I'm Sorry Am I Bothering You Sears?

Maybe the cashier didn't know exactly where they were or take you by
the hand and show you is because he is a CASHIER, AT A REGISTER. You
would have much better results asking an actual floor associate, which
you did the second time around. Next time, try that first.

If you really want poor customer service call their Delivery Customer
Service center or even better their National Customer Relations
department. They both must be based in the Fillipines (as everyone I
spoke to there had that diffinative accent) and although everyone of
them apologized for my issue (they must regularly hold apology 101
classes for their employees)3 of the 8 "associates" I spoke to
(including a supervisor named Andi) hung up on me. I did not swear at
any time during those conversations but, did ask them to please stop
apologizing due to the fact it was further irritating me. I financed
$2700.00 to purchase a high end washer/dryer combo with 5 year
extended warrenty and now 11 days later am waiting for redelivery of
my dryer that had to be picked up for installation of a side vent kit.
I wish Marvin Zindler were still alive! That man knew how to get
service out of companies that promised service.

I have had the same sort of trouble with lack of competence at my
local sears here in Oklahoma City. My boyfriend and I went to the
sears located in Quail Springs Mall to buy a wedding gift for some
friends. They were registered at Sears, but live in New York state.


We tried to pay for the items through the registry, as is normal, so
that they could pick the items up later at their own location. None
of the employees, management included, knew how the registry worked.
They told us that we would have to buy the items (which were rather
large), and just bring them out to New York with us on our flight.
How ridiculous can you get?

We gave up that time, and came back a couple of weeks later to try
again. We hoped that perhaps someone more competent would be working
for the day. Same problem, same run around, and we couldn't even look
at the list in the system to show what we wanted.

In the end, we gave up on the store entirely, since hardly any of the
six employees we talked to (on the second attempt alone) even knew
what a registry was. We purchased the items through the website,
which worked well, but we have not been back in a store since. I
don't know why we even bought the items through the website, given
what a poor experience we had. I think we should have gone to
Target.

If you want to keep business, your employees need to know what they
are doing. If your managers don't even have a clue about how a
registry works, then that's just pathetic. I have worked in retail
for over a decade, and I'm blown away by the level of incompetence I
encountered in your stores.

Sears has a customer computer kiosk that employees should consult if
an item is not on the shelf. FYI, you cn find very nice waffle irons
at Sam's Club, very good ones at very good prices.

Can be interpreted a number of ways. If you had just said I'd like 4
lemons" or whatever, they wouldn't have to keep guessing how many you
wanted.

Just like asking the cashier where the waffle irons were. He told you.
You could have said "I looked there but couldn't find any, can you get
someone to help me?"

But you expected him to just know that you already looked and needed
assistance,

How is anyone going to know what you want if you don't take initiative
and tell the what you want?

So many times I read letters like this and the responses are in
support of the company. I cannot believe that so many people accept
the complete lack of customer service.

There is absolutely no reason why the cashier couldn't have either
gone and shown the OP where the waffle irons are located or paged
someone who could. In the very least, he should have asked. I expect
that when I ask for a particular item someone will either accompany me
or give me specific instructions..."The waffle irons are located in
aisle 12, next to the blenders."

It is a well known fact that Sears and Kmart are doing layaway
programs. If for no other reason than the fact that they've started
targeting the early Christmas shopping crowd. Most likely this
employees answer that they don't have a layaway program was pure
laziness. They didn't want to stop and help. I was able to locate a
blog that said that Sears was going to start allowing electronics
layaways early August. Depending upon the timing of your question,
the employee may have been unaware of the change in policy. However,
if Sears was going to make such a big deal out of this promotion, you
would think their employees would be the first to know.

They cashier was at a register. Whether he is doing anything or not,
he is probably unable to leave it. He could have called someone, but I
would never expect someone to leave their register to help me find
something.

Sounds like it was right where you were looking before, you just
didn't see it the first time.

Where I work, if someone asks us where something is, we have to make
an offer to take them there. Even if its right under their nose.
"It's right here, would you like me to show you?"
Usually they get huffy and take it as an insult because it is right
there.

About the layaway sign in the electronics. It's advertising. Just
because someone is shopping in electronics doesn't mean they aren't
shopping elsewhere in the store and may benefit from layaway.
Was there something in small print about restrictions?

Ever since Sears bought K-Mart (or was it the other way around), Sears
has turned into a low-end store. By this, I mean lower than Target.

I occasionally shop at Sears (they do have some nice sales and have a
tool department that's seconded only by Home Depot), but I find the
experience to always be below the experience I get at Target.

One of the big changes since the K-Mart deal was the move to
centralized registers. The people that work at these registers work
at registers. They are not really tied to a department, even if the
register is co-located in/near a specific department.

In case any of this sounds like I'm disagreeing with you, Theresa, I'm
not. I'm in total agreement: Sears is not a good store, any more. Go
to Target or Wal-Mart, for good prices. Go to Bloomingdales (or
whatever you have in your area) for service.

i understand that you were upset he didn't walk you to them, however
considering the layout of sears...

he might not have been *ALLOWED* to leave the service area, especially
if he was the only one there.

Plus, he might not have realized you wanted him to walk you to the
specific item.

i suspect most people just want to know the general area the item is
in, so that is what they usually give.


Sure it'd be nice to train them all to start walking everyone to the
items, but... well that brings me back to the original point I made.
Start doing that and then he'll be escorting customers around instead
of doing his job of cashing people out.

And that's a whole new slew of complaints.



so the solution? personally i think it could have been easily solved
with a second question.
"I'm really having trouble picking this item out? Could you help
me?"

I'm betting the answer might have been, "One moment. I'll page for
someone to assist you."