We’re Waiting For A Miracle From Sears Canada
“Sears Canada is a multi-channel retailer dedicated to providing its customers with quality merchandise & exceptional service, coast to coast.” Sears Canada Mission Statement
Three years ago our venerable Kenmore dryer finally met it’s maker. It was 25 years old. We had purchased it, along with a Kenmore washer, second-hand, in Toronto, just after getting married. They became international travellers, those appliances, as they were moved to Kitchener, then to Washington State, and then back to Ottawa. We often boasted of how reliable they were, and when the dryer finally died, we replaced them with Sears products again; this time the top of the line Kenmore front loading washer / dryer combination. At over $2,000, the new appliances were pricey, but our last experience with Sears had been outstanding. Moreover, with 5 children to wash for, it’s important to know you can rely on your appliances. Laundry piles up fast at the Saunders home!
It’s four months since our extended warranty expired. Yesterday, the washer started pouring water all over the floor. This morning we learned that the seal on the door of the washer had torn, and that it would be $160 for the part, plus labour, to replace it.
Janice called the Sears Center in Belleville and spoke with a woman named Tara. Janice’s point of view was that the washer was nearly new, and therefore the rubber seal must have been defective to begin with. Tara explained the “reality” of business today. Sears used to treat their customers well, she told Janice, but they don’t anymore. Sears used to fix products for customers in order to generate goodwill, she said, but goodwill isn’t profitable. ”If we did that”, Tara said, “I’d be out of a job”. If you bought something at the Brick, or at Leon’s, Tara told Janice, and it was out of warranty, they’d say “tough luck”. According to Tara, that’s now Sears policy as well. Tara related an experience she had buying a television at Future Shop, and how she had been disatisfied with their warranty service, and said that Sears now had the same policies.
I don’t know what Leon’s, or the Brick do for warranty service, but I’ve always had a great experience at Future Shop. To me, it seems the height of stupidity to be slagging your competition on the complaints line, and justifying your bad behaviour as “the norm”. It makes a mockery of the Sears Canada mission of providing “quality merchandise and exceptional service”, doesn’t it?
Anyway, Janice explained to Tara that she hadn’t bought the products at Leon’s, or the Brick, or Corbeil because she wanted Sears products. We paid a premium for those appliances at Sears, rather than walking next door to Corbeil Discount Appliances (who sell the same products under the Whirlpool name for less money), because we believed that Sears stood behind the products they sold. Moreover, Sears Canada executives apparently also believe this. In their latest annual shareholders report, they write:
Sears sells more major appliances than any other retailer in Canada. Although we sell all well-known national brands, Sears private brand, Kenmore, is the best selling brand in the country. We service all major appliances coast to coast to provide continued confidence and peace of mind to our customers before, during and after the sale.
It seems, at least according to Tara, that they’ve lost their way. Tara suggested that Janice write a letter to Lisa Miracle at Sears Canada in Toronto. Apparently Ms. Miracle can intervene. There is no email address online for Ms. Miracle. Tara says to write to the head office at 222 Jarvis Street. I guess we’ll do that.
In the meantime, while we wait for the Miracle, the laundry continues to pile up.
July 6th, 2006 at 6:28 am
I picked up on this message because I was looking for a name and address to write to someone at Sears that may want to know how poor their service is becoming. We bought a 300 dollars weed wacker last summer but didn’t take it out of the box until this month. Tried it twice and it wouldn’t work properly so we took it to service and were told it was our fault because we didn’t start it up when we bought it. (of course we should have known that) We tried to return it and basically we were told tough luck your 90 days are up even though the machine had never been used. We have been married 37 years and almost everything in both our home and cottage was purchased at Sears. They have just lost another faithful customer because of 300 dollars and poor service.
August 22nd, 2006 at 5:41 pm
Hi. I found this while searching for an address so that I can file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau against Sears. While they are actually financially helping us at this point, I am fed up with their warranty process. Our new dryer, top of the line, purchased 3 months ago, is broken for the 3rd time since we’ve had it. The latest in the process is that we had to wait 6 days for a tech to come out and tell us we need to order a part before he can fix it. The part actually came in the next day, but we now have to wait another 6 days before it’s ‘possible’ to get someone back out here to install it. I’ve been pretty patient with these folks, but every time the thing stops working I end up waiting 5 or 6 days to get someone to come work on it. At this point, that adds up to a third of the time I’ve owned it. And when I am able to get an appointment, they expect me to stay home all day for an 8 hour appointment. I’ve had it with this company. I’ll never purchase from them again.
October 14th, 2006 at 3:56 pm
I am truly greatful that I found this website online. My husband was out today looking for a Sears washer/dryer combo. I too have a houseful of Sears products, but because of their declining quality of customer service, I will definitely bring my business to Future Shop. Thanks for the plug!
October 14th, 2006 at 4:23 pm
You’re welcome Monica. For the record, Ms. Miracle has never called us.
October 18th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
We purchased a Kenore stainless steel refridgerator from Sears Yorkdale on August 24, 2006. It stopped working on October 18, 2006 and food has spoiled and continues to spoil because a Sears Customer Service Manager named Erin (ID: Eguath4) told me that I need to have a tech come out and look at it before I can get my money returned including the delivery. If it is my fault that this new fridge is not working then they will charge me for the tech’s visit and if it is a defect then I can have it exchanged and I am hoping returned but she emphasized exchanged.
Erin did not give me a time for the tech’s visit and initially wanted me to wait until tomorrow so the rest of my food can spoil. When I pressed for a tech to visit today then she told me that she doesn’t have a time but I will have to wait until they phone me. When I told her I would go to small claims court then Erin threatened to terminate the call. She has no respect for the customers.
So far, no one has contacted me.
I tried to contact the salesperson who was not there. I also spoke to the store manager, Diane, who started telling me that I wasn’t entitled to a refund and I would have to pay the delivery charge on a return etc…Then she told me that she has to call me back. When I offered to be put on hold, she told me that she needed to use the phone. Everyone knows that the store phones have more than one line on them and if not then another phone is close by. She hung up on me. What a liar. I still did not receive a call back from her.
Two other Sears CSRs also kept putting me on hold and talking about the need for a repair tech to come out before they can issue a return/exchange.
Sears sucks! I will never shop at Sears again. Ten years ago I was able to get an exchange on appliances that stopped working within the first year. I have to wait for a tech to examine a supposedly brand new fridge that stopped working before I get my refund or exchange. What is going on Sears???? You are losing your customers. I will be happy to take my business elsewhere
Erin was dictatorial and forgot who the customer was in this situation. Too bad this has become the Sears method of satisfying customers. I doubt that they will reimburse me for the food that spoiled. Eaton’s did just that and more. When I encountered the same problem with an Eaton’s product then I received a refund/exchange and reimbursement for the spoiled food. It is apparent that customers mean nothing to Sears.
I would like to know how to get in contact with the executive staff who work at Sears.
October 18th, 2006 at 8:54 pm
Monica, beware of Future Shop as well. We had awful after sales service from them
October 18th, 2006 at 9:36 pm
I received my new front load washer and dryer this afternoon, the delivery company sears hired to bring me my new appliances decided that it was to much work to get the washer/dryer team into my bathroom and left it in my kitchen, then explained to my wife that if we paid them 75$ ( above the 50$ charge I had already paid) they would return in two days to put them in my bathroom.
I should mention that I did purchase a floor model and thought to be getting a good deal, after coming home to find my kitchen overflowing I went strait to a competitor of Sears and managed to make a deal to purchase an Identical pair of appliances, same models for the same price, fresh out of the box.
With my new found information I returned to the store to talk to the salesman, (who was with a customer earlier when I called) and explained to him the adventure of my day. When his manager joined the conversation he explained to me that I purchased my units AS IS, and that I had no grounds for concern or attention.
My negotiating skills are somewhat aggressive when I’m treated like an idiot.
They will apparently be calling me in the morning, Either way they will hear from me.
3 cheers for TA appliances.
October 19th, 2006 at 8:07 am
[...] I had the exact opposite experience at Sears. Keep in mind that the Sears brand, for generations, has stood for dependable quality appliances, and excellent service. Certainly that was our conviction. When Janice and I got married we purchased a second hand Sears washer and dryer. When those two appliances finally bit the dust they were 25 years old. We were so happy with them that we bought a Sears refrigerator, and a new Sears washer and dryer for a rental property we have. We’ve bought Sears vacuum cleaners as well. And when the original washer and dryer died, we bought the top of the line front loading washer and dryer from Sears to replace them. [...]
October 19th, 2006 at 8:08 am
[...] In contrast, Sears Canada is a bricks and mortar business which has chosen to ignore the blogosphere. In May of last year, at the Saunders household we had a washer breakdown, and a very unsatisfactory experience with Sears. I wrote about it at the time, and since then that page has continued to attract a steady stream of disatisfied Sears customers, all vowing to never do business with Sears Canada again. If Sears had responded to my complaint, I would have written about that as well. They could have turned my complaint into a win for everyone, but they didn’t. [...]
October 22nd, 2006 at 1:31 pm
http://kiersteadathome.blogspot.com/2006/10/things-that-make-me-feel-better.html
http://kiersteadathome.blogspot.com/2006/10/sears-called.html
October 24th, 2006 at 4:58 pm
[...] In contrast, Sears Canada is a bricks and mortar business which has chosen to ignore the blogosphere. In May of last year, at the Saunders household we had a washer breakdown, and a very unsatisfactory experience with Sears. I wrote about it at the time, and since then that page has continued to attract a steady stream of disatisfied Sears customers, all vowing to never do business with Sears Canada again. If Sears had responded to my complaint, I would have written about that as well. They could have turned my complaint into a win for everyone, but they didn’t. [...]
November 2nd, 2006 at 9:40 am
Here’s another “dissapointed customer” story for you. I had purchased a Kenmore Stove and Fridge in 2002 and have purchased the 5 yr “Total Warranty”. Last year the digital timer on the stove showed an error message and I called and someone came within 2 days and changed the timer which controls all the functions ie baking, selfclean, etc… but not the acutal stovetop since they have knobs to turn the heat settings (thank god!).
Just recently, the timer went off again but it keep beeping error every 10-15 mins until someone presses the cancel button on the stove. I called the Service dept and one rep said it’s the stove error and to unplug it for 20 mins to reset this. I left it for 30 mins and still it didn’t work. Called back and another rep said has to be 1 hr unplugged to reset so I left it overnight unplugged 10 hrs and next day plugged the stove and right away it started beeping again. I called Service again and this nice lady booked someone to come the next day 12-2pm. So I took a day off and waited, waited, waited, nobody came but the tech guy called at 3:15pm and asked me what was wrong (don’t they have this on the computer print out for him) anyways, i explaned to him the problem and he said it was the timer defective (ok, i know that!) and had to be replaced. He said he’ll call me back. 10 mins later he calls and says the part is not available till 3 wks (no stock) I said what can I do I can’t do any baking in the oven and the horrible beeping noise is driving me crazy, he said there’s nothing he can do about it but wait till the part comes (i think that’s their motto!). At this point I was getting upset and called Service Dept and they said that “oh yes sir, the part will not come till Nov 17, and there’s nothing we can do about it). I told them I have warranty till next year and if this part is defective every year then I’m screwed and don’t want this defective stove and to change it for another one. They said they will have to pass me to Customer Service. So, now I have to give my name, phone#, address each time and the CSR says that the 90 warranty has expired and that I will have to go to the store where I purchased this to discuss to the store manager. I asked him so now for the next 3 wks I will have to plug, unplugg (at night) and I loss my enjoyment of baking. He said, “there’s nothing he can do” (is this their slogan?) and I can go to the circuit breaker in the basement and turn it off and on when i need to use the stove.
So now I did some research and called Sears USA and taked to Service Dept and they had access to my account and said that they DO HAVE THAT PART ! but it’s in the USA and they cannot send it to me nor send it to Sears Canada. I told her that you are SEARS right ? and they said that they are 2 different entities and cannot cross the border. I called back Sears Canada and informed them that the part is in stock at Sears USA but they said the same thing “we can’t get that in since it’s different entity” PLease!!! Sears is Sears just like McDonalds or KFC is the same thing am I correct ?
As someone who is experience in Customer service we are taught to extend and exceed customers’ expectations meaning that if it was me I would have Fedex that timer part from USA and have technician install it the next day and when the part arrives in Canada to redirect it back to Sears USA and everyone will be happy. Only thing lost is the shipping fee which can be absorbed via expenses. How’s that for Customer Service. This is the last time I will purchase anything from Sears. I tried to email corporate and received the same message as the other lady from above (generic auto responder) and it’s been 6 days and still nobody has called or contacted me (this is so messed up!):
Thank you for taking the time to bring your concerns to our attention.
We value you as a Sears customer and regret that you have had an unpleasant experience.
We have directed this important issue to our Corporate Customer Service representatives, one of our specialt
agents will be in touch with you soon to rectify this matter.
We are looking forward to discussing this matter further and working with you to find a suitable resolution.
We appreciate your continued patience and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Thank you for shopping at Sears.
Sincerely,
Wendy
my 2 cents
November 14th, 2006 at 4:09 pm
Well isn’t this interesting, I was trying to find a email complaint site for sears and came across this sit. I also have an unhappy sears experience.
In June of 2002, after 13 years of marraige to my 2nd husband he underhandily left me homeless. After 6 months of struggling ,in 2003 , and living out of my suitcase and car, I finally was able to get a home of my own again.
You can well imagine that at 40 years I was starting over again, I am telling you I did not even have a spoon to eat with. Well after working 3 jobs for 10 months I started purchasing funiture, using cash and credit. I wanted to buy from sears, as in the past 15 years and more ago I had purchased many things from sears and was allways very pleased with their quality and policy for backing up their name. SO I TRUSTED THEM, SEARS, and felt safe to purchase several items, such things as a 32 in t.v, a microwave, a vaccum cleaner,
dvd player, a camera, tools, lawn mower, roto tiller, electric shaver for new boy friend, many strings of christmas lights, a kareoke machine, and just too many more items to list. I have worked very hard in my life and have this belief that if you work hard for your things with respect and care of these things, that they should last a long time. NO SUCH LUCK, SEARS DOES NOT STAND BEHIND THEIR NAME ANYMORE,! THEIR ANSWER TO EVERY THING IS TO BUY EXTENDED WARRENTY, WHAT A JOKE THAT IS!!! (I truley believed in the sears from the past that they would back up their name and products, I felt that extended warrenty after 1 or 2 years was not needed.) AGAIN I TRUSTED AND BELIEVED IN SEARS. I feel that I was sucked in and taken advantage of by, SEARS, I no longer have the t.v the tuner went 4 months after warrenty was up, sears would not even here my story when I called, as well as the microwave died 2 years after I bought it, the electric shaver did not work for more than 2 weeks and I went and exchanged and six months later it quit too lol. The camera froze up, the lawn mower needed a new sterter the 2nd summer, The dvd player that I gave as a gift to my new inlaws is dead, it did not even last 2 full years, and of course only 1 year warrenty, and now My switch on the kenmore vaccum cleaner is gone and yes I had bought extra warrenty, but they will not stand behind it because it was due to wear and tear they say lol. I heard a repair man say one day while I was job shadowing that the retailers say we live in a throw away world and this is what makes there money. Unfortunatley I wish I could say that I could accommidate the retalers, however I would like to not have to work 3 jobs again for the rest of my life.
SOooooo…., do I feel that sears gives two hoots about me and how hard I work for my stuff, absolutley not!!!
So Now I have purchased Items from future shop and london drugs and all is good so far at least the t.v is still working and it is almost 2 years old now. morale to this story if you do not want to be a sucker… please don’t shop at sears, they do not back up there name, these days they are only worried about looking good!.
November 20th, 2006 at 11:59 am
Nightmare with Sears Canada or when to purchase an extended warranty?…
Adrian on Hardware 2.0 quoting a study from consumer reports says that you probably don’t need that extended warranty. However there are just sometimes when you really do need one. When you’re purchasing a mechanical device that’s prone to certai…
December 14th, 2006 at 2:39 pm
I came online and googled “Sears Canada Poor Service” and up came this site, portraying the woes of the front loading washing machine from Sear. I too have a front loading washing machine. I have had it for 5 years and had NUMEROUS service calls on it. Most recently 6 calls in the last 2 and a half weeks to try to get the intermittent spin cycle to work. Fortunately, we have the extended warranty as the first breakdown occurred fairly soon after purchase and we were worried so we continued to purchase it. I don’t remember what we paid for the machine, but I know we pay over $200 every year or two for the extended warranty and it has paid for itself over and over… that being said, trying to actually get it fixed is where we have come to a screeching halt. Trying to talk to someone in my city about my machine is also impossible, when I call the service centre, I am told that there is no “incoming line” - you have got to be kidding me!! The drive to the service centre got me some quicker action today as they don’t like live people coming in to complain - it is much more convenient if they service managers just get an email about the problem - much less stress and mess for them. I have taken multiple holiday days to accommodate the 9-4PM service call times, I have surrendered my Saturdays in wait of the elusive repair person. Today they added insult to injury, calling to offer a “buy out” - they will pay half the value of my machine…. sorry - between the fees for the extended warranty and the time off work, they can buy out my machine in full or they can fix it, and in the meantime, I will fill my spare moments by spreading my “feelings of goodwill” towards Sears alternated with calls to the Centre to find out if I will ever get to do laundry in my home again.
December 15th, 2006 at 4:22 pm
wow, I thought me having a problem with SEARS wasn’t a common thing, but as I read here, IT IS !
Today I was scheduled for 3 (of 5) appliances to be repaired under the almost $900.00 extended warranty plans I purchased, figuring that I’ll get all 5 looked at & checked out to be sure they are all in good working condition.
They scheduled 3 for today (Friday) & 2 for tomorrow (Saturday) stating that they can’t do them all on the same day. I thoght that it was odd, but I said fine.
So I took a morning off work NO PAY so I could get these serviced. Tomorrow they also are suppose to come for the other 2.
The repair man never came nor did he bother to even CALL to let me know, so I could have gone to work & could have gotten PAID !
I called after 12:30PM today to say they haven’t showed up yet, after waiting for a good 20 minutes on the phone they said sorry we will have to reschedule both days as she said she didn’t see my Saturday appointment at all in the computer. I wanted to SCREAM, but I didn’t, I spoke to a manager who said he’ll send me a $50.00 gift certificate for my trouble. By the time that process was done & I was ready to get back to work, I called work to say I was on my way, they said that they already replaced me for the afternoon !!! So I didn’t just lose 1/2 pay, I lost a COMPLETE days pay. $50.00 doesn’t cut it !!!
I lost close to $250.00 !!! due the SEARS neglect !
I called SEARS back to say that I now lost a FULL DAY PAY, they said sorry we do not cover lost wages, I said well upto the point where I thought I only lost 1/2 day, they gave me a $50.00 gift certificate, I said now that I’ve lost a complete day, I would like an additional $50.00 gift certificate. She said no, that’s all we can do. FURIOUS, I hung on on her & looked for a site from Sears so I could complain but I found this one which is quite an eye opener.
Sears had a choice, to make right what they did wrong & keep a good customer or for a measly $50.00 gift certificate, they couls have tried to compensate a little for my lost wages, but they chose to lose me and whoever I tell about my experience to.
BAD BUSINESS if you ask me. Word of mouth can cost them far more then $50.00
I have been a loyal SEARS customer for years, always purchased appliances and pretty much everything else because they always had great customer service, that was up till now.
Thanks for listening.
~Louise~
December 17th, 2006 at 1:59 pm
Sears Sucks, they can,t spell the word customer service. Here starts the story, purchased three appliances Oct 20/06, cost $2,500.00 paid $100.00 for delivery (two hour window) and to have the handle on the fridge changed to the other side. Delivery day was Nov 21/06 took a day off work, appliances arrive the range is damaged and the handle on the fridge is not changed to the correct side nor is the handle attached to the fridge. The delivery people do not plug in appliances nor do they attach handled, not our job. Call store tell them the situation, tell them to forget about the handle I will attach my self(credited $35.00) they reordered another range told us we would get delivery Dec 5/06 Dec 5/06 took another day off work Sears calls at 9:30 to say that they can’t find the range in the wharehouse so the delivery is cancelled. Told Sears that I had no intention of taking any more time off work so they had to deliver after 5:00 or on a Saturday. We called Sears on Dec 8/06 told that they would deliver after 5:00 on Dec 11/06 again no delivery. Called Sears Dec 12/06 told we would have a special delivery between 9:00 and 3:00 Dec 16/06 again no delivery. We called the store from 3:00 until 5:30 on Dec 16/06 only to find out that they could do nothing as it was in the control of a delivery company. In complete defeat and frustration we took a part credit for the damaged range just to be able to get out of this hell we were in.
I would not buy a pair of socks from Sears forget about applianced.
Sears customer service sucks, I hope Sears go bankrupt.
January 2nd, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Voice me in. Horrible, horrible customer service and quality of products degrades dramatically. I bought washing/driver combo (top line, front-loaders) just like others. Both are broken now and I am facing dilemma to meet service man for 80-90/hr (already rescheduled 3 times, every time I had to take day off to accommodate 9 to 5 schedule) or buy something from maytag or any other competitor. Sears no more! What a combination: overpriced, terrible customer service, poor choice, bad quality. Brick and mortar or grave for traditional business?
January 2nd, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Sears Service Sucks!
January 4th, 2007 at 4:16 am
I am so glad I took the time to look at this website! I was starting to wonder if Sears was out to get me! Customer service people are rude and their repair service is the worst. I have never had a company play so many head games with me. I bought all new appliances from Sears when I moved into my new house. I have had nothing but trouble with my frontload washer. They have been to my house six times in the past year and I am now going on seven times. I am still having the same problems. I have never heard such double talk in all my life!! They said I must be using the wrong detergent or wrong fabric softener. Then the gentleman on the phone making the appointments (who was not a gentleman at all with his rudeness) was trying to tell me that I needed to have the valves on my plumbing looked at. Since when did he become a quilified tech? What does my plumbing have to do with the way my washer dispenses detergent and fabric softener? The seal on the door holds water in the bottom of it that becomes stagnant and smells horrible. They said that the seal was designed wrong and there is nothing I can do but wipe it out. Laundry takes up enough of my time. Now I am suppose to wipe a cup of water out of the bottom door seal when I do wash. Oh, and don’t forget the cup of water left in the detergent dispenser that needs to be emptied after every load I do!! Sears is going to pay a cost for all their nonsense. Word of mouth plays a more important role then they could ever imagine!!! If they do not change their policies, I look to see them out of business in the next few years. Don’t they know that they have lots of competition out there with stores that sell simular products, but without all the hassle? Is it my imagination that companies like Sears work so hard to build a good reputation, only to become so arrogant that they think they have nothing more to do to keep it? Shame on them!!!!!
January 4th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Just letting Gabriella Sakus the presedents line for Sears Canada Inc is 1-800-973-7579
January 7th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
Wow…..imagine if this is what you get from Sears which is renowed for it customer service..imagine how you would be treated by all other retail outlets that sell the same product under another name.
Come on..maybe it isn’t the Sears of the past, at least they are there doing there best to give you the service. Yes times have changed and the garanties have changed also.
I have been shopping at Sears for over twenty years. I have never had any issues with them. And to top it off, if I had a problem, knowing I purchased it from Sears I knew that it would be handled with professional service. The only thing that becomes a bother is that I have to wait…and the Higher Power knows that nobody likes to wait when the have something that is broken in todays world.
Don’t be to hasty to change to another store to buy your new products, Sears still offers the best after sales service in Canada. They are there for you when you call, in todays business that is a plus.
With all that said..they will still be around when most of the others will have closed up due to the poor quality and the poor customer service.
Remember too, Sears does not make what the sale, they service what they sale. Yes, their delievery could improve greatly. However..when your having outsources doing the job for you, you have to except that there is going to be problems…..and that becomes frustrating to us as customers.
So… coming to there defence, I believe that they are still the best retail and after sales service in Canada. The others have to cut prices and skate on thin ice to keep up with them.
Michael S.
January 10th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
Here’s a good one for ya. I purchased a Kenmore stove 2 years ago, out of the blue the start button, along with the 3, 6 and 9 digital push buttons don’t work. (So I can’t start to heat up the oven) I called to have a tech come look at it and they said that I would be contacted in the next 48 hours to set up a time. After no call, 3 days later I call servicing again, they say for sure in the next 48 hours someone will call me. A week and a half later and after 4 of my phone calls to servicing I finally get a response from the tech. He sets an appointment for two weeks form the day he calls. So now I’ve been ovenless (is that a word?) for 3 and a half weeks. He shows up, asks what the problem is and says he needs to order a part. The stove was on sale for 500 bucks when I bought it, the part he says costs $350 plus a 75 dollar fee. Thanks, but no thanks. I’m off to the Brick or Leons to buy a new stove for $400. Thanks for letting me rant…..
Matt
January 22nd, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Well, same here suprisingly when i googled sears poor customer service and distribution contact, i came accross this site.
Since, Sears worked “so hard” to tell them that there is “nothing they can do at the moment” i figured i would leave my story out for everyone to see and be a warning from shopping at sears again.
WE have just purchased a new house and were in need of appliances. So we went to sears and purchased 4 appliances fridge, sihwasher, stove and microwave. Unfortunately, to our great dissatistfaction the fridge for hte 3 time comes defective and unfunctional, and we basically end up stuck without a fridge for almost a month. When i called customer service to enquire on the next deliver their lame exuce from a manager called Tara, that there is nothing more they can do than place a trace and hope that the next one is good.
They would not tell me when the next delivery is estimated, and when i told them what are my options they basically said that i can either wait, or you guessed it… “wait some more”, At this point, i told them that for us waiting for a month for a functional fridge must not be “ENOUGH” waiting for them to get the point that they are screwing up time after time again. So i had it with them, and have canceled the entire $6,000 order with them ….as a great thankyou to them and when the manager asked me my, i told them “as there was nothing else i could do” for them. we then went straight to bad boy, and had the same appliances purchased from there for pratically the same price and delivered all functional the next day. Take that for a service sears and learn from your competition.
So i certainly can say that sears will not see us shoping with them ever again.
January 22nd, 2007 at 11:23 pm
I have a dryer that needs to be repaired - I had two appointments and both times they said they would show up between 8 and 12– they never showed up or called.
when I call the main service number to see what happened - they look my record up in their notes and it says” homeowner not home”. I called back again and they said it would be another 10 days before they could come back - EVEN THOUGH THEY NEVER showed up. The service is absurd and whoever is the CEO should figure this out immediately. I will never buy another appliance from sears again. OH yeah and I will tell everyone I know to do the same. Treat you customers badly and they don’t come back.
January 26th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
I am so glad I am not alone in getting bad service and product. I purchased a kenmore central vac from Sears 2 years ago and last week when i was vacumming under the bed I smelled smoke and when I looked down pass the handle there was fire(not a spark) fire shooting out missing my hand by a few inches. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I didn’t pull out the vacuum in time, the bed may have caught on fire. I would have thought customer service would have done something to accomodate me, perhaps waving the service fee but no such luck. I could understand if it had just stopped working then I wouldn’t mind paying the 78 bucks for service but when a vacuum catches fire then I see a problem and i refuse to pay for that. Anyways we’ll see what headoffice will say about this.
February 1st, 2007 at 1:09 pm
I’m currently dealing with Sears and what a NIGHTMARE. I purchased couches and when they arrived they were damaged. I called sears immediately after delivery (Dec. 23) to notify them of the damages to the newly delivered product - the customer service rep said that they would have to send a “Medic” out to my home to look at the couches before any actions can be taken - WHAT IS THAT!!! The couches are damaged and if I want to return them I have to pay a 25% restocking fee. Its now Feb. 1 and NO ONE has come to look at the couches! I’ve called sears 15 different customer service numbers, been bounced back and forth between service reps a dozen times and still nothing has been done! Sears should be ashamed of themselves for treating their customers in such a fashion. I thought Sears was a trustworthy retailer and that is what swayed my decision in the first place to purchase my couches there after this current experience I have lost all respect for the organization!
I am searching for the contact address or telephone number of the CEO at so that I can ship them a copy of the novel titled “Raving Fans” this book can offer sears insight on how they should be treating customers and rebuilding their reputation.
February 3rd, 2007 at 3:54 pm
At Sears, Customer Service is an oxymoron ! I’ve been a sears customers for what? 45 years. In Nov 06 we bought all new kitchen appliances for or custom dream home. After saving for 33 years , we wanted the best. Boy, were we f**ked! In Jan 07 ALL applicnaces were delivered by 2 men who spoke no English and had no idea how to drive in snow. They tore up my yard. ALL appliances had some sort of damage as did my front door. They dumped all appliances in the kitchen and left. Tearing up my yard again. In a nut shell, Sears hired an outside contracter who then hired someone else. The fridge, dishwasher and stove were for our dream house. It was the delivery from hell. Neither Sears or the delivery company will take responibility for the damage so my next option, which I will use fully, is legal action.
I will NEVER used Sears again. Not for anything!
PS Has anyone noticed how crappy Land’s End has become since Sears took over?
February 5th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Your Comments will be Noted!!!!
I have been an avid SEARS supporter and customer for over 30 years. You name it, and I have probably bought it at SEARS. My parents before me! Truly the end of another family tradition. How sad!
What a great opportunity to share my DISGUST with SEARS CANADA and my local SEARS OUTLET! PARTNERS IN SLIME!!!!
We purchased three appliances on Jan.3,07. Kenmore dishwasher, washing machine and matching dryer. Over $2000.00 of machines. And believe me that’s all we got. Don’t even think about SERVICE or CUSTOMER APPRECIATION.
The local outlet owner basically talked us into buying directly from him and not ordering from the catalogue because he would make more money or something like that. Okay, we thought we could help out the little guy, right. WRONG!!!
All the smiles rapidly relocated to some other planet as I am pressed to find one here.
We had to pick up the units ourselves, we are on a budget and couldn’t afford the $100 the local delivery guy wanted. Once home we noticed the bottom of the dryer was worn right down to bare metal. Even the raised areas were rubbed raw. How the heck do ya manage to do that? After making this clear to the outlet owner, he agreed to replace the dryer. He did mention that he called his service Tech, who buy the way lives in another town 40 min. away, who told him, “What’s the problem. It should be okay”.
After listening to the condencending tone from this man, we left thinking everything was good.
Now comes the fun part with the washing machine. Five days after getting it home, my wife notices a chip out of the inside of the drum. The enamel was gone down to the base metal or whatever it is. I asked my wife to call the local outlet owner and see what we could do about an exchange. Just a note that I still have my 12 yr. old kenmore washing machine in the garage and it is still in immaculate shape. Not one chip, inside or out. We care for our things. The local owner said he would call a technician to replace the drum. It’s done all the time. OH REALLY!!!!
My wife said she was not comfortable with this arrangement. He said he would look into it and get back to us. We then recieved a call the next day from the Mystery Technician from the other town. He said he would have to travel to our town so he could look at the washer and then render his verdict on what needed to be done. This is sounding very familiar after having read some of the other postings.
My wife called the catalogue number and the agent said she would expect a new replacment too. Oh Ya! She said unfortunately they couldn’t help us because of course, we bought from the outlet instead of the catalogue. Oh NO! She even apologized that she couldn’t help us. She gave my wife the parts and service number who were of no assistance, who then passed her on to the warranty dept. They said they could relate to our predicament but couldn’t help us even thought they questioned the way we were being treated by the outlet. HMMMMM! They then passed us onto the SEARS PRESIDENT LINE.
We contacted the SEARS PRESIDENT LINE which I asume is set up to help rectify situations similar to ours. YA RIGHT!
My wife talked to a lady who basically said if your appliances are fixable, that is what will be done period. WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL? (Don’t cha just wish you could reach through the phone)? That is how we do things here now. She also told my wife that, ” YOUR COMMENTS WILL BE NOTED ”
When I got home, my wife told me about the call and I picked up the phone and got another lady. I went through my tale, and this particular lady agreed that I had every right to expect and exchange seeing that we only had the units 5 days. HELLO!!!!
This nice lady, ( we’ll wait and see how nice , we won’t hold our breath ) said she will contact the local outlet owner and try to work this out. We are still waiting as of Feb.5, 2007.
We called and cancelled the Technician from that far away land, he was actually kind of peeved that we actually did that to him.
My position at this point is one of two possible scenarios. We continue with the exchange of the washer and dryer, or I haul the units back to his front door and tell him to repair them as he is want to do, and sell them as is!
This is not the END, but JUST THE BEGINNING! MOOOWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
February 8th, 2007 at 10:31 pm
Oh bother. After reading all complaints issued by loyal Sears customers, I must put my two cents in from a different stand point. I’m one of the furtunate ones taking these calls in Parts and Service. The 800 number you dial is servicing ALL of Canada. Three call centres. Regina, Montreal and Belleville.
Our parts and service units are scattered throughout who are responsible for jurisdiction, yes some may be even two hours away. For rural areas, Sears sub contracts their repair service to local companies. When you dial that 800 number you are not getting someone in a different part of the world, but a fellow Canadain, whom if I may, really does care because you are not dealing with a cold heartless being on the phone, but rather somebody who does sympathize and is doing their best to please and make sure you are a returning customer. BUT, there are channels we must go through to reach that level of service. Yes, I do agree it is frustrating for the client when the appointment made for service is scheduled and you wind up with an eight hour window. It is up to the rep to negotiate a day that will suit the client. And it is up to the service department to assign a smaller time frame, such as four hours or two hours.
You have all heard, “The next earliest day for service is…..” That is because the contact centres are open 24 hours 7 days a week with a call volume that exceeds thousands a day, we can only schedule our technicians work day accordingly within, ahhh a normal business day, 0800-1630 hrs, or in some cases, 0900-1530 hrs. They do service on rotation Saturday’s because they are aware that everybody works and has busy schedules too. They do also offer some evening shifts as the service units, where the technicians are based, will do over time for the sake of the customers who work past 1730 hrs and can’t commit a full day off work. With those special hours, there comes time to negotiate the day of the week. Most days are normal business hours. As for the contrator areas, we fax them the service request, the contractor has 24-48 hours to contact the customer. If no contact has been made within 48 hours, it is your responsibility to contact our 800 number so we may then let the service unit know that no contact has been made. If another 24 hours disappears with no word from that contractor, then we must get our Corporate Customer Service involved. Obviously there is a problem and we need to investigate.
We attempt to please by narrowing the day down and the tech’s schedule to four hours. In four hours, you are not the only one person whose appliance needs servicing, he’s running around repairing each and every call that has been made, the estimated time of arrival is based on when the tech is finished the last call. Like any trades person, business owner, machanic, dentist, doctor, hydro, bell canada, when that phone rings, there is a schedule to be followed. We do our best to please.
Call outs with the estimated time of arrival should come the morning of service. That’s when the print outs of all service calls are reviewed and scheduled and assigned to each technician. We can’t guarantee a time, because we don’t know where that technician will be enroute. No, there isn’t a direct line to contact the service branch that’s why 800 numbers were implemented to take care of the call volume. Frustrating, yes it is! We take your phone number so we may have your profile up and review notes in the system and see if the service department has made any updates, such as if the tech is running late, if there’s been an accident, if the tech has fallen ill or if the tech is so far behind we may have to reschedule. Yes, we want to please, believe me, nobody likes answering the phone and before you even have the greeting out, somebody is shouting profanity at you because the tech hasn’t shown up yet. We don’t know where they are…they are on the road doing their job. We are not the only company who gives out estimated time of arrival. We do that more so to gurantee service that day. Some company’s will go as far as a 12 hour window with no estimated time of arrival. You just know that you have to wait for service. Four hours really isn’t that bad and if all you’re doing is sitting and thinking about how Sears has screwed you over, then of course…in your mind we do have terrible customer service and it will be a miserable expeirience that you should go and rant off to your friends and anybody else that will listen. Everybody is free to their opinion, as closed minded as it may be.
As for not showing up with parts, does a mechanic know what is truly wrong with your car before he inspects it? Will he know what parts to order until the diagnoses is complete? Does a plumber know where that leak is coming from when you describe it over the phone? No. That is why we say before the end of every call, which falls on deaf ears apparently, and of course, different scripts for each type of service call, depending on which you fall under. Cash call, for those out of warrenty appliances, “There will be a $________charge. that will bring the technician to your home to DIAGNOSE the problem, once the diagnoses has been complete he will then give you an ESTIMATED total cost of repair which will include the basic charge plus any additional parts and labour.”
In warrenty call for those who have just purchased, “Your warrenty covers any manufacturers defect, based on your comments this service would appear to be covered, (again, can’t diagnose the problem over the phone, that’s why there is quallified technicians) however, once the diagnoses has been complete the technician will determine if charges apply. If the warrenty does not cover this service request, there will be a basic trip charge (same as above) of $_________plus parts and labour.”
It is not considered a manufacturers defect if little Johnnie thought it would be cute if he put play doh in the filter screen of the dishwasher, or put lego in the washing machine and it’s been trapped in the drum. It definately does not cover removal of shipping bolts when the unit has been put in place and used for the first time, without being removed first. Does not cover drain pipes if there is any problem with the existing drainage to the dishwasher, it covers the machine, not the plumbing.
The dreaded extended warrenty for those who feel it’s a waste of money, but again every company is offering it and those who just let it go feel the manufacturer should extend their one year warrenty because a service call is needed after the expiration.
PA agreement, “As per your manufacturers warrenty, most parts and labour are covered under your plan, based on your comments this service would appear to be covered, however once the technician diagnoses the problem, he will determine if charges apply.”
For those of you who are most offended when we reiterate this statement, it’s all in your contract, you just have to read it carefully…after all you did sign it. AND NO, the filters, for your refridgerator are no longer covered by the pa agreement. That stopped with any agreement purchased as of January 31 2004. If you purchased your agreement prior to 2004 and it is still in standing, without renewing it after that date, then yes, you are entitled to one free filter change. Any policy renewed after January 31 2004, no more free filter change. When purchasing that agreement, don’t sign anything if all you want is free water filters. It’s not going to happen. BUT most of your parts and labour are covered within the policy….all you have to do is refer to that agreement CONTRACT you signed with Sears.
Lets touch up on warrenty. Do you believe that Sears is the only company that follows the one year, sometimes two year warrenty? NOOOOOOO. If you actually sat down and read the manual that was provided with your new purchase the manufacturers warrenty, not Sears warrenty, manufacturer’s warrenty clearly explains that you are covered for defects. DEFECTS. Sears will honour that warrenty if the problem with the appliance is due to manufacturer defect. One year, that’s 12 months. Not a very long time, but the warrenty is not responsible for existing problems say with the plumbing, electrical or what have you. It is not responsible for that vacuum cleaner that ran over little army men on the floor and has now just totally demolished the brush agitator, or the sock the tech found while inspecting the hose. Or that filter light that is blinking in your fridge for the last month. It’s all in your use and care guide also supplied to you with your purchase.
Sears covers a lot of name brand appliances, each with manufacturers warrenty, some with exceptional warrenty which too is covered in your owners manual. For major parts such as seal systems and compressors, drums and on some models, motors.
If your unit burns out after the warrenty expires, we have no control over that. Perhaps the extended warrenty isn’t such a bad idea after all. We do stand behind our product, and if you have taken the steps to insure your expensive purchase, then the service and parts will be covered. If you laugh off extended warrenty, we are only going to be responsible for what the standard manufacturers warrenty will cover. Once that expires, there is no sitting back at the table and renegotiating. As unfair as that is, we are not the only company that has that policy. Once out of warrenty, the cost for service will apply, including parts and labour. REGARDLEASS how old that unit is.
It’s not that Sears is insensitive or out to get their clients, everything is spelled out for you in black and white. It’s a standard policy with any company selling any merchandise with a manufacturers warrenty.
You do have 90 days to confront the store you purchased your appliance from if you are having problems with it. If purchased from a retail store, you contact the store. If purchased from the catalogue, you contact the catalogue, if purchased over the internet, you contact catalogue and they will direct you to our Corporate Customer Service who will then address the issue. After 90 days, yes you have to call for service and if it falls under the warrenty, then by all means, Sears will stand by that product and repair the problem. They won’t exchange or replace it after 90 days. Again, return policy is explained on the reciept of your purchase. You can also view these policies at http://www.sears.ca
Prior to that, if the problem is repairable, then Sears has that option to repair it. Set up service and let the warrenty take effect. If it’s irrepairable, then our technician will report back to the unit, the unit will then fax the report to our Corporate Customer Service, or the Store and will then advise on the next steps taken with care to satisfy our customer.
You may not like the steps taken, but Sears is a huge company and they do aim to please their customers and the way they run their operation, I think we are doing the best we can. For those who don’t understand the operator when they answer the phone, at least we are an equal opportunity company who has no discrimination in the work place.
Sears truly is a great place to shop, work and invest.
Thank You.
February 9th, 2007 at 8:07 am
[...] Take the example of Sears Canada. In May of last year, the Saunders household sent up a call for help. Our new-ish washer / driver combo had just come out of the extended warranty, and had a rather catastrophic failure. Water was pouring all over the floor when the washer filled. A call to Sears resulted in a $300 repair. The overall experience was entirely dissatisfying, and we felt we had been badly treated. In fact, I was so peeved with Sears that I wrote about it here. That post has since become a bit of a magnet for unhappy Sears customers, attracting four or five new (and usually lengthy) comments per month from people who need a place to air their beefs with Sears. Most of those posts start with “I’ll never buy another Sears product again.” [...]
February 9th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
More of the same but with a twist…I purchased a Kenmore washer in Jan/07; paid for delivery and set-up. The delivery set-up guy damaged the plumbing..did not notice the leak for 3 days…called plumber (not going to wait for Sears) cost $289 to remove wall panel and repair leak…talked to Sears store manager…he promised to make it good…long story but yesterday he called and said he would not make it good…so I called Sears head office..they said they would look into it BUT - “that is not a Sears store, it is a franchise”! The huge sign says Sears, the ads say Sears, the flyers say Sears…etc the Sears manager says I need to deal with the delivery/installers; Sears head office says I paid only for delivery not instal…the installers say my plumbing was at fault….I face reflooring 3 rooms in my home as well as the plumbing bill. I see that Sears does not belong to the B B B and infact has faced fines from the Competition Bureau..and the BBB says “this company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau” well duh! I am a pensioner, I do not know where I can find the money to either A) replace the flooring or B) hire a lawyer….Cass
February 19th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Morning,
I am having a poor experience with customer service. I have spoke with service rep Lois and Tina and am getting upset with the run around.
I had called customer service about a Delonghi Dehumidifier which was not working and I wanted to return it. I was given the OK (right at the 90 days) and was told to drop the unit off at the local pickup center. The local pickup center questioned the response and followed through with contacting customer service again to verify. After about 15 minutes I was asked if it was OK that Sears try’s to fix the unit, and if they couldn’t they would refund my monies. I am a reasonable person, so I agreed that they could send the unit off to be examined and if possible fixed. I picked the unit up on this past Saturday and the unit still does not work and I wish to return the unit for a full refund.
Customer service Tina could not help me so I asked to speak with a Supervisor, but was not at her desk, so I asked for a call back
Tina called my house and spoke with my wife and explained that I would not get a refund because the tech guy said you shouldn’t be running a Dehumidifier during the winter. That is Crazy
This quote is from a Humidifier Manufacturer
Would I need to run a dehumidifier all the year round?
Running a dehumidifier from early October until the spring is generally sufficient as more moisture is generated during the winter. It’s also better to start using your dehumidifier before the winter starts, this reduces the risk of moisture soaking into your walls. If you do start your dehumidifier part way through the winter it is advisable to run it continuously for around 2 weeks to ensure your home is properly dried out.
Also, no where in the manual does it state such nonsense
I called back again this morning at 11 am and spoke with Lois, who again could not help me and could not get the Supervisor either.
I have a hard time believing the Supervisor has been in a meeting since 8:45 this morning.
I am waiting for a call and asked to have it by noon (not holding my breath)
Please check my purchases (905) XXX XXXX on my Sears card alone, I have been a solid customer for a long time
I am very upset with the mis information from the tech
and I feel that I am being lied to and I would like some answers
12:09 pm and no callback yet :(
Thank you
Jason N. Fitzpatrick
February 22nd, 2007 at 6:37 pm
Well heres another dissatisfied customer,
I too thought Sears was a name you could not go wrong with when we bought our Bosch Nexxt Washer and Dryer from the Sherway Gardens Etobicoke store 3 Years ago.
The machines have broken down four times since we bought them. Right now my washer is out for the count, the door locked, half full of water and clothes and not a service guy in sight to fix it.
Sears has next to no trained Bosch repair people on staff. One of them even admitted to us he has to read the manual to figure out what to do to repair the Bosch washers and dryers.
Today was the kicker, after our third call to service this week, the CSR told us maybe we should go on the internet and find manuals and parts ourself….and this machine is still under warranty !
Looks like well be after a “Miracle” too very soon.
Adrian Dunevein
February 24th, 2007 at 2:32 am
ok i just started to read a couple of these and you people are retarded!!! ok for the first letter you say your washer is out of the waranty period so why would sears fix it for free??? they have to draw the line somewhere!!! sears is a great company not a great charity so don’t expect something for free. i buy just about everything i own (2 large house fulls) from sears and i couldnt be more happy. and thats why i keep buying from sears. yes some of my new apliances have broke but sears have great repair men that take care of it fast I did go to another company and found a washer and dryer a little cheaper then sears and bought them. the washer broke about six months down the road i spent 3 weeks with out a washer because there repair men were unsure what the problem was so i called sears there was a 6 day wait for the repair man to get here but he had it fixed that day and its still working (7 months later) So basicly sears has been great to me so i figured i would stand up for them after i read all your letters crying that sears is giveing your free service!! also i now buy sears extened warranty on all my apliances so i pay 1 fee every 3 years and sears now fixes every aplaince i have at no charge and they come once a year to check them over and prevent them from breaking. what more could you want.
February 27th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
A colleague of mine forwarded this site to me. I agree with everyone out there who has had problems with Sears. Trevyn you are so totally incorrect that it is a joke what you had written. You are a “loyal” Sears employee and I guess you must never buy anything there or else you too would have the same problems that everyone of us has had !
Dec.04 we purchased top of the line Fridge, Stove, over the stove Microwave & Dishwasher from Sears. That was our first mistake. Each item had to be redelivered 3 times - due to wrong product being ordered by Sears, but mainly damages.
When the we actually did get the deliveries - someone had to take time off work every time we had a delivery about 8 in total - the delivery people were awful - they dropped and damaged the stove and acutally expected us to take delivery, damage my walls, dirtied my carpets, and used foul language in my house, and did nothing but curse Sears.
After a lot of “discussions” with the store manager, department manager, and our sales person, we finally got all our products delivered by Feb.05. It only took 2 MONTHS to get our order - in the meantime Sears took our payment real quick.
Two years later, Feb.10/07, I had to throw out my over the stove microwave because it died and I bought a new one - not from Sears. Now the compressor is gone in my 2 year old fridge. It will now cost me almost $500 because it is over the 2 year warranty - warranty starts the day payment is made and not when final delivery is made. When I called customer service - what a joke - I made the major mistake of not getting this person’s name, but his answer was “well you had plenty of opportunities to purchase the extended warranty, maybe you should have”. I am going to try to call the President’s Line, but from all the comments that I have seen, I really think that it will be a total waste of my time. All I can say is that the SEARS SERVICE IS THE WORST I HAVE EVER SEEN AND THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS EVEN WORSE. I agree with everyone else, I will NEVER shop at Sears again. I haven’t shopped at Sears in 2 years. Perhaps we should all get together for a class action suit !
February 28th, 2007 at 5:53 am
Everyone with Sears Canada issues…… Send a note to Paula.Edwards@sears.ca about your issue
March 2nd, 2007 at 10:35 am
I am beyond confused how this company trains its customer service personnel - we purchased a new Kenmore stove (Nov 10, 2006) with a nice added feature - covered bottom element, it makes the stove look really finished inside and keeps the bottom of your oven very clean. Well guess what I turned on my self clean oven and the splatter marks that should have come clean on the element cover baked on and took the finish right off of it. I now have an element cover that looks dirty all the time. I called customer service and he proceeeded to tell me, well this won’t hurt the oven it will still work fine, I told him that was not the point and after a 10 minute argument he finally dispatched a service technician who arrived 3 days later opened the oven door and send, nope its cosmetic, your lucky I do not charge you for the service call!
I then called customer service again who confirmed that the technician was correct, I then told them they have two choices replace the element cover or pick up the stove. They now have put me onto a sales associate who is not in until today and I am going to see her personally as she is the lady I purchased the stove from. I cannot believe the attitude of these people, I asked them to point out in the stoves manual where it tells you this can occur, I had no reason to believe I should have removed this cover prior to cleaning and when I questioned customer service about this they said “few very people had this experience” If they think I am going away they don’t know me too well! I am fed up with having to speak to so many people to get something so easily resolved. To the Sears employee who wrote on this site, please put yourself in our shoes, you buy something and 3 months later the first time you use a feature of your new appliance it does not perform to standard, how would you feel?, how many people would you like to speak to? It all comes down to common sense and I believe Sears is lacking in customer service.
March 3rd, 2007 at 3:15 pm
OK here is my story….that guy who says Sears cares is blatantly lying.
I purchased a stove, refrigerator, and dishwasher from Sears in late 2002.
The refrigerator went 1 month after warranty was up, needed a new fan. Was fixed within three days..ok..but out about $150.
The oven just went…here’s were it gets good…I called the day it went…Wednesday…told agent would be here Thursday….they called me Thursday and said it would be Friday, because the repair agent is too busy…he (for the record he is good and not the brunt of my complaint), shows up Friday and says it is the temperature sensor, he needs to order a part, if it comes from Calgary it will be here Monday, if it comes from Toronto, it will be here the next Friday….So on Wednesday the next week, we haven’t heard from him, so we call him, he says the part isn’t here yet now it will be the next Monday….I call Sears Canada to complain about the time required to get the part…I figure in todays market, I can get most things to my house within 2 or 3 days max when I order on the net….the parts and service agent I call says they can’t do much with a part backorder…but he’ll transfer me to a customer service agent….I wait and wait on hold…the customer service agent comes on laughing….I explain my complaint…sir I’ll note that….then I guess I’m supposed to go away….no action…no recognition from Sears that there is a problem…..no “I’m sorry” even…..I WILL NEVER BUY FROM SEARS CANADA AGAIN..EVEN IF IT IS A PAIR OF SOCKS!!!!!!
March 3rd, 2007 at 5:03 pm
Hey I live in US and have had problem with a brand new washer from Sears. Can’t get anyone to help. I won’t buy another thing from them again and neither will anyone I know
March 5th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Well this was all very interesting. I too am trying to contact somebody at Sears Head Office. We bought a new water heater power miser 12 and they came to install it last Friday. True they did phone to ask my husband what sort of floors we have and he said hardwood with carpet on the stairs. We have had a lot of snow in Calgary and it had started to melt so they proceeded down the staircase with their shoes all covered in muddy snow! Installed the water heater which proceeded to leak. When I phoned on Friday afternoon to complain the installer told me he was at the other end of the planet and wouldn’t be back until Monday 5th March. I phoned the head plumber and he cam in to look at on his way home and said there is nothing wrong. This morning there is a nice puddle of water under the heater and leaking down the side. I phoned again and he is coming in tonight to look at it on his way home - we await with baited breath! We too have always bought Sears appliances, furniture etc because they used to give good service but it is sadly lacking these days and they wonder why they are losing money.
March 11th, 2007 at 1:55 am
Not sure why people are flaming at the Retailer…
The appliances are covered by the Original Manufacturer Warranty. Retailer has no obligation to extend that even for 1 day.
If Whirlpool / Frigridaire / Maytag etc.. only has 1 year warranty, it is 1 year.
I would not bitch if my stove is even 1 day out of warranty, as I agree to buy it in the first place. Owner’s manual is there for us to read. If you don’t agree to it, you have 90 days to return at Sears. Buy it from another competitor, same warranty. If you don’t want to buy from Sears, go somewhere, who cares?! If you are angry, get a laywer and sue, and see who wins. BTW, your lawyer fees would cover approx 10 stoves as they charge avg. $300/hr (conservative avg.).
A lot of people said they would take legal action… actually how many of you actually did, and how many of you win?
March 15th, 2007 at 10:18 am
I can Not believe what I am reading here. This is totally outragious. I am becoming very upset over this. We to have run up against Sears.
We had our roof done, on a Bunglao, semi, Only one side, shingled in 1995. We did have the best money could buy 25 year shingles thinking this is great. We live in such a bad environment that is better to be safe than sorry.
We were told less than a 1 1/2 ago by a contractor that was doing work outside our home on a seperate project OF course, when he turned around after looking at our roof that we need a new roof. We said, “Our shingles and roof were replaced entirely in 1995″. I asked him what do you mean it needs replaced? He said that look at your shingles, They are curling up on the edges. I said yes your right.
Then a couple of weeks go by and another contractor came in to complete the projuect that we had started. In fact he, is a building contractor in that he builds Million dollar homes for crying out loud. This guy says to my wife and I, “You need a new roof” I replied the same way I did with the Other contractor a couple of weeks earlier.
He turned around and said to me, Wayne, Look at your shingles, they are curling up on the edges. I couldn’t believe my ears. I said yes they are. He went on to say, “Look at the waves in your roof. I did just that & yes there is waves in the roof. It is not a steep pitch roof, in fact it is really nicely slopped and 40 feet in lenght.
We then got on the phone with Sears. My wife explained to the lady that we had our roof replaced in 1995 and we have been told that we need a new roof. In fact we said you need to come and look at our roof. This was 2004. Now keeping in mind, the roof will not need to be replaced until the year 2020.
Sears sends there guy out, we were both outside at the time, he starts off by saying, “i’ll measure up for your new roof”. My wife replied by saying that no we want you to look at our roof and tell us what you think? We didn’t say anything about the roof being done in 1995. He comes down off the ladder and says, “you don’t need a new roof, there is nothing wrong with it”. We said there must be something wrong if we have 2 professional contractors here at the house told us we need a new roof.
He leaves, then a couple of days later, This guy pulls up in a car gets out and comes to the door saying that he is an IKO Representative, that I am going to see your roof. We said that is fine, we gave him the ladder to get up there, he didn’t even go on the roof itself, he comes down off the ladder and say’s ” Your Roof is fine there’s nothing wrong with it”. I then said well that’s funny we have had two, contractors, well known I might add that have told us the oposite. The IKO Rep. says, “They don’t know what they’re talking about”. In fact he said, “they are full of s H eet
We said fine, you are a Shingle professional that is for sure.
Just the past weekend, March 10, 2007 early saturday morning around 9:30 am. My wife is standing at the kitchen window waiting for her hot water to boil so she can have a coffee, then all the sudden she notices water on our window. That is unusual because we have large over hang which the only way we get water on that window, is if we are getting Very high winds in a thunderstorm, and this day wasn’t doing that. She reaches over to the window and puts her finger on the glass and low and behold it’s water alright, on the inside of the window.
She shouted me to come look at it, by the time I got to the Kitchen, I reached up to see what the heck was going on and water is coming through our Recessed Light above the sink. Man, did we get water. Then I thought I better poke a hole in the celing right there to let the water out so it doesn’t do any more damage. When I did that, It ran 3 streams of continuous water fall from 9:30 am. until late that night. We had a unusually warmer day, which was melting the snow nicely. On our roof we had a lot of ice, about a foot thick in spots and snow. I told my wife to call the insurance company right away. I just didn’t know what to do. I knew though, that we were in big trouble. Wow, did we get water.
The insurance adjuster came in about 2 2-1/2 hours later and it is still running water into our house. What a mess. He to took pictures of the water falls. He put a Imaging camera on our Kitchen Wall and said, your whole kitchen was is soaked. You will have to have the whole wall taken out completely. We were just about sick to our stomaches. I couldn’t believe we had that much damage.
The following day the Insurance clean up guy came to the house to take some of the snow off the roof and put some calcium on the ice so it would melt faster and get the evel’s troughs flowing again. I go outside while he’s on the roof and guess what he said?, You need a new roof. I was absolutely beside myself. I should of been a twin. Actually I am a twin.
He went on to say, The reason we got water is because of the ice up there. It was backing up the roof. I still said, the shingles still shouldn’t need to be replaced though. Your shingles are shot. Look at the valley on your roof. It is wavy.
That was it for me. The next day, Monday March 11th/ 2007 I put a call into Sears. Here’s a News Flash for you. They told me that there is no numbers to call to speak to anyone other than the person that answers the phones. She said, there are no telephone numbers to call, she said I will put through a complaint to head office but it will take 24 to 72 hours before anyone gets back to you. I said “What the heck are you talking about”? This is an emergency. She said that doesn’t matter. She will only put a special email through to the office. I couldn’t believe my ears.
Sears still today, Thursday March 15, 2007 Have NOT called us yet. Now we are going to get a lawyer. That is enough. Then I bumped into this website. There is a God………..
March 16th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Just got off the phone with Sears parts and service and was told that I couldn’t order a new part because I didn’t go through the proper channels. My dishwasher was very noisy and the quit so I decided to check things out for myself. Took the thing apart piece by piece meticulously and inspected every inch. I got down to the motor and decided I could do no more so I took the motor to an authorized repairman and was told that yes the motor was shot. I then phoned customer service and had to pursuade the guy to believe me when I said it had a 2 year warranty on it. I purchased the dishwasher Sept.2005. Now I have to pay the repairman a call out fee in order to have the part ordered!!!!How stupid is that…All I want is the damn part so I can put it back together and start loading the dishes again. You can tell how desperate I am when I have to take the thing apart myself. Anyway after many appliance purchases I will no longer buy a thing from sears again. Oh and I wonder when and if I’ll get my part.
March 20th, 2007 at 10:22 am
Yes that’s right sears sucks !!!!!!!!! big time in 2004, we bought a whirl pool stove from SEARS!!! after the first year we had to get the tec in to see what was wrong with it, Well we were stunned when the tec said that we need a new circuit board and that it would take 3wks.for the part to come in from Ont. in turn I CALLED SEARS to say that I wasn’t happy with my stove and wanted to send the stove back! But sears told me that I HAD [TO HAVE THREE CALLS TO THE TEC] before I could return the stove, I tried to explane that if it did brake down in the first year!!! what other problem would come up!!! the sales girl said not to worry that I had EX.warntery…. Well here we are 3years later and still a bum stove with same problem and getting Jacked around.Phoned SEARS to tell them that F6-E5 was blinking, sears sent out a tec to fix the problem,well they the tec did come out, with the wrong part he put the part in even though we didn’t need it the tec was ready to leave, my husband told the tec that part wouldn’t fix the problem and sure enough it didn’t fix it. so here we are it is now March 19th, and we have gone to the store and explane to the store manger the whole story again the manger said that she [Wendy] has no inf. about this problem isn’t that funny!!!!!!!!!! in turn she[Wendy]not me,took are phone no. and would get back to us by the end of the day……. Wendy did phone us back to say that there was nothing she could do for us. I asked Wendy that I wanted to speak to her boss,and that I just wasted my time talking to her. O yes did i say that it was the end of the day so another day goes by and still no working stove!!!!!!!!!!this is the 4th call out to SEARS[ WHAT HAPPENED TO 3 CALLS AND THEY REPLACE IT] They are playing with the wrong person [I’ve taking the brick to court for the same problem and won.And I’m not scared to do it again, as for them not belonging to the BBB sears wouldnt get in the door they [SEARS has to many strikes against them to be contained class action suit sound good to me
p.s. did i mention the order sheet had the part that the tec CONVIENTLEYdidn’t have!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was a loyal customer for years, but never again will you people have my buisiness
March 21st, 2007 at 10:27 am
Wendy, can you take it to the court again please, just do it. It’s boring to read forums about people flaming. Do something folks if you are that annoyed with Sears.
March 25th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
Sears techs are over booked. The tech has to run the calls in the order they are on his computer…he can not change them. They have no new training. So if your very lucky you get a tech with years with the company…most likely you will not. See, Sears treats techs worse then they do the customers. So the older techs….the ones that really know how to fix things….leave the company. A&E service is also run and owned by Sears. Needless to say….that service also sucks! I could spend hours on here telling you how Sears has screwed the techs. How do I know all this? I am a Sears tech. I have over 35 years with Sears. I have my tetirement papers in my truck. If they ever tell you the serviceman called in sick….that’s pure bullshit. We get 0, nil, none, NO sick days. If you think Sears service sucks…..try working for the son of a bitches!
PS. We do love our customers. Every time Sears asked YOU how you feel about us….it always comes back the same. 98% of our customers loves the techs….yet hates Sears service.
March 26th, 2007 at 9:41 am
Sears Customer Care Centre
This email is in regards to my 20 mth old fridge that stoped working
Thursday March 15/07.
We are extremely disappointed in Sears; 8mths past the one year warranty our
Kennmore Elite Fridge (serial number ES427072; model number 106.7420641 mg
date 2005.06) breaks and when the company tries to compensate for the
repairs we are blackmailed. The CSR told us they would
cover 1/2 the service call and 1/2 the repair costs only IF we purchase a
maintenance aggreement and an extended warranty. This tells us their
products are unreliable and likely to break hence the need for extended
warranties OR are these extended warranties and maintenance aggreements just
a way to get extra money from the customer.
Why do they prioritize service calls to the people who have maintenance
aggreements? We were told the next available service call would be in 5
days. My father-in-law who live with us (has a maintenance agreement with
Sears) fridge needed to be serviced as well, called after us and recieved an
appointment the next day between 8am and 12 pm.
Is the company so large that they cannot service the customers promptly and
efficiently? Parts needed for our fridge take between 3-6 buisness days to
arrive and be processed to a service technician. Why is it so difficult to
contact the service technician on the road. Why do some technician require
telephone contact before coming to the service call and others do not? Do
they coach their employees at the Customer Care Centre to say anything to the
customer even thou they have no intentions of following it thrrough?
The service techinician was to be at my house between 12pm and 4pm Friday
March 23/07. We were home but did not answer the phone and recieved the
message at 2:30pm and the service department could not contact the
technician to let him know we were home. Countless employees guarrenteed us
someone would be out that day or at the latest Saturday morning. IF they had
read the file properly or taken the time to do their job appropriately they
would of noticed that the part required after the first technician diagnosed
the fridge wrong was back in Toronto and the earliest anyone can recieve the
part and come out is Tuesday March 27/07. This information was provided to
me Saturday morning when a CSR called to tell us they were very
sorry but they were unable fit us in Saturday morning anyway.
I asked them if they had any idea what it is like to function without a fridge with an
active household? We both work full-time, we have 3 elementary school aged
children. I have to make a trip to the store everytime I want milk for our
children for every meal - to make their lunches - to make supper means
anouther trip to the store! The food I have to waste and time and
aggrivasion caused because they cannont fix my fridge in a timely manner is
unacceptable. IF I had gone with a smaller, more customer oriented buisness
this would not have happened. Not to mention I had to take the day off work
so someone would be there for the technician.
Sears has lied to us. Purposley misled us and did not give us
appropriate information. The Customer Care Centre lacks continuity. Why
can you not speak to the same person twice even if you request too? Why
will people not give you supervisors numbers or email addresses if you are
not satisfied at their level? One person does not know what the other
person is doing because they do not communicate and fail to communicate
information appropriately. We never thought we would of been treated like
this from Sears with the reputation and core value of standards you
advertise. We both regret purchasing our appliances from Sears and will
relay our story to others to prevent a simular encounter. Word of mouth is
one of the strongest tools for advertising hence why smaller buisnesses do
well. You may have to pay a little more but they will back their products
without purchasing extended warranties making going to the smaller buisness
the better deal!
Kelly and Dwayne
Just a little experiment I sent the same email to sears 10 times and recieved 10 automative replies from 10 different people with no resolution to the problem.
March 26th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
Past warranty is again past warranty. You buy the appliance knowing warranty is 1 Year.
Sears does not sell “extended warranties”, they sell Protection Agreements and they are different.
Protection Agreement provide more than just “extended warranties”. It is strongly advised to educate yourself in what you are buying and your warranty entitlement.
It is common among the industry to offer Protection Agreements / Extended Warranties, etc…
1) Profit is high, and retailers need to make money.
2) To protect you, it is true. I hope all of you who complained looked at purchasing one of these.
No these doesn’t mean the appliances are inferior. Do you buy life insurance / drug plan?? Same idea. For those who bought life insurance, are you thinking that you are inferior to your neighbour who didn’t have the $ to buy???? HAHAHA. Of course not, it is for your protection, or your families’ protection.
It is so funny to see how folks get so mad when they don’t understand their warranties / appliances / service etc…. keep in mind, when you buy, you are entering a legal binding contract. Please read your owners’ manual, warranty material.
Keep it coming folks, your stories are really funny and highlight how ignorant consumers are these days.
March 26th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
Oh by the way, I must point this out:
1)All service calls, service trips offered by companies is a cost.
2)Costs are then added to retail price.
3)At the end we are paying for it.
If the appliance fails within warranty, it is the obligation of Sears to get it repaired. If it’s not, I am telling all of you, You ALL pay for it. In essence, when we shop, we are actually compensating these “out of warranty” complaints. This is a very funny forum, yet when we think about it, we pay for it everyday, unknowingly perhaps.
Keep condoning the customers = we all keep compensating them. If my appliance broke 1 day, I’m sure to give Sears a call and flame, and you all can pay my part back. Funny but true.
March 29th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
What Omni says is very true. I am a manager with Sears in Ontario. Peoples attitudes towards entitlement when it come to after sales service, and Sears’ liberal exchange policies over the years has put them in to a crisis situation. Quite simply Sears must do what they are doing in order to survive. The focus in the stores is not on making sales but preventing returns. Our return policies must be enforced or Sears will cease to exist. It’s as simple as that. Whether they deserve to exist is another matter. They have more deep seated problems than changes in customer service. I will detail this in a post later today.
March 30th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
I disagree. Bottom line is Sears does not stand by their products anymore like they used to. They are selling inferior products, period. I am also a very dissatisfied customer that will never again buy from Sears. Even the technicians that have been to my house too many times to count in the past TWO years (shouldn’t appliances last longer than that without needing MAJOR repair?) have told me that they wouldn’t buy the Sears products because they are just not made to last anymore. Nice, huh? I have been getting the run around from Sears so called customer service for the past 3 1/2 weeks to get my 2 year old washer fixed for the second time.
Like I said, Sears does not stand by their products.
March 31st, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Send your concerns to all these people.. laurae.denton@sears.ca, paula.edwards@sears.ca, ssimic@sears.ca, smclau4@sears.ca, rick.gaboury@sears.ca
April 1st, 2007 at 12:27 am
Thanks for not shopping at Sears. Then I don’t need to compensate for your service calls. 2 year old is “old”. Cars generally only have 4 yrs warranty even my BMW. What more do you expect from a $4000 washer/dryer or ur $3000 fridge??? No one is obligated to even service your appliance out of warranty. You are more than welcome to purchase other namebrand products.. But Kenmore stuff are made by Whirlpool / Maytag / Frigidaire anyway. If your National Appliance broke down, it’s still 1 year warranty.
They stood behind throughout the warranty as far as I can see. Nothing wrong with your service at all Karen.
Your appliance is OUT OF WARRANTY PERIOD.!!! haha
April 1st, 2007 at 12:35 am
Yea, by the way, you got to send to those folks, so they’ll be busy. If you don’t they’ll be out of a job soon. Funny. It is policy of Sears to do that, it’s at the back of the receipt and I would assume the policy is approved by the most senior executives. Who are those folks by the way?? If they can overrule, I’d like to send a letter to Dene Rogers myself about the integrity of Sears policy.
April 1st, 2007 at 12:38 am
If I were lucky enough to be working there and got emails sent to me about these stories, I’d be laughing my butt off everyday. Save me another few pennies to buy newspaper, as I don’t need the comics section nomore. HaHAHa
April 1st, 2007 at 3:57 pm
“Waiting for a miracle from Sears”
Dear people
Be aware I have never ever ever seen a frontload washer with a failed boot after many months of use without the customer having caused it! What, Sears is expected to go good for something you or your family did?
Did you buy the extended warranty or are you another freeloader that thinks appliances don’t need care?
Hey, go buy from FutureShop or the Brick and see what they will give you. 5 seconds after the warranty is up!!! THEY, won’t do it man!!! They, DONT HAVE INHOUSE WARRANTY!!! THAT EXTENDED WARRANTY IS OUT OF SOME FLORIDA INSURANCE CAMPANY………DID YA KNOW ?
Sears is the best reatailer ut there and don’t forget it!!!! I do them all and Sears cares.
Tired of customer like you.
We servicers are tired of your complaining!! We get concessions for customer that take responsiblity for their actions.
April 1st, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Doug, I sympathize. I’m sure it isn’t fun getting yelled at by irate customers. But let me ask you this… How do you know that my washer wasn’t in perfect condition, and well maintained by our family? Answer: you don’t, because you weren’t there.
And you know what? We did buy the extended warranty, AND we bought from Sears rather than from their discount arm, Corbeil Appliances. We wanted TOP NOTCH SERVICE — the kind that Sears was renowned for providing. We didn’t want discount service. We PAID EXTRA — a premium on the appliances AND an extended warranty for that service. My view is that we got taken, because we could got discount retailer service from a company that prides itself on premium service.
Even so, if Tara had been in the least bit empathetic on the phone, I would have let the whole thing slide. But she was an idiot — rude, and unsympathetic. I don’t think that Sears is the retailer they used to be. They’ve certainly not demonstrated it to us, nor to the hordes of others who’ve commented on this thread.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Come on.. be real here again people.. your appliances were 4 months out of extended warranty. 1 yr manufacturer, usually people buy 3 years extended. So approx your appliance is 4 yrs old. As I said, even cars warranty runs out. Your PREMIUM PAID was TOTALLY USED UP already.
I have a question: What part that people don’t understand. 1 year is three hundred and sixty five days. If you pay for 3 years, times that by 3. If you want to buy 5 years protection agreement, then times that by 5. Did you folks need to go back to grade 1 to understand multiplication or how the calendar works?
If you understand the above concept, then you only PAID EXTRA for that EXTRA YEARS of service, not a day or a week, let alone 4 months more.
If you still don’t get it, I suggest you read some math book and mark down on your calendar when your warranty entitlement ends.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Omni, I would have RENEWED an extended warranty. No arguments about the value of service. It ain’t a Sears value any more.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:50 pm
My apologies Alec, I don’t really understand your value concept.
You were talking about Value. Value = Tangible and Intangible goods or service / price.
That’s the equation. So if you don’t need to pay, than your equation would be Value = $300 (say service call) / $0. Math book would tell you anything divided by 0 is infinite. That’s also where Newtonian physics break down, and Einstein’s take over. So your value if you don’t pay is infinite gain, opposite for retailers would be infinite lost.
So here you get all the value (infinite) and retailers lose. And as I stated before, all retailers are here to make money, so they will pass costs onto other customers, like myself. And I end up paying for your “value”. Does it make sense?
April 1st, 2007 at 8:56 pm
If you had renewed or “paid” for your entitlement for your service, it’ll be another story.
Then you are entitled to the service governed by the agreement. Since it is a contract, it is legally binding. Then your remedies would be to file lawsuit, cheapest I believe is through small claims court where you do not need legal counsel, and seek for damages. So if retailers do not fulfill their part, go for it, and you have every single right to flame. And believe me, I’ll cheer for you too.
Unfortunately, most of the folks here are again “out of warranty”.
April 1st, 2007 at 9:41 pm
Omni, again, I will say this… you’re missing the point. BRAND is built around customer perception. Sears BRAND is “dedicated to providing its customers with quality merchandise & exceptional service, coast to coast.†Those are their words, not mine. If your brand is service, then you have to deliver.
When we bought we could have bought those appliances from many retailers. We bought from Sears, and with the Kenmore brand BECAUSE we believed in the Sears promise — the promise that Sears articulates in their own marketing materials. I do not dispute ANY of your arguments. I DO argue that Sears brand, the promise that they make to their customers, implies that they will be more than Future Shop. And that’s the reason we bought from Sears, and if they don’t fulfill their part of the bargain, it’s the reason we will never buy from them again. Why should I pay a $300 premium for the promise of service when that promise is patently a lie?
And once more, I will point out that I paid for that promise AND I would have paid again for a further extended warranty had it been offered. Sears has lost their way. The premium customer (which I represent) is not being serviced… AT ALL. If all I can get from Sears is discount retailer service then I have no need to pay premium prices.
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:03 am
Only question again is - Was your appliance in warranty when it broke down?
If your answer is YES - Then the appliances did not perform too well. According to warranty entitlement, you should get serviced as long as it is manufacturer’s defect.
If you answer is NO - Then you got to pay for service, no matter how much premium you paid. As it is all used up during warranty.
If your complaint is regarding - FREE SERVICE AFTER YOUR WARRANTY IS EXPIRED, then you are a Freeloader as the tech has mentioned.
And your point is total invalid. As customers of Sears - no I do not want you to shop there, as I will end up paying for your costs. So go to other retailers please.
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:07 am
Sears Brand is “dedicated to providing its customers with quality merchandise & exceptional service, coast to coast”. Those are their words.
Everyone read this one more time. Does it say “FREE” merchandise and service??? Does it say “FREE” service after your protection agreement is over?
NO. I don’t care if you pay $10,000 for your protection agreement, if it’s over, it’s over.
There’s no free lunch in this world. If you go food bank, you still need to line up, and time is what we called opportunity cost. Everything in this world has a cost associated to it. And someone, somewhere, somehow has to pick it up. And it better not be all the good customers of Sears in Canada that deligently follow Sears’ policy and live up to the spirit of contract law.
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:20 am
How come people do not come to understand this: Yes you paid for warranty say 01/01/07 to 01/01/08 for $500. Your appliance breaks down on 01/02/08. Your warranty is out, it’s over.
I sincerely hope you understand how a calendar year work and that your premium used up and you have to pay for service call like all other customers. It is only fair that way.
April 2nd, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Again, you’re missing the point. I am not talking about the letter of the contract, nor am I talking about the beans that the finance people at Sears are paid to count. I am talking about customer perception and brand. Valuable, but intangible assets which are being damaged by their approach. That’s all.
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:40 pm
Omni, you are missing the point. You are portraying the “NEW” Sears where the customer now comes last and sears profits come first.
April 2nd, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Quite the opposite… Sears is enjoying sales increases in top line and profitable growth in the bottom line.
Shares of Sears Canada are in high $20 as oppose to high $10s couple of years ago.
Top Line growth by:
1) Better qualifying customers by explaining product features and warranty at point of sale.
2) Ensure customers are aware of warranty entitlement and educating them of the value of Protection Agreements.
3) Enhance the floor layout and strengthen revelent lines of products. Eg. Stainless Steel, Front Load washer/dryers etc..
Bottom Line growth by:
1) Sticking to manufacturer’s limited warranty to minimize costs.
2) Adhere to clear and written in black and white warranty entitlements again to minimize unexpected costs.
So far, all I can see is they’re doing quite well.
April 2nd, 2007 at 5:06 pm
Today, Sears seem to tighten financials. And I applaud them for doing so.
Any retailer can give customers all they want, in this case service. But again, that comes at a cost.
So you folks will now enjoy Free service after warranty is over. Good. Then what about the rest of us, we will be ending up paying for your service call. By sticking to the policy. Every customer that pays will be treated equally.
Unless Alec and Concerned Person would like to pay more, you are not getting more than what I and other customers get. I totally love the “NEW” Sears, so far, all my service calls have been answered, without cost as I’m still in Warranty. When I’m out of it, I will pay. There’s no free food in this world. And if you think there is, you are dreaming.
April 2nd, 2007 at 5:13 pm
Profit / Customer / New / Old Sears…
Customer and Profit must be balanced. You are certainly not treated “last” as your warranty is up, and you WILL NOT therefore enjoy free service calls.
Sears is just balancing profit/cost and customer service. No retailer or company will EVER put you to a point where they’ll lose money. And keeping you happy but lose money will in turn hurt Shareholders, all other customers, suppliers, employees, and so on…
So keeping you a minor % of non-profitable customers happy and hurt thousands of folks out there does not make sense.
Alec, you are a business person or owner as you said on other forums. Does your company condone this type of practice in giving free service? If you do, can you let me know? So I’ll purchase from you and end up haunting you 3