I am not happy with Sears right now. I bought a freezer from them last year—a freezer that I have loved in every way but carnally. A freezer that has changed my life for the better. A freezer that BROKE almost EXACTLY when the warrantee expired. I salvaged what I could and crammed it into the tiny freezer upstairs that sits in the top part of the refrigerator, but still lost quite a bit of meat and some frozen fruit. So that was bad enough.
But then I called their repair line and set up an appointment for today between 1pm and 5pm (which sucks, but it’s better than “between 9am and 5pm,” right?). I was even impressed with how easy it was to use their automated system, and I DESPISE automated systems. So I went home early from work today, using vacation time so I could be there for the repairman. At 3:00 I get a call from Sears. I assumed it was the repairman telling me he was on his way. But NO! It’s someone in some office calling to tell me that the repairman couldn’t make it and they’d need to reschedule. (I commented to Fishy that at least it was 3pm and not 5pm. And he rightly responded, “At least they bothered calling at all!”)
I believe my exact words in response were, “ARRRGGGHHHHHH!” The lady wasn’t rude, but she wasn’t overly friendly, either. She said her next appointment was next thursday between 1 and 5. But I’d already fallen for that one before, so I (somewhat rudely) cut her off and said, “Do you have anything AFTER 5? Or on a weekend? I lost a lot of money so I could be home for the repairman today.” She said the repairmen are in a union and don’t work in the evenings, but she has an opening in a week (A WEEK!) on Saturday morning between 8 and 12. I asked her if I could please be FIRST, and she said that a computer made up the repairmen’s schedules and she didn’t have any control, but that I should be a higher priority since I was rescheduled.
So to sum up:
- My freezer breaks like clockwork as soon as the warrantee is over, meaning I will have to pay for a repair that is clearly Sears’s fault to begin with.
- I have to miss several hours of work (and therefore the money I get paid for those hours) so that I can be there to meet a technician.
- That technician does not show up when promised, meaning I wasted those hours of work and lost that money for NOTHING.
- I now have to get up at 8–freaking-am on a Saturday morning so that I can go through this whole thing all over again.
How could this problem have been averted, you’re probably wondering. Well, I’m glad you asked.
1. Build freezers that don’t break after only a year of use. The refridgerator in my kitchen is probably 15 years old at least and still running strong, and I’m in and out of that thing all the time, yanking on the doors, dragging it across the floor so I can clean under it, leaving the doors open while I clean the inside of the fridge, etc. and I haven’t had a problem with that thing once. But a freezer that just sits in the basement, running quietly, getting its doors open maybe 3–4 times a week if that? It falls apart if you so much as look at it funny. If my freezer is a strange fluke, then don’t charge me for the repair—who knows? Maybe they won’t?
2. Make your repairmen work in the evenings. You know, when people are actually home and don’t have to lose a bunch of cash out of their paychecks because YOUR product broke in the first place? Hire non-union repairmen for the evenings if you have to.
3. If you say you’re going to show up between 1–5pm then show up between 1–5pm. Don’t schedule so many appointments, or else hire more repairmen. If that repairman had just shown up on time, I wouldn’t be sitting here typing this now. But since they can’t keep their word, I’m blogging the hell out of how pissed I am at Sears, hoping that other people read this post and decide to shop somewhere else instead.
2 comments:
Just wanted to let you know that the freezer breaking is a problem with the manufacturer, and not sears. The repairman calling and rescheduling is defintaley rude, and their fault though. I sell appliances at sears, and can tell you the people you deal with when you call their corporate number(i.e. service, deliver, etc.) are on the average in no way friendly and are rude to all. This is all the way the business is going though for companies like Sears to compete with BestBuy and others though.
Here’s My Story:
Chapter #1
I received a letter shortly after my purchase of an above the range Microwave. The letter stated that if I had recently purchased a Microwave Model 665.605. I should stop using it and call the number below. So I called and they asked me if I had a green dot on the front of the microwave. I said no. They then told me to stop using it and scheduled an appointment for a technical representative to come out and check my Microwave for a blown fuse. The next available appointment was in two weeks. The technician came out, removed it from the wall, opened it up and told me that it was ok, “ the original problem was that a fuse was installed at the factory and was to have a green dot that would have indicated it was fixed at the factory. He further informed me that “the factory must not have put it on, or it fell of, as it was only a sticker. But the microwave did have the safety fuse.” I said: well let me see if I understand. (A GREEN STICK-IT DOT) would have indicated that the factory had installed a safety fuse that would prevent a fire and possible death must have not been put on or fell off. “I lost a ½ days work. @ $310.10 per day, two weeks of unusable microwave for which I had paid over $400.00. A $7.4 billon dollar company’s only indication that a potential fire hazard or catastrophic event was fixed was indicated by a GREEN STICK-IT DOT. Are you certain that customer ignorance equals customer bliss?
One year and 3 months later the microwave stopped working altogether so I called Sears. I scheduled the service call in the afternoon between the hours of 12 pm to 5pm. but the morning of service at 7:45 AM Sears called to schedule an earlier appointment. So, I called my office and had my secretary reschedule all my appointments from the morning to the afternoon. At 12:30 PM I called to find out why a technician had not show up. They told me they would get back to me shortly. At 1:30 PM I received a call from the technician telling me that he was not coming out because I was not in his work area. He also informed me that he notified the scheduling office of this at 10 AM and they should call me and found a technician in my area. They never did. I then called scheduling and they said they would send another service representative out by 4 PM. I again called my office and rescheduled all my appointments. A full day of work time lost and another $330.00 in income lost just tracking service representatives who clearly are confused and disgruntled about company scheduling and communication policies.
No one showed up by 4 PM, but at 4.45 pm I received a call from the supervisor of scheduling who asked me how dare I call and have scheduling contact the technician. She then further scolded me about some fictional report of how I was yelling and screaming at the technicians. I said: “excuse me, I never raised my voice, the technician was really very nice.” She then asked me hold. While I was on hold, I was thinking that maybe I never really woke up in the morning and that I was dreaming all this. But she finally returned she explained that the person who originally scheduled my appointment transposed the zip code numbers. She never apologized, she just declared the next available date and hung up. I have concluded that Sears scheduling service personal are trained to be hard line and confrontational, they misinform, and lie to cover their own glairing mistakes.
The technician finally came out to see what was wrong and you will never guess what he found was the problem. Yep, you guessed it, The safety fuse went bad. You know, the one that factory indicated replacing with an invisible green dot. Needless to say I was totally exasperated with the whole situation. I had to pay the service fees, labor and the part totaling $175.00, not to mention another half day of work that I missed and another $155.00 of income loss.
Chapter # 2
My 3 year old Whirlpool side by side refrigerator freezer stopped working last week. Needless to say, I did not call Sears. I called Whirlpool. They scheduled a repair visit for Tuesday. The day of the repair I received a phone call about 10 minutes prior, I looked at the caller ID and it was Sears Scheduling. I was thinking to myself, why would Sears scheduling be calling me? So I answered the phone and the person on the phone informed me that a technician would be there in 10 minutes. I said: “I did not authorize Sears but I had called Whirlpool A& E Repair.” He said they are the same company they just changed their name and the name on the trucks because Lowes also sells Whirlpool products and did not want a Sears truck pulling up to fix their products.
The technician arrived, checked it out within 2 minutes, said the fuse was bad, and that the part was $50 and the labor was $120.00. The Technician performed this repair in less than 5 minutes and was out the door in a total of 10 minutes. I am out of pocket $170.00 in parts and labor and $155.00 in lost wages from a half day of lost work.
In Summary, the past two months I have out of pocket expenses of $175.00 in repairs for my two and half year old Whirlpool Microwave, $170.00 in repairs to a three and a half year old Whirlpool refrigerator freezer. I have lost over $130.00 worth of food, two and a half days of work totaling $ 775.00 income loss or a grand total of $1265.00 and have encountered some of the most rude and obnoxious people it has been my displeasure to endure.
Here is a list of the Whirlpool/Sears items I own
Items, Model# Serial #
Refrigerator,
Model #: ED25VEX4W00
Ser #: SK2018647
Microwave
Model #: 665.60552000
Ser #:XCK5243508
Dishwasher
Model #: DU920PS663
Ser #: FJ4110915
Electric Range
Model #: 95022101
Ser #: RL5216868
Washer
Model #: 110.28803890
Ser #: CH3095108
Dryer
Model #: 66722694
Ser #: MH3151740
I am writing this letter to you asking for some relief of the repair, loss of food, lost wages and stress, which was caused as a direct result of:
1. Your failure to give reasonable warning of potential disaster with a cryptic and unreliable green sticker that could fall off by itself, or inadvertently removed by the purchaser upon initial installation.
2. defective and unreliable product,
3. Pathetic customer service support.
I ask you to look at this as if you were the victim here and consider the loss of a once loyal customer and advocate against the creation of a passionate adversary and crusader for the protection other future victims.
I understand that problems can arise. But a true test of the character of company who has any long term view of business and reputation is how well they handle them. As it stands neither Whirlpool or Sears products and services can be considered as a viable choice.
Note: I just replaced my Central Air Unit after 15 years. A few months ago I would have simply called Sears. I did not.
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