Sears

Dated March 6, 2009
By
Melanie Westerkamp

There Oughta be a law! And if I were writing it, it would read; "A company will not be allowed to sell any items they do not have in stock, without explicitly stating in writing, when the item will be available for pick up or delivery, and then following through with it."
On Black Friday last year, (for those of you who don't know, that would be the day after Thanksgiving day sale) 2008, my husband walked into Sears in the Gateway Mall and purchased a Front loading washer and dryer set that they had on sale for half price.
Not being in the habit of paying for Items that we are not physically taking with us, and with the promise of a delivery date set as Feb 4, we decided to put it on our Sears credit card.
On the night of Feb 3rd, I made a phone call to Sears and asked if they could tell me for sure that my washer and dryer would be ready for pickup the next day. I was put on hold after giving my information and when she returned to the phone I was assured that the truck would be in the next day and my set would be on it.
In preparation of those facts, after disconnecting from the conversation, I gave away my washer and dryer set. My husband went to Sears to pick up the new set the next day to find that it wasn’t delivered on the truck, and the new delivery date was set for the 6th, two days later. The reason for this he was told, was because at the time of that sale they only had 30, 000 of those sets and sold 90, 000.
60, 000 of those sets that they sold and received payment for had not even been built yet. After another promise delivery date of Feb 20th, and four visits to the laundry mat = $40.00 spent there, and one hickory work shirt ($30.00) shrunk from an over heating dryer later, we still have no washer and dryer. We also don't have any more promises from Sears, now they are calling it an approximate delivery date of March 20, 2009.
Since the last total spent of $40.00, I have spent additional $30.00 approx (not incl. my time) and used three girlfriends and families washers and dryers while visiting with them anyway (also not incl. their water and electric use).
My Mother and Father needed a new microwave last year and so they went to sears to purchase it. Again, since they did not have the one that was needed to fill the hood range at home, it was ordered and they were told it would be in, in two weeks. During that time, it snowed and iced up the roads, and where they live it was pretty treacherous. At the end of those two weeks they got a phone call from Sears stating that their microwave was available for pick up. When my Father got there he was told that it hadn't arrived yet. A normal twenty minute drive took him forty minutes that day because of ice on the road. He is a self employed Man and his time from work already had him feeling antsy. When he found out that he had been called out to Sears, from Sears, for nothing, he was so angry he cancelled that order and told them he would never be back.
I don't feel I have the same option of just canceling the order of my washer and dryer the way he did his microwave. For one, I could not find another set so well priced, two, the two rebates have already been utilized and our taxes have been filed with the receipt of one rebate.
Had I known that there was even the slightest chance delivery could not be made when it was first promised (hence the phone call to Sears on the 3rd), I would have never given my set away. To make up for all this, they have deducted $50.00 from our bill and we are told that we can receive 3 boxes (or containers) of laundry soap of their choosing, when and if, the washer and dryer set arrives.
I have never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but to be honest, that just doesn’t wash away my frustration resulting from this situation! Fact is, since there was no contract stating a delivery date, we don't have any options.
My objective in writing this letter for all to read is just this, well, obviously to relieve some of my own pent up frustrations as well as making a statement, and that is, that any company, as long standing as what Sears and Roebuck has been, in my opinion, should have had the foresight and been better prepared for this situation.
And maybe they were, ? After all, they made no promises on paper; we were the only ones that did that, in signing our name and promising to pay our bill no matter how we feel we are treated in the interim.

I would like to give you a conical of events on a Food Loss Claim that I have tried to get resolved since September 10, 2008. Please see below question I have to you and would like to receive answers to. Please take the time to look them over and get back to me. After all I have taken the time to write this letter to you.

Tuesday September 9, 2008

8:30 PM - Came home from work to hear the freezer making loud noises and the side was very warm to touch. I opened the door to find that all the food was defrosted and warm. I emptied most of the contents from it as it was starting to smell. See attached photo. I left some food in freezer to see if would refreeze during the night.

Wednesday September 10, 2008

5:25 AM - Checked freezer and there was no change in the food that was left there overnight. It was not frozen and it was still making noise and very warm to touch. Packed three large industrial garbage bags with destroyed food and took photos, see attached.

5:30 AM - Called Sears service department to report this problem. I was told that they would try to set up an emergency service call for later that day. I clearly stated to the woman on the phone that no one would be home until 4:00PM. I told her that twice. She said she would make a note it.

6:30 AM – Threw out three large industrial garbage bags of destroyed food at work.

6:40 AM – Arrived at work and called Sears service department to update my new cell phone number. I quickly told the lady on the phone the problems I was having. I told her I was calling to update with my new number. She said that service does not come out after 4:00 PM and that I should make an appointment just in case I don’t get service that day. I tried to make an appointment for a night call and was told that night calls are only done once a week in my area and the next time would be Tuesday September 23, 2008, 13 days later. We scheduled a service call for Saturday September 13 between 8 AM and 4 PM.

10:26 AM – Received a call on my cell phone from a service technician saying that he was at my house and no one was answering the door. I explained to him, as I told both ladies earlier in the mooring, the problem I was having with the freezer. I told him that it was making a load noise, was very warm on the side and not freezing. I told him that the noise was so loud that we could hear it all night five floors away. I told him that I was very concerned about the heat from the freezer and was not sure that it might catch on fire or cause a short. He said that “if no service person was not going to come out until Saturday, then I should unplug the unit so not to burn out the motor.”

4:00 PM – Arrived home to hear the freezer still making noise, warm and not frozen. I emptied the rest of the destroyed food out of the freezer so I could throw it out the next day at work. As per the instructions from the service technician, I turned the freezer off.

Saturday September 13, 2008

A service technician came to look at the freezer. I showed him the photos I took of the food that was destroyed. He asked why it was not turned on. I told him the problem and what the service technician said for me to do when he called my cell phone on September 10th. He said that by turning the freezer off and then back on it just reset the problem. He said that “this is what some service technicians say to the customers so they don’t have to look for problems.” My son was there with me when he told me this. He said that he would turn the freezer on and would check a few items, but could not really do anything until the freezer is in a complete freezer state – 24 hours. He was in my house for about an hour checking a few things, but again said that he could not find anything wrong with the freezer because it was turned off and that reset the problem. He told me to wait until Wednesday September 17 before I started using it again. I asked about the food loss coverage policy. He said that since he could not find anything wrong with the freezer he could not leave me the form to fill out. He was the one that advised me to “call Corporate Customer Service and make a complaint about the tech that told me to turn off the freezer”. He gave me the phone number. Again, my son was there with me all the time as he is thinking about going into the service trade and thought it would be good to watch.

Monday September 15, 2008

1:15PM – Called Corporate Customer Service and was talking to a Niki. I explained the whole issue and problems that I had to her. She said that she would mark my comments on a complaint file. She told me that “she would make sure that a food loss coverage form would be mailed out to me later that day”.

Friday September 19, 2008

7:30 PM -Arrived home from work to find a message on my answering machine from an unnamed male person saying that he was calling from Sears and that I was not going to receive a food loss coverage claim because of what the tech said and because I was not home for the first service call on September 10, 2008. No name or return phone number was left.

Monday September 22, 2008

10:40AM – Called Corporate Customer Service and asked to speak with a supervisor. I again explained the whole issue I had from day one. I was now complaining about the freezer and about the call from an unnamed person from Sears. The person said she would have to look into this issue and said she would have to get back to me. I asked for her name or employee number and was told that she could not give it out. I again asked for her name. She hung up the phone on me at 11:04 AM.

12:12PM - Called Corporate Customer Service. When the person answered I asked for his name before I was going to give him any information. He said his name was Philip, a corporate customer service supervisor from Bellville. I asked if he could check to see who I was speaking to on the last call I made at 10:40AM. He said her name was Marie, also from Bellville. I again explained the issues I was having with the freezer and now with customer service. He put me on hold for a few minutes while he checked the notes on my file. When he retuned he said that he looked at my file and it was noted that I did make my first call on September 10th and it was noted in the file that customer would not be home until 4:00 PM. It was also noted that customer called a t 6:40 AM to update new cell phone number. It was noted that customer was told that no service calls are done after 4:00 PM and would have to schedule a normal service call. I explained to him that if someone told me that there was no service calls after 4:00 PM when I first called, then I would have made arrangement to have someone stay home during that day, September 10th. He told me that looking at the chain of events that it was clearly not my fault and that he was going to put in a food loss coverage claim for me. He was the most helpful customer service person I have spoken to since this issue started. He said that I should contact parts customer service to follow up with this issue at [protected].

Thursday September 25, 2008

I called parts customer service to check up with this issue. I spoke with a Stephanie. I was told to make a list of the items that were in the freezer at the time it stopped working and fax it to parts customer service, attention food loss claims. I asked why no one called to tell me this since Monday. She could not give me an answer. The fax number is [protected].

Monday September 29, 2008

I tried to fax a completed list of the items that were in the freezer. I was not able to do so, as the number was not in service. My wife finally called Bellville at [protected] and spoke with the receptionist. She told me wife to fax it to her and she would make sure it would get sent to food loss claims. My wife did fax it to her.

Tuesday September 30, 2008

I called parts customer service to see if they received the fax. They said there was nothing on file and that we should try to refax the list again. We did so again.

Wednesday October 1, 2008

9:40 AM - Called parts customer service and spoke to a Michelle about the fax. She checked the file and faxes and said that no fax was received. I told her the whole issue I was having with Sears since the first day back on September 10th. She asked me for the amount of food loss. I told her it was $485.00. She said that my loss would only be covered for $200.00. She put me on hold for a few minutes. When she retuned I was told that no fax was received and that I should try again. She gave me the same fax number. She said that she would start the process of the food claim loss pending the list of the items loss. She told me that she would get back to me with in an hour. I gave her my cell phone number.

2:45 PM- Called parts customer service and asked for Michelle and was told that she was gone for the day. I asked for the name of the person I was talking to. He said his name was Jim. I told him the problems I was having. He looked into file and told me that they again would not cover the food loss. I was asked why no one called to tell me that. He could not tell me why except that it was noted in my file at 1:54 PM. I asked to speak with a manager. Jim said that he could only take down my information and have a manager get back to me. He refused to let me speak to a manager. He also hung up on me.

2:55 PM – Called customer service to put in a complaint about Jim. I asked for a manager and was told the same thing. Give me your name and number and a manager will get back to me. The woman I was speaking to was Dianne from Montreal.

3:00 PM – Called parts customer service. I started talking to Jim again. I asked for a detailed description of the fax I sent to them. He told me that he could no longer discuss my account and that he was not available to give me the details of the fax. He said he could not confirm who he was talking to. All I asked for was a few items I had placed on the fax. I told him that I did not think they even looked at the fax or received it. They only new the amount I said was lost when I was speaking to Michelle at 9:40 that morning. He again hung up on me.

4:10 PM – Called corporate customer service to again make a complaint. I was quickly passed on to Brianna from US customer service, who could not even pull up any information using my home phone number. After being passed around from Texas to Montreal back to Texas, I finally gave up and waited for a customer service manager to return my call.

It is now October 12, 2008 and I am still waiting for a manager to call me back. In the meantime, I have taken the time to write this lengthy letter to you, the President of Sears Canada. At this point in time, I have some questions that I would like answered.

1. Why should you offer an extended warranty with all the bells and whistles when Sear will not honour it?

2. Why was I not told that I would have to wait for a service tech all day when I first called back on September 10, 2008 at 5:30 AM? Again, if I was told that, I would have made sure someone stayed home waiting for a technician to come.

3. Why when I called at 6:40 AM to update my cell number, I was told that I could not schedule a night appointment until September 23, 2008?

4. Why did the technician come to my house when I clearly told the first woman that no one would be home until 4:00 PM that day?

5. Why did the service technician tell me to turn off the freezer knowing that by doing so it would reset the problem?

6. Why was I told by the service technician that came on Saturday to look at the freezer to call the corporate customer service and complain about the technician that told me to turn of the freezer on September 10, 2008? Does this happen on a regular basis? Do your technicians really know what the problems are?

7. Why was I told be Niki that I would be receiving a food loss claim form?

8. Why did I receive a call on my home phone answering machine saying that I would not be getting a food loss claim form? Is it Sears’s policy to leave messages without a call back number or a contact person’s name? Sears had my cell number on file and I left it with everyone I had spoken to.

9. Is Sears customer service centre (corporate or parts) there to help solve the problems or are they there to create more?

10. Why aren’t all your employees on the same playing field? It all starts with the salesman selling the freezer and extended warranty, to calling for service, to talking with a service technician on the phone to having an honest services technician come out to look at the problem, to finally dealing with customer service. Everyone I have dealt with has flipped-flopped on these issues.

I could ask more questions, however I have spent enough time on this. I will leave you with this to think about.

I have had a Sears account since 1984. I began purchasing items before I was even married. My wife and I have purchased furniture, clothing, children’s clothing, suits and appliances, to just name a few from Sears. Just looking at my purchases, since I have kept track of them on my computer, I can tell you that I have spent over $10, 000.00 since 2002. This has all stopped now.

We will no longer purchase anything from Sears and will no longer recommend Sears to anyone. All this trouble over a $200.00 food loss claim. I have closed our Sears account and am returning my Sears cards.

Update Feb 28, 2009

The attached letter, photos and audio recording were mailed to Sears Canada on December 11, 2008. I know the letter was received as a message from unnamed female was left on my home phone on February 11, 2009. The message said to call [protected] regarding the letter.

I called on February 12, 2009 at 9:25 am and spoke with Debra. She told me that another customer service person was looking after this issue and that she would email her to contact me on my cell phone. I again called on February 17, 2009 as I had not received a call. I was told again by a customer service person (Jack) that another person was looking after the case and again I was told that he would email her to get back to me. Nothing again. I called on February 20, 2009 and insisted on getting the customer service representative’s name. I was told that it was Shawna Montgomery from the Bellville office that was looking after my case. She said she saw notes in my file that emails were sent to her and she would email her again.

I called Sears again on February 24, 26, and 27 and all customer service representatives said they would email her. I still have not received a call from her.

I took the time to gather my information, write a letter and enclose photos and copies of voice messages. It is unbelievable that I don't even get the common courtesy of Sears acknowledging my letter or having someone contact me in person.

What kind of customer service does Sears have?

The following is an update on what has happened since sending the letter on
December 11 2008.

We used your Sears flyer and purchased a bedroom set from Leons. Leons matched the price; $2, 956.35 after taxes.

We opened accounts at The Bay, Walmart and other retail stores and purchased holiday gifts. That’s $750.00 of items that could have been purchased at Sears.

I have posted this letter on various websites, listing complaints against major retail stores. I have also sent emails asking others to pass it along.

/link removed/

Again, a written response from Sears Canada is expected immediately.

The adventures of ‘The Refrigerator Nightmare’.

On Sunday, February 15th, I purchased a refrigerator from the Franklin Mills store. It was scheduled for delivery on Tuesday, February 17th, between 2:45pm and 4:45pm. I left work at 2pm and went home to prepare for the delivery. I emptied my old refrigerator and stored my food outside temporarily. On Tuesday, at 2:20pm, I received a phone call, from the warehouse, stating that the delivery would be late and not arrive until 5pm. I received a second phone call, this time from the driver himself, informing me the delivery would be delayed even further. I then received a third phone call delaying the delivery even further. The truck finally showed up at 6:45pm.

I told the driver that the refrigerator doors would need to come off to pass through my front door. As I watched as the driver removed the doors I could see that he was mumbling under his breath, as if realizing he made a mistake. He brought the door in and informed me that there was a broken prong on the wire coming from the door and I would need to send the refrigerator back to the store to have it repaired. As I proceeded to call the Franklin Mills store the driver took the door away and called his office to inform them that I had refused delivery because the refrigerator was damaged. I spoke with Michele and relayed to her what had just happened. Michele informed me that if it was sent back my account would be credited and I would have to come back to the store and pick out a new refrigerator. I told Michele that would be very difficult for me since I live 40 minutes away from the store and would also have to make arrangements for a friend to take me there since I only drive a scooter and the scooter is unable to go on the highway as it’s top speed is 40mph. Michele suggested the best solution would be to keep the refrigerator and have a service rep come out and fix it. I then asked the driver to bring the refrigerator back into the house but he refused, saying it was already packed on the truck and they would bring it back to me the next day. This didn’t make sense to me since it would take more time, they were coming out of Flemmington, NJ which is an hour’s drive away, and man hours to do that as opposed to just bringing the refrigerator back into the house. I felt it was out of laziness that the driver gave me this response. I recalled Michele who then spoke with the driver but he refused her request as well.

I tried to explain that it would be a hardship to take more time off of work as I had already taken 3 hours off that day to wait for the late delivery. But he said, ‘Too bad Boo that’s what you’re going to have to do.’ I was appalled. I did not appreciate the unprofessionalism of being called ‘boo’. I did not appreciate the unprofessional lazy attitude and the blatant disregard for the financial hardship I would suffer in taking more time off of work due to the drivers’ clumsiness in breaking the refrigerator in the first place.

I asked the driver if he was sure that the refrigerator would be delivered the next day and he gave me his word that it would be. He even told me he would probably be the one who would be delivering it. He assured me that when he returned to the warehouse he would have the office call me to make the arrangements. He even went as far as to tell me that it would take him an hour to get there and I should expect the call then. Needless to say, the call never came.
In trusting the driver I called Sears service department, and after relaying the story of what had happened, set up an appointment for repair for Thursday afternoon. Once again being inconvenienced due to the drivers’ clumsy mistake.

Because the driver had called me to say he would be late I had his number in my cell phone. I called him first thing Wednesday morning and asked him why I hadn’t been called yet with the delivery arrangements but he didn’t have an answer for me. I asked if the refrigerator was on his truck and he told me he hadn’t received his manifest yet. I asked him for the phone number to his warehouse and he told me he would text it to me. He also agreed to text me when he received his manifest to let me know if the refrigerator was on his truck.

I received the text with the phone number, which turned out to be the phone number to the Sears Home Delivery Service. I then received a text stating the refrigerator was not on his truck.

I called the Sears Home Delivery Service and spoke to a woman. She informed me that the refrigerator would not be delivered as promised but she could set something up for Thursday delivery. The woman sounded very rehearsed which became very irritating. Although she constantly apologized it wasn’t said with any empathy because she was so rehearsed. We went back and forth for about ten minutes and I felt as if she wasn’t listening. I told her a Thursday delivery was unacceptable and asked to speak with her manager but she insisted she could help me and continued to repeat everything she had already said for the third time. I asked again for a manager and she finally put me on hold for eight minutes until I heard the phone ring and a gentleman answer saying, ‘security’.

Frustration had really set in now. My response to the man who answered the phone was, ‘Oh great’. I was thinking the home delivery agent transferred me to the wrong extension. I told the man who answered the phone there wasn’t anything he could do unless he could get me my refrigerator that day. He tone was very calm; he must have realized I was very frustrated. His name is Walter and with his soothing tone he asked me what the opportunity was. I explained and he was very understanding. Walter said he would do everything he could to help me and he accomplished that.

While waiting for Walter to call me back I called the home delivery line again and found out my order was cancelled. That certainly hit a nerve. Every agent I spoke with at the home delivery line, and there were many, need coaching in their approach with a client on the phone. Not only do they sound like scripted robots but they have no empathy in their voices. I know a lot about customer service as I am the assistant to the general manager at the Westin Hotel. By the time a guest gets to me it means that they haven’t been happy with any of the other managers they have spoken with so far. So I know how important tone is and how to help a guest calm down, just as Walter does. For these reasons it takes a lot for me to get frustrated because I do have empathy for the person on the other end of the phone because on most days it’s me. But the experience I had with the persons I spoke with that morning drove me off the edge.

I called Walter back to tell him I found out the order was cancelled and expressed my frustration as there was no way I could get back to the store to pick out a new refrigerator. I do not have a car, as I live in Center City, and had to rely on a friend to get me up to Franklin Mills on the day I picked out the first refrigerator. Walter assured me he was working on it and would call me back. I asked Walter for a number where I could lodge a complaint against the trucking company and he gave it to me.

Talk about another nightmare. From Vincent I was redirected to an Andrea who tried to get the trucking company on the phone but was not successful in reaching the manager. Andrea informed me that Kelly Schwartz, manager of trucking company, would call me when she got back to the office. I asked Andrea how she was going to follow through and she seemed confused and asked me what I meant. I told Andrea that I would like her to call me back to make sure that Kelly had indeed called me. Andrea said she would call me back in two hours. It never happened. Not only did I not hear back from Kelly but Andrea was a no show as well.

I called the complaint line again. Now keep in mind that every time you call anyone you have to explain the entire story again and again. It’s my experience that the more you make a disgruntle client relive the problem it only gets worse for the client and in the end the client winds up never happy. Perhaps someone might consider that with the home delivery service reps and the complaint reps. It is my opinion if the agents took better notes on the client, for everyone to see, the repetition would not be necessary. This time I spoke with Jessica and explained that Kelly never called and Andrea never followed up. Jessica apologized and said she too would have Kelly call me and Jessica would follow-up with a call the following day. Again both never happened. I’m thinking what kind of company this can be that their customer service is so horrendous. I’m dumbfounded that anyone finds this acceptable.

It’s the end of the day, I haven’t got much work done as I have spent most of the day wasting my time with Sears’ home delivery service specialist (what a joke that title is) and the Sears complaint department and I still have no resolution. Emotionally exhausted I go home.

Walter calls me that Wednesday evening and tells me he has located a refrigerator for me so I won’t have to be further inconvenienced and it will be delivered on Friday. Thank you Walter for being the only person, out of the eight I spoke with, to be able to get something done and provide excellent customer service.

Thursday night arrives and I receive an automated call from the all too famous Sears home delivery specialist, only it’s automated and trying to get a live voice is impossible. The call tells me that the refrigerator will be delivered between 9:45 and 11:45 am. This is not acceptable to me since I have already been heavily inconvenienced already and one would think someone would try to work around my schedule. I don’t think it’s a lot to ask. I call back and speak with one of the robot agents who refuse to work with my schedule and puts me in a position where it forces me to take another day off of work.

So when the call came at 11:45am to tell me the delivery was going to be late my only response was to say, ‘of course it is’, because this is the kind of service I have come to expect from Sears.

In closing I want to say you have a treasure in Walter and I hope you appreciate him as an employee. Walter knew exactly what to say and how to make the event salvageable. Walter took a situation turned sour by a trucking company and the Sears home delivery specialist and made it bearable. I thank Walter for all he did to make something happen and I realize my experience with the trucking company and the so called home delivery specialist was out of his control.

However, it is not out of Sears’ control. I find it hard to believe that I am the only customer this has happened to. Nor can I be the only customer that has complained. So it is Sears I hold at fault and for that reason I will no longer be a customer of Sears again.

Thank you for your time and I sincerely hope someone with the power to make changes reads this.

I recently went to a Sears Portrait Studio which I have been going to for a number of years for portraits of my children. I have always been pleased with the staff (very nice) and the photos (good quality and creative). However, I have become concerned with their pricing and feel that they may be taking advantage of customers.

The salesperson never tells you how much each sheet of photos is. They charge different amounts for "enhancements". You don't recieve an itemized list of how much your photos are. You basically tell them which ones you want, they figure out the price then tell you that there is a "package" that is just as much and you will recieve all the photos you have selected plus something else and urge you to purchase that.

On my most recent visit I had a coupon for 20% off and a free 10x13 and for the life of me cannot figure out how they got the elevated price they got. My one year old was getting fussy as we had allready been there an hour and we needed to get out asap so I didn't have time to argue. Once home I still cannot figure out how they got to the price they quoted me. Also, I have always been a member of the Smile Saver club because it's cheaper than paying a sitting fee. For years no salesperson ever told me that I should have been getting a free 8x10 with each session and that Mon-Thurs is BOGO free. I only found out when I went online looking for coupons for my session.

Because of this I will not be returning to Sears. When you take small children there it is just too hard to keep them occupied, pick you photos on the spot and try to figure out if your getting stiffed. My hairdresser said go to JCPenny's, their quality is very good and pricing is better.

The new $1300 plus taxes Whirlpool gas stove we purchased from Sears in Ancaster, Ontario, on 09/02/26 was delivered today, 09/03/04 ($60.00 delivery charge) with the left side panel and top left edge badly dented.

A Sears representative informed us that a replacement stove could not be delivered until March 12 - eight days from now, but said we could use the stove in the interim. When asked who was going to pay for the gas fitter to hook up the damaged stove today, un-hook the stove on March 11, and then hook up the replacement stove after delivery on March 12, she wasn't sure but suggested that there might be some compensation.

I suggested that the best solution was for Sears to pick up the damaged stove by tomorrow at the latest - it's now blocking the middle of the kitchen - and that we would purchase a stove elsewhere and have it delivered way before March 12. She requested time to see what she could do and promised to get back to us by 9:00 tonight.

It’s now 9:26 p.m., and - you’ve guessed it - no phone call !

I googled “Sears Canada” while I was waiting for the call that never came. Based on the latest business reports, it would seem that Sears Canada is in serious financial trouble. If Sears treats its customers like we’ve been treated I can understand why, and unless Sears starts to treat its customers with honesty and respect, Sears financial problems are only going to get worse - much worse !

Beware of Sears appliances. If something should happen to your appliance, you are at the mercy of one of the worst set of untrained, rude and incompletent people who give you the run around, keep you on hold for hours and then hang up, give you false information, never provide a definite time that they will come to fix your problem and then cancel your appointment.

READ the fine print before you sign up for their service agreements. They outsource everything and you will be left frustrated having to deal with people who have no power to do anything customer friendly (but every right to be rude) and read from scripts. Even their dispatchers and repais folks are outsourced and they dont care if they deliver shoddy service or not.

You can be rest assured your first scheduled repair appointment will be canceled after you take time off work to be at home. When they come they have no clue what they are doing. they order wrong parts, try to blame the customer for defects in their appliances and will give you the run around for atleast 4 trips before you can get your appliance in working condition, which will be good till the next defect.

DO NOT BUY SEARS. YOU WILL REGRET IT. If you do, have a lot of painkillers and aspirins handy. You will be talking to one of the worst trained employees that will make street hawkers from Bangladesh seem more customer oriented. They talk to you as though you owe them money.

One Sears customer rep told me today, "You should not have bought the service agreement if you were expecting service from us'. I am still baffled at how any company can afford to be so customer unfriendly and shoddy in their promises in this current economic climate and still be in business. The biggest mistake I made with my appliances is to buy Sears.

My whole family went to Dayton Dental. We all needed fillings and I needed some extractions. I was told that my daughter and son needed root canals. It has been 1 year since the work has been done. All of our fillings have come out except for 2 of mine. My kids have extreme pain off and on with their root canals. Plus with their fillings coming out they are in even more pain. We went back twice when our fillings came out and to address the root canal pain and the fillings fell out again and they are still having root canal pain. It is not cheap to go to the dentist but to keep having to go back because they don't know what the heck they are doing is ridiculous. We will never go back there again!

To Whom It May Concern

After numerous discussions and a costly one we finally agreed that Central Air was the right thing to do plus it would add additional value to our home. The house was originally built with Electric baseboard and we need a much more efficient way to heat and cool our home. We had grown tired of paying extremely high electric bills every winter. So we made an appointment with Sears to have a sales person come out and provide us with information about different units and what to expect. The Sears sales person Joseph Sodl came he explained that the installation would be smooth and that we were making great decision by choosing Sears that their service was the best. He also said the Installers were experts in their field and installation would be quick, only to find out later that Sears sub-contracted their work.
We were told that the unit we would be purchasing would be very efficient 14 seer with a variable speed instead of a single speed unit we were told that we would be comfortable no matter what season. He also mention that our current electric base board would not be removed and left to be use as auxiliary heat backup in the event that the system stopped working for whatever reason. We were also told that we would be able to control the thermostat remotely via the internet once we had a connection to an ISP. Another great reason to purchase the unit from Sears. We decided to go thru with the purchase. After about 4 hours with the Sears sales person we felt very comfortable and had all our questions answered. Sears we thought to ourselves was very reputable nothing can go wrong. What a mistake.
As per the Sales person we were told that the contractor would come by and survey our home prior to installation, once that was done installation would begin and wouldn’t take more 3 to 4 days at most. Ok, that sounded great. After all was said and done one week went by and we heard nothing from Sears or got any calls from the contractor. Finally we reached the project manager Anthony Rovinski whom we felt was not at all sensitive to our situation since we had left previous messages for him to have the technician give us a call. Finally the contractor Andre from “Real Technicians Heating & Cooling” called stating that he would be at the house sometime in the morning between the hours of 8 &10 am. He never showed until 12:30p and we never got a call that he was running late. He supposedly surveyed the structure within 1 hour and the only thing that he said was “the job can be done”. To us that meant that the layout was ok and there would be no hiccups throughout the installation. Were we wrong!
My fiancé scheduled the entire week off in preparation which was somewhat an inconvenience due to time of the year, but the end result we thought would be worth it having a Central Air system instead of the use of our baseboards. Now to the beginning of our downhill battle with Sears. On Day 1 the installer never showed up. We called the Project Manager who did not even apologize on Sears’s behalf, instead he said he will look into it. On Day 2 Tuesday the contractor got to the premise at 12p no apology and no explanation. They worked for about 1 hour and for the next 2 hours they were at lunch returning slightly after 3p. On top of it all they stayed at the house until 9p without even asking me if it was ok. As the customer I wanted the job done so I sucked it up. Day 3 they showed up at 10:45a claiming that they had to pick up equipment. Again they took another 2 hrs lunch while I sat there waiting. I got a break they left at 8p. Day 4 they showed up at 8:45a took another 2 hr lunch and worked until 10:20p.Day 5 same thing. Now we’re into the weekend. I suppose Day 6. One of the installer showed up at 12:30p and stayed on the phone while the head Installer (Andre) give him instructions on what to do. As he got more and more aggravated he kept saying “You should be here I cannot hear you” Andre showed up at 2:15p very nonchalant as if all was ok and I had nothing better to do.
Now we have gone through 6 days of a 3-4dy installation. By day 2 I was beyond disgust so I started recording the events. I knew we had made a wrong choice when the installer on day 3 said “I cannot provide you with a vent in your half bath and we have to place the downstairs vents in the ceiling as oppose to the floor as planned, and we will now have to get duct work in 3 of our BRs as oppose to the 1 closet”. Their explanation the closets did not line up properly. I know am not the expert but this should have been determined when they did the survey. It’s 3 days into the installation and I’m hearing this which left me with little or no choice but to continue. We did not agree with this and expressed this to the contactor but we were told that there was very little that could be done since they had to work with the already existing infrastructure of the home.
Ok, back to day 6 they checked and rechecked all day finally turning up the system. By the way the installer Andre said the only reason he did not turn up the system on Day 5 was due to my fireplace being on. This was a cop out since he could have told me not to turn on my fireplace since he will be turning up the system that day. By now I had become accustom to their unprofessional attitude. Now all was beginning to unfold our house was not heating properly the upstairs was extremely hot and the downstairs very cold. They dampen and re-dampen the vents to no avail it was not working. This was when we found out that they had taken away the electric power to some of our baseboard heaters, as I stated before we were told by the sales man the contactor had to run new wiring on a separate breaker. So our option for usage was out the window and we were in the midst of winter with a system that was not performing.
.Six days of hell and they could not get the unit working properly. Throughout all this I was making calls of complaint to the Project Manager asking him to come out. All I can say is my efforts were all in vain he NEVER bothered to show up just kept on promising to do so. Our installation was scheduled for November 10, 2008 and it was not until over a month later December 11th that we the Project Manager for the 1st time and this was only because we refused numerous times to sign off on the project. He came out with 2 of his supposedly better Technicians as he stated “ The ones he would use for most of his projects”. As a customer and being in a Service Industry myself I thought that was inappropriate because I felt like my installation was not worthy of the better Techs/contractors. Anyway they stayed at our house for hours testing everything with testing equipment that our contractor did not have or never bothered to utilize. After several hours we felt pressured into signing since they all told us that the unit is new and it was installed correctly and all is testing well so in time it will get accustom to the temperature settings of our house.
Stupidly we signed and here we’re a new year with our system not working efficiently, my electric bills higher that they have ever been in 10yrs and no one to turn to. While researching we’re finding out more and more information indicating that Sears might not have sold us the most efficient system for our area. On top of it all we were recently told that we cannot get propane delivery because we’re in code violation – the unit is too close to the propane tank something the Installers should have investigated. We called the Installer Andre at (973) 280.2931 on February 9th he said he would be by that weekend February 14th he never showed up and we never got any calls. On Feb 19th we called Sears at (800)681.7106 they said someone would call us back. We got no callback. On February 23rd we called Sears for a second time I was referred to the Quality Department at (888) 673.7881 spoke with Hector. He typed all that I said and advised that a complaint was opened and our job number (8509882) would be our Reference#. He said that he will attempt to get another Technician Michael Ashmoore out as early as tomorrow and I would be given a callback. No one from Sears has called back.
Now we’re without propane because my tank was disconnected by my propane Distributor. We have no baseboard heaters because they were disconnected so that the system could be powered. All we have is a system that’s costing us higher electric bills and the downstairs of our home remains cold. After our 2nd electric bill we called in a independent Contractor. Upon inspection of the unit we were told that the system Sears sold us would only be efficient 40 degrees or higher, anything below 40 degrees the unit would not perform efficiently. Now we live in Pennsylvania where during the winter months most of the days are below 40. Sometimes fall brings frigid temperatures as well. It’s ironic because the Sears Installer Andre said that the system sold to us was not suitable for our home. Of course he told us this after he completed the installation which again reflects how unethical these people are.
In conclusion all we want is for Sears to take responsibility and live up to their promise to customers. We want Sears to provide us with the unit their Sales person told us we would get. Energy efficient, quiet and one that evenly distributes heat and cool throughout our house. It’s unacceptable that we will be billed almost 15, 000 for a unit that is not efficient and more costly than baseboard heat which we all know is the most expensive heating. There’s no reason why the temperature between the upstairs and the downstairs is a 10 degrees difference.

Thanks in advance for your consideration

Unsatisfied Sears’s customer

I purchased a kenmore refrigerator from sears balto. Md. On august 2006. Thus far it has been working fine. I pulled the refrigerator away from the wall this week and found i have a scorch mark on the floor under where the compressor would be. The repair man that came out said don't worry about it. It won't start a fire. This has changed the color of my vinyl flooring and i'm worried that it could start a fire at some time. Have you ever had the same complaint and is this something common in this model. (#[protected]) please respond to my question. Thank you carolyn bish - - [protected]@comcast. Net

I called Sears for repair service on two garage door openers still under warranty. They scheduled appointment for Fridad 2/20/09 They made me wait all day and never showed up. When I called Sears, they apologized and explained that due to a mistake on their part, they put me down for service on that day but their system did not assign my ticket order to a Technichian. Therefore, nobody showed up. I called 5 different times that day and when asked to be transferred to a Supervisor, Reps kept dropping the call. When I finally talked to a Supervisor, he claimed that someone should still show up. When I told him that 4 other people had already told me differently, he stated that those people were mistaken that someone should still show up today. I told him I disagreed with him . He said his name was Brian, he was a supervisor in the 800 Repair center and that I was the one mistaken. I hung up and called back again. And of course, the rep on the phone told me again that nobody will be coming today.

SEARS NO LONGER CARES ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS ANYMORE!

Beware beware beware if there was a rating lower than -100, that's where this should be rated! This is the worst piece of junk available.

Purchased just two weeks ago, an auto sensor is supposed to sense the weight of the clothing and fill to the appripriate water level. It does not provide enough water to get the garments wet. Your only other option with any sears machine equipped with this auto load sensor is to raise the lid and have the washer fill to the maximum level — if that will in fact happen... It usually didn't... No water savings there. Beware here too... Once you start the cycle, if you lift the lid for any reason (Such as to add a hankie) your only fill option is to the maximum level... Something the local sales people did not know. The machine resets and weighs the water in the basket and provide water to wash the water!

The agitator captures and rips the clothing under the fins. Huge design flaw.

You must run the spin cycle 2-3 times to remove water. Even on the heavy bedding cycle, you can ring excessive amounts of water by hand out of lingerie! It would be impossible to remove water from towels! They would be soaked.

There is a loud "klunk" and shutter every time the cycles change. Sounds like something is trying to break apart.

While you can select water temperature, the machine does not mix warm water... Your clothing is subjected to alternating hot and cold water being dumped in... Great for delicate/knits.
All sears and whirlpool models do this, but the salespeople don't know that either. Check the manual, bottom of page 4.

The matching 800 series dryer is equally terrible. It takes three cycles to dry one light weight knit top. The auto moisture sensor goes on and off... As a result the heat goes on and off... While the dryer continues to operate, consuming 220v of electricity. No energy savings there. The only way we were able to dry clothing was on a very long timed cycle at the hottest cotton setting. The clothing comes out of the dryer twisted and wrinkled. Everything required ironing.

The original delivery person did not test the washer... Simply pulled out the knob to see if the water was filling and declared the washer "operational". He refused to install the dryer vent stating we had the "wrong part" for the vent kit. I installed the vent kit myself. Apparently the installer simply didn't want to be bothered.

Yesterday we arranged to have these lemons returned and purchased a more expensive set. The delivery person just left... The new washer is sitting at the front door where the delivery person left it as he would not remove the "old" washer as removal wasn't on his "work order". The new dryer door fell off during unpacking, so we refused delivery. The two week old set won't be picked up until sunday.

Sears service (Despite their overly polite 1-800-4-myhome operators) is terrible... I have low expectations for the new washer/dryer ($1800 on sale!).
The government has mandated a 21% increase in energy efficiency... No energy savings here... Only frustration.

On 10 December, Sears serviced our washing machine. After paying $70.86 for a new pump, we were charged another $141.00 (+ $11.63 tax) for labor. This labor took 20 minutes to perform, which means that you are charging us $423 per hour! You sent out a technician; not a lawyer! This is OUTRAGEOUS!

If you reduce the labor from $141.00 to $41.00, you will still be charging us $123.00 per hour for labor, which should be more than enough! I have already heard the excuse that you don�t charge by the hour; I don�t care, you charged us $141.00 for 1/3 of an hour�s work, so that is $423 per hour!

I have phoned your company several times to complain, and ask for an adjustment of at least $100 on this $223.49 bill, but all I get is attitude from your telephone reps; they say that they can not make adjustments to this bill.

The matter is very simple, at this point; either you reduce this bill to a reasonable amount, or I will no longer do any business with your company, and I will make it my mission in life to tell everyone I know about your outrageous billing practices.

Do you think that customer service like this may be part of the reason that your stock has been down as much as 86% from its high, while Walmart has only been down 26%? All of the hype that I heard about what a great manager you are is obviously a load of crap! It is my fondest hope that SHLD goes bankrupt and that you are ousted as Chairman!

Received a pair of Ked shoes for Xmas. Not what I wanted. Went to Sears to change to a different shoe. This Ked was selling for $45 on the shelf. They wanted to give me $9 and resell them for $45 because I didn't get a receipt with the gift. Not only would they be making $36 off my daughter who bought them for me, but $36 from me to buy another pair--even the same shoe but different model. This is an unfair business practice as well as totally unacceptable. What kind of integrety does this store have? I even spoke with the manager. So wrong!

I purchased a Washer/Dryer combo for a great price on 11/28/08. It was purchased at a doorbuster sale for Black Friday. As of now 2/18/09 I still have not had my washer and dryer delivered as they keep rescheduling delivery due to overselling the product. I thought products were delivered on a first-come first-serve basis but not with Sears. No information was given at the time of purchase that I would need to wait three months for delivery. The new delivery date is 3/7/09. Sears customer service is non-existent. I am currently on hold with Sears. I urge consumers to steer clear of Sears and their advertised "door-buster" sales.

Ok I have been trying to get my equifax and sears crap cleared up with my visa I had back in 2002. It shows on my equifax I still owe 1430.00 however I declared bankruptcy in 2002, was discharged in 2003 and the sears gave me a r9 which is the worst mark for credit, I have called several times and never get anyone who speaks just plain old english! I have emailed I have phoned over and over and nothing is getting done!
Then they called my house 1 time but at 530 in the damn morning! Never returned my call.
I want this cleared up nowand it aint happening and I am getting very mad!
Lisa tosoff

I bought a Natuzzi® 'Catania II' Sofa just over 2 years ago in Toronto, Ontario. To our surprise, one side of the sofa recently fell in (down). To our even greater surprise, when the sofa was turned over to see what damage was done and what could be done to repair it, underneath the backing was not "engineered frames' made from european hardwoods" as Sears advertised but good old fashioned particle board! I cannot believe I was told that this sofa had a hardwood frame. Sears Canada is not responsible for the sofa since I moved to the USA. The 10 year warranty on parts is Natuzzi's responsibility as per Sears Customer Service. Unfortunately, Natuzzi says it is Sears responsibility. Now I am stuck with a very expensive broken sofa, and two corporations who could care less.

Sears-Kenmore Laundry Washers Suck! || Risking Life, Limb and Serious Property Damage

http://searskenmoresucks.com.sapo.pt/

Last week at the Visalia, Ca. Sears, a much-liked manager named Shelley Jackson was fired for a contrived reason (they told her they were eliminating her position entirely); the real reason that she was let go is because she looks too old. Sears has an ongoing problem with age discrimination, and the Visalia Sears is a classic example of this.

Shelley was replaced with a 27-year-old who is in way over her head. She's a nice person, but she is not ready for a position that is as wide-ranging as the one that Shelley handled so well.

Run for the hills before you purchase a maintenance agreement with sears!

Contacted sears and purchased offered maintenance agreement on my maytag dryer.

Requested service 2/05/09 serviceman arrived promptly a day later with no parts for my dryer on truck. Evaluated the dryer and was told that I needed a moteor but did not have any (Or ever did) on truck. This was after I gave to model, serial number to service & told them it was already looked at & needed to orer part (Duh!) told they would order the parts and schedule return date but over a week later.

Now the technician proceeds to tell me he doesn't carry any of those parts on the truck & I would need to take off another day of work & wait the 1-2 weeks to have it repaired! Then of course I have to listen about his "knowing it all" about what he does, & I could call & cancel if I wnted to. That plus a whole lot more of policy, etc... Failing to tell me I still have to wait a day to cancel! Noiw I get on the phone to 4 different people & yes have to tell my story 4 different times (So who is really mad now!) & get no better service than I am an executive, call another number to file a complaint, the part takes weeks to get in (No stock on hand?) we did the best we can do! Our technicians can't carry all on truck? Well, wasn't the tech told it needed a new motor, given serial & model numbers & oh yeah! This dryer has been worked on before, didin't they have record (Was told info was misplaced (Yeah right!) I think it is a scam! The original call that was made was by a service to do nothing more than sell you a service contract not not not contected to sears at all! The technician was ill prepared, arrogant, quasi knowledgeable & rude! Do not gt scammed & call your local appliance repairman, they can give you the best service of all! I do have 6 other appliances that was bought trough sears & repaired for 10 years (Up till now) guess who just lost a lot of business! No wonder they are going broke!

We purchased an expensive treadmill from Sears some years ago. Approximately one year ago it failed and we called for service. The service man came out and repaired the machine, which we paid for. The machine failed again and we called for service. Another service man arrived, walked in the door and within five minutes looked in his service computer and announced "there are no parts available, I cannot repair this." We were expected to pay $109 for this service call in which no service whatsoever was rendered. We do not intend to pay for this and will never buy another product from Sears. If something is purchased from Sears, serviced by Sears, then they should know before they dispatch someone whether they can service it or not without expecting the consumer to pay for a useless service call.