The Ooma Telo is a voice over IP device that looks like a spaceship and lets you connect up your home broadband connection, your existing landline handsets, and the Ooma service. Francesca ordered one of these devices last week from Sears.com while visiting family, and used in-store pickup to fetch it from a Sears store near where she was staying. She didn’t open or use the Telo, and decided not to keep it. But that’s the point of visiting large chain retailers, right? You can buy an item from one place, or online, and return it anywhere. That’s true in theory, but not at Sears. [More]
Leaky Dishwasher Wrecks Hardwood Floor And Ceiling Below, Sears Shrugs
By July 2, 2012
Sometimes, you buy a defective appliance and your only problem is that that the appliance doesn’t work. It’s sad, but you replace the item, either using a warranty or by purchasing a new one. Sometimes the company will stand in your way, and you have to fight them for a replacement. And then sometimes your defective appliance warps your hardwood floor, leaks through to your basement ceiling, and causes more than $4,000 worth of damage. That’s what happened to Nachos Grande and his wife (not his real name) when they bought a defective Whirlpool dishwasher from Sears. [More]
Put That Cruise On Layaway, Please: Sears Launching Vacation Service
By June 19, 2012
Vacations can be quite the costly endeavor — especially if you’ve got a lot of family members coming along, which might cause you to write off certain trips as too expensive. That’s exactly why Sears wants to lure in customers with its new service, SearsVacations.com, which will allow customers to put vacations on hold or pay off the total cost, in its familiar layaway style. [More]
Consumerist Reader Puts Sears 5-Minute Pick-Up Guarantee To Test
By June 14, 2012
After reading about another reader’s lengthy ordeal with Sears’ “5-Minute Guarantee” for customers who order items for in-store pick-up, Tony decided to put the retailer through its paces to see how it performed with his order. [More]
Customers Sue Sears Because Changing Rooms Aren’t Free Peepshows
By June 13, 2012
Facing yourself in the mirror of a changing room can be a tough experience in itself (bathing suit season, ugh — am I right, ladies?), but to find out that someone has been peeping on what you thought was a private clothes-changing session is extra uncool. Sears is being sued by about 25 people alleging a former maintenance man hid video cameras and taped women in one of its dressing rooms. [More]
Everything This Appliance Delivery Service Could Screw Up, They Did
By June 13, 2012
When Sears sent a delivery service to Stephen’s house with a new dishwasher and fridge, he didn’t have ridiculously high expectations. He did expect installers to show up, not damage the new appliances or his home, not remove items necessary to install the new appliances, and bring all of the items that he paid for. They managed none of these things. And they were late. Now it’s three weeks after the delivery, and he still doesn’t have a working dishwasher. [More]
Sears, Where “5-Minute Guarantee” Means “We Guarantee To Stop The Clock Before It Reaches 5 Minutes”
By June 12, 2012
Consumerist reader Anna says years of unpleasant experiences have soured her on shopping at Sears. But when she saw the store was selling a 20-inch toolbox for only $9.99 with free in-store pick-up — and a guarantee that she would get that order within five minutes of showing up at the counter of get a $5 coupon — she decided to give the once-great retailer another shot. Oops. [More]
Sears Doesn’t Handle Rejection Well, Incessantly Robocalls After You Refuse Fridge Delivery
By June 7, 2012
Based on previous Consumerist stories about Sears, it might surprise you to learn that the refrigerator that Ginger and her husband purchased was brought to their home in one piece, on the correct day, and actually existed. Only they had discovered after placing the order that it was too wide for their kitchen, and they had ordered a new one instead. They were instructed to refuse the delivery, and then they would receive a correctly-sized fridge on a different day, and a refund. Yay! Only instead, they’ve received a barrage of robocalls from Sears, despite four separate attempts to cancel the order for the larger refrigerator. [More]
Did Sears AC Installers Break Window, Or Ignore Cracked Pane?
By June 1, 2012
Rona, ladylike, didn’t tell us her age, but she is a senior citizen. As for many Americans, Sears has always just been where she went when there was an appliance to buy. She and her husband ordered up two air conditioners from Sears.com last month, and Sears contracted some local installers in New Jersey to put them in the windows. After the second installation appointment, she discovered that the window was cracked. One of two things had happened: either the installers noticed that the window was cracked and put an air conditioner in anyway, or they’re the ones who did it, then hoped that no one would notice. [More]
More Adventures In Advanced Anti-Capitalism With Sears
By May 29, 2012
Sears doesn’t want Nat’s business. They don’t want my business. They don’t want anyone’s business. They may continue to exist as a commercial entity, but that’s because they’re one of two things: an advanced anti-capitalist prank, or a massive real estate holding company that continues running stores out of a sense of nostalgia while they wait for the market to pick back up. But they don’t want to actually sell anyone anything, as Nat learned when he tried to order a camera that only appeared to be in stock. Anywhere. [More]
Sears Calls The Cops On 76-Year-Old Trying To Get Someone To Pick Up Her Faulty Lawn Mower
By May 29, 2012
What’s a 76-year-old woman to do when Sears sends her a faulty lawnmower, schedules a time to pick it up and then doesn’t, and then refuses to refund her money until it gets around to taking back said mower, which will then be outside the 30-day-refund window? She marches in to have a strong word with store employees, who then call the cops. [More]
Sears Finds New And Exciting Ways To Not Deliver Me A Working Dishwasher
By May 22, 2012
Years ago, in a time so foreign and distant that many of us can barely remember it, Sears was the place to go if you wanted to buy a quality appliance. That’s not the case anymore. Evidently now it’s the place to go if you want to buy a non-operational appliance and take a bunch of unnecessary days off work. Tomorrow morning, Jesse will be waiting for a technician to come by and (most likely) not get his new dishwasher to work. The second, replacement dishwasher that Sears brought after the first one didn’t work either. [More]
Sears Offers Crappy Tools And Service, First-Rate Apologies
By May 16, 2012
We’re still not quite sure what Sears is. It pretends to be a retail operation, but in reality acts more like its existence is an elaborate anti-capitalist prank, aiming to keep consumers from exchanging their money for tangible goods. Take, for example, the case of Michael. He would like to order a Craftsman steel workbench frame from Sears, and Sears is doing its best to prevent him from owning one. [More]
At Sears Card, 24-Hour Customer Service Means 'Whenever We Feel Like It'
By May 7, 2012
Citibank now administers the Sears Card, but in order to keep their branding consistent, Citi is sure to keep the experience of dealing with Sears Card just as confusing and customer-unfriendly as dealing directly with Sears. That’s what Cat discovered while trying to contact their customer service, anyway. While the number on the card promises “24-hour customer service,” in the evening, there’s actually no way to get through. [More]
You Will Never Stop These Shipments Of Kenmore Filters
By May 4, 2012
Automatic re-ordering of items you use a lot of can be a wonderful and convenient thing. But if you don’t want the thing anymore, ending that perpetual re-order can be a colossal pain in the butt. Dave had the water filters for his Kenmore fridge set for annual re-orders from Sears PartsDirect, but discovered a cheaper source. He tried to cancel the re-order, but wasn’t able to, so he removed all credit cards from his Sears account. They sent the filters anyway. [More]
Reader's Story Of Lackluster Lawnmower Service Exemplifies Why Sears Is Sinking
By April 23, 2012
It wasn’t that long ago that the Sears name actually stood for quality, service and all those other buzz words you hear in TV commercials. When people ask “What happened?,” it’s easy to point to the growth of big-box competitors like Walmart and Target, but that doesn’t paint the full picture of why the once-iconic Sears brand is now considered second-tier by many shoppers. [More]
How A Few Minutes With A Screwdriver Saved Me $139
By April 16, 2012
We don’t begrudge Sears Repair–or, indeed, any business–a healthy markup on items that they sell. That’s how capitalism works, and capitalism is awesome. But Matthew must have felt insulted when the part his dishwasher needed showed up on his doorstep ahead of a return visit from the repairman. The part needed only a few screws to install…and, making things worse, was available $50 cheaper, for only $121, on Sears’ own website. It’s even cheaper elsewhere. [More]
Sears Employees Not Entirely Sure How Manufacturer's Warranties Work
By March 22, 2012
Russell was browsing at his local Sears, seriously considering a purchase of fitness equipment. He grossly miscalculated, though: he got the idea in his head that he could ask an employee about the products for sale in the store and receive a factually correct answer. Instead, the salesperson emphasized the uselessness of the warranty, losing the sale and annoying the customer. [More]
