I immediately realized that this must be a common occurrence (and having read through the Sears comments here I know it is)

Being a former Sears employee, I bet this one slipped thru the cracks. Unlike other retail giants, the left hand at Sears has no clue what the right hand is doing. When I worked there (for the auto department), our system wouldn't even allow us to effectively track online orders (we barely had the ability to process returns for online merchandise).

The excuses the employees gave here are likely them just "taking a shot in the dark" as this happens on a daily basis.

Folks, unless its uber-cheap clearance socks, don't buy from Sears. Just. Say. No.

Sears employee here:

I can almost guarantee you that MPU misplaced the mower and didn't bother looking for it. Just because you buy it one day and arrange for a pick up doesn't mean that you have to pick it up that day. You can wait a week or two, whatever's convenient. The truth is that Sears already has your money; they might as well give you the mower you paid for whenever you want it.

Whenever a customer isn't going to pick up a "big ticket" item right away, it's tucked into a special corner of the back room where it waits until you pick it up. MPU either didn't label it with the name of the customer or they were truly incompetent and didn't move the mower at all. That means that the mower could have been sold twice.

17 miles? I drive further than that to work everyday. I don't think it matters how far it was or how long it took for Tracy to go get the mower. Maybe she should have called the police to report a theft.

"For whatever reason, Tracy wasn't able to make the 17-mile trip out to the store until more than a week later."

This is an excellent site, but I hope the Consumerist tells people it's THEIR FAULT when things like this happen. You don't wait a week to pickup an order. I am sure Sears has a time frame where an item is returned to inventory.

Come on, let's have stories where the BUSINESS has wrong someone, not where the consumer causes a problem. I am not a Sears fan, but let's be fair. You can't drive 17 miles after placing an order you knew would be ready soon for pickup?

@Jeremie D. Harget: I'll second that. Especially Sears Auto. They are HORRIBLE

@PLATTWORX: She has been wronged by SEARS. Unless a pick-up time frame was stated at the time of purchase, I don't see how the consumer caused the problem.

If SEARS had their act together, they would have called her to come pick her mover or figured out earlier that they have lost it.

@Brittany Stewart: stay classy Sears!

@dohtem: Sears holds orders for 2 weeks and then calls you before returning your items to stock.

Former SEARS Manager here: as long as you've paid for it and it hasn't been sitting for say 30 days or so, you item should be at the store. MPU items are (should be) segregated from regular stock. If the item doesn't come in on a delivery truck, then LP or MPU should be able to spot the error. Items get sold twice and sales associates take the tags off customer items alot. Unless the store is at high risk for theft, it's unlikely they have a secured area for customer items, which limits access. Go directly to the Store Manager and if they are not available, get their schedule and call daily until it is resolved. Flawed system of a massively flawed company.

@PLATTWORX: Can't say I share your same sentiments, but along the lines. She could of called them when she got the e-mail saying it was ready for pickup, letting them know there would be a delay on her end. That phone call could have confirmed the lawnmower was at least there a week ago and not just a mixup with the company.

I'm sure when she placed the order, she didn't expect it to be ready so quickly and who knows- she might have needed to borrow a pickup truck from someone.

Too bad, i'm sure Sears could've used the sale. Pity.

@dohtem:

Unless a pick-up time frame was stated at the time of purchase, I don't see how the consumer caused the problem.

@supercereal: They may not be representative of the many other hassle-free transactions, but they sure do seem to represent how well the company responds to errors.

Mistakes happen. I know this. What I expect is that the company will look into the mistake properly and make good on it, whatever it takes. If these mistakes are indeed very rare, then these corrections should have no financial impact on the company, and instead benefit them.

The employees should have (been able to) look at the same website the customer looked at, and see the lawn mower was listed as waiting for pickup. If their own list of what is there doesn't have it, then they should be checking with the computer support people to see why this is inconsistent. Had someone else picked up the lawn mower and an employee entered into the computer that it was picked up, it should have shown the pickup date on both the list the employees normally access, as well as the page the customer accesses.

In other words, they need to fix it, and it's their act of not dealing with the (rare?) issues that is getting them in hot water.

@supercereal: So it is OK to return items that have been paid for back to the floor and not alert the customer?

@PLATTWORX: That's ridiculous. I frequently cannot get to various stores but once a week or even less often in some cases. If you expect they can have an item you order in the store by Saturday when you order it on Wednesday night, and for some reason it doesn't get there until next Monday, then why do people have to take time off work and go immediately when NEXT Saturday will do. The whole thing about ordering on the web is supposed to be so people don't have to spend as much time doing the shopping and can just pick things up after paying for them.

@gotbock: Two words: charge back

Don't be so quick to blame the consumer. I actually just sat down to type a letter to Sears and copy Consumerist about my weekend experience at Sears. Saturday I ordered a lawn mower online and received an email that it was ready for pick up. Sunday I went to pick it up and they had never heard of me and even after they talked to Sears.com who confirmed that I had paid for my mower, refused to give it to me. I was had my preggo wife with me so I left. Today I got another email saying that my mower was ready for pickup. I'm going to go after work tomorrow and if it isn't ready, I am going to finish typing my email to Sears.

@gotbock: Theft? really? The police would have laughed her off the phone.

@PLATTWORX: I SORTA get your point but its really still Sears' responsibility to automatically process a credit to her card and let her know that it's been cancelled. To a slightly lesser extent its also their responsibility to let her know in advance when they will be canceling the order.

Yesterday, I ordered a Dyson vacum cleaner online from Sears. We went to pick it up at Sears and they had no record of the sale on their system. The staff was nice and courteous. A manager was able to clear up the issue with their online help line. She told me that I was the second person that day to order online and had the order was not registering with their system. It shouldn't matter that she picked it up a week later. Obviously, Sears has an issue with their online ordering and pickup.

@PLATTWORX:

What is a reasonable amount of time seems to vary from store to store - Circuit City used to give you two weeks, which I liked. I think Office Depot officially only gives you 1 day, although I've picked up stuff later than that.

I'm not blaming the lady here but Why did she order it for pick up and then decide to pick it up way later? Why not order it the day she planned to pick it up? She was smart enough to know that sears has problems but didn't have the foresight to figure that not picking it up in a timely fashion would be a problem? That's like knowing the dog bites but petting it anyways.

As a sears employee there was a glitch for web to store purchases we had them come through to our system with no name or phone number and a method payment as cash. I had to deal with a customer who purchased a dryer and we had no record of it. We confirmed the order and the system never sent the ready for pick up email. A quick call to the call center confirmed it was a system glitch and everything was legit. Or like the first poster who is a sears employee it got misplaced and up herein the north we sold a crap load of units this weekend and it could of been double sold.

@Michael Ortega:
I'm sure she'll post her schedule changes to satisfy you. Stuff happens, plans fall through.

We had a horrible issue with ordering something online through Sears online and I think we were trying to purchase a BBQ or something that was on sale or something, I really forget the whole story since it was like 3 or 4 years ago.
But it ended in them giving us the wrong one which was about 150 dollars more.

With as many lawnmowers that Sears carries one has to wonder how dumb the employees were to not be able to find another lawnmower. Gotta scratch your head on that one.

When I was visiting my mom over the Christmas holidays her dryer went out. On New Year's Day. It was 15 years old and had been repaired several times previously, so I checked online and Sears had a basic one on sale for like $230.

I ordered it, paid for it online, drove over there, loaded it into her Subaru and hooked it up. Couldn't have been easier.

@burnedout: This is not the mower you are looking for.

@Jeremie D. Harget:
You hit the nail on the head.
I worked at Sears at my first job and they made me an "associate manager"... at 16 years old. I was responsible for running the video games/general electronics department... at 16 years old. I had no experience working before this and they often left me alone to cover the floor, which means when issues arose, I was the only place a customer could go for assistance.
I ultimately quit when I was accused of stealing 15 Nintendo systems. I walked to and from work, had no car, and ultimately found out I wasn't even working the day they were taken, but, they were adamant I did it... until the units showed up in the wrong section of the stock room. All I got from management was a letter of apology - and them agreeing to drop the charges they had me arrested for. Fun times.

I ordered something on line from Sears once a few years back. It was an experience that is for sure!

On line ordering through Sears is not about order it on line now to be picked up in two hours. No brick and mortar store employee gets the order, goes to the sales floor and pulls the merchandise and places it in the back room for you to pick up. What happens is the item is pulled from some off site warehouse location and sent to the store you choose for pick up at a later date. It typically takes 3-5 business days for the item to get delivered to the store you chose.

As a sears employee, I suggest that if she wants her money back, to simply bring in the slip she has, and if they still can't find the mower, just TELL THEM that you want to cancel the order.

She shouldn't have waited for them to offer to return it, because MPU usually doesn't suggest anything. She also shouldn't just expect them to refund her money when she apparently didn't do or say anything to that effect.

Hey I know that Sears! I drive past it every day. It is a crap hole.

For those who are saying 17 miles is not that far to drive, clearly you have not driven much in LA. Specifically Hollywood, where there are no convenient freeways nearby so you have to take surface streets the entire way. It takes me 50 minutes to go 11 miles for my commute.

I know someone who took their Sears Craftsman mower in for repair and the Sears Repair Center saod they lost the mower -ok ,stuff happens .

But when no employee could NOT give him a straight answer he asked for the manager the manager had the gaul to say ' well what do you want me to do about it ? ' -HELLooo ,needless to say he got a new one but to even ask what do you want me to do - talk about unprofessional .

And this was about 5 years ago , nice to see somethings never change.

Lesson 1: Don't buy from Sears.
2: Don't pay first and assume you'll get what you paid for.
3: Open box inside store before leaving establishment.
4: Read receipts. Don't agree to a free "you can cancel later."
5: Do not buy the warranty. NO! Do Not. Never. Ever! They lie!
6: Sales fliers is bait & switch.
7: Do not buy Monster accessories with that....

The Sears in the picture is closed.

Companies use "cost-centers" all the time to accumulate investment cash, short-term. It's much easier to get a dollar from many people than a grand from one.

@LadySiren: *Nods* This is not the lawnmower I am looking for."

We ordered a patio set from Sears a few years ago. When it arrived they called and told us the glass table was broken. They ordered us another complete set. When we arrived to pick up the set they brought out both sets of chairs and the new table and gave us all of it. They said they didn't sell partial sets so they were making up for the hassle of waiting an extra week. We got six extra chairs and ottoman things and an extra cocktail table for free.

My experience with Sears has been pretty positive.

Shame on commenters claiming that the customer made the mistake of not picking up the mower immediately!

Unless the store told her there was a time limit, this is NO excuse.

As to the guy who said, a few negative stories about Sears here are a drop in the bucket compared to the millions of successful sales the chain racks up -- hey, buddy, enjoy shopping at Sears!

When I see more than a handful of similar negative comments, I know that a company has a problem.

Sears has a BIG problem!!!

@PLATTWORX: Uh no. If the mower was going to be moved back into stock, they should have called her first.

@jpdanzig: Agreed! The customer wasn't doing anything wrong. What's more disturbing is: "Not only did they charge my credit-card on the 13th, but as of today, the money still has not been refunded and the online status shows the mower is still waiting pickup. Also yesterday I emailed the several contacts I could find, and have yet to hear back from anyone."

A chargeback may need to be done if they continue to not respond. Just keep it in mind, most credit cards require you file within a month of the transaction; yours may vary so know your rules.

Alas, I've had similar joys while dealing with Sears. Most recently --and probably marking my final attempt to work with the company-- I bought a treadmill that I was assured was "in stock." I arranged delivery and waited for the night-before phone call.

The night before the scheduled delivery, I got an automated call telling me the delivery had been rescheduled for another week because the item was not yet in from the shipping center. On an item that was supposedly in stock at the store where I made the purchase. After this adventrue went on for a while I sent Sears the following message.

---------------------------------------

Last week, we purchased a treadmill from the local Sears store. We were assured you had it in stock, and that we would have delivery on Wednesday, the 14th.

On Sunday, at 9 A.M., we were woken by an unnecessary phone call, telling us that Sears would be calling on Tuesday to give us a delivery window for Wednesday.

Today, Tuesday, we recieved a call informing us that the treadmill was NOT in stock, and would therefore be delivered on Saturday. And that we'd get another call on Friday, to give us a two-hour delivery window.

I asked to speak to a supervisor. I was told the supervisor was on another phone call, and that he would call back.

Two hours later, I phoned to ask what happened to the supervisor's call, and was told I had to go through the entire Q&A process with a customer service rep before I could talk to a supervisor. Then I was put on hold.

After ten minutes on hold, I was disconnected.

This happened not once but FOUR TIMES.

I am now sitting here, listening to the phone ring on the Sears supervisor line. I have been sitting here listening to this ring for twenty minutes.

I am documenting this all not only for your benefit, but to share with various complaint sites on the internt. Truly, service as bad as this needs to be shared with others, so they can know just how poorly Sears treats its customers.

-----------------------------------

Sears responded promptly -- to tell me to call their Home Delivery Specialists to fix the problem.

The same Home Delivery Service that kept putting me on hold and then disconnecting me.

That's right--try Sears! We'll give you a special number to call so we can hang up on you again!

But I finally got the treadmill by calling the original store, showing them that it was indeed in stock according to their own webpage, and agreeing to wait all the next day for delibery.

And in fairness, they did cancel the delivery charge by way of apology.

@PLATTWORX: It was a LAWNMOWER. Not like you can just toss it in your car and go. It would take most people some time to get a vehicle lined up to go get anything big.

@Michael Ortega: Because quite often they don't have the model in stock and have to move it to the Sears location.

@Dancin' Hooooomeeeeeer!: Sadly, yes, Sears is a large enough establishment that police have difficulty making the mental connection of theft. If, on the other hand, I tried to sell someone a lawn mower and pulled the same stunt, the police would have no problem getting involved. I'm not saying there is a conspiracy, but there is a kind of mental block in regards to applying the same standards of criminality on large businesses that we do on individuals.

@PLATTWORX: Yes, it's my fault that the store tells me I can pick something up at my convenience, then when my convenience arrives they've sold it to someone else.

Go shove your head in my convenience.

Sears typically returns it to their warehouse and credits you back the sale amount in a few weeks if you don't pick something up.
That has been my experience.

@gotbock: When I worked at a bookstore, if you didn't pick up your ordered books after a week, we sent them back. I realize a book is not a lawnmower, but we just had to assume you didn't want it anymore.. if you can't come get it, call us and let us know.

@duckfat:
Turning a fail into a success at a huge cost.

(As an aside: How can this company keep making money?)