Sears / Craftsman Blower Vac / poor product and service!

Corporate Headquarters
Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Attention: Alywin Lewis, CEO
3333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179
United States

Re: Craftsman Gasoline Powered Blower/Vac Model No.

358.794880

Mr. Alywin Lewis,

Today is February 3, 2007 and I just received the Craftsman Gasoline Powered Blower/Vac Instruction Manual that I was requested to buy so that the person who I called, but I do not have his name since I assumed that any person at that telephone number on the equipment and is also stated on the front cover of the Instruction Manual, said that he is going to transfer me to the Orders Department to order the Instruction Manual, with that he could assist me with my fixing the blower vacuum as happened just before my warranty expired.

I called perhaps a week before to reach this person. I called him at [protected] which is the telephone number on a label on the machine as I just said.

Before my warranty expired another guy who I will refer to as a technician, since nobody whom I have talked to today, and I talked to at least 10 people. Perhaps half of them said that this would be the last time I would be transferred because the who I was talking to said that he knows that that department can help me over the telephone, at my fixing my equipment.

This time, the first person who I talked to, when I told him that I need help fixing my blower vacuum, just like the last time somebody, step by step, told me how to fix the blow vacuum.

The guy of about a week ago asked me if I have checked the spark plug. So I said that I should explain my situation.

There is a pull cord naturally, to start the engine. It told him that when I pull it out, it comes out easier than normal. He stopped me to ask me, if I let the pull cord go, does it go back in by itself? I told him that it does so he asked me if I have an Instruction Manual.

Perhaps I did not have an Instruction Manual because I bought it somewhat discounted because the box
had been opened.

Whoever bought it previously and returned it, must not have put the Instruction Manual back in the box before returning it.

Just for reference, I paid by credit card, and I could go on-line to find out exactly how much I paid for it but I don’t think that is necessary. I was charged a bit under $10 to have it mailed to me.

The only other person who I talked to who I wrote down but I do not know if that helps any from my earlier information, is Olsen at [protected], who told me that he would transfer me to the department that has people who are able to talk me through the fix.

I asked Olsen for the name of the department and he said Craftsman Parts and Tools at [protected]. I said to Olsen that it does not sound right to me that a parts and tools department would have a person with the knowledge to instruct me, even with having my Instruction Manual on how to fix it. Olsen said that the name of a department does not necessarily indicate all that it does.

When Olsen transferred me, he actually transferred me to Scott who is in the Parts Department. So I said that I was supposed to be transferred to Parts and Tools. Scott said that since he is Parts, he knows that there is a Part Department and a Tool Department but they are not the same department but since he cannot help me, clearly Olsen does not know what he is talking about.

Olsen said that this conversation has been a waste of time.

It bothers me a lot that when I call a company, people who are getting paid to talk to me, and naturally I get nothing for my time talking with them. However people saying that happens all the time and a small fraction of those times, the person who I have been talking to hangs up the telephone but Olsen did not.

Olsen was good enough to ask me if he could help me in any other way. So I asked him if he could give me the corporate address, which he did. However, he did suggest that I call instead. However to me, to spend so much to perhaps get the run around again, I would not like at all.

Olsen did say that if I lived in a city that has over 100,000 people, would I know all the people that I could get in touch with? I told him that I live in a city that easily has over 100,000 people and I am not familiar with the actual jobs of any of my neighbors but I do have an idea of what they do.

Olsen said that that is like calling Sears. There are so many people that it is possible that somebody could help me fix my machine over the telephone but he has no idea how he could find out where or who that person is.

As the CEO of Sears, surely your Executive Assistance has the means to go down the hierarchy of your corporation to get me the name and preferably the full name, but perhaps Sears does not allow that. With so many employees, you must know that the name of any given person has a reasonable probability of there being another person at Sears who has the same name.

I worked for Intel Corporation for 8 years and the closest name that came to mine was a person with the same last name. However, I have no idea if any given person at Sears is going by their last name, middle name, or even a nickname.

Since I have twice, from the [protected] number reached a person who, the first time actually helped me fix it, but the second time I was told that after he asked me a specific question, that informed him that he could easily instruct me and get it running again. I essentially have said this previously but I am trying to make it absolutely clear that I know a person can be reached.

However, looking at the Instruction Manual, only on page 24, which is in Spanish but I speak very little Spanish, do I see a picture of a man who has pulled on the cord. So I do not know how much help the Instruction Manual would be even with somebody talking me through it.

From having talked personally with one person who has told me that he could easily talk me through the task and perhaps a year ago, another person who did talk me through that fix, I am extremely confident that somehow, you can get me to a person who can help me over the telephone and if I do not have the correct Instruction Manual as it is not like a car, as they have shop manuals, perhaps the Orders person sent me the wrong manual.

As the conversations alone took me almost an hour, your Executive Assistant, as has happened many times when I write to the office of Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America, which is my bank, I have always received a telephone call from a person who has been able to help me.

If Bank of American can help me every time, I am extremely confident that soon after this letter has been read, I will get the help that I need and not be told that I have to either go to a service center or have a service person come to my home as both have been suggested to me. However, the second suggestion makes no sense to me since my machine is easily portable.

I know that Sears does not make Craftsman, so it might be necessary for somebody of your staff to get me in touch with a person at the company that makes this particular product.

Once, somebody who I called told me that Craftsman is made by two companies and due to the machine that I am talking about, he told me which company manufactures it.

However, Olsen said that so many different companies make the various Craftsman power tools that he would have no idea which company makes my blow vacuum.