Sometime in April, our dishwasher broke. When you have a huge family like I do, having a dishwasher is really important.
On April 20, 2010 our experience with Sears Outlet – Online Department Store Featuring Applicances, Tools, etc. – began.
This is a series on my experience with Sears as I tried to buy a Dishwasher and have it delivered and installed.
- Part 1 of Customer Experience with Sears
- Part 2 of Customer Experience with Sears
- Part 3 of Customer Experience with Sears
Here is my experience. But, first, the timeline 1:
- April 20, 2010: Went to sears.com to schedule a technician visit. I thought that my dishwasher could be repaired, so I called the Kenmore people, which Sears owns 2.
- April 22, 2010: Service technician arrives, assesses our Sears Dishwasher Appliance, tells us it’s broken, and suggests that we buy a new one. Okay, he gives us a deal for a nice Kenmore Green, Energy Star Sears Appliance. The Sears technician said that the Sears Kenmore Dishwasher Appliance is broken and will cost more to fix than to replace. We buy a Dishwasher from the technician and tells us that it’ll be delivered and installed on May 12, 2010 and that someone will call us on May 11, 2010.
- May 11, 2010: No phone call.
- May 12, 2010: Sears installation – No Show, No install.
- May 13, 2010: I called Sears Outlet to inquire about our Kenmore Green, Energy Star Dishwasher. I was transferred 4 times, 36 minutes on the phone. They apologized and promised to install our Sears, Kenmore, Energy Star Dishwasher Appliance on May 14, 2010.
- May 14, 2010: Sears Outlet Service Technician – No show.
- May 17, 2010: I called Sears Outlet Customer Service. Transferred 8 times, 47 minutes total on phone. I cancelled the Green Appliance, Energy Star Sears Dishwasher.
- May 28, 2010: My money will be refunded into my account by this date. I should have just gone to Best Buy.
Sears Customer Satisfaction
Suffice it to say, I’m still washing our dishes by hand. I’m not happy with Sears and I won’t be shopping there again.
Let me be clear: I’m not interested in bad mouthing brands or companies, but I want to provide some simple things Sears can do to improve the Sears brand image, improve the Sears Service.
In Part 2, I’ll share what I know of Sears Logistics, Sears Field Operations, and Sears Key Performance Indicators (KPI).
This is a series on my experience with Sears as I tried to buy a Dishwasher and have it delivered and installed.
- Part 1 of Customer Experience with Sears
- Part 2 of Customer Experience with Sears
- Part 3 of Customer Experience with Sears
- Sears Outlet is Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more where you can shop for Craftsman tools, Kenmore appliances, tires, mowers, electronics, and much more. Get service and installation help from the Sears Blue Crew. Sears: Life. Well Spent. ↩
- Sears Grand is a chain of hypemarket department stores typically located away from shopping malls. Many Sears Grand locations are retrofit remodels of existing kmart supercenter stores. They carry everything a Sears Full-Line store carries, plus health and beauty products, toys, baby care, cleaning supplies, home décor, pet food, cards and party supplies, books, magazines, music, Little Caesars Pizza station, movies, and a selection of groceries which is limited mostly to dry goods. Sears Grand stores range from 165,000 to 210,000 square feet (15,300 to 19,500 m²).The first Sears Grand opened at Jordan Landing in West Jordan, Utah in 2003. At 225,000 square feet (20,900 m2), the Jordan Landing store is currently the largest in the chain.Sears Essentials is a chain of department stores that are common retrofit remodels of existing Kmart stores. Their product lines are similar to that of Sears Grand stores. Current locations include: Elmhurst, IL, East Ridge, TN (now closed from a recent flood), Bethlehem, PA, Lakeland, FL and West Palm Beach, FL.Sears Appliance.Hardware, formerly Sears Outlet and Sears Hardware is a chain of hardware stores that carry the whole line of Sears hardware and are usually free-standing. More than 110 Sears Appliance & Hardware stores averaging 40,000 square feet serve customers nationwide. Stores were expanded to include Sears’ full line of appliances in 2005. Sears Optical is a chain of off-mall optical shops which carries all the same products and services as the optical department at regular Sears stores.Sears Hometown Stores, LLC, (formerly known as Sears Authorized Dealer Stores) is part of the retail operation of Sears Holdings Corporation and is a small store version of Sears full-line department stores. Sears Hometown Stores provides a bricks-and-mortar, standalone store front through two owner operated formats.Sears Traditional Hometown Store established in 1993 is the locally owned and operated store and Sears Home Appliance Showroom established in 2007 is the leader in home appliance shopping. The stores are located away from shopping malls and meet customers’ needs in local communities across the United States and Puerto Rico. Both formats carry the national power of Sears’ brands, products, and services combined with an entrepreneurial spirit to serve customers in predominantly rural and some metro communities and the new name was adopted in 2009.Sears Department Store is a chain of department stores that are located in shopping malls; they carry clothing, jewelry, home appliances, hardware, lawn and garden supplies, lawn mowers, paint, sporting goods, automobile repair, office supplies, electronics and school supplies. Sears stores are usually multi-level.There are 926 full-size Sears stores in the United States. There are also 301 Sears locations in Canada and 66 in Mexico. The largest Sears Department Store is located at the Toronto Eaton Centre in Canada.Sears Hardware Stores are chains of small hardware stores usually located in small towns that are far away from a larger Sears department store. They carry Sears’ complete line of Craftsman tools, plus things like paint, electrical wiring, water heaters, tractor-mowers, bug zappers, thermostats, etc., generally things you would find in hardware stores, but only Sears’ brands. Many of these “Hardware” stores have been changed over to Sears Appliance & Hardware Stores, but there are still many of the original ones left, usually in smaller markets.Sears Outlet is an outlet version of Sears department stores located in various retail locations across the United States. The stores carry new, one-of-a-kind, out of carton, discontinued, used, scratched and dented merchandise at 2060% off regular retail price. While a wide variety of products are available, appliances make up a large majority of available merchandise.Sears Parts & Repair Center is a chain of service centers that typically sell parts for lawn & garden equipment and appliances and also feature a carry-in point for customers to bring-in merchandise which needs to be repaired, either in or out of warranty. Typically labeled Sears Service Center or Sears Home Central, two names that also refer to the Parts and Repair Centers. Sears has started closing many of these down as more and more of its service and repair business is home-based.The Great Indoors is a chain of free-standing home decor stores that carry high end home appliances, bedding, and kitchen and bath fixtures. The Great Indoors also offers custom kitchen and bathroom design services. The Great Indoors stores are 130,000 square feet (12,000 m²) on average.Lands’ End aside from carrying the Lands’ End clothing line at Sears stores, Sears Holdings also operates 16 Lands’ End stores that carry only Lands’ End clothing. These stores are located in outlet malls and regular malls.Orchard Supply Hardware is a chain of free-standing hardware stores that carry home repair, hardware products and lawn and garden supplies. Orchard Supply Hardware stores are 40,000 square feet (4,000 m²). There are currently 84 stores, all of them in California. Sears now owns 80.1% of the chain, and revealed intentions in May 2005 to spin it off. Richard Karn of Home Improvement fame was a spokesman for the chain.
A&E Factory Service is the newest name for Sears’ longstanding on-site repair service, servicing larger items such as home appliances, electronics, and garden equipment. The A&E brand name was purchased from Montgomery Ward, which used it for their home service unit, and is a joint venture held by Whirlpool and Sears Holdings. A & E Factory Service is a network of mobile service vans with a long history of performing appliance repairs. ↩
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Mark Graban says
All of the other ridiculousness aside, why would they make you wait from April 22 to May 12 to get the dishwasher even if that went well? They don’t have these in a warehouse ready to deliver?
Supply chain FAIL and customer service FAIL.
Joe - ReturnCustomer.com says
My bad appliance experience with Sears is what motivated me to start my blog 5 years ago. They improperly installed our gas range/oven such that we had a slow gas leak. That one could have killed us all according to the gas company that came out to fix it.
robert sochor says
Today= may 26
april20, sears technician checks my Central AC. We have a master protection agreement with Sears. Says unit must be replaced.
Today, may 26, after spending many hours on the phone, speaking with, so far, 18 sears representatives (most polite, a few stupid/rude) we still can’t get them to come to give the “written itemized estimate” for the replacement of the unit. This requirement is issued by Sears.
Not once, in all of our calls, have we been allowed to speak with a “supervisor” or manager. we have had this contract with sears since 1970.
They lie on the phone, usually politely, but they lie.
ron moore says
Glad I walked out of sears and went elsewhere. I was only mad because the sales person would not stop telling me how great the extended warranty is. I do not buy them.
Ron
jupmod says
Not surprise. Sears took a month to inform me that they can’t install an exterior AC for my mobile home, which is brand new. Like if their techs can’t install the AC in my unit, they should have told me when they came to look at my home! No, they have to call me instead. Wasted a month with Sears. I recommend to not ever use them for home improvement. Not ever.
Tanya says
This company is a disaster and it won’t change – the employees with a brain aren’t scheduled or are fired so managers can hire 16 year olds to party with. The technicians aren’t even trained. Sure go buy a 3 dollar shirt off the clearance rack that will shrink and fade (orginally price 36 dollars) but don’t buy something major in this cf company. No air conditioning in the stores either – so why would anyone think they could install AC in someones home?
thomas Leonard says
Worst repair service in the world!! Sears does not repair they merchandise on timely fashion. Have no recommendations for any one else either. This is 9/3/10 at Myrtle Beach, SC Sears. I have called the 800 number, I think china answered, and call the Myrtle Beach location, no on available. OK what do you want me to do with my food that is heating up!! I will bring to you, HA, I will not buy another product from some on that does not care about their customers!! I am telling everyone not to by from Sears.
Jack E. says
Well Sears, go to you no where. I went out to my freezer this past Friday September 3, 2010. To my surprise the Freezer had stopped working. As you can imagine I was stopped in my tracks. After checking everything from circut breaker to outlet, I finally realized that service was needed ASAP. I have a Sears service contract and have had it for 7 years, the freezer is 10 years old and never had a problem. This is only the second time I had a problem with any of the appliances I purchase from Sears. Well as you can imagine my freezer was fully loaded. I immediately called Sears service and told the representative what was wrong and that I needed to have emergency service within 24 hours. I also related that I had over 1000 dollars worth of food in the freezer. Well guess what? I was told that no one could come out to my house for another 6 days at the earliest. The re[ went as far to tell me that this was a holiday week-end and that it was impossible to get someone there earlier that September 9. I asked well what do I do with my food. I was told put it in the Refrigerator. I gagged. I wanted to talk to a Supervisor, and was told one would call mr back. Guess what? No one has called to this day 3 days later. Subsequently I called an outside service company, they came repaired it, (Loose Wire) and was surprised and was told the charge was only $40.00. Well Sears you can go pound salt. I am through with you and will never ever purchase another one of your products, and neither will any member of my family. In plain English. “GO TO BLAZES
Whitney Reynolds says
I had recently placed an order for a computer monitor online at Sears. LESS THAN 24 HOURS later, I realized it was the wrong size. We found the correct size at a local Sears. The Sears customer service reps INSISTED it could not be cancelled once placed (although 1 guy told me he cancelled it, and I would be getting my money returned, the lying that is mentioned above I’m sure, since after, they had no record of that). Needless to say, the one we found at a local Sears will be returned and bought at a different store, and I put a stop payment on their charge (so lets see them “NOT BE ABLE TO CANCEL” an order they have no money for)
Evy says
If you need home renovations, stay away from Sears Home Services !!
In fact, stay away from Sears altogether.
Formerly Sears Home Central. Don’t be fooled by a name change. It’s the same crowd who botched my roof job, with the same lousy attitude.
June 20, 2002, 25-year roof shingles and attic vents installed by Sears Home Central. They installed the ventilation improperly, causing premature deterioration of shingles, also water infiltration as a result of ice dams. I had requested that they make sure there was proper ventilation at the time of contract.
I called Sears rep the next day to express concern about the placement of Maxi Vent. It is half way down the roof. The rep, Ken Campbell, looked from the ground, from one side, never went up on the roof, never checked for blocked soffits or other vents interfering with the Maxi vent. Still he said it was good enough. Against my better judgment, all I could do was hope for the best.
That summer, I noticed excessive falling off of granules from shingles, a sign of trouble.
July 11, 2009, I noticed shingles becoming bare, curling and breaking. I called Sears Home Central to report this. It took several calls before someone got back to me.
July 31, Sears sends an inspector to have a look. Without hesitation, he informs me that the ventilation was not properly installed, that this was causing excessive heat buildup in the attic, and it was Sears’ fault. He told me that Sears would fix the ventilation and replace the shingles at no cost to me.
Meanwhile, I visit Maxi Vent website and found, according to their very clear instructions, that indeed the ventilation was all wrong.
Since that time, Sears has flatly refused to fix anything. All I get from Corporate Customer Service and the local manager in Ottawa is excuses, untruths and gobbledegook.
This is the most deplorable and shameful performance I have seen in my life. STAY AWAY FROM SEARS !!!
lochpas rahat says
Talk about sheer dishonesty. I have a 3-yr. warranty on my fridge. I was hoping to have my third visit this week, but supposedly, the warranty expired a couple weeks ago. The customer service rep insisted there was nothing they could do about it. I paid for the warranty—prepaid, essentially, for three years (they got their payment three years ag0). How could a two-week difference bar me from getting service that I had alraedy paid for? It doesn’t make sense to me.
The catch is this: the customer service rep said that my best option is to renew for another year—at the cost of $208 for one year. Are you kidding me, Sears? How much more disrespectful can your customer service people, approach, philosophy be? How much greedier can you get?
Do the right thing—for those of us who buy appliances from you. Have a social conscience and treat everybody well. You live well by hurting many of us who support your business.
Linda Woestendiek says
To all: I respectfully request no one purchase a mattress from either Sealy or Sears. I purchased a king-size through Sears (having their brand name) that I’ve had problems with – it has collapsed to the point I sink into a hole more than 6 inches deep. When I contacted them they referred me to Sealy saying it was their mattress with a Sears tag. Problem appears to be that I removed the tag that says it can only be removed by the “consumer”. They both claim my “warranty” paperwork would have spelled out the need to keep the tag. Funny thing is, I have never been given warranty info on any mattress I purchased (and I keep ALL that stuff!). Their collective answer has been to the tune of “too bad, so sad…” So much for their warranty…
Kathleen White says
I bought two jackets from Sears.com and it has been awful. One was not in stock, but they charged me anyway. No credit ever showed up on my account 10 days later. So I call my credit card company and find out not only did they fail to issue me a credit, they charged me twice for the entire order. Call Sears.com and guess what? They can’t see the financial transaction only the order information. It came from a store so we have to call the manager of the ladies department in South Carolina. Really? Are you fricking kidding me? Never, never buy anything from Sears. No wonder they are closing stores… I wish them well as their business goes in the toilet and deserving retail establishments take away all their customers!
Linda says
I, too, have suffered customer service abuse at the hands of Sears. After my last clothes washer quit working after only 5 years (I was told it would cost about as much to fix as to buy a new one), I sought out Sears. After all, my first clothes washer from Sears, a Kenmore, had worked for 20 years.
Aside from the point of sale sales pitch to buy the extended warranty, all went well until the day of delivery. The washer (white) was delivered and installed, but not before the delivery guys asked me what color pedestal (drawer) I had ordered for the washer. “White–of course,” was my reply. I was flabbergasted to hear the delivery guys tell me that they had a red pedestal in the truck for me. I told them to install the washer and that I would refuse the red pedestal and work out an exchange with the store.
I was advised by the delivery dispatcher from Sears (on the phone) to simply accept the red pedestal and store it so that an exchange could be worked out. This would save me from being potentially charged another delivery charge for the correct pedestal. I also learned that it was the sales associate who had keyed in the wrong color at the point of sale. I am still wondering if that was an intentional error or an accident since my purchase was made on a special “Friends and Family” sales night where associates are awarded according to sales volume. The red pedestal costs $30 more than the white one. So, the red pedestal, still in its original box, was placed in my garage and I made a special trip to the Sears store to negotiate the pedestal exchange. I was told–after 45 min. on the phone between me and the clerk–that they could not complete my exchange that day (about 3 pm) since the delivery truck had not returned to the warehouse for the day yet with their paperwork, etc. entow.
This was just the beginning of a maddening journey into horrible customer service and ineffective (regardless of politeness or rudeness) assistance.
How I am dealing with this crazy train called Sears? I have finally decided to return the red pedestal myself to the store from where I purchased, insist on a refund receipt, and make it their problem to get the red pedestal back to the warehouse. Incidentally, the warehouse is in the same relatively small city in which I reside.
From this point on in my lifetime, I will go out of my way to avoid Sears until they prove that they know how to provide effective customer service. I would agree with Gypsy Bandit’s remark about seeking out specialized stores instead of the department stores that try to do everything. It would seem that some of these department stores are now big enough that they NEED to fail in order to learn from their mistakes before us taxpayers are on the hook to bail them out, too.
Richard says
July 31, 2012
I, too, have had horrible customer service from Sears and I have no idea how they are remaining in business. I ordered a dishwasher and paid for the installation. The first time they came out the installers opened the crate and pronounced the dishwasher damaged. It was – dents all over the stainless steel door. Since they had already removed my old dishwasher they said they would install the damaged dishwasher until a new one was delivered. I said I didn’t need a dishwasher and they could take it back to the warehouse. They said, “it will be easier for you if we install it, and when the new one comes, they will just pull this one out.”
I called Sears and ordered a replacement of the same model. On the day it was due to be delivered, they called and said, “it will be delayed because that dishwasher was also damaged at the factory and we need to order a different one.” So, they said that it would be sent from the warehouse that evening and then installed the next day. The next day I get another automated call from Sears saying to call them because my installation would not happen. I called and was told, “your dishwasher never came from the warehouse so we can’t install it today.”
At this point, I am so irritated with Sears lack of quality control and customer service that I call them and cancel the entire order and tell them to refund my entire bill, including the installation charges. They claim they will do that. Then I have to call another number to arrange for the damaged dishwasher to be picked up. This is a major problem with Sears, you can’t talk to one office, no one takes responsibility for anything. You have to call at least three different 800 numbers. It is really horrible.
Story continues to get worse. I go to Lowes to order a dishwasher (which ends up being a terrific experience – totally different from Sears! ). While at Lowes, a driver for Sears calls and says they are at my door ready to install my new dishwasher. I explain, “that can’t be the case because Sears just called and said my dishwasher never arrived.” To which the installer says, “maybe that is why they gave me a box that doesn’t have your name on it – maybe this isn’t the right dishwasher.” Their supply chain is completely broken. A shambles.
A week later I finally get Sears out to take out the damaged dishwasher and take it back. I wait a few days to make sure I am being credited with a refund. Now the real fun begins. There is no credit for the installation charges because Sears refuses to refund the installation because I had a dishwasher installed. I advised them, “I didn’t want it installed, it was damaged, and your installer insisted that it was easier to install it now and when the new one arrived, this one would be taken out.”
After repeated calls to every customer service part of Sears I can think of, including their corporate office, I have still been told that they will not credit that cost. On top of that, their customer service manager told me they could not give me a name of any corporate officer over customer service, nor could they give me a telephone number. I have been given an email address in their corporate offices, and all the person does is respond to me in eamil referring me back to the same people I have already talked to.
My goal now is to alert everyone that buying any appliance from Sears is at your own risk. They are horrible at customer service and they do not stand behind their products or installation. What the company doesn’t realize is this has already cost them way more in lost sales – everyone at my office now knows my experience. I know of at least two lost sales.
Their process is totally broken and they aren’t interested in fixing it.
As I said earlier in the message – a totally different experience with the replacement dishwasher I ordered and had installed by Lowes. Great experience all the way through.
Vicki Barnes says
Here’s my story:
I would like a specific response to the following:
I purchased a gas stove and gas dryer from Sears in the Lakes Mall, Muskegon, MI. It was delivered on November 26, 2013.
1. Delivery men came to front door, came in and checked the location of appliances.
2. One person proceeded to unhook old oven and didn’t think it could be done because valve wouldn’t move. Told me that another technician would have to be called in and that in the meantime the new stove would have to be stored in the garage. His partner then came in and managed to do what the other couldn’t. Old stove was taken out via the front door and new stove brought in from the front door.(No one asked which door to use.) New stove was hooked up. Old appliance was then taken out the front door.
3. Next they were in the basement unhooking old gas dryer. I was upstairs with my grandson and smelled gas. One person was in the basement trying to cover the leak. The other person came up asking if I had any tape. I did and he went back downstairs. In the meantime, I’m opening every door and window in the house. My Grandson put on his coat and boots and exited the house.
4. I was told that the leak was under control. I wasn’t down stairs while all of this was going on because of everything else that needed my attention so I didn’t see everything that went on.
5. They again brought in the new dryer via the front door and took the old one out the same way. The logic of this escapes me since the side door would have been the most efficient route to both appliances.
6. Finally, they claimed success, showed me that the gas burners turned on and they were done. Exit the guys.
7. A little while later I went to the basement and my furnace was running but not producing heat. I called service but made no progress.
8. I had no choice at this point but to call the furnace business. Fortunately, someone could come out right away. Someone did and determined that the pilot light was out because of a dirty filter. So thought this must have just been a coincidence. Ninety-two dollars later it was fixed.
9. Shortly after that I decided to run a load of wash to see how the new dryer worked. It ran, but didn’t produce heat. I read the booklet, tried a different setting and got the same result. Too late to do anything and the next day would be Thanksgiving.
10. The next thing I found was that the gas hot water was no longer working. The pilot light was out on this as well. Fortunately my son was able to light it.
11. My conclusion is that when the original leak problem happened, in a panic, the guys turned off the gas lines to all of them. I called delivery and, yes, according to service who contacted them, they had turned everything back on. Well, I think it’s fairly obvious that simply turning the gas back on the furnace and water heater doesn’t make them produce. When the gas sources were turned off, the pilots went off!
12. Today I called about the dryer issue and won’t have a technician show up until December 4, somewhere between 8 am and 12 noon. I hope the person has some experience!
13. I am more than a little furious/frustrated and, at this point, will never again purchase an appliance from Sears. I’m very, very disappointed and am contemplating sending this message to the better bureau as well.
14. I would also like to be reimbursed for the furnace call.
Richard says
UPDATE:
On July 31, 2012, I copied my post on this blog and emailed my posting and the website address for this blog to Sears Corporate Customer Service and suggested they read the entire chronology of widespread customer service problems people are having.
At 10:00 am on August 1, 2012, I received a call from Sears installation department advising me that I would now be getting a full refund on my installation cost.
Linda says
Richard,
If only we had read shmula’s blog PRIOR to going to Sears. It would seem that the point at which Sears puts you on the meat hook is at delivery—when there is already problems with the delivery. They mislead you into thinking they are able to fix a seemingly “simple” exchange in the way they may have used to about 20+ years ago. I don’t understand why they seem to go out of their way to deliberately provide poor customer service other than corporate is simply engineering the downfall. I did learn through my experience, though, that Sears credit is under the Citibank umbrella. The story just keeps getting better…
Connie Gellatly says
I have dealt with Sears for more than 40 years and have had superior service until this past 2 years. I purchased a new washer and drier and bought an extended warantee which I had no problem with as I was told that if anything should go wrong with the washer it could be very costly to repair. When I called to make an appointment to have my washer checked out, a foreign sounding person tried to talk me into taking a 50 dollar Sears gift certificate in place of the them coming and checking my machine. I also found the salesperson less than trustworthy but |I will not go into that!! I have chosen to take my business elsewhere in the future.
Tom says
I wish I’d read this before we bought our Kenmore dishwasher. My most recent blog post is about how rotten the dishwasher is, and how Sears’ customer service is even worse. We’ll be hand-washing dishes until August 22nd. We bought the extended service plan, which means they have to keep fixing it for free every time it breaks, but as soon as it lapses we’re tossing the piece of junk and buying a GE somewhere else.
Mark Graban says
I don’t know if GE is any better… 1.3 million dishwashers recalled due to serious fire risk.
http://www.kval.com/news/consumertips/GE-Recalls-13-Million-dishwashers-due-to-fire-hazard-165678056.html
S. Riley says
I am shocked at the negative responses to Sears and it’s departments. I have dealt with Sears for over 50 years and have had little difficulty in the past with their service. However I find that the service in the past few years leave much to be desired. The changes they made were not for the best. It all began when they started charging for delivery, adding svc chgs on catalogue shopping etc and changing their all-around service in the stores. I find that while some of the sales clerks are very helpful some are not. I’ve come across some sales clerks as being rude especially on the cosmetic counters. They seem to be more interested in how THEY look and stand around in groups discussing lord knows what. I also find that they play very loud music that is certainly not relaxing and enjoyable. Having said that, I have had very good service from some of the staff in Clothing and Shoe Depts, but find a lot of the depts very messy.
My biggest complaint is trying to get service on the phone. If you finally get through to the service you need it is hard to sometimes understand the person who answers. All-in-all I’ve had no complaints in dealing with Sears for many years but since these changes began I am finding a big difference.
Pauline says
I bought a washer and dryer on Sept. 9 to be delivered on Sept. 12. Then they called me and rescheduled for Sept. 15. When they delivered it the dryer had a huge dent in the front. They took my old washer and dryer and said they would deliver a new one on the 29. That is 20 days after I had paid for it. I tried to call customer service after they left. I was hung up on twice, got a girl I could not understand, got transferred to a technicin who knew nothing about what was going on. In all I talked to 9 different people who knew nothing. I have used Kenmore appliances for over 50 years but this is my last time to ever buy anything there. If you can.t give better service than this I will soon see your company listed with the bankruptcies.
Linda says
Pauline,
I still remember all too well the cycles of getting passed around to people who know nothing. On top of that insult, it amounts to at least an hour wasted out of your day to deal with their ineffectiveness–and that wasted hour or more repeats itself each time you try to do your own customer service. Shmula submissions are good therapy for recovering from Sears abuse. Bankruptcy? I’m very surprised it has not happened yet. There must be some very deep pockets propping them up at this point or else they simply have not finished burning bridges with former loyal customers.
Roger Leahey says
Would you like to hear of an instance of Customer Service so bad that it is surreal? No doubt you are aware of numerous Sears store closing and fears of bankruptcy. Here’s what CNN said: For six years in a row, sales have declined at stores open for at least a year. The retailer lost $3.1 billion in 2011 amid criticism that stores had gotten too shabby and customer service lagged. This year is worse.
My customer no-service issue involves only $70, but serves to highlights atrociously bad Sears customer service.
My nine year old Kenmore hot water heater was working fine, but on October 4, I decided to do preventive maintenance on it. Common knowledge says that routine hot water heater maintenance would consist of replacing the anode and cleaning or replacing the 2 heater elements. This is what the Sears user manual for my hot water heater says. In a normal world, the tech would have come out and presented me with an estimate for replacing the nine year old anode and heating elements. Then, per Sears policy, I could deduct the cost of the service call from the cost of repairs.
Contrary to the user manual, the tech said my heater had no anode, even after I physically pointed the part out to him and offered to give him the part number. His only response was t o look at me with a puzzled expression. He also said the only maintenance he could do was to “see if everything was OK” – without inspecting any of the three parts above. After 10 minutes, he then presented me with a $70 bill and left, but not before offering to sell me a $60 a year maintenance contract. He stated the contract would cover everything forever, as long as I paid my $60 a year. I asked if there was some way I could see this contract, but he said no; You have to buy the contract before you can see it. I have copies in my truck, but the company doesn’t like me to give them out.
As he was leaving, I asked if I could inspect the heating elements myself. He said Yes, but you will need a socket wrench and you need to drain the tank.
The tech had completely failed to do his job and I paid for nothing. I called the Sears Resolution Hotline (888-236-1885). The lady on the phone said she couldn’t help me as she did not know what an anode rod was, so she transferred me to the hot water department. In all, I was transferred to seven different customer service people. (The anode rod is used to attract corrosive elements that would otherwise attack the tank.)
Next, I got an email from Sears:
Please see below for the results of our research.
Record Number: 6224390
Research Request: Reviewed charges on service order number 40018352, for the water Heater
Research Results: All charges are correct
No explanation and none of the issues were discussed.
After another email from me, here’s the explanation I received:
We understand your concerns regarding your water heater. Our records
show that the technician only charged for the trip charge. He did not
charge for any additional work as there was no additional work done.
This is why the research team states the charges are correct.
Unbelievably, the tech said everything is fine and no maintenance needed to be done on my nine year old water heater and Sears customer service completely agrees with this.
I do not want another atrocious Sears technician to come to my home after the experience I have just had with BOTH their technician and their customer service. In fact, I am seriously contemplating installing a razor wire fence around my home specifically to keep out the Sears Blue Service Crew.
Vicki Barnes says
I would like a specific response to the following:
I purchased a gas stove and gas dryer from Sears in the Lakes Mall, Muskegon, MI. It was delivered on November 26, 2013.
1. Delivery men came to front door, came in and checked the location of appliances.
2. One person proceeded to unhook old oven and didn’t think it could be done because valve wouldn’t move. Told me that another technician would have to be called in and that in the meantime the new stove would have to be stored in the garage. His partner then came in and managed to do what the other couldn’t. Old stove was taken out via the front door and new stove brought in from the front door.(No one asked which door to use.) New stove was hooked up. Old appliance was then taken out the front door.
3. Next they were in the basement unhooking old gas dryer. I was upstairs with my grandson and smelled gas. One person was in the basement trying to cover the leak. The other person came up asking if I had any tape. I did and he went back downstairs. In the meantime, I’m opening every door and window in the house. My Grandson put on his coat and boots and exited the house.
4. I was told that the leak was under control. I wasn’t down stairs while all of this was going on because of everything else that needed my attention so I didn’t see everything that went on.
5. They again brought in the new dryer via the front door and took the old one out the same way. The logic of this escapes me since the side door would have been the most efficient route to both appliances.
6. Finally, they claimed success, showed me that the gas burners turned on and they were done. Exit the guys.
7. A little while later I went to the basement and my furnace was running but not producing heat. I called service but made no progress.
8. I had no choice at this point but to call the furnace business. Fortunately, someone could come out right away. Someone did and determined that the pilot light was out because of a dirty filter. So thought this must have just been a coincidence. Ninety-two dollars later it was fixed.
9. Shortly after that I decided to run a load of wash to see how the new dryer worked. It ran, but didn’t produce heat. I read the booklet, tried a different setting and got the same result. Too late to do anything and the next day would be Thanksgiving.
10. The next thing I found was that the gas hot water was no longer working. The pilot light was out on this as well. Fortunately my son was able to light it.
11. My conclusion is that when the original leak problem happened, in a panic, the guys turned off the gas lines to all of them. I called delivery and, yes, according to service who contacted them, they had turned everything back on. Well, I think it’s fairly obvious that simply turning the gas back on the furnace and water heater doesn’t make them produce. When the gas sources were turned off, the pilots went off!
12. Today I called about the dryer issue and won’t have a technician show up until December 4, somewhere between 8 am and 12 noon. I hope the person has some experience!
13. I am more than a little furious/frustrated and, at this point, will never again purchase an appliance from Sears. I’m very, very disappointed and am contemplating sending this message to the better bureau as well.
14. I would also like to be reimbursed for the furnace call.
lynne kennedy says
My dishwasher broke down on Aug. 15/15 after several calls to the service dept. they finally sent someone to repair it. The motor was gone. No problem they said we will get you a new one . I had bought the extended warranty so after waiting a couple of weeks and them posponing my service calls they said they didn’t have the part and it would be available in Sept. no problem I said I can wait !!! Then a phone call a few weeks later offering a buy out of $300.00 the dishwasher is only 4 years old and I was told by the gentleman on the phone that they are only guaranteed for 7 years oh great that made me feel alot better. The buyout is to put toward another dishwasher from Sears so I asked him why would I want to buy anything at Sears again, I had a similar experence with my icemaker but thats another storey all together. So as it stands now I was told that the part would be available in November just got a call lastnight to say opps sorry probably January 2016 !!!!! I also ordered a utensil tray for the dishwasher that has disinigrated that was in June no sign of that either. I will never buy anything from Sears again!!!!!