Given the mess Sears is in these days, his phone may have been disconnected for non-payment of the bill.

I hate Sears. They used to be cool, like back in the 70's, when you could buy the Toughskins denim jeans. But ever since they wouldn't take a personal check from me unless I gave them phone number I stopped shopping there.

No!!! Not a V-Tech...go Uniden! ;)

@em2thrasher: There were cool until 90, actually. At least for customer service.

Now it's not cool, another Circuit City coming up.

@em2thrasher: Who uses personal checks any more? It's such an hassle for everyone. Why use it, when your debit card, does the same (as long, as used responsibly.)

@Meltdown: I did not think that people that used checks had computers.

At one time, Sears was a good store. They stocked quality merchandise, had helpful employees, and stood behind their merchandise and services. I am not sure exactly when that changed, but change it did.
Problem 1:
Refrigerator went out. We shopped around a bit, and found a reasonably priced one at sears. It was the Kenmore brand, but was made by Amana. We arranged for delivery the following day (free delivery), and left happy. The next day, however, their was no still no fridge at my house. I called Sears, and they said that the delivery was scheduled for some ludicrous time, like three weeks in the future. When I corrected them, I was basically called a liar ("You must be mistaken, sir"). I drove back down with my paperwork and showed them where the delivery date/time was written. I did receive an apology, and many promises that it would be delivered the next day.

I made them fill out a new delivery form and give it to me.

The next day it wasn't delivered. When I called I was told it was for in-store pickup. Repeat the previous days problems, only now I can't get it until Monday.

Monday comes. The previous two days prroblems repeat. This time, I was told it was my fault because I had given them the wrong delivery day originally (the three weeks in the future delivery date). I go through all the same motions, and finally end up with my refrigerator.

Everything was OK, until my credit card bill came in. My fridge was on their, and three delivery charges. I called Sears to clear it up, only to find that they were unwilling or unable to . After a couple of hours on the phone with them, I gave up and called my cc company. I had them request a signed charge slip from sears, and ended up filing a charge-back. They were great, the chargeback went through very quickly (especially since I had documented each step of this ordeal, and had in writing that delivery was supposed to be free.

A couple of weeks later, I get a collection notice from Sears. I contacted them, laid out what happened, and they said I owed them (for all three delivery charges). After arguing with her for a while I gave up on the conversation- it was going nowhere.

I ended up getting a meeting with the District Manager, or whatever he is called. I brought all my papers, and a recording of all my telephone calls surrounding this ordeal. I told him that if Sears did not fix this, and quickly, I would not only file suit against the company for their fraudulent charges, but would picket the store and contact every news outlet I could find. I also informed him the recordings and every stitch of documentation had been posted to my blog.

Initially he tried to threaten me - my favorite was when he told me recording phone calls without permission is illegal (in my state it is not, as long as one party knows they are being recorded). When he started down that road, I stopped him and basically said " then I will take you to small claims court. In the interim, if you want to threaten me any more you can contact my attorney". I handed him my attorneys card (this was my attorney, and not in anyway related to small claims court. Remember, the boon of small claims court is you don't need an attorney.)

I filed the next day. I requested the amount they said I owed plus 500 for each collection attempt. A couple days later they called and offered to let the amount they were trying to collect go. I told them if the store manager and district manager apologized AND they covered my costs-to-date for filing the case AND sent me a letter admitting to their mistake about the charges I would. They declined.

Two weeks later, they agreed to cover my costs, have the district manager apologize, and send a letter saying the debt had been mistakenly sent to collections mistakenly, and nothing was owed. They absolutely refused to admit that they were wrong. I accepted because it really was all I wanted - though I overinflated some of the costs I had reimbured (copying, printing, media duplication. I made them pay for it all).

If I had "stuck to my guns", I could have probably gotten at least some of what I filed for.

I had a few other incidents I was going to post, but don't want to take the time right now... maybe for the next sears story.

In the end, I think I can say an organization that will not admit to its flaws can never correct those flaws. They don't see their business practices as mistakes, so they will not fix them.

@em2thrasher: It's just to verify who you are, or alert you in case something goes wrong with the payment. They're not going to call you just to chat, or sell your phone number or something. And if you don't like giving out that kind of thing, get a friggin' debit card. Geez.

@CubFx: Where's Problem 2?

But seriously, I would have just asked them to mail me documentation of the three items they delivered and hung up. You took it pretty far, and that's awesome.

Though, when you say you requested the amount they say you owed, how does that work? Are you saying that if the judgement is in your favor, then that part of the claim effectively nixes the supposed debt, or is that they'd have to scratch the debt and pay the money? I ask because I've just been through collection hell and, while they seem to have given up after my initial dispute volley, I'd still like to follow through and take the fight to them.

@batsy: Riiiiight... my drivers license isn't enough information. Ok. And I have a debit card jackass. One other thing, keep believing they won't sell your phone #. Gnomes are real too.

Sears, like Mervyn's, is a victim of a private equity investor who thought because he was a rich financial wizard that he also knew how to be a retailer. It has been crippled by poor top management decisions. Sears will be completely gone in 5 years.

@chrisjames: At the end of the post he lays out where problem 2 is: "I had a few other incidents I was going to post, but don't want to take the time right now"

The guys who bought SEARs did so because the value of the real estate under the stores had come to equal the total capitalization of the company. They figure that if the company fails they lose nothing.

The incompetence is a result of the elimination of standards in schools and elsewhere. Every kid gets a trophy in Little League, every runner in a race gets a medal. It eliminates any sense of achievement or the lack thereof. (the athletics are just examples)

Must have got his phone from k-Mart!

@Meltdown: Thank you, I know it's off topic, but there are few things that piss me off more than people who check out at the grocery store in one of the express lanes and then write a personal check as payment. Seriously, we've had electronic payment methods for decades now, stop writing gd checks!

@johnfrombrooklyn: I can only hope that as Sears goes under, they will be able to break off Craftsman into either it's own line of stores, or a line of merchandise sold at other stores. I'd prefer Craftsman stores though, since places like Lowes and HD don't even sell competing tools.

I'm not surprised ! Sears has been going down the crapper for years. Don't forget that they charge a 15% Re-stocking fee on virtually EVERYTHING they sell at the store. So they make their profit no matter if you are happy and return an item or not.

Sounds like a pretty good gig for them. But it's driving the business in the ground.

Simple solution.... DON'T BUY FROM SEARS.

The last item I bought from Sears was a snowblower. I stepped 15 feet into the store to look at it, make fun of it, then go home. A month later...they were running a promotion that I could combine with a coupon to get an amazing deal...the thing was so crazy cheap I bought it (so far it's been working great). That being said...I bought it online and picked it up at the store in a pickup area that doesn't require you to actually enter the store.

A couple weeks ago I picked up a present for a friend that she had bought online. I was again in and out of the pickup area (which is separated from the main store) in < 5 minutes.

They have a good gig going with the buy online, pickup at the store thing.

@em2thrasher: Retail businesses still accept checks?

The only reason I set foot in our local Sears is to go to the Lands End store-within-a-store. The people who work there are amazingly nice and helpful, and Lands End is famously accommodating about returns for any reason at any time. It's as if you've wandered from Hell into an oasis of Heaven.

Also, I buy my and my children's prescription eyeglasses at Sears Optical, another well-run store inside the store. Prices and service are both excellent IME.

@nataku83: They should spin off Sears Hardware and rename it Craftsman Hardware.

@admiral_stabbin: I just ordered some replacement parts for a Sears craftsman snow blower that I bought over 20 years ago. The order was filled promptly and with the exact parts I needed. I've always felt Craftsman, the parts lists / owners' manuals and ability to keep supplying repl. parts for a long time has been a much un-appreciated strength at Sears.

can't the sears blue appliance crew fix it? after all, appliance is their middle name

There's a good comment/essay about what Sears Might have Been over at Metafilter. Worth a read:

[www.metafilter.com]

@nataku83: I can get that it's annoying to wait in line--nobody likes it--but it seems a little weird to turn that into a judgment on the person in front of you. They're just shopping in the way that the store allows. It's kind of like being annoyed that they've got a bunch of stuff in their cart to buy.

@floraposte: which, in the express lane, would tick me off, too.

@nataku83: Yes, some people can take an annoying long time writing checks, but really? Tough shit. Another 30 second wait to check out while someone writes a check will not kill you or anyone else in line, and shouldn;t hurt you in any other way either.

This is why I hate the Visa commercials where the world grinds to a screenching halt when someone wants to use cash or a check. For perpetrating this kind of ideal that anything except a plastic card is slow and inconvenient and should be seen as inconveniencing others in line.

@TrueBlue63: I wonder if that property value = company capitalization = company fails we lose nothing setup will come back and bite them in the ass with the way values have declined.

Am I the only one who thinks that maybe the CEO just *might* have something better to do than take your complaint call regarding the repair of your dishwasher??

@Me me me: I actually like those commercials, its funny how fast the card goes, i never been on a line that you could slide the card and not wait for authorize and to sign for it or wait to enter a pin number

@em2thrasher: oh wow, calling people jackass over the internet, what the heck happened to consumerist-moderator-roz?

He was looking for a Blue Light special on a new phone maybe?

@CorinneSketch: It's a preposterous series of commercials.... I like the choreography, but every time they get to the cash / check-paying person, I get annoyed. Credit/debit is *not* as seamless as they show!!! grrr.

@em2thrasher: Differing opinions =/= you must be a jackass!

Learn how to be nice, even if it is the internet.

Having worked for Sears National Customer relations, I can tell you that you were not speaking to the executive offices. You were speaking to someone in the group of cubicles in the corner of the office who has been promoted from the general pool of CSRs to the "executive" team. They have the same rights and powers as the regular CSRs - that is to say: none.

All calls are routed back to the store in question and it is up to that store to resolve the dispute. Sears CSRs have no power to issue credits, authorize refunds, schedule deliveries, or even speak to anyone but the manager of the relevant department or the store manager at the store in question.

If a discussion with the manager doesn't solve the problem, calling customer relations might put a little pressure on him, but probably not.

Oh, I can also assure you that you will never, ever, ever get ahold of anyone higher up the food chain than a store manager.

Unless you get a lawyer involved, in which case you can speak to the legal team.

@jumbo pongo:

Do you actually think he will be talking to the CEO?

I am a recent employee of sears, all the complaints listed on this site are true, I have dealt with them myself on a daily basis, I sold appliances (fridges) ever wonder why they beat you up on those lowsy protection agreements? it is because it is free money to the company, you would not beleive how much pressure they put on us salesmen to push that crap, I have been threatened and even written up for not having a high enough percentage, how can you sell something that you don't believe in? the company figures that they are going to survive buy taking advantage of the customer and steal money from them in the form of a protection agreement, I used to like sears but after working for them and seeing the way that there buisness model is set up I will never shop there again, you can get a much better deal at the mom and pop stores and not get beat up and lied to buy salesman under threat and under pressure, the best thing is to stay away from sears and let them just fade away....

So..I recently applied online for a job at my local Sears. They listed three different openings, and I applied for a pricing/merchandising position - for which I am very well qualified. I went in for an interview and then had a second interview, both of which went very well. I was told the pricing manager was looking to leave and it was repeated to me several times that her position would be coming available. They asked me to come in two days later to interview with said pricing manager. This interview also goes very well, but she has not found another job yet. I am then asked to come in in three days later to interview with the jewelry manager and then the store director.

Did I mention I have great retail experience? Also a record that shows consistent promotions (all in retail) and exceptional references. I've managed a team of up to 20, run my own department, etc, etc.

So, after five interviews (four of which I answered the exact same sheet of questions) and a total of about five hours spent at Sears either waiting or being interviewed, the store director is looking at my application and telling me it doesn't make sense. "Why would you come here?" he asks me. I am confused - turns out what he really means is "Why would you want to leave a job that pays more than we do?" So, long story short - they are ACTUALLY only hiring for PART TIME jobs that pay MINIMUM WAGE. This is not listed anywhere - and what was I supposed to do - ask how much the job paid in the interview? Not to mention I was strongly led to believe they were attempting to pre-fill a management position, and in my prior retail experience my companies have always been looking for talented and experienced people - and they will bring them on even if they don't have a position immediately available.

I've invested quite a bit of time at the store by then, so despite his attitude I inquire about other opportunities. He tells me there is a 100% commissioned position open and that they make the most money in the store. I tell him I am not in the sales field (and I'm not an idiot either - I know people are not investing in new washing machines in this economy). I ask about what my hours might be. He can't tell me. I ask about pay rate depending on experience. He tells me they don't pay based on experience. I ask about opportunity for advancement. He says they are only looking for part-time people to work at minimum wage. He then says, "We have a hundred applicants for every position. We're just hiring the best qualified."

Really? You have got to be kidding me. Would have been nice to know I was being considered for an entry-level, minimum wage job that any pot-head highschooler could do before I wasted all that time. Not to mention - there was not even a token offer for me to come on board and as soon as there is an opening they'd keep me in mind. No offer to keep my resume on file and call me if they have a spot. Nothing. I left with a decidedly bad taste in my mouth about Sears.