix and have no warrantee. I'll buy from mobsters. I'll use a washboard and chop wood to cook before I'll ever buy one more piece of shit from your useless store.
And if you see Suzy, could you give her this message? Fuck off.
I work at the sears in Burlington and not getting the sears protection agreement is definitely frowned upon ESPECIALLY by Roland Kelley.
I purchased a Sears pest agreement and it became a nightmare. I asked for a refund and no one cared. I had a balance of about 500 but I had also purhased other things. Anyway after a long battle I refused to continue to pay my account until I recieved my refund. Needless to say that I never recieved it even though they said I would. As I see it sears owes me $3000 plus the checks I originally wrote for the contract and all the late fees that were charged because they failed to keep their word. Sears is the worse company I have ever dealt with and I have never purchased anything from them since then. They owe me over $3000 on a refund that they did not credit. Today I battle with credit agencies saying I owe them money. Each time it goes to a diffrent collector the amount goes up. So how about somebody paying what I am owed. Sears collectors I don't care who. It isn't fair that companies can ruin our credit and we can't do anything to them. BBB my but they're just some money making mechanism that doesn't do crap. So Sears I wish an Enron on you and hope that Walmart and target put you out of business.
My husband went to Sears for that Crazy Black Friday Sale. He bought a 42" Toshiba Plasma HDTV. He was told to come back on Tuesday the 28th of November to pick it up. When he got there to pick it up, they said, "We don't have that tv, we are substituting a Panasonic for that one." Of course, My husband was not happy with that choice, he wanted the tv he paid for. He was told to take the Panasonic or nothing. So of course he asked for his money back. He walked back to the Electronics Dept and found a man talking to a salesperson, who was in the same situation. The other man, said to the salesperson, if you screwed up, you should offer me a superior product, not and inferior product. Which of course, he was right! My husband heard this and chimed in, in agreement. At that point the salesperson said to my husband, well you already got your money back so there is nothing I can do for you. He said that they hadn't given him any choice in the matter, but to get his money back. The salesperson took my husband's receipt and debited the money from our account once again, and both he and the other man were told they would receive a call from the manager. After my husband calling every day because the call from the manager never comes. He even went by the store to speak to the manager in person but she wouldn't even come down and talk to him. She sent a young man with a message that they were waiting on word from the warehouse and that he would be getting a call. Well here it is 12 days later, still no call and more importantly, no tv. My husband works hard and never buys anything for himself, and the first time he goes out to buy something that he really wants, and this happens. Of course, what he wants to resolve this situation is for someone to be held accountable for what has happened, and to receive the merchandise he paid for and maybe even an apology for the inconvenience he has gone through, and for the way he has been treated by all of those involved.
I will never ever buy another sears appliance NEVER..I am so mad I cant evern think..long story short..they have been out here 7 times for my washing machine..it will cost the same to fix it as a new one and they will NOT give me a new one and no parts available.That is the short of it. I have complainedd to everyone and made calls everywhere..PLease, for your own sanity. Do not get a sears appliance. J. Lowery
To let all of you know Mr. Alan J Lacy is no longer the CEO of Sears Roebuck. The company is now called Sears Holdings Corporation and the guy that took Mr. Lacy's spot is Alwyn Lewis. You can also send stuff to Mike O'Dell. If you have a problem it is best to talk to the store manager first then if that doesn't work ask for the Director of Store's for that distric's number or email they can help you locally now more than out of corporate office.
so sorry, but repairmen must be the only people on earth that should never get anything wrong. we are not perfect nor is our company, sears does not manufacture any appliance. if sears followed every demand placed upon them, do you really think they would still be in business? live your life people, shit happens
Stay away form Sears they are lousy! lousy lousy---They don't care----they put you on hold and refuse to do anything but give you the runaround.
Excuse my Sears rant....
On January 30th, 2007, I visited my local Sears store in Waterbury, Connecticut to purchase a new washer, dryer and dishwasher. the Dishwasher was scheduled to arrive on February 7th which it did. I promptly met the Sears Delivery team in the driveway and showed them where to deliver the dishwasher to. Then I followed the delivery team as they removed the dishwasher from the cardboard carton. On the bottom of the dishwasher was a wooden base that was held in place by the dishwasher leveling legs. The two delivery men attempted to remove the wooden base and began to kick it to break the wood apart. I immediately asked them to stop this and they assured me that they do this "all the time" and knew what they were doing. In the process, they finally decided to unscrew the now bent leveling legs and removed the remainder of the broken wooden base. One of the delivery men, took the legs and put them in the delivery truck. I asked for them, as I was sure they were leveling legs (I have purchased three other dishwashers from Sears in the past four years for apartments that I managed), and I was told by the delivery man that they throw them away. I insisted that I keep them anyway and told him I would throw them away if necessary.
To my dismay, Page 6, of the General Electric Installation Instruction Booklet that came with the dishwasher, states "IMPORTANT - Do not kick off wood base! Damage will occur." The booklet clearly shows a picture as well as a written description for the proper removal of the wood base and reinstallation of the leveling legs necessary for Dishwasher Installation.
On February 8, 2007, I called Sears and spoke to a woman named Tina at 2:30 p. m. I informed her of the delivery issues and that I was unable to the the dishwasher installed as the leveling legs were bent. The height of the dishwasher cannot be adjusted under the countertop without the leveling legs. Tina apologized many times, however she did nothing to correct the situation. I asked that new leveling legs be sent to me "overnight" so that I may get this dishwasher installed. No legs arrived. I have already had to cancel three installation appointments for this dishwasher. I takes approximately one week to set up an appointment. I also felt that it was important that the Sears delivery team be made aware of their errors to that this would not happen to other Sears customers.
In the evening of February 8th, another Sears representative called me to survey me regarding my delivery. She was more interested in reading the questions from a script and not actually helping me get resolution to my problem. I again stated to her that I needed four new leveling legs.
On February 13, I still had not received a phone call or four new leveling dishwasher legs. I placed another call to Sears and my phone call was answered by Frank W. in the New Hampshire. I told him of my frustration and he offered me a $50 gift card from Sears. I accepted - but told him I really need four new dishwasher leveling legs and to know that the delivery team had been spoken to. Frank stated that the legs had not been ordered yet but he would do so. I was told that they would be shipped via UPS. Given that UPS ground had ship cross country in 5 days, I again set up an install date for a week later. No legs arrived.
On February 19th, I called Sears again. I spoke to Lisa in a customer service center who informed me that the legs had not been ordered. She transferred my call to Karen in Customer Relations - Parts - who also stated that the legs had not been ordered. No one seems to have any explanations as to why this occurred.
I visited my local Sears Store where the purchase was made on the afternoon of February 19th and a salesman (Bremus) offered to make some phone calls on my behalf. He stated that they had not been ordered previously but were now, and they would arrive in 6 to 10 business days. (This time frame is still unacceptable to me). After politely assisting me, I simply asked for the Store Manager for the Appliance Department be called so I could speak to him in person. The sales associate suddenly became defensive - telling me how he tried to help me as best I could and walked away without calling the manager. So I sought out the Office in the Sears and was told that the manager, Steve, was in a meeting. I left my name and phone number and asked for a phone call. No phone call ever came.
On February 20th, I received a phone call from Paul, in the National Parts Office in Mobile Alabama. He stated that the Dishwasher leveling legs had been ordered and he would try to get them here in the next week. He urged me to call the local Store Manager for the Appliance Department to address the delivery issue - which I told him I had attempted but no followup from the Manager. He also gave me a phone number for Corporate Sears in Hoffman Estates, Illinois - I had already sent a letter on February 12th with no response from them. Paul gave me a phone number for Corporate in Illinois but no one ever answers the phone and eventually it disconnects.
I manage many rental properties and I am the purchaser for appliances. I have always used Sears for my frequent purchases due to the fast delivery, support services available and repair team. However, it appears that Sears is no longer concerned about the appliance or customer when they leave the store. I have had too many problems with Sears - all of them dishwasher related. No Leveling legs here and NO MORE SEARS PURCHASES!
I didn't have a problem with applicances from sears, but i had a problem with the automotive center. Never in my life have i felt so angry and taken advantage of. I am a single girl who never had brothers. My father recently passed away, but i have always been a independent women who took responsiblity of car repairs on my own. I went to the auto center, to get an OIL CHANGE, when i picked up my car hours later (the auto center is attached to the mall!) I was told by the tech, that i need a new supercharger belt and tensioner pulley. Did i miss something or is super charger belts now standard with every oil change. Then this is what sent me over the edge. After i declined the 200.00 charge the tech had the guts to say well if your car starts driving slow and hard to steer, then pull over before you crash into something. I about lost it. People some times look at me with my matching purse and shoes, and think that i am spolied little girl with daddy's money.....sorry to put it to you like this, but this cute little girl with the matching shoes and purse will tell you about yourself, your mother, and why you shouldn't of worn that shirt with those shoes all with a smile. Basically i had to pack up my stuff and ask for my keys now through my teeth. I am not a angry person at all, but never in my life have i wanted to grab someone over the counter and ring his neck. Long story short my super charger belt shredded in half and i ended up replacing it at a more trust worthy place. As for sears, i did tell the nice rep in national customer relations- Kimberly, that i was thankful for them giving me a free diagostic, however not so pleased about them speeding up the process of my belt shredding. I felt like they took all my clothes off and forced me to work outside naked. For that i am not a fan of sears, as of today i am paying off my credit card through them and parting ways. In my case the friendly customer service came to little to late.
Goodbye to the days of "Sears for tools". I've spent hours trying to get a saw blade for a tree pruner - all the way from my local store to the executive offices- with no luck. Incompetance reigns!
On June 9, 2007 we purchase a treadmill at Sears in Austin, TX. Sears has charged our credit card $757.74 twice!! Can you belive it. The best they can do is refund the money sometime in the next 30 days!!! I would like to return the treadmill and get all my money back but we will have to pay a 15% re-stocking fee and wait another 30 days for the money to be refunded. In the meantime, because of this error we have racked up $136.00 in overdraft fees and Sear has the use of our money for 30 days. We have contacted both the store and customer service. What a joke. No one is the least bit concerned we have been charged $757.74 twice!!! This isn't the first mishap we have had with Sears. Two years ago we paid an additional $350.00 to get stainless steel doors on the side-by-side refrigerator we purchased. When the refrigerator arrived the freezer door had a large scratch on it. We asked the delivery people to wait until we could call Sears to complain. Guess what. They took off like 2 scared rabbits. Customer Service offered us a $100 gift card. By this time I'm a nut case. We finally settled on $300. Sears refused to replace the refrigerator even though it had just been delivered. Every day I have to look at this scratch. Why we decided to go to Sears again is beyond me. Stupid I guess. I now am in need of a new washer and dryer. I'll be going to LOWE'S or HOME DEPOT for them. Anywhere but Sears.
A Linder
I'll keep it short and simple.
I had a problem with placing an order with the sears summer catalog. They charged my credit card but never delivered the product. After calling and getting the run around twice I was told the vender canceled my order. I guess they forgot to let me know and credit me my money.
After having a fit they said they would give me a 5% discount on my next order. I guess they think I'm stupid.
I am glad to hear your experience was better than mine. I would tell anyone who was even thinking of buying a service contract with Sears to forget about it. I called for repair on a Whirlpool Duet Washer. They sold me a service contract over the phone. I got an appointment between 8 and noon for Thursday. THe technician showed up at 12:30. When he left later that night I tried the washer. It was worse than when he came to fix it. I called the service center and asked to have my maintenance contract refunded. I was told that they could not do that and I would have to pay for the non-repair. When they made another appointment for the next monday, I was told that I would get a call Sunday night as to the appointment time. Needless to say, I took another day off. The appointment time was between 8 and 5. At 3:00 I called the service center who said the technician would be out by 4. At 4:20, I get a call saying he was not coming and I would have to reschedule yet again. I called the customer service line and was told that I could not get another appointment for 2 weeks. After much discussion, I finally got someone to refund my service contract. However, after 2 missed days of work, and now having to pay more for their service persons screw up, I will tell anyone who is even thinking of calling sears for service, or entertaining a service contract not to bother and then relay the bad experience I had.
My husband ordered a "special" tool box for approx. $1000. It came in damaged. This was 3 months ago. He is still waiting on the new one, but everytine he's called they tell him that it hasn't come in. (It's privately owned, like I care.) They should still be following the same rules. Plus, we have been making payments on this item, that we still don't have, for 3 months! Anyway just wondering if this info is still good. I'll be calling Monday.
Sears Holding Corp.
CEO Alwyn Lewis
3333 Beverly Rd.
Hoffman Estates, Ill. 60179
Phone # 1-847-286-2500
No surprise that our issue echos many listed here. Bought a new clothes washer in January... it worked until the end of April. We've had too many repair people to list, who have replaced the control panel 3Xs and a bunch of other ineffective stuff. I've spoken to everyone, from a manager in North Carolina who swore she'd be back to me in 3 hours, gave me her "personal number" (a switchboard that won't transfer me to anything except her voice mail), someone who claimed to be a manager, although she fielded the call herself and was quite possibly the rudest human being I've ever dealt with. I've been on hold for as much as an hour, listening to their "home for heroes" propaganda (I'm a returned war veteran with a disabled wife and I can't get my washer repaired - so much for their "heroes" program). It has worn me down, mentally (being treated like crap) and physically (spending my days off at the laundramat), not even mentionaing financially. 3 full months and counting.
Please stop the customer abuse. I have never been treated so poorly. I called into the center and they thank me for being a premiere customer but do not treat me as such.
I purchased my tiller from Sears almost 20 years ago. It has always been on a Sear Maintenance plan. We have always been extremely happy with the tiller and the service we have received from Sears until now.
In May I was using my tiller in the yard and it was working. It was not staying in neutral which made it difficult for me to use. I called to have a tech come out. He came out and ordered some parts. The parts were delivered but a tech never came to install them. I called back in and a tech came out. When he came out, the pull cord pulled out and stayed out so his order a new pull cord. Then the pull cord came but it was the wrong one. So he ordered another one. It came but he installed it but said the ball barings were falling out so he orders yet another part.
My first call was May 11, it is now August 8, THREE months and I still cannot use my machine. This tiller is only used in the summer. The summer is over! My weeds are knee high. We have cement work that needs to be done in our yard the first of September but we need our tiller to do the work!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can understand it is a maintenance agreement but how long and how many times does it take to get it done? My next appointment is August 20 and as per the tech he is not sure this part will even work.
When the tech left on Tuesday he said, I cannot get it to work,, I am ordering this part and if it does not work then I will order this part. It is at least 10 days out for any repair tech to come to my site. We will then be in September.
I have paid for a plan to repair this tiller. I expect it to be repaired in a timely manner so I can use it.
Worse is trying to talk to anyone at Sears to assist me.
I called in on Tuesday and no one could help me till they read the tech notes and told me to call back. Someone from the service center was to call me back that day—never happened
I called in today, here is what happened:
called in Gentleman wanted to transfer me-- disconnected
called in spoke with Lady-- she transferred me to slc service center and the service center told her and me she could not help -- talk to lemon line
called in spoke with gentleman, he said I had to transfer me and to ask for Unit 8048
spoke with Natasha and she transferred me to Mary-- mary took notes and someone was to call me back
Mary put in the notes that I wanted it replaced.
What I want to a tiller that works—that means fix mine or give me another one NOW
Yesterday I also log on to the net and opened two tickets and received a reply. They say I have an appointment on the 20th and that is the best they can do.
Every time I talk to someone I get a different answer. I was told I was under the lemon clause but the next person tells me I am not. Then they say it was tagged as " customer abuse"—what the heck is that? There are no supervisors to talk to, there is no place to go except whomever answers the call and even they refuse to help but try to transfer you to ANYONE else. It is just pass the buck
I called today and asked about the history on my account so I could file with the BBB. Kathy said she has no record of what is going on with the tiller. She said I need to talk to customer relations and transferred me. 801 493 7470
I called in to sears as per the e-mail but she had no info and said a tech would be out on the 20th
May 18 appt – tech needs pins- customer to install part
June 22 appt – part failure replaced
July 7 appt - unable to contact customer cancelled
July 18 appt part failure needs starter
July 27 appt part failure needs blower housing
August 7- appt customer abuse needs starter clutch-- Now it is my fault the tiller is not working??? How can I abuse a part when it has not worked for months?
- swade said...
I've purchased my last Sears product (Zero Turn Mower). The PTO belt broke (that's the one that turns the blades to cut)so I called Sears to have someone come out to repair. I was told that it was $88 for diagnostics. I told them to have him bring a PTO belt.
On July 9th Sears Repair showed up and said "yep you need a PTO belt and I'll order it and come back next week".
July 16th Sears Reapir showed up and the belt was suppose to have been sent to my residence but had not arrived so we had to reschedule for two weeks.
On July 30th Sears Repair showed up again but not until after 6:00 pm (we were told he would be here between 8am & 5pm) and this time the belt was here. The repairman replaced the belt. The next day I went to use the mower and the belt broke again. I called Sears to have them come out and repair it again. I was told they would send me another belt and reschedule for August 13th.
On August 10th I called Sears because I hadn't recived the new belt and was told it wasn't ordered. Nobody at Sears seems to care or take responsibility for anything. I'm fed up and must now have to deal with Sears to get a refund on work I paid for that never got done. Goodbye Sears!
Can we report them to the BBB? Or maybe NBC?
Is it true that Sears hold the jobs for reservists called to duty and also pays all the benefits during that time? If so, I want to say BRAVO - way to go
- kayleeloraine said...
My mom who is now 80 years old purchased 3 lifetime warranty windows for her home back in 1990. Last year all three blew out and we have contacted Sears several times to have them replaced. The first time they said we had to have the papers that she recieved during the installation, that was a job but we found them. The second time they said we needed 3 estaments from window installers so we did that. Now they say the people who installed the windows for Sears is no longer with them so they won't cover the life time warranty that she purchased. What do we do now? Her home is being damaged due to the storms that we have been having and she is living on very limited income due to her health. Who has Mr. Lacy's e-mail address, or any ideas of what i can do to help my mom.
The latest problem we have had with Sears customer service in Phoenix, AZ at store # 01588...We have had several problems with Sears in the past (Kenmore refrigerator broke within 3 months of purchase and had to wait another month before we got a refund)...Latest problem, I purchased a Craftsman tool chest for my husband at the beginning of August, spent $1300+ on it, waited almost 3 weeks for it to be delivered to the store for pick up...the first piece came in on August 26...when we got it home, we realized there was a big hole in the side of the cardboard, and after the cardboard was removed, we found a scratch and dent in the front of our brand new right out of the box $1300+ tool chest...we were very upset but willing to overlook it...three days later the 2nd and 3rd pieces cames in...after my husband unpacked and assembled the chest fully, we noticed the top of the chest would not sit straight on the rest...it would rock back and forth and the drawers would not open...also there was a dent in the top right corner...it seemed that the box had been dropped during delivery to the store...this was a little harder to overlook seeing as I paid $1300+ for a tool chest that is already scratched, dented, and broken right out of the box...I called Sears to see about getting a refund and having someone pick up the chest because our help had left for the night...I spoke to the Operations Manager by the name of Lori who let me know that they have no pick-up service for tool items and that we would need to bring the chest back to the store for the full refund...I let her know that our help had left and that I am 9 1/2 months pregnant and cannot help my husband lift the chest in the truck...I also let her know that we work on call and had to make time to come and pick up the chest meaning we do not have time on our side...she basically told me there is nothing they can do for me except give me 10% off a new order of the chest that was damaged or we need to bring it to the store for the refund...I told her that $30 give or take was no compensation for the time we have lost and the frustration we have had to deal with...I mean no one expects for their brand new $1300+ Craftsman tool chest to be broken right out of the box...so she refered me to a different manager who would be in the next day who MIGHT be able to help us and there was nothing else she could do for us...if Sears trains their managers to completely shut down emotionally when a customer calls in with a legitimate complaint, then Lori, Operations Manager at store # 01588 in Phoenix, AZ has mastered her job...she showed no customer service and had no intention of giving me any options other than the ones that would not work for me...and when i mentioned that I would be calling the BBB, her reply was if I was going to talk like that she can no longer speak to me...well, sorry Lori, you give me no other choice as a customer who spends good hard earned money in your store for a product that is busted before it even gets into my possession...I have vowed in the past that I would never shop at Sears again and I don't know why I keep going back...maybe I just want to give Sears the benefit of the doubt that they might show some customer service, but obviously, I am completely wrong...Sears has no intention of showing any compassion or service towards their customers and I will spread the word to everyone I know that unless they want to be treated like garbage or get a garbage product, DO NOT SHOP AT SEARS
this was a while ago and Alan Lacy is no longer with Sears but I must respond anyhow with regards to the refrigerator experience. You stated you had problems from the beginning with water collecting...did it occur to you to call for service then, during the warranty period? The WARRANTY is from the manufacturer (either Whirlpool or Electrolux, depending on the model)...the companies that actually MAKE the product...do you think that people owe you something because you arent happy? DO you think there is a reason the MANAFACTURER gives only a one year warranty? Do you think gas, time, parts and the fact the unit was repaired happened magically and for free? NO...you want to complain about customer service because you had to PAY for service that was outside of the warranty period? GET A GRIP..Sears did nothing wrong...you did by failing to take action when you first had a problem as well as expecting something for nothing...do me a favor, go into ANY retailer that sells large appliances with a 14 month old unit and see what kind of "service" you get even if you can hunt down the CEO at home. I'm sure, no matter what you do for a living, you would enjoy and appreciate people contacting you at home by any means....talk about disappointment....disappointment in you as a human being...try that on for size and see how it fits you.
I purchased a patio set from Sears in Englewood, Florida on October 1, 2006 and put the boxes in storage until my new home was completed in March, 2007. I took the set out for assembly and two of the chairs out of six would not connect because the pre-drilled holes didn't come close to lining up. Sears told me to call the maker the maker told me to call Sears. I got no where with either call. Since then the entire set has rusted out and when I went to the Sears store manager he said he was authorized to refund some of my money with a Sears gift card only if I had the receipt which I told him twice I didn't have but, I had a credit card statement showing the purchase at Sears on Oct, 2006. The manager then told me that couldn't be find in the computer? He then told me there was nothing he could do afetr having me bring the set into him for inspection. I failed to mention that he also received a copy of my complaint to the BBB prior to my arrival. After telling me that Sears would not refund my money I told him that after shopping at Sears for 35 years I would never shop at Sears again and that gift cards for Sears that I had in the past year would be in the trash. He followed me out of the store and once outside called me a piece of shit and said he would beat the crap out of me if I ever came back there. This was the store manager. I have called the national customer service and spoke to Carol who took my complaint and have not heard anything since 9/7/07 when this happened. I want this idiot fired by Sears and a full refund. Don't shop at Sears anymore ever.
Join The Club: I have hade a service contract with Sears for the past 20 years that covers all the appliances in my house. In the past few years I have noticed that you have to waite two to three weeks for a appointment for a service tech. In November I purchased a Kenmore Elite refridgerator made by GE. I had to have the Ice maker replaced 4 times within 6 months. Each time a tech came out he gave me a different reason why it wouldn't produce ice. I also discovered that there was a screw coming thru the wall between the freezer from the shelve thru the refridgerator side. A tech came out as said he would have to tell his boss a Mr. Mike Talyor from the Slidell store and he would contact me. I am still waiting for that call. I again called for service and a senior tech came out. He called Sears One Source and was told to see If he could patch it. He explained to me that even if he patched it I would get condensation in-between the walls and eventually water would form at the botton and leek. I had to call Mr Lacy's office and eventually I got a new Kenmore Elite made by Fridgeadere and have hade no problems. If fact the ice maker is at full capasity at all times.
I To will never visit a sears store again!! I will make it a personal goal to see that i get at least 1000 people not to visit again. If everyone gets 1000 people to nstay away sooner or later they will join there partners KMart in bankruptcy and close up. Personally I dont care how many people loose their jobs as NONE of them seem to care about the customer. As they sit in the unemployment line they may think about how they treated the customer and if they had done a better job they might not be standing in that line! In all my years I have NEVER had worse dealings with a company and I have had alot of bad dealings. My story is so long a silly, (Repairs to a laundry center)But after reading all these comments I see its just the way the operate,CRAP.
Sears sucks.I hope lightning strikes the company and turns it to shit like thier appliances.We have been waiting for a month now o have our stove fixed. what a joke.
Sears is taking advantage of elderly people in Florida. My parents bought a new washer and dryer that did not work from day 1 and Sears will do nothing. Funny how every comment on here, except for the blogger, is a negative one. Sears should be sued and put out of business.
I understand your problem with Sears. But you also need to be upset at the manufactures for producing crap. As Sears appliances are mostly made by Whirlpool co. I have been a servicer for 26 years and I hear the same problem from customes buying from other retailers. They just dont last. Yell at he manufactures. Demand Quality. dont settle for junk.
Sears Nightmare!! I urge eveyone out there to not buy any Sears products at all!
I have a sears kenmore fridge just 2 years old. It quit on me the week before Thanksgiving and I called for service. The tech came out 2 days after my call and told me it was covered under warranty and would order the parts. THREE WEEKS LATER... and another 3 appts later (all my appts were scheduled between 8am and noon, out of 4 visits only one came between those hours the rest were between 2pm and 4pm) I call to complain that THREE WEEKS LATER I still have no fridge, I am told after being transfered several times and on the line with them for over 25 minutes that the last repair person out never ever placed the order for the parts. 4 days later they finally get it running. 1 week later it quits again. another tech and yet another full day off work for this problem tells me they can't fix the fridge and it needs to be replaced. I call customer service to find out how long before they send replacement and I am told that first they have to approve replacing it and just approving it or not can take up to a week, not to mention after that I will have a waiting period for replacement fridge. I ask is I am going to be reimbursed in any way for being without a fridge and having to eat out. My kids have not milk, etc.. I am told no, absolutely not. I ask to speak to someone higher up... (by the way, I had asked this question during the 3 weeks I was without a fridge and promised each time that someone would call me back, no one ever did). This time they just disconnectec the call. These people are nothing but a nightmare.... Run, do not walk away from this store. I will tell you that the last laugh will be on me as I am a Realtor and live in a new neighborhood that will have over 300 homes that builder lets me choose who to buy from, we are buying fridges, stove, microwaves, dishwashers and disposals. These homes are in the mid $300,000 to $500,000, so we are buying the upgraded packages. We purchased for 4 homes from them, had problems with 2 of the 4 homes. Guess who is never ever going to buy another product from them? 300 homes.... big loss for sears!
- Gretchen-OH said...
On 2/18/08 my husband and I went to Sears Hardware to purchase a toolbox. While we were shopping we noticed a pool table that was marked down from $249.99 to $125.00. The sign stated that the item was discontinued. We decided this sounded like a good deal and we wanted to purchase it. I combed the store for an associate to assist me to no avail. I then went to the register and asked the associate working there if she could find someone to assist me as I was interested in purchasing the pool table on clearance. It took 15 minutes for her to find anyone to help me. When the associate did arrive to help me I explained that I wanted to purchase this pool table that was on clearance. He said no problem and set out to locate the item. 20 minutes later he returns and states that I cannot have the item for the price listed on the sign that the price was for the floor model only. I pointed out to him that the sign said the item was discontinued and there was no mention that the reduction was for the floor model or that it would be an as is purchase. Additionally I told him I had been an employee of Sears in the past and had been responsible for setting up displays and signs and I knew what the sign was to say if it was a floor model only purchase. The associate, David was growing frustrated as he could not explain why he could not honor the price on the sign or why the sign was worded the way it was if it was meant only for the floor model. I asked to speak to his manager. David said he was out having a cigarette break and he would be right in to help. Another 20 minutes later, the manager Keith comes over to talk to us. Again we are told that the price is for the floor model only. I explain to him that this is not what the sign says and he shrugs his shoulders and says sorry. My husband growing upset asks to speak to his manager. My husband tells the manager Keith that he owns his own business and that he would never treat a customer this way. Then David, who is now helping another customer, starts getting into it with my husband in front of the other customer. David says to my husband, "where do you work because I'll be sure not to go there because you are a jerk". He then calls my husband a jackass, tells us we are stupid, and states he wants to take my husband outside to fight and does not care if he loses his job. David actually walked away from the customer he was with to yell at us. Throughout this whole ordeal the manager just stands there and does nothing. He has no control over the situation or his employee what so ever. The manager gives my husband the Customer Service number and we leave. The very next morning I call the Customer Service number to file a complaint. I speak to Kelly. Just as I finish explaining the whole ordeal their phone conveniently disconnects me. I call back and speak to Joseph. Joseph states that what I just told Kelly was not entered into the computer and there was no record of the call. I again have to explain my story. After going through everything a second time, Joseph can do nothing and puts me through to an HR representative named Henry. Now even though I have told my story twice and it has been entered into the system by Joseph, I am asked to tell it AGAIN. After telling Henry all of the details he puts me on hold to call the store manager, Keith to see if he can resolve the issue. 10 minutes later Henry comes back to the phone and says he spoke to Keith and Keith is unwilling to honor the price and therefore there is nothing more he can do because the manager makes the ultimate decision. Henry said that the store manager, Keith admitted that the sign was wrong and the product was wrongly advertised but he would not do anything about it. I am thinking, ARE YOU SERIOUS??? Obviously the store manager, Keith is not going to agree to the price or we wouldn't be in this situation to begin with. At any rate, Henry offers to transfer me to Sherry so that I can file a formal complaint. Of course I have to tell my story yet again to Sherry. Sherry takes my complaint and informs me that Sears protocol states that I have to wait 48 hours to give the store manager, Keith, the opportunity to call me to try to resolve the issue. If he does not call or the issue is not resolved I can call back after the 48 hours has passed and request to speak to the district manager. To no surprise the store manager, Keith, did not call. So today, 2/22/08 I call the Customer Service line again. I speak to a lady named Judy, explain that I have waited my 48 hours and I now want to speak to the district manager. Judy tells me that I was "misinformed". Judy says that my complaint against the associate, David and the manager, Keith has been filed but it is an internal matter and is confidential so therefore I would not receive a call back nor would I be given any information as to the result of my complaint. In addition, Judy states that my price complaint has been closed, that the store manager, Keith is the person with the ultimate authority in the matter and if the HR representative, Henry couldn't get Keith to honor the price then that was all they could do. Judy refused to let me get in contact with the district manager and refused to let me speak to her manager. I decided to call back and try again. I spoke to Tracy who reiterated Judy's statements and also refused to let me speak to anyone else. This is what they call Customer Service? Does anyone care about the customer anymore? I am just baffled that a store that has been in business for so many years really does not care about those of us who are keeping them in business.
I had a similar issue with my Sears Kenmore microwave. It stopped working less than 2 months after the manufacturer's warranty expired. I sent a similar letter to Alwyn Lewis (current CEO). I'll let you know my results.
more for the do not buy from Sears votes(btw-settle in w/ a cup of something good and a blanket, this is not a short story)...2/2/08 after much research I decided to take advantage of the Sears price match guarantee and I purchased from Sears in Moorestown, NJ an entire suite of Frigidaire EZ care stainless steel appliances(fridge, range, DW, microwave). Beginning of bad experience starts now...I had to wait for 2.5 hours for a mid-level store manager to arrive at the store to approve the price matching. Why? The manager on duty didn't believe I had a written quote on the same exact items from a local competitor not even 2 mins from this location. After the mid-level manager finally got all the pricing approved, I was told that the earliest I could get the appliances delivered would be 3/1/08. I was told the range was on back order and would not be available until 3/1. I set a delivery date for 3/8 and waited patiently. 3/6 I get an automated call from Sears to confirm the delivery of my purchase on 3/8. 3/7 I received another automated call from Sears confirming delivery on 3/8 and that a 2 hour timeframe would be provided in a subsequent call. Later on 3/7, the third automated call from Sears came and confirmed delivery of my items on 3/8 between 11:30a - 1:30p. Great, I'm set, right? My husband I remove all our existing appliances, recycle them to family members and eagerly await the impending delivery. 3/8 & the promised delivery timeframe come and go w/ no delivery and no call from Sears. I call the delivery # 800-732-7747, provide all the info requested and get a message that there is no delivery pending for my info...I pushed '0' for operator and reach a rep who after digging deeper, determines that I will not in fact be getting my delivery because the items never made it to the warehouse from the manufacturer. This is unacceptable, it's been over a month since the items were ordered and I now have no kitchen appliances at all. My husband and I spent the next 6 hours calling any # we can get our hands on for Sears to find out what's going on and why nobody from Sears called us to let us know our order status. Between us, we must have made 30+ phone calls on 3/8 alone. My husband drove to our local store and the 3rd level store manager for our Sears, Tom Natale, was eventually involved. He experienced the same run around that we had been getting. He attempted to contact the warehouse and could not reach anyone. He tried calling his manager, Femi Aboudunde and couldn't reach him. By 6p 3/8, we get another automated call from Sears this time stating that our delivery would be made on 3/9 between 7:45a - 9:45a. Problem now is that the confirmed items did not include the refrigerator. More phone calls, what happened to the fridge?!? Many more calls, and now I'm being told the fridge is on backorder. How did this happen? When I paid for the order, the range was on backorder, not the fridge. 3/8 ends w/ the early timeframe on 3/9 for everything but the fridge. The fridge will be delivered on Monday 3/10 I'm told. 3/9 and the delivery time arrive. Tom Natale calls me at home to ask if the delivery arrived. I tell him it has not and that there's still 40 mins left. Tom tells me he will check it out and call me back. When 10am comes and there is no delivery, and no call from Sears or from Tom, I know there's a problem. I called the delivery # and got nowhere. Everyone I talk to can understand that I am upset. Really??? Are they the ones who do not have a functional kitchen? I'm passed from rep to specialist to rep to hung up on. After another 3 hours of calls, I end up talking to a real gem named Chawnice who might as well have been a brick wall. All she was capabale of saying was "you'll get a call in 24-48 hours with a new delivery date". While I'm on the phone at home, my husband is back at the local store, furious, and looking for answers. This visit manages to produce Tom's boss, Femi. Neither Femi, nor Tom can contact the warehouse, nor can they get confirmation of where our appliances are. After some time, my husband leaves w/ assurance from Femi that he would personally call tomorrow 3/10 to find out what is going on and call my husband to update him. My husband is also given a $150 Sears gift card for our inconvenience. Last time we checked, we couldn't cook, refrigerate, or eat a gift card. I in the mean time have now received a call from Maria in the delivery department telling me that the delivery woud not be coming today (like I hadn't already figured that out). When I ask her why, she tells me it's because of the bad weather. It's sunny and 40 in NJ where I am. What bad weather? When I ask Maria why noone from Sears called me on Saturday or this morning before the appointments were missed, she told me millions of appointments were missed and Sears is working overtime to contact customers. She ends the call telling me that my delivery will be tomorrow 3/10 and I'd get another call w/ a timeframe. She also tells me to dial 800-732-7747 x9511 if there is a problem. While I was trying to get answers on 3/8 & 3/9 I was also online trying to find phone #s that would get me to Sears corporate and I came up w/ 847-286-2500 a # only answered M-F 7:30a - 5p. 3/10 arrives and I leave work early to be home for my 3p-5p delivery. 4:15 no calls from Sears no delivery. My husbnd has been calling Femi trying to find out about the delivery because Femi never called him. Finally, Femi speaks w/ him and says he has personally verified that the delivery is on the truck. I'm back on the line w/ the delivery 800# and put on hold for a specialist...30 mins on hold and I gave up. I called the corporate # and asked for 'anyone who cares about customer service'. I ended up speaking w/ a woman in the executive complaints department named Wendy. I relay my whole saga to Wendy and ask for help, not sympathy, not apologies, help. She puts me on hold and calls somewhere. After another 20mins on hold, Wendy comes back and tells me she has found out that there will be no delivery today...all of the items are on backorder. The new dates are 3/19 for the fridge & DW, 3/24 for the microwave, and 4/16 for the range. I am now so upset and frustrated I'm in tears. Wendy offers to send out another $100 gift card and relays a suggestion that she had been given by whomever she had spoken to. Go back to my local store, cancel the original order, reorder all of the items and I'll get a faster delivery time. I am so stunned at this suggestion and can't even believe it. By now my husband is on the line w/ Tom in the local store relaying everything to Tom that I'm getting from Wendy. This is absolutely outrageous! I ask Wendy to conference Tom and myself to do this process over the phone and she tells me she will call Tom. I ask if she will call me back and she says yes. Wendy apparently called Tom and Tom's boss Femi. This apparently was a very big deal, because now, Femi is calling me personally to help me. Where was this help on Saturday or Sunday? Femi cannot get the Frigidaire appliances I ordered before the now much later dates, so he offers to sell me 'better' appliances at the same price I had originally paid. I now have to decide, do I want to wait or do I want to order different appliances. Do you think the CEO or anyone on the executive board of Sears would do w/o kitchen applainces for a month? I do not. As Femi did not specify what better appliances meant, and as I cannot do w/o the appliances for another month, I tell Femi I will be at his store within 15m (it's 5:16p) to discuss my options. Femi tells me this is an embarrasment for he and the store and he needs to make me happy. My husband and I arrived at our store on 3/10 @ 5:29p. Femi it seems has no backbone...he snuck out a side door just as we were arriving. He left the 'make me happy' work to Tom. 2 hours and much frustration later, my original oreder has been canceled, a new set of appliances ordered and a new delivery date of 3/17. The ordeal is not yet over....bottom line, if I would strongly urge everyone looking to do business w/ Sears to consider it carefully. Customer service is not in the corporate vocabulary. I appreciate that Tom and his associate Connie worked w/ me this eveining to order the new appliances, but the problem is much bigger than Tom. Sears suffers from an over apparent inability to communicate interdepartmentally, there is no credibility in their pledges to customers, and there is no up front ownership of cutomer issues. The Sears that our parents knew and the Sears that exist today are so far removed from eachother they cannot be compared. I'm going to nibble on my gift card now.
I had my Lawn tractor tuned up on 03/25/2008. It was running well beforehand but I figured that I needed to get this done. Now the mower would only crank for a few minutes with black smoke spewing out black smoke and oil out of the front of the engine. NOw the mower will not run at all.
Initially the mower had to be jumped off to run and the battery was nto holding a charge and that was not mentioned on the paperwork. I bought and installed another battery. Engine turns over fine and will not crank, no fuel I am guessing. BUT I did pay 231.00 USD for this service.
Now I am being told that the repairman will not be back out in my area until the 29th, one month after the "repair" I have already paid for.
I just had surgery and I am unable to push sut 2.5 acres of grass at the moment. I will have to hire a service or rent a mower with no way to get it to my house. This may cost more than the repair... Ummmmm.....breaking of my mower. There is no way the service tech crancked the mower after the tune up. I am female and I know my way around an engine or two. It was running so rough, there is no way the tech did what he should have.
Nicole Owen (Georgia)
What a relief to know that I am not the only person out there that knows sears products are crap! Their customer service worthless, and their managers a bunch of idiots. My deal is I haven't had hot water for three weeks!! I have the replacement plan and the last guy that came out three weeks ago said it had to be replaced. So I had to start calling sears. First they didn't have my water heater, then they wanted to give me a cheaper one that had even worse reviews than the one in there now. They wouldn't give me a better product and I refused the cheaper one so I was told it could take two weeks to get the same model and so I had to wait. Two weeks went buy and not a word from anyone at all. Big surprise!!! Sears sucks!!!!
Anyway, now they say they have the water heater but not installers in Tulsa? Are you kidding? You sell water heaters here and your store says you can install them but you don't have installers? After about 30+ hours of phone conversations and emails later I get a call saying that I'll have to have someone install it myself, pay for it and then they will reimburse me..............Up to $219, and the other shoe drops!
This is ridiculous!! I called 5 installers in my area and they quoted me from $500-$700 depending on what all needed to be done! I cant imagine how sears has stayed in business! I am still with out continual hot water because I refuse to get bent over by sears! I will take this up with whom ever I have to but I will not be screwed by them again.
- bungie said...
I will make a very long story short. I purchased a freezer from Sears-Southridge-Greenfield, Wisconsin on 8/19/2007. It was delivered damgaged on 8/23/27-also delivered a day late. I was compansated for the damage and late delivery with Sears gift cards-$150. At the time of delivery I was told not to put any food in the freezer for 24 hours. I loaded the freezer 2 days later with my half of a steer-already frozen-and the remainder of my food from my other2 frig freezers. Much to my horror, when I went to get a pizza from the freezer 3 days later I found all my food unthawed! I called the repair number for Sears and told them my story and they set up an appointment for a repair man to check the freezer-they also transferred me to the loss prevention deparment-They needed a form from the repair man to confirm the loss and then would only cover a $100 loss because I didn't have an extended service contract-My reply was BS-it's a new freezer-your crew delivered it and set it up-Repair man came and guess what?? It wasn't working-I could hardly believe he made that assessment!! They scheduled me for a new freezer to be delivered-only to try to pawn off another damaged one-which I flatly refused-I finally got a new one on 9/4/07. I took all my paper work with names, dates, times and conversation context to the store where I purchased the freezer. After the run around for aproxametly 3 weeks the store sent me a check for $200 for my food loss-this didn't cover it all so I ate the rest. Now I come to 4/22/08-I go into my freezer to get some meat out and to my horror all the food inside is totally defrosted!(I hadn't been in the freezer for 5 days) To the phone I go again-call Sears-set up a repair appointment. The repair man comes-checks out the freezer-also tells me the food stinks-really??-fixes the manufactures default-calls into and prints a receipt for food loss-then tells me they won't do anything because I made a claim less than a year ago-It's NOT the same freezer and I don't give a damn if I made a claim less than a year ago-so today I spent an hour on the phone while Sears operators jacked me from one department to another-finally saying that the recovery department will research the problem and get back to me-when asked when I should expect a return call-she had no answer, After reading all the blogs regarding Sears and their inferior products-repair service-and their NO customer service I've deceided to try to take this a step further. All of us are hard working consumers-we hate to spend money on products that are inferior or defective-Sears is a large coroporation defrauding us-maybe it's time for all of us to stand up and fight back-what about a class action law suit? I will be checking this out-if I receive positive feedback from the legal system-I will post it and anyone who has ever been screwed by Sears-feel free to jump on the band wagon!!!
- Robert B. said...
Folks, If you have a problem with Sears, whether a product or a service, do what I did . . . take them to court.
No, don't hire an attorney. You won't need one. This you can do yourself.
Find your local district court. Call them and ask if they have a "Small claims division." Use those words . . . "Small claims division."
If they do, ask them what the maximum dollar amount you can make a claim for. If the maximum is more than your out-of-pocket expenses, ask them to send you a claim form. (Why waste the time and gas to go get one when they'll send you one for nothing?).
Then decide what it is that you want. BE REASONABLE! Small claims court is heard by either a District Judge or a Magistrate. They've heard it all. If you "over-reach" and ask, say, for a new lawn mower when only one small part has gone bad, you start with a check mark against you.
Another thing . . . you can't claim your "waiting time", inconvenience, "hassle factor", etc. The small claims courts are strictly for ACTUAL DAMAGES. So, if your washing machine was under warranty, and Sears refused to fix it in a reasonable time at no cost, go after them. But skip your time waiting. You won't get money for that.
One key is, never assume "things will get better." They seldom do. If the Sears personnel don't get it right on the second attempt, you can assume the tenth attempt won't be any better.
Who to direct to suit at? The manager at your local Sears store. It's nice if you know his or her name, but "General Manager" will always do the trick.
Fill in the paperwork that comes from the court and return it. Make three copies of everything you want to use as "evidence." . . . one for the court, one for Sears and one for yourself. Put the original away for safe keeping.
There will be a cost of $15 to $30 to file the small claims suit plus, depending on what the court requires, having your papers served on Sears. That may cost an additional $30 to $45.00 for "personal service" if required. Personal service means that a court officer will go in person to the store and serve (hand) your paperwork to either the manager or his or her secretary. Sometimes, you can mail the paperwork to Sears yourself by CERTIFIED MAIL with a RETURN RECEIPT. Check with the Post Office for details.
Remember, if you win, the losing party pays you back for your expenses.
Many times, the store manager, wanting to avoid court, will call you. Be COOPERATIVE but firm in what you want. Do not agree to something that you don't believe is fair. Your court date has already been set. If Sears doesn't make things right, then go to court and let the judge decide. DO NOT, under any circumstances, have your suit dismissed UNTIL YOU ARE FULLY SATISFIED. If you and Sears are trying to work things out, and your court date is approaching, call the court. Tell them what's happening and ask them to RESCHEDULE THE HEARING for a week or two, depending on your circumstances. The court would MUCH RATHER HAVE YOU SETTLE THINGS YOURSELF. They have enough to do.
If you settle with Sears, you can always drop your claim by filling in a very simple form that is usually titled "satisfaction of claim" or similar, essentially dropping the suit.
One last piece of advice. Because I live in Michigan, I can record a telephone conversation without the permission of the person I'm talking to. In California, for example, as I understand it, BOTH parties have to know and consent to a recording being made.
I record everything if there's the slightest chance that I might need to prove what someone said to me. Again, as I understand the law, these recordings CANNOT be used as DIRECT evidence. But these recordings CAN be used for "REBUTTAL." Rebuttal is used to discredit what a person says as a witness.
For example. . . say you get your repairman on the witness stand (yes, this is allowed in small claims court). You ask him if he ever called you and cancelled an appointment at the last minute. He says "no, I never called you and cancelled an appointment.." You ask "You NEVER cancelled an appointment? Really?" He says "NO, NEVER." If you had recorded the conversation, you could use this as "rebuttal." In other words, to contradict what he just said.
Don't expose the fact that you have recorded conversations too early in your presentation. You may always "RECALL" any witness later and use the recordings. It's a GREAT way to win a small claims suit. Just make sure you have the conversations organized so you can whip them out and play them without wasting the court's time. That would count against you.
I live in Michigan. I have no background or training in law. I am not an attorney in Michigan or anywhere else. The statements above SHOULD NOT be considered as legal advice. If you have legal questions, seek out and ask an attorney who practices law in your area.
Comments? Questions? Email me.
Grant Alan
just purchased a new washer and dryer at Sears. The good news is that the delivery man pointed out the damaged equipment to me before he installed - which was GREAT!
The bad news is that when rescheduled for delivery the next day - the warehouse unilaterally cancelled my delivery - and did not even inform me. When I call home delivery and spoke with a specialist - Cheri, employee #70601 - she actually lied to me... she told me I had cancelled the delivery. Then she told me the earliest she could schedule me was for delivery was four days later... Then she cancelled my order! Now I'm trying to reach her supervisor, Tom in unit 82013 in central Texas - and he won't pick up the phone!
So, here's my experience... I've been happy with the repair men... Happy with the guys physically doing the delivery... even happy with the sales folks at the Oakland, CA store - and horribly disappointed with their entire customer service unit... wow.
- sixpack said...
D & R Casebeer, Canton, Texas .. I thought our experience with our local (& now regional)Sears was an isolated NEGATIVE event because past experiences have been somewhat positive but after stumbling onto this site, I can see We are One dilemma of many across the nation..I understand when rules are made to do CRIMINAL BACKGROUND checks in the childcare/govt services and now highly recommend SEARS to follow suit when considering SEARS FRANCHISES in local communities..such as CANTON, TX, We have been cursed with the Sears Store from HELL in our community..and would truly appreciate someone with some authority in the organization to contact us. I wont bore everyone reading w/our story, which I can relate verbatim because I've told it to everyone in Sears from the janitor to the district manager to the customer relations in the corp. office!! I received more satisfaction from the janitor! (no pun intended, I think its an honorable profession). If anyone in SEARS truly wants to resolve our dilemma, we can be reached at 1745 Co Rd 2120, Canton, Texas 75103 thank you for your anticipated assistance.. D & R Casebeer
We all need to file Better Business Bureau complaints, Attorney General complaints and any other regulatory agaency complaints you can think of. File them with their corporate offices state (Illinois). Hopefully the agencies will see the increase in complaints and become active in helping us customers.
- banzhaf46 said...
Dr. Bruce Hope
I found your web page very helpful and I just faxed a letter of complaint to the new Chief Executive Officer Mr. Bruce Johnson the toll free fax is 1800 326-0485, the mailing address remain the same. I have added your link to the letter for him to see the many complaints in your web page.
Thank you
Eduardo Banzhaf
I bought a new Kenmore Elite trio Refrigerator in 3/2/2006 and some of the plastics are breaking down. Also a vacuum cleaner that burns its power-head-light bulb too often
The refrigerator right door and one of the drawers are breaking down I just send a fax to Mr. Bruce Johnson, CEO of Sears Roebuck Co. Giving him the opportunity to correct these problems, if not I'll post a copy of the letter I have sent to him at later time.
After two days I received a call from a Sears representative who inform me that I would get a $100.00 for parts and $150.00 toward the labor in addition, a $75.00 as a gif card for a vacuum cleaner which its warranty had expired five months ago
And it goes on....I bought a Kenmore Dryer 6 years ago. This weekend 09/08 it started beeping and it's lights flashing all on it's own. Wanting to fix it myself I called the troubleshooting phone number to consult with an "expert" and get a part nmuber so I could order a part. I got absolutely NO help. I was told they could not help me because I didn't have an extended warrenty. Yet I wanted to purchase something from them. Just can't believe the horrible service. We are moving within the next 4 months. We were going to purchase ALL new appliances for our new home from Sears. Guess they won't mind losing the business.
You customers are hilarious. One guy on this says "No appliance warranty was even offered to me." What a crock. You probably shot your salesperson down so quickly that your memory blocked it out. Then you would have received a call from the service departmernt offering the warranty again. THEY ALWAYS DO.
I sell appliances, and customers that refuse the extended warranty usually say "no, i'll take my chances." Exactly. Take your chances. Then if the shit breaks, you are paying to have it fixed. Paying for the gas that the repair man uses to drive to your home. Paying for his expertise. Paying for his wages. Paying for the parts. If you don't want to pay fop these services, BUY THE WARRANTY.
"Dear potential Sears customers"
National Customer Relation # is 1-800-549-4505
I recently purchaced a Sears Kenmore Elite side by side fridge on 7-24-08 at a cost of 2,024.87 plus a delivery charge of 65.00. The unit was to be deliverd to my home where it would be placed in my kitchen which is on the second floor.The stair well is 38" wide is L shaped and has a total of tweleve steps. On the delivery date the two delivery personell had some trouble coordinating their stair climbing stratigy an like a ping pong ternament proceeded to bounce of the walls and base boards untill they reached the top. Not only did this cause conciderable damage to the stairwell and base boards but dammaged both doors on the refidgerator as well. Now as the two men were getting ready to leave, nither Mike the lead person or his assistant seem to acknowledge the damage done. I asked Mike what the proceedure was in an event like this? and he stated that he would come back on his time off and repair the dammage to the walls and wood work by touching them up with a paintbrush himself. he then stated and that Sears would replace the refidgerator as a whole instead of just the doors. Now I must say I felt a little uneasy in regard to the first half of this resolve due to the fact this area was professionaly painted sixty days prior to this event at a cost of $3,567.87. I then asked Mike if he had ever professionaly painted in the past to which he replied no. So I told Mike I did'nt feel that the damage done could be adequately repaired in the mannar he was proposing. Mike again insisted that it was his responsability to fix the damage. He left me his phone number and bid me fare well. I contacted my painting contractor who estimated the repair cost at $1,000.78. I called Sears and spoke to Robin a Customer Relations rep who issued me a claim number and said she would have a new refridgerator orderd and shipped wihhin a few weeks and someone would contact me in regard to the property damage. I then asked if they could just replace the doors and she riplied no. Now I'm more mortified realizing that I may once again find myself reliving this unfortunate incident. Sears did make good on the repairs to the fridge a few weeks later And the second delivery team did infact swap out the doors instead of replacing the entire unit. They also advised me that the orrigional team should have removed the door handles, if not both doors before entering the home. They stated this is a standard practic to reduce the width and only takes a few minuites. Now this leaves the issue of the property damage. Keep in mind this all started in July and it is now December 9th 10:00AM. And after five months, fourteen phonecalls, 1hr and 46min of actual calculated hold time I just finished speeking to Tiera a Sears National Customer Relations rep at 1-800-549-4505 a well hidden hard to aquire number. Tiera spoke with Joyce who in turn issued me yet another claim number and no answers as to why no one has contacted even once to date. I was again however promised a phone call within five days to resolve this matter. Oh by the way I never mentioned that the fridgerator also makes a loud gurggling noise when you shut the doors. That is if you can get the doors open to begin with. This is a problem that the Sears repair tech who came to my home told me is characteristic of that unit. I later found out he was wrong. In short, I am worn out and upset at the way Sears handles it's claim process and it is my belief that Sears Corporate has instituted a policy to intentionly frustrate and confuse it's customers in an attempt to wear out ones will to proceed with a claim. My pursuit continues, and yours should also.
Mr. Customer No More
And the list goes on... A Sears repairman came to fix my washer, which I purchased 15 months ago and luckily I bought the extra 3 year warranty. When I set up the appointment I gave my model and serial number and explained the problem - water spraying out of the back of it. He came as planned and told me it was a valve - of course. Then he tells me he doesn't carry valves on his truck and he'll have to order it and come back. Huh??? You know what the problem is and what washer I have and you don't come with the part?????? So, I have to take ANOTHER day off work (today) and sit here by the phone because the time frame they give now is between 8am and 5pm! He just called at 4:15pm and said he's on his way and will be about 30-40 minutes. This is insane!
Sears has the worse customer service to back their terrible products. I have a refrigerator that I paid almost $2000 that is less than 2 years old. It broke down on 3/12/09. It was under warranty. I had a technician who came over on 3/13/09 to fix it, and still charged $169. When I realized that i should not have been charged, I called Cust Service who promised to look into the matter, and never did. The refigerator broke down again on 3/18. Another technician came on 3/20. The refrigerator broke down again on 3/23. I have had to suffer lost wages every time a technician comes, because there is no one at home. I have had to throw away over $500 in food. That amounts to almost $1000. And Sears is offering a $500 credit towards a new refrigerator based on my warranty agreement. I am not interested in the $500 credit. I would like a brand new refrigerator. I have been through enough pain and suffering. I spoke with Robert ID#55876 who was very insensitive and rude. I will take my complaint as far as it can go. And discourage others from buying any of SEARS products because of my experience. Companies like you fail to realize that especially now in these hard economic times that it is us the small customers that help you attain sales goals..so continue treating us like pen and paper and warranties...u will surely regret it. It is the customers who make the frequent purchases that help to put SEARS where they are today, but for some reason they want to walk all over us, and be insensitive to out needs. Does anyone know the current information for the CEO?
I, too, have recently played the run-around game with Sears in trying to get my 15-month-old refrigerator repaired. Day 1 taken off from work: "We can fix it, but we have to order the part." Day 2 taken off from work: "Oops. They sent you the wrong part. We will schedule you for a Saturday appointment so you don't have to take off another day from work." Day 3: "We emergency ordered your part, but it won't be delivered until Monday, so we can't do your service on Saturday." Still an unworking refrigerator and lots of phone calls to people who say things like, "I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do." Try a phone call ((847) 286-2500)to Stuart C. Reed, Senior Vice President and President, Home Services, and state that you have a customer service issued that you would like resolved. The person I spoke to claims that she has reordered the part, and that it will be overnighted to me in time for the Saturday repair. We'll see if that actually happens. I'm not holding my breath.
Bottom line: Don't buy appliances from Sears. Buy from an appliance store and purchase the extended warranty.
I appreciate the comments here and someone posting the corporate customer service number. I am on the phone with them right now. My husband bought a lawn mower on Saturday with terms to pick it up on Sunday. Sunday he spent 2 hours there with associates that had no idea where, the lawn mower was, lost the original receipt in the search, and then the result was they sold him a lawn mower that was not in stock, ordered him one and now we have to wait a week to a week and a half for it. Does that seem right? And they refused to have it delivered as compensation for their mistake. There are hundreds of lawn mowers for sale in this town. Are you kidding me? I will check back with the outcome.
I'm still too pissed to share my story, but I did call one of the numbers from this site and it worked! I talked to someone at 1-336-888-3384 and was then transferred to a gal by the name of Teagra who litened to me and promised to research my problem and get back to me! I will let you know more when I'm contacted...........BEAR
Teagra called me back and apologized for my problems with SEARS, then let me know when my item was going to be delivered again and sent out $150.00 gift card. The phone number worked,but if my item doesn't show up next week, I'll publish the entire story which I'm still too pissed to talk about!..........BEAR
Sear cares…haha
Seriously this place should be going out of business because of the poor service.
First, I bought a house and purchased a warranty, the oven broke called my warranty and a sears appointment was scheduled….in early June
The guy came out said he would order parts, 3 things needed to be fixed of which was the seal on my oven which in turn to fix for the time being he took the seal off of my broiler and put it on my oven …………..I paid 65 dollars for someone to jerry rig my appliance.
Next no one ever called or came to fix anything nor did any parts come. Of course I called and apology was given they offered me a 50 gift card when I asked for my 65 dollars back …..Really after being so displeased I wanted my money back not a gift card which in turn sears gets my money back…the appointment was rescheduled. For the 17 August 2009
No body ever showed up or called so I called only to find out the tech canceled my appointment, don't you think if you cancel someone' appointment you should probably call them and let them know…… again I requested my money back and they said they could only send the gift card which was sent out already ….come to find out they sent it to the wrong address which I clearly stated my P.O. box so now …………now they say the est they gave was refused by me ….come on now first the guy said he was going to order the parts and come back out and fix it, second I am covered by my home warranty so why would I ever refuse it.
My oven is still broke I was offered a gift card that is apparently never going to come in…. and this supposedly fixes the way they handled their clientele. No wonder you hardly see a SEARS anymore, they have been completing depleting their customer with bad customer service, I will never go to SEARS,
Now I have made it a point to not only contact an attorney, but will be making complaints to the BBBureau, and ever other website I can find.
- Benjamin said...
DO NOT USE SEARS! I was just screwed out of a $200 rebate I was going to use to buy X-mas presents for my family. They will take your money, then later find a bizarre technicality to deny you your rebate.
So, I bought a TV with a wall mount. When I filled out the rebate form online, all it said was:
"H090636 08/23-10/03 $200.00 Rebate on Installation when you buy any 40inch or larger Television Along with Installation and a coordinating mount at Sears.com. Rebate paid via Prepaid MasterCard."
But as I found out after my rebate was denied 3 months later (too late to return the item for those keeping score), if you are one of those people savvy enough to shop online, but old-fashioned enough to still print and mail in a rebate form, there is a .pdf you can print out. ONLY ON THAT PDF DO YOU FIND THE FINE PRINT:
"To qualify the television, mount and installation must all be purchased in the same transaction. Includes
Television Mount item numbers 75068, 75078, 75083, 75084, 75080, 75090, 75092, 75093 and 75050."
Well, silly me, I just bought the wall mount that SEARS RECOMMENDED FOR THAT SPECIFIC TV IN A HUGE PHOTO NEXT TO THE TV I BOUGHT ON THEIR WEBSITE!!! You would think that the mount they list next to the TV you buy would be a "coordinating mount", right? HA! You've never dealt with Sears, I see...
But I hear what you are saying, why didn't you check to see one of those 5 digit number matched your wall mount? Good call! It must be on the website...no...maybe it's on my receipt...
Hmmmm...I see an 11 digit number, a 12 digit number, and even a 16 digit number. The price of the installation was a five digit number, but that's the closest I have. Where are these 5 digit numbers?
To find the answer, I turned to the crack management team at Sears. Here's where it gets fun. You may not realize it, but you have been looking at the 5 digit number the whole time! You remember the 11 digit item number from earlier? Well, pay close attention to that. I'll give you a few minutes.
If you have figured it out, congratulations on cracking the code! If not, I'll explain it the way the Sears management team explained it to me:
Those 11 digit numbers all start with 057. Because they all start with 057, the 057 DOESN'T COUNT! You can ignore it! It doesn't exist! You know what else doesn't exist? Zero. And you may have noticed the item numbers all end in three zeros, and since zero doesn't exist, you can ignore the last three digits too! So if you ignore the first three digits, and the last three digits of an 11 digit number, you have...A FIVE DIGIT NUMBER!!! The mystery is solved!!! That's where the 5 digit numbers are!!! Well, now that we have solved the mystery, oh, well clearly I didn't buy the right mount. I just wish I wasn't so stupid. According to Sears management, I am the only person that has EVER had this problem. Just me. I'm the idiot. So if you are reading this and you didn't figure it out, don't tell anybody, because it will only prove you are as stupid as me.
So according to the Sears management team, there is nobody in the Sears hierarchy that can help me. The woman I talked to said she would be fired if she authorized a rebate to a customer that "didn't read the form". According to her, Sears can't do anything.
I know what you are saying, sue them! I REALLY want to. However, this is a $200 rebate, and court costs in small claims court for a lawsuit of this size total $120, leading to a profit of $80. I wish I had enough time on my hands to file a nuisance lawsuit, but I have a one year old son. I have very little free time. Just enough time to write this e-mail and send it to everybody I know. ;)
Not happy with sears at all.I had a GE refrigerator that was only five ahalf years old and it stated having problems. In Sept the frig went out so I call servise and it was two weeks before they could get out to look at it.Of course they didn't have the part so the had to order it and come back out in a nother week.Of cource that didn't work.Then they ordered more stuff for it.This keeped on for about 3 mounth with the frig working off and on and with the repare guy coming out 7 different times. I had the purches agreement for $500. The lass time they found the problem,but is has going to cost me and extra $386.over my $500.So I said screw it just give me the $500 twords a new frig so they did.I thought this was going to fix all my problems.NOPE.I got my new Kenmore frig on Jan 21 and it didn't work at all.So I called the Sears manager In Virginia MN and ask for a nother one and the same one.He said I couldn't get the same one for the money I spent because it was on clearents for $900. and the frig was $2000. So I have to wait again for the reapare guy to come out on Jan 27 to see if I can get my "F" new frig to work. I'll never buy anything ever again at sears.Because living out of a cooler is starting to suck.So I hope more peaple read this and don't buy anything there,because you will be sorry.Jesse
Hello, I purchasea a new $4500.00 heater from Sears and also took a maintenence contract on my boiler (heater) a week ago it stopped working. 8 days later after spending 5 1/2 hours on the phone with Sears Customer Complaint Dept. I still have no Heat in my house. I have been promised service but no one scheduled to fix it responds. Why, Horrible unprofessional service people working for sears. Robert Roland 845-786-5804. Someone Please CALL ME
- perezj said...
I purchase a Kenmore washer 2 months after my purchase it went out (stop spinning). I had also purchase the extended repair service, so I called to book an appointment to get it repair. Waited 2 weeks and on the day of the appointment they called saying that I needed to re-schedule. The the technicians are so busy and that the next available date was in 2 more weeks. That's unacceptable. I told them why could you guys hire more people? If you are too busy just hire more technicians there are people in need of the job. And the customer service agent was like "We are not busy all the time so we don't need to hire more people".
Sears is just another company with bad customer service!!! I shouldn't have purchase a My Tag. I had one and called for service and the technician show up the next day.
December 29, 2009 opened freezer, food wasn't frozen any more. Note that this fridge is not even a year old yet.
January 4 Called 1-800 number and was told I would receive a call January 8th to tell me what time a technician would arrive to provide service the following day. All of my frozen food has spoiled.
January 8 No call
January 9 Called 1-800 number, told them I hadn't received a call, and no technician has arrived. I was told they had no record of my service order ever being created, and would have to start a new one. I was told the soonest they could arrive would be on January 23 and to expect a call on January 22.
January 22 No call. I called the 1-800 number reporting that I hadn't received a phone call. I was told that actually the work order was for the 30 and I must have been given the wrong date, but that they would escalate the situation and I should expect a phone call that night.
January 23 No call was received the night previous, called the 1-800 number again, spoke to Ethel and was told to expect a call in the next 4 hours. I requested to speak with a supervisor, but was told they were in a meeting and couldn't be reached. I said I would wait. I was told they didn't know when the meeting would be over.
January 23 10:01 am - Received a call from Diane in Burnaby, who said she would try to get someone in to see me on Wednesday night (January 27th). I mentioned that my service thus far had been far from satisfactory and perhaps my food spoilage could be covered. She transferred me to the warranty department where I started to explain my situation. Literally in mid-sentence, I was cut-off, told I would be transferred to the Service department, and transferred over. I was transferred to a gentleman who only spoke French. When I requested help in English, all he did was repeat the 1-800 number for the Philippines, and proceeded to hang up on me.
January 23- Drove to Victoria Sears Home and spoke with office staff. Said it had now been almost a month, and no one had even been to my home to diagnose the problem. They confirmed January 27th between 5:00 and 7:00 as the time the technician would come. I suggest compensation for what was becoming the worst service I had ever received, and was told it wouldn't be done if I didn't have extended warranty. I explained this now had nothing to do with warranty and everything to do with the fact that Sears guarantees satisfaction "long after my initial purchase", which has not happened. I was told there would be no coverage.
January 26 received phone call explaining a technician would call the next day to tell me what time he would be arriving
January 27 receive call from technician saying he would arrive between 2:00 and 4:00 pm. I explained this couldn't happen, as I had explained previously many times, because I work until 4:15 and can't be home until 5:00. He said he would come at 5:00
January 27 Technician arrives, diagnoses problem, but says he will need to order the parts. An appointment for Saturday, February the 6th (now a MONTH after the first call is made) is set up for my parts to be installed.
First week of February - receive a call telling my that my parts are not in yet, and that the appointment has been cancelled and set up for February 13th, as they are aware I work during the week and need a Saturday appointment.
Friday, February 12 voice mail left on my cell phone telling me that a technician will be at my home between 2:00 and 4:00 TODAY. I called Sears Home in Victoria. I explained that I can't have someone come at those times because I'm at work and no one is home. She is very understanding, escalates the case, and says to expect a phone call. I receive a phone call 30 minutes later and am told that Saturday, February 13 is fully booked, and the soonest I can have someone come will be the 20. I explain that I'm out of town on the 20 and therefore will not be around, and that I really feel I should have a technician come tomorrow as I was told would. The woman tells me that it is noted in my file that I work during the week and therefore can only have technicians on Saturdays, but someone must have "made a mistake". I explain that this isn't my issue and that it has now been 1 1/2 months and my freezer still isn't fixed, and that I would like to speak to a supervisor or management of some sort. She tells me she can't do that and that they have processes in place that state that I must be contacted by Customer Service. I explain that thus far, none of the "processes" Sears has have been successful, and how am I to trust this one will be? I tell the woman to keep my appointment for 2:00 because I cannot be without a freezer for another 2 weeks. I ask her to double-check that my appointment is still on, and if there are any problems to ensure I get called.
Friday, February 12 I call Danielle to ensure my appointment is on, and she says she has put in a 911 to the technician to explain that they still need to come service my freezer.
Friday, February 12 I have had to leave work half-way through the day to ensure that my freezer is actually serviced within 2 months of my original phone call. The technician installs a switch, and orders a board that I am told will fix my freezer. I'm also told that he was instructed by the woman who books the calls to ensure he is "not early", i.e. to be late because I was starting to get angry with the lack of service.
Monday February 15 I receive a call to tell me that the technician will be there on Tuesday the 16. I tell the employee my freezer is still not functioning. They say to let the technician know.
Tuesday, February 16 The technician looks at my freezer and says that now the compressor is dead. This is because it was running the entire time the parts were faulty and it took 39 days to have someone come and install the new parts. I am told this is going to be an emergency repair because now my whole fridge is going to stop working and it will be escalated.
Wednesday, February 17 I receive a phone call from Sears telling me that they cannot locate the compressor, and ordering it from the manufacturer will not speed up the process, and so they have to order it out of Canada. The soonest they can now come to fix my fridge, that is less than a year old with parts that can't be located, will be in another 2 week March 3.
March 2 I received a phone call from Sears telling me the compressor still cannot be located, has been put on backorder and will not arrive until the end of March.
March 3 I contact Romy Bawa - Appliance Manager and explain the situation and that I cannot wait another month for my fridge to be fixed. Recall that this was an "emergency call" and was being "escalated" on February 17, only now to be being put off until the end of March. He says he will email my situation to his manager and try to get permission to get me a new fridge.
March 5 - Two months after initial call. I receive a call from Romy telling me that he has been given permission to allow me to get a new fridge, but that I will only receive a prorated amount as I used the fridge for a year. I understand this logic IF I had a choice and could choose to have my fridge repaired with parts that are free and under warranty, but I do not. It is not my problem that Sears cannot get a compressor to a fridge that is current, and therefore I should not have to pay money to get a new fridge. I will follow this up with Customer Service.
March 13 - My new fridge is to show up today. I had to pay an additional $500 to get a fridge that did not have the compressor that had failed and could not be sourced for months. I have not received compensation for the loss of all my food or the fact that it has now been over 2 months since my fist call to Sears to get my fridge repaired.
About 10 weeks ago we had Sears install $14,000 worth of replacement windows. The crafty salesman had offered our daughter, Linda, $300 for recommending Sears. But while we were talking, he said he'd send her the $100 the next day. I said,"What happened to the $300?" He said that she hadn't acrually recommended him by name(?). He has a duifficult name, Polish, I believe. But anyway...Linda recommended Sears, He was her salesman, then he was ours. He made a commission off of both of us...so what difference would THAT make??? Then we were going to take advantage of their interest-free financing, but that same salesmen talked us into paying cash and getting $350 back for that. Also because we made such a large purchase we were to get a $1,000 gift card. These last 2 things ( the $350 cash back and the $1,000 gift card ) were to come in two (2) weeks. After 4 weeks I started calling. Got apoligies, promises, but no cash or gift certificate or Linda's rebate for suggesting Sears. How can they treat customers this way and expect to stay in business? We didn't make THem wait for their money, why are they doing this to us? To anyone? Are they going out of business soon and just don't care any more??? SS
- Tara Sue said...
I had a terrible experience with Sears.com "customer service". I ordered a computer for my child's birthday and paid extra to guarantee shipping by 7/7/10. My son waited by the door all day today for it to come and when it did not, I called Sears to find out what was going on. The representative said that I should have known that it would not come in time and all shipping dates are a guess or an estimate and if I knew anything about online shopping I would know that. I said that I talked to a Sears rep when I ordered it and since I paid extra, I was guaranteed the 7/7/10 delivery. The customer service rep treated me like I was stupid and was very condescending to me. No concern or empathy was shown my family and the fact that my kids birthday was ruined was no big deal. A late package is one thing, but to be insulted is quite another. I will never shop at Sears.com again.
It appears this is an old blog post but the replies aren't dated.
The best thing you can do with poor service is always pay with a major credit card (not a bank debit card or sears card).
If after 6 months of your purchase you have a horror story just charge it back.
In most instances you have up to 6 months to do a chargeback. Banks may tell you the time is less however as a merchant I know I can face chargebacks 6 months down the road.
So if your not happy, don't get upset. Make a reasonable attempt to resolve the issue. If that fails charge the merchandise back. Let them deal with it at that point.
I purchased a new Kenmore Stove from sears two weeks ago. It was schduled for delivery on 3/16/11. It was received on time and I was so excieted. However; when I purchased the stove it was ona two day sale for for $566 regular $849.This was a great deal. We looked at a model and spoke to the sales rep. We were told that it was just like the model except not a convection oven which was not important to me. It was black & stainless steel, had clock, timer, warming drawer and it was self cleaning. When we got it home it was black & stainless stell, clock, timer but the drawer was broiler and it is not self cleaning. I had already disposed of my old stove a couple days before the new one arrived so here Iam stuck again with a stove that is not self cleaning. Other than that I'm happy but I feel that Sears should order me the correct model that I was told I was looking at or discount my sales price further for their error. It is not the customers fault when the employees don't know what they are talking about or in my case someone did not enter the correct model #. They sure were fast to take my money.
I recently bought a samsung refrig at Sears in clear lake Tx. The salesman, which I found out later was a part time employee that sold it to me. He said if you have any problems please call me. When the refrige, arrived a day later than promised, the delivery men refused to install it. they said with their broken English we cant do! so they dropped the refrige in my living room and left! Needless to say all my food in the old frige spoiled! I tried to get a hold of my salesman but they told me he was part time and only shows up on weekends! The manager was not of any help either, just acted like It was no concern of his. Tried to get the store manager, but she was on a two week vacation! Finally Sears came out and tried to install it but it was too deep, so I had to order a smaller refrige. They came out a few days later and switched them out in the process gouging deep scratches in my hardwood floors!! I have been trying to contact Sears to fix what they had damageg but they never have returned any of my calls! Frank Tamborella 158 Sandy Cove Nassau Bay TX 77058
I had a dishwasher leak about 3 weeks ago – phoned them to get help. Well, it's been 3 weeks now and all they do if I call them – they keep telling that somebody will contact me withing 2 days. 3 weeks!!!
Sears Canada is hopeless, pathetic store!
- Jdstanback said...
I have purchased 5 Kenmore Appliances in the last year. I would like to return them all and go purchase something else from another appliance. The Kenmore Elite washer that I purchased in May 2011, in not working properly and no one can come and take a look at it until October 19. That is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. When I purchased the units one of the things that they salesman told me was that if something went wrong with the units, and they could not be repaired to my satisfaction they would be replaced. Getting a technician out to look at the unit 10 days after it breaks is not to my satisfaction and when I talked to the Customer Service person on the phone he said the only way that I could get another one is to go to the store and purchase another one. Mark from Unit 9433 comments, and attitude was unacceptable, unprofessional and down right, consenting, he should be fired on the spot! When I purchase an appliance of that caliber I fully expect it to work for more than months, and in the event that I do have problems I fully expect to get a better grade of customer service than I have received.