<p>I saw a blurb on Sear’s earnings and the headline was pretty critical of management. Here’s a little on the store.</p>
<p>Eddie Lampert the Connecticut hedge-fund tycoon who took control of Sears and Kmart six years ago has long idolized billionaire Warren Buffett as a professional role model.</p>
<p>But while Lampert dazzled with early returns and has mimicked Buffetts folksy letters to shareholders, critics say the similarities end there with disastrous results for the two iconic retail brands of Sears Holdings.</p>
<p>Yesterday, the two aging retail chains reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss of $421 million nearly twice as steep as a year ago fueling a sharp drop in the companys once-healthy cash reserves.</p>
<p>We bought our refrigerator about 23 years ago from a local appliance store that had a big emphasis on customer service. The one that they delivered had a door-closure problem which we pointed out to the delivery people. They called the store and the store agreed to take back the old one and give us a new one. The refrigerator is still in use today. There are a few small plastic cracks on the inside that I’d like to fix but it works fine as a refrigerator. BTW, the price was somewhere around $300.</p>
<p>We also bought a washer and dryer set from Sears. I think that it was around $500 for both. The dryer works but the washer broke after about eight years. I think that the pump that evacuates water broke. I’m amazed at the stories about appliances these days with stuff breaking within the first five years of service.</p>
<p>One other story: a friend of mine lost his washing machine. The piece that held the tub up had corroded and broken. He welded it back together and it’s back up and running. I wouldn’t be surprised if the thing was at least 30 years old. I suppose that you could argue that modern machines are more energy and water efficient but I get the feeling that there’s a lot of junk sold at high prices with poor service.</p>
<p>We also will never buy from Sears again. We bought a Sears ride on lawn mower one Spring. The following spring when it came to the first mow of the year we discovered it the motor had died. It was 2 days out of warranty and they were quite obnoxious at the local store. I know they were within their rights, but it really turned us off. You’d think they’d have some pride in their own products. So now we have a large red lawn sculpture and my husband mows our acre with an electric push mower. We won’t ever shop there again either.</p>
<p>I’ve had okay experiences with Sears. But I have found it annoying that the deliverers aren’t also the installers so that you sign that something appears to be working and then it may or may not be when the plumber comes. I’ve had this experience with every big store I’ve dealt with.</p>
<p>My best experience? I was so angry with my stove (which wouldn’t light) that I was determined to get a new one. I went into a local Mom and Pop appliance store and he persuaded me to have his guy look at it and see if it was an easy repair. He sent a guy over in a raging blizzard that same day and it was a $100 fix. He could easily have sold me a new stove. When I redo my kitchen he’s getting my business.</p>
<p>Maybe we just got lucky but we bought a Bosch dishwasher at Sears last Saturday. Sears delivered and installed it Monday night. All good with a few minor complaints: salesman could have been more knowledgeable about the products though he worked hard to make sure we got any available discount; installation - late evening, not finished til 9:00 p.m. I can’t say we would have had any better luck elsewhere. I really think it’s luck of the draw.</p>
<p>It seems that good customer service anywhere is completely the luck of the draw. If you can talk to a person with some experience and doesn’t mind doing more than the bare minimum then your problem has a better chance of being resolved.</p>
<p>I can’t tell you how many times I have had a problem and everyone you deal with acts like you’re speaking a foreign language. Then you finally get the one person that actually cares and they find your problem is a simple mistake that is easily fixable.</p>
<p>The other thing that irks me is when I solve my own customer service problems. The person on the other end of the phone is completely clueless and I have to keep making suggestions, “Well, what if we do this or can we try this?”. Honestly, no one at your company has figured out this solution before? Unbelievable.</p>
<p>Interesting thread…A few years back I had tried to get in touch with their corporate office and the number was no where to be found on the internet. I finally just wrote an email however they are taking a huge hit because of their relationship with their customers.
I just looked on line now and the phone number is still not easy to find. Maybe Sears Corporate does not want to deal with these issues and prefers that the major complaints go through customer service.</p>
<p>I’m sad to read all these horror stories. For the last 22 years, I’ve bought every appliance at Sears and am loyal to Kenmore. Never had a single issue. </p>
<p>I guess I’ll proceed with caution from now on. :(</p>
HiMom:
If you were planning to have a plumber install it anyway then I think this is a good idea. They can sometimes get some pretty good prices on items and make their money on the install. It’s definitely worth a check, especially if you have a plumber you like. You can always compare the price for the DW the plumber gives you with what you see for the same model in the stores.</p>
<p>A friend bought a DW from Sears because they happened to have a Bosch DW on sale for a good price. It was ordered from the Sears website and delivered to the nearby store but then we went to the store and picked it up ourselves and the friend installed it himself so we had no issues with delivery/install.</p>
<p>I’ve had good luck buying my appliances from actual appliance stores. The prices are usually less and the customer service usually better. I install all my own stuff so I haven’t had to deal with that aspect. </p>
<p>I guess you may have fewer choices of places to shop for things like this in Hi though.</p>
<p>We don’t buy any of our appliances at big box stores, because we fear the poor customer service that has been stated in this thread. We buy all of our appliances from our local True Value Hardware store, which functions like a small hometown hardware store of yesteryear. The first appliance we bought there, a refrigerator, they price matched HD’s price. Since then, we just pay their price because we have been so happy with their service and we want to keep them in business.</p>
<p>Well, this morning, I tried to call the person at Sears I have been dealing with to ask what the heck is going on. The phone range for a while & then I was hung up on without anyone speaking on the phone! It was pretty rude, so I called another of their toll-free numbers and spoke with Dawn, who was very pleasant. I asked her why the website still shows the product is available though I got an email that says I won’t get the product because it’s no longer available. She said that sometimes their computer inventory isn’t up to date but that she has sent an email to the guy who has been working with me to give me a call & get back to me so we can clarify things and let the installer know what’s going on. </p>
<p>Oh well, I can still work with the plumber, whom we like very much. He may know where we can get a good dishwasher that will WORK and not have all these hassles getting the product. We also need to ask him if he has any idea where our water pipeline runs, so we don’t accidentally have it burst when we have the three large trees removed from our front yard. H has burst one of the pipes in the past by putting a pick through the copper water pipe! The plumber came & repaired it–on a weekend. We’ve been using the plumber now for many years & like him & all his staff!</p>
<p>Don’t know about many places that carry appliances in our city. Will have to explore some of these smaller options and see if they are helpful.</p>
<p>I will never buy an appliance from Sears again, either. Last year, our Kenmore top of the line dishwasher stopped working. Although we had an extended warranty, they fixed only part of it. </p>
<p>I called ‘customer service’ and got a person I could barely understand who was located in Indian or Bangladesh or one of those places. They never tell you. The problem was I didn’t understand him due to his accent and he was too low on the totem pole to address the problem. So I asked for the number of someone in the United States who had the authority to resolve my issue. </p>
<p>Well, at that request, the fit hit the fan. He accused me of being ‘racist’ for wanting to talk to someone in the United States. </p>
<p>That made me mad. So I called the Chicago headquarters and asked for the Vice-President of Customer Service. They transferred me to a man in Dallas, who was very nice. I told him the story of being accused of being ‘racist’ by one of their foreign customer service call center people. He refunded the money I’d spent on the service call. </p>
<p>(Had it just been the problem with the dishwasher and the service call itself, I wouldn’t have gotten satisfaction. I had to play the race card. ha.)</p>
<p>But after that I will never buy from Sears again.</p>
<p>So far, the Sears people I’ve actually spoken with do appear to speak without accents. I’m not sure where they’re located. Am hoping my plumber will have some ideas. Am glad that the dishwasher isn’t that crucial for us anyway (tho H may not agree, since he’s our main dishwasher). Hopefully we can get SOMETHING installed & working before the kids come home, but we’ll have to see. ;)</p>
<p>Buying from Sears, Best Buy, or Home Depot is just asking for trouble every single time. Why give these poor stores your hard earned money? They deserve to go ours of business. </p>
<p>And trust me, they will. Especially Sears in very short order.</p>
<p>My H likes to buy tools from Sears because of their lifetime warranty- of course he can bring in the tool to be replaced & not have to wait for them to come out.</p>
<p>We have bought a warranty from them before only to have them attribute it to another appliance, so then the one we wanted it for wasn’t covered.</p>
<p>We have had good luck so far fixing things ourselves.</p>
<p>I still remember fondly the time I asked the Sears salesperson why the racks in the oven we were looking at were configured the way they were, with a raised lip on the front. he launched into a long, convoluted explanation. I got the oven home and realized that the racks were just installed backwards and upside down. Ha, ha!! Obviously the guy was just making stuff up. that being said, I have purchased from sears before with no major problems,</p>
<p>Well, the guy I spoke with this morning confirmed that now they suddenly no longer have the dishwasher I’m interested in and it is NO LONGER AVAILABLE, even tho the website says it is & can be delivered as early as 11/18! Must be a sign that I need to go elsewhere.</p>
<p>I admit H LOVES Sears–especially the ability to get parts & finding things on-line to maintain his old purchases.</p>
<p>OK, am now thinking about expanding my horizons and buying a Whirlpool, which was also highly rated by Consumer Reports and others. One bonus is that it should be easier to get it repaired than the Bosch & should be easier to acquire.</p>
Obviously the guy was just making stuff up. that being said, I have purchased from sears before with no major problems,</p>