Does Sears Deserve My Business?

In Nov. I had a high pressure salesman talk me into a washer dryer
brand that I really did not want. It would appear from everything I
have read that Sears like to tell you when you are in the store that
if you don't buy it now, the sale price will not be available the next
day. It was a significant purchase so within 24 hours I called and
cancelled my purchase. The salesman I talked with told me he
understood, would take care of it and my check would be returned. To
make sure there was no confusion since the purchase was over $2500 I
did a stop payment to my check after talking with the salesman.

To my surprise, my check did not come back in the mail but I did
receive a collections notice about one month later for the same amount
of my check (please note, the sale was cancelled within 24 hours and
the product was never delivered). After explaining the situation to
the collections person, she referred me back to Sears. Directly after
I contacted a rep. at Sears (note: I had to talk to a very rude
customer service rep. before getting this manager). The manager told
me that Sears mailed me a check (which I never received for the total
of the sale). When I explained that I never received a check she
informed me I did not have a right to "stop payment" on my check so
she would have to send me another check and I would have to sign it
over to the collections agency. I told her that didn't sound right to
me because I should not have been send to collection but in an effort
resolve the issue, I would follow her directions. I called the
collections person to let her know what I had been instructed to do.
No check ever arrived.

On 2-27-08 I received a letter of "worthless check and intent to
prosecute" from the county solicitor. Now I have to spend the money
to hire an attorney so I won't be arrested for a bad check. I know
this is the craziest thing but it is true. Prior to this event I
spoke with 7 Sears reps and the 1 collections rep and each time
thought they understood their mistake. The solicitor's letter forbids
me from contacting Sears to try to resolve this issue, the only option
I am given is to pay over $3000 to the Solicitor to pay for the bad
check.

Of course I have filed a complaint with the State Consumer Affairs
Department and hope they will help me.

Just in case you are wondering, no, I never received any product,
service or money from Sears.

Take it from me, there are too many other stores out there that sell
products. Go to Lowes, I purchased the washer dryer set that I really
wanted from them and am very pleased with both the value and customer
service that I received.

I am sorry that some of you misunderstood my letter, but your
responses did make me rethink the real reason I wrote it in the first
place.

I originally sent the letter in May, mostly because I was so concerned
about all the complaints. Not only do I remember Sears being a part
of my family's life when I was a kid, but when I got married, the
relationship continued, especially after becoming a homeowner. It was
always comforting to know that if we needed to purchase something,
sometimes in an emergency, we were not only armed with our trusty
Sears credit card, but we also felt safe making big ticket purchases
from a store that always stood behind it's merchandise and customer
service.

When I first started seeing all the complaint letters, I didn't think
too much of it, because we were still completely satisfied with the
merchandise and service. But then the letters became more frequent
and seemed to involve every aspect of the company, which made me start
to feel leery about our next major purchase. So I sent the letter just
hoping for some reassurance that it was the same old Sears we always
relied upon. Although I never received a response, I was still
hopeful that I could continue to count on Sears. I even defended the
company many times right here, because I was still a satisfied
customer myself.

And then came the issue of my service contract. I finally was forced
to realize that everything I'd read about the company was true. I
was getting the same treatment that so many letter writers complain
about. I either had to face the fact that Sears was in the process of
becoming history or give the company an opportunity to save at least
one customer with a simple reassuring response to some fair
questions.

Here's how it now stands. Sears is definitely having a lot of
problems living up to it's reputation. I believe it's based on money,
just like everything else in the world of business. I think the
employees have been instructed not to part with a dime, even at the
risk of losing a cusomter. I do not think Sears replies to third
party letters, but it does acknowledge emails sent through it's
website.

Will I purchase my next big ticket item from Sears? Honestly, I don't
know. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Thanks for all your responses. I enjoyed reading them.

Venice, when I first read this letter I thought, what a jerk for
writing a letter like this. First of all, who knows if they even
acknowledge letters from this site, and seoondly, there was mention of
what complaint you were talking about. I was actually shocked when I
saw that the letter was written by you (that's a compliment - I see
you as a bright woman).

And I agree with others, if you haven't had problems with them - what
do you care - you don't even know if some of the complaints are real -
too many people at this site just see this site as a place to get
freebies.

Here's what is says:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please include the following line in all replies.
Tracking number: xxxxxxxxx

Dear Venice,

We appreciate your contacting us. You may contact our corporate
offices at:

Sears Holdings Corporation
3333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179
847-286-2500

Again, thank you for your continued support of Sears Holdings
Corporation.
We appreciate you for taking the time to contact us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This was sent to me in less than 24 hours from the time I emailed
Sears through it's website. I know some of you will think I'm crazy
for saying that this reply is good enough right now. At least it gives
me the opportunity to pursue it further. I really didn't expect
anything more, I just didn't expect to be ignored.

It is now obvious that Sears doesn't respond to third party letters.
I wonder if it says that on the website. I didn't notice when I sent
the email, but I'll go back and check.

I guess what I don't understand is why your letter is a complaint (or
challenge)against Sears, but based on other people's feedback. If you
have a bad experience with Sears, see how they handle it and judge for
yourself.
As you can see from mnay letters on Planet Feedback, people complain
about a variety of things and often have unreasonable expectations.
Maybe Sears does not respond to Planet Feedback or maybe they review
the situations and do not feel the need to keep everyone informed
about an individual's complaint.
I would not base my decisions on others complaints, and then tell a
company that I do not want to give them my business because of the
personal experiences of others.
A major purchase at Sears or anywhere for that matter is a big
decision. Read what others say and take heed, but I hope your decision
is not based on that solely.-Try asking 10 different people what movie
you should see and see how often they give you a pick worth watching.

I have worked for and managed a Sears Dealer Store for the past eight
years. As with any buisness, Sears receives complaints regarding many
matters, from service to product defects, to delivery problems. Here
are a few things to keep in mind before deciding not to shop at Sears.
I know that because I work there this will come off as biased, but
please just hear me out.

First of all, you must consider the customers complaint and if it is
legitimate. As with all companies, Sears has strict policies to
follow regarding returns, purchases, deliverires, and service (to name
a few). Read a customers complaint carefully and find out if Sears
really could help them or not. Go to a store and ask about their
policies regarding that matter and judge for yourself. We often get
complaints at our store that are out of our hands, such as people
wanting repair work paid for after the warranty expires, or are angry
because the return period has expired. Sometimes there really is
nothing we can do.

Second, all major companies get their fair share of complaints. This
does not make them a bad company to shop from. Consider first the
sheer number of people who buy from Sears each year. Some are bound
to complain. Also remember that some people are never happy no matter
where they shop.

Third, just because you have one bad experience, don't give up on
Sears. If you truly are unhappy speak to the manager of the store
where you purchased the item, or call the customer service number and
try to resolve the problem. If it is one store that you do not like,
try another store. If you do have several bad experiences, and you
strongly feel you are right, then maybe go somewhere else.

You know... as always from you, Venice, this is a well written and
thought out letter. I hope you will not take this as a criticism. But
I'm not sure Sears has an obligation to tell you how (or if) they
addressed other customers' complaints. Maybe that's why they haven't
responded to your previous letter. And the fact that people haven't
posted follow up comments doesn't necessarily mean Sears didn't
address the issue.

You say that you have always counted on Sears to provide quality
merchandise and professional reliable service. It sounds like you've
been happy with them in the past. It seems to me that this should be
enough to maintain your loyalty... and if it's not, I don't know what
more they could do other than to continue to provide you with the same
good service you've gotten in the past.

Just my two cents.

The minute I start saying I haven't had any problems, is the minute
things will definitely happen so I am not going to say that and just
hope for the best lol.

You're right. There are a lot of complaint letters about Sears. It
seems they are second only to Target.

After Richard put the thought in my head about Sears not responding to
letters sent through PFB, I sent the letter directly through Sears'
website. Maybe I'll actually receive something within the 48-hour
time period promised for responses.

I'm hopeful.

I may be wrong, but I seem to recall Dell has a reputation for the
same lack of concern for responding to PFB comments.

What I dis was post on a few other consumer sites, and voila a
consumer advocate contacted me. I can't remember which one was the
magic bullet, but it was not PFB. I see a lot of complaints directed
at people cross-posting the same complaint on multiple sites, but in
my case it was the only way to get some action.

I'd like to add that in the case of Dell, the simply inexcusably poor
customer service makes it highly unlikely I will shop with them again.
They get credit for solving the problem, but it was just way too hard
to get my complaint resolved.

I hope you find a way to have your faith in Sears restored.

I wrote a complaint letter to Sears last year with no response. I
think the quality of the Sears merchandise - particularly the Kenmore
Brand - has gone done over the years.

If Sears can not even take the time to acknowledge the receipt of a
letter through Planet Feedback, yet respond to it, I really doubt
Sears cares about their customers.

Venice, I hope you are not holding your breath for a response.

I think Venice is asking a fair question. I understand it isn't just
Sears, but I've had similar problems in the past. The frustration and
run-around, voice mail tag, the salesperson who spent hours with you
acts like they don't know you a week later.

Basically, when someone makes an arms length transaction with a major
company, it would help the company keep a loyal customer by standing
on their word and at least TRYING. A form letter, phone call, or a
reasonable answer to a customers question face to face would be better
than ignoring people who've spent their hard earned money and trust in
the store's name and reputation.

If whomever they hire to do warranty repairs isn't up to the
company's standards, then something should be done to correct that.

You know what Venice?

After seeing all of the letters to Sears on PFB, I can honestly say
that I wouldn't do any business with them. It's really that simple.

They don't respond to anything and they don't seem to care. Fair
enough. I'll just use this information to steer clear.

I would just like to say that this is the second time I sent this
letter to Sears, in addition to other letters that received no
responses.

My only intention was to give Sears an opportunity to restore my faith
in the company, as I am a long time customer who would really feel the
effect of no longer having Sears to depend on. Sears has been a big
part of our lives for decades, and it would be a shame to end our
relationship over something as simple as basic customer service.

Any response at all would have been enough to keep me hanging on, if
only by a thread, as a customer, but I have absolutely no confidence
that I will receive even a standard reply.

I regretfully suggest that Sears adopt a new motto...Ignore the
customers and hope they go away.

I'm sure it won't make a difference, but I've always had great service
from Sears.

I've bought my refrigerator, washer and dryer from them. All three
were delivered well within the time frame; in fact, the delivery man
caught my roomate and I still in our pajamas he delivered it so early
in the day. :)

When the battery in my truck died, I bought a replacement battery from
them. There were other things wrong with the wiring, however, and I
ended up taking it to Sears for repair. They did a great job and had
me out of there and mobile within a couple hours.

I also go to the independent optomistrist associated with Sears. My
glasses always come in within a week and the woman who works there
really does a great job in helping the myopic pick out frames. :) It's
funny when you stop and think about it. I can't even see what the
frames look like when I'm picking them out.

At first, I was going to make a negative sounding comment. Then, I
realized that this was Venice and decided, hey, she knows what she's
talking about. But then, I realized...

Venice, what do you want Sears to do? Are you proposing that they
come to PF and post responses to all of the letters posted?

While I agree, there does seem to be a large number of complaints*,
how they resolve them is a total mystery and will remain so until OP's
come back and post follow-ups. Which, reality being what it is,
simply will not happen.

* OK, but is this really true? From memory, my sense is that most
Sears complaints center around their repair and construction
businesses. Two areas where complaints are a-plenty. Sears should do
a better job, being Sears, I agree. However, given that these are
outsourced areas, it's hardly surprising that customer satisfaction is
not as high as it could be.

The real problem, which can also be seen with Home Depot, Best Buy.
and others, is the "pass the buck" problem. When you call for repair
service, you're basically passed off to a local contractor. When you
have an issue, finger pointing starts. Sears feels that they held up
their end of the bargain and that the contractor should make good.
The contractor basically doesn't care. (Please forgive the
generalizations... there are some excellent contractors out there).

What Sears needs to do, of course, if take 100% responsibility for
their contractors. However, because I'm a contractor (in another
business) and hire sub-contractors, I know how impossible this
actually is. When a contractor fails, the best you can do is fire the
contractor and then go looking for someone else. A customer is not
willing to passed off to a string of bad contractors. Sears is
stuck.

OK, but what Sears needs to do is hire an army of in-house repair
staff. Right? Sure, that would increase quality. But it'd also be
nearly impossible to do well. In some parts of the country, Sears
simply cannot maintain in-house repair staff. Either the staff will
be sitting around waiting for a call (which would increase cost to the
customer) or customers will need to wait weeks to get on the list.
Outsourcing, while a quality problem, is the most efficient way of
providing this type of service.

It's a no-win situation. I take this from my own experiences, both as
a customer and as a contractor.

My advice to consumers is (1) don't take these extended warranties.
You're better off saving your money and hiring the repair person YOU
want. (2) Don't get mad at Sears for a single goof-up by a repair
person. Give them a chance to do right by sending someone else. (3)
Read your warranty! Too many PF letter writers DO make unreasonable
demands because they didn't bother to read the warranty.

OK, Sears goofs up in other ways, too. But my sense is that the
majority of the issues are related to what I'm talking about.