FINALLY!!!! Sears Comes Through!!!!

In my on-going Sears elliptical battle, I took a reader's advice and wrote a letter to the company. But instead of sending it to the president of the company, I sent it to the local store manger. Here's what happened:

1. I got a call from the local customer service person and I told him my story. He said he'd discuss it with the store manager and the manager would call me.

2. Two weeks later, no call from the manager. I called the customer service guy. He apologized and said he'd handle it and I should be hearing from the manager soon.

3. Two weeks later, no call from the manager. I called the customer service guy. He apologized and said he'd handle it and I should be hearing from the manager soon.

4. This time I DID hear from the manager. He said he was trying to resolve the situation to my satisfaction (a store credit for anything in the store -- NOT just for elliptical equipment.) He said I'd hear from him in a couple days.

5. He called me back a day or so later and said he needed my driver's license number to complete the information. I told him there was no way I was giving out my driver's license number. In the past, my home phone number was all that Sears needed to keep track of my issue and that's all they were getting. He said that he might not be able to process the return then. If not, he'd call me back. And if I didn't hear from him, all was well.

6. Three days later I received a $500 Sears gift card in the mail!

Thanks to Sears for finally doing the right thing. It took awhile (and a lot of persistence from me), but once I found that one person willing to do the right thing (the local customer service guy), it all worked out.

Comments

[rwh]

I'm glad you got some satisfaction. I don't suppose it's a universal card good at other stores:)

I have very mixed feelings about Sears. Sometimes I wonder how they stay in business. I remember it wasn't that long ago they started to accept Visa/Mastercard, sometime in the 1990s, long after I could use the card virtually anywhere else.

Then there is the issue of Craftsman tools. The power tools ain't what they used to be. I have an orbital sander and 7" circular saw I bought in the 70s that still work great. But the reciprocating saw I bought about 5 years ago gave out not long after the warranty expired. And I think I commented this winter on what crap their Craftsman snow blower is.

But surprisingly, you can still buy jeans, jackets, work clothes etc. for a competitive price, and they still have name brands like Levi, which of course are now made somewhere in Asia. And we just bought a dishwasher there last year and the Sears contracted guy installed it. So far it works fine.

[Mike S]

Congrats FMF,

I've been following this one from the beginning. I'm glad they finally did something for you. Good job staying on top of it and not backing down.

[Funny about Money]

I've heard nothing but bad things about Sears service under its new management regime. Consumer Reports always plugs Kenmore kitchen and laundry appliances, but after these tales and a few of my own experiences, I'm beginning to have my doubts.

There's no excuse for them to demand your driver's license number. What does your driver's license have to do with anything?

They also demand your telephone number, and of course if you're having a refrigerator delivered you have no choice but to give it over. You can tell them no phone solicitation, and the sales guy will say he's putting a note to that effect in the computer and promise you will not get any sales calls. Within a day, you'll start getting telephone solicitations. I had to threaten them with legal action to make them quit pestering me on an almost daily basis with phone sales calls.

Service there goes up and down. For years, I wouldn't shop at Sears at all because of the abysmal quality of their customer service. Then they improved. They seem to be back on a downhill slide again. How DO they stay in business?

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[Laurie]

A Sears story from 20 years ago: my dad was standing in the tool department trying to find someone to help him. The phone started ringing, and rang, and rang, and rang. He finally picked it up, said "no one works here any longer", and hung up. Walked out of the store and hasn't been back.

My own Sears story is so bad I won't go into it here, as it raises my blood pressure to dangerous levels. I am a calm person, but at the end of a 50 minute phone call was stomping around telling my husband I was going to find a local Sears store and bomb it.

We don't shop there any longer. How DO they stay in business??? It's baffling, but if they go down the tubes in the recession, they can't blame it on the financial environment.

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