Disgusted With Sears!
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion Archive: Archive September 2005:
Disgusted With Sears!
I am sooo angry. I made a service appt. this am on the Sears website for my dryer between 1 and 5 today. I was so happy to see an appointment for today!
I checked back later and the status showed that I had been assigned a tech. At 3:30 I get a phone call that there is no tech in my area and they have to reschedule - for NEXT WEEK! Go without a dryer for a week .... not fun!
I aske to speak with a manager, after all it was their error, they should make an effort to get here sooner - haven't they heard of overtime? I'm given a customer relations phone number. I even asked the rep if I was going to get a human being or just some recording. She said, "Of course you'll get someone". Well, I call and there's no answer. I call the main number to check and see if I got the right number from the girl. I'm told - THERE IS NO CUSTOMER RELATIONS NUMBER - the rep LIED TO ME!
Futher I'm told:
1. Same day appointments come up on the website, but they don't exist!
2. I cannot speak with a manager because all I want is a sooner appointment and the manager can't give me one and if he says he'll put me on a waiting list he's lying because there is no waiting or cancellations list.
I am livid. This month alone I bought an $800 trash compactor from Sears and a $700 gas grill. I even had problems with those! They said the compactor was coming on one day and it never showed, they called later on in the day to tell me it was coming another day. Then, they deivered it almost an hour earlier than they said they would - lucky I was home.
The grill was defective and I called Sears for help and they did nothing. Luckily the manufacturer warrantied it for 30 days and it was fixed.
All my appliances are from Sears so I'm stuck with them till the maintenance agreements run out. The for sure, I'll use someone else who is more reliable - even if they are more expensive.
For sure, I won't spend another dime at that store! They showed complete and utter disregard for me as a customer!
Thanks for the vent! I feel better - oh, I mailed a letter to their customer relations address - if it's for real and emailed as well.
Ame
We don't buy maintenance agreements. They are a waste of money. We always buy our things at a local appliance/furniture store. They increase the warranty to 5 years, deliver, take away the old item, install and are quick to come if you need a repair. When you call, you actually get to talk to humans and we have never gotten such a big runaround! They are more expensive than Sears, but the customer service is much better.
Also, they are pretty much on the money, with their estimates of when a repair guy will get to your house and will even call to say they are on their way, if you want them too.
I haven't had much trouble with them before, as far as service goes. My dryer is only a year and a half old, so I can't imagine what went wrong.
But yes, Dawn, from now on I'll buy from the little guy who has a reputation to maintain, not a national giant that's too big to care.
Ame
Ame, do two things. First, call Sears and ask for the name and mailing address of the Regional Manager. If they ask you why, "because I want the name and mailing address of the regional manager".
Then, if they give it to you, write a letter of complaint - similar to your post above, to
Alwyn R. Lewis
Chief Executive Officer
Sears
3333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179
with a copy to the regional manager. If they refuse to give you the regional manager information, add that to your letter. (Note: Mr. Lewis was just appointed CEO this month, I believe.)
I find that if I call the business section of the Philadelphia main library (a major library in your area should have the same service), they go to a book they have that lists the national executives and regional managers of corporations, and I get the information there.
This is the one time I have found that "trickle down" works. If you write to the CEO, it goes to one of his secretaries, who sends a copy on to the appropriate people with a note saying something like Mr. CEO wants you to take care of this and report back to him.
One time I bought a hot water heater from Sears. They said they would install it the next day. I said no, I am having the installation done myself. In which case, I was told, the hot water heater would be delivered in 10 days to 2 weeks. I complained, and asked why - and got no good response. I sent a "night letter" (a cheap telegram) to the CEO of Sears the next day, briefly saying what had happened and asking why a hot water heater that could be "installed" the next day couldn't be delivered the next day. The hot water heater was delivered 2 days later, with very humble apologies and a rebate.
You might mention that you have posted your complaint about Sears on a website where you are member, one which has 4,000 members who are mostly moms, and you will be reporting back to them on how Sears handles your problem.
Go Ginny Go! 
Good advice. Sorry you have had the problems Ame. It's such a pain I know!
Ginny, thank you , thank you (when I posted, I thought, "this is righ up Ginny's alley ...) That's a different name than the one I was given. I will send letters to both, thank you for the info and your VERY helpful post - especially the comment about the 4,000 member website.
I hope they do get their act together. I checked out a consumer affairs website and Sears seems to be causing nothing but problems ...
Ame, I googled tonight and found a press release that this guy was just named CEO. It's an article in the September 5-9 issue of Forbes (which I think is authoritative when it comes to business news). Lewis takes over on September 30th from Alan Lacy.
http://www.forbes.com/2005/09/07/google-billionaires-alwaleed-cx_gl_0909faceweek.html
The same article includes some info about Chief Justice Rhenquist's death, so you know it is very recent.
Don't forget to try to get the regional manager's name & address - not the customer service manager, the regional manager.
Yes, this is right up my alley. I've become fairly good at successful complaint. And the first "secret" to successful complaining is to do it in a letter - not a phone call, not an email - a written, mailed (or FedExed or UPSed) letter. The second trick is to have a specific name and title - the higher up the better. The third trick is to cc (copy) to a lower down person who is most likely to have to report back to Mr/Ms Big and who can make things happen (the regional manager). If you want to, you can add another cc (in this case I'd make it the regional service department manager, if you can get that name).
I do think it is absolutely appalling to have a web site which confirms a same-day appointment, only to be told (whether accurately or not) that there is no such thing as a same-day appointment. It would not surprise me that there are no same-day appointments - heck, even my plumber won't come the same day unless my basement is flooding and the shut off valve is broken, and I've been dealing with this man, in person, for 15 years. But to have a website give and confirm a same-day appointment is deceptive and very, very bad business. It is, of course, even worse business for an employee to give a false phone number for a fictitious department. I hope that person gets fired.
Oh, by the way, another trick to successful complaining is to always ask the name of the person you are speaking with BEFORE you make your complaint or ask for the information you want. The easiest way to do that is to say, I'm Mary Jones (give your real name), a Sears customer. May I have your name, please. Of course, if the person won't give you a name, yo have something more to add to your list of complaints.
Write your letter in what I call "more sorrow than anger". Dear Mr. Lewis. I have been a Sears customer for X years. In fact, all of my appliances are from Sears, and just in the past month I purchased an $800 trash compactor from Sears and a $700 gas grill from Sears.
That is why I am very sorry to have to tell you my complaints about the way Sears has treated me in the past month.
Start with the dryer repair. Then your phone calls - especially the dear woman who gave you the phony customer relations number. Then your details of what you were told about getting service appointments, and when you would have an appointment. Segue into "I'm especially disappointed because I paid Sears $X for a maintenance agreement - which so far is proving to be worthless. It appears that because Sears cannot provide prompt service, I am faced with hanging my clothes on a line to dry (which is NOT why I bought a dryer), taking my wet wash to the laundromat to get it dry, or getting prompter service from another service agency (which is NOT why I bought a maintenance contract). The latter two options will cost me extra money because Sears is not be able to "deliver" on its promises.
Then describe your problems with the trash compacter delivery and the defective gas grill.
You should know that I am a member of a website with over 4,000 members, most of whom are moms. I told them of my problems with Sears, and told them that these experience almost make me feel I won't ever shop at Sears again. I told them I would be writing to you, and several members who offered me sympathy for these Sears-related problems asked me to report back on how Sears responds to my letter.
You can reach me from (hour) to (hour) at (phone number). I hope to hear from a Sears representative with a satisfactory resolution of my problem.
Anyhow, Ame, that's the kind of letter I would write. I think the descriptions of events and the way you describe them in your original post are very good, and I wouldn't change them. My suggestions are just the stuff that goes around the meat of your complaint.
And, of course, do let us know what happens.
If you want to, you can email me at klipvm (at) rcn.com
Wow, Ginny, you really know how to write one of those letters! Great job.
go Ginny go!!
More Honey than Vinegar, hu? My letter is, in my husband's words, vicious , but perhaps I'll get more results with yours. Allen Lacy is the name I had, so I will go with the new guy.
Ame
Oh yes, Ame, definitely more honey than vinegar. You want them to read your letter, not just ignore you as a hysterical nutcase. If you sound like a reasonable person, you are more likely to get a reasonable person responding to you.
I have found that I am more likely to get what I want if I sound like a "reasonable" person, even when I am seething. One of my "tricks" when I call a utility company or service company to complain is to say up front to the "customer service" person on the phone - I know you don't make the rules and you didn't cause the problem, but I am very angry wth your company because .... I have found that acknowledging that it isn't the fault of the customer service person and saying that I'm not blaming that person often inspires them to actually try to find a solution to my problem instead of just going through the routine "I will write it down and nothing will happen" scenario we all know too well.
Ginny is our hero in situations like this - she has the knowledge & experience. We NEVER purchase the extended warranties on appliances. I HATE HATE HATE Sears, but I *do* buy appliances there, and I HAVE had problems with delivety schedules, but in the end, every thing resolved itself. All I can say is be patient and persistant and do what Ginny suggested.
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