Consumerist
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ceos
Top 10 Crappiest CEOs (According To Their Employees)
Glassdoor released its report of the 50 lowest-rated CEOs as determined by employee reviews on its site. I scractched out all the companies you don't care about and ended up with this list of the 10 Crappiest CEOs (of consumer-facing compaines) (according to their employees)... More » -
christmas creep
You Will Not Escape Toys R Us This Christmas
One good thing about the bad economy: There are plenty of empty storefronts in malls across the country, and the owners are more than happy to rent them to short-term tenants during peak seasons. And, this year, you can add Toys R Us to the usual gang of Halloween and Christmas stores that pop up suddenly in your local Simon, and disappear in the night a few weeks later. Jeffrey and his posse are expected to open 80 temporary stores next month, along with new toy sections in 260 Babies R Us shops. More » -
security holes
Another Sears.com Security Hole Discovered
That Sears website exploit we posted about a couple of weeks ago was funny, mainly because it seemed more embarrassing for Sears than a true security risk. However, an independent security researcher had also discovered a more significant issue with the site—it allowed for an unlimited number of gift card verification attempts via an external script, so a criminal could use the site as a brute force method to identify valid gift cards for Sears and Kmart. More » -
security holes
Sears Caught Selling "Grills to Cook Babies" Thanks To Poorly Built Website
Yesterday a reader sent us a pretty funny screen capture of a Sears product page with a suspicious category description (see above). By the time we got around to checking it out, Sears had corrected the error. It turns out, however, that the real problem was the Sears website was built in a way that lets anyone mess with the category descriptions. More » -
sears
Update: Sears Says 'We Got No Mosquitos'
Sears says there's no Mosquito device at any of their locations. The person who picked up the phone at the Sears our reader complained about said there's no high-pitched whining or buzz noises going on by the entrances or inside, intentional or otherwise. She had read the buzz about the complaint "on Twitter" and sent several "young associates" to check it out and they found nothing out of the ordinary, besides, of course, the plastic humanoids frozen for all eternity, forced to display an ever-changing array of affordable and sensible garments. A commenter says he thinks the real culprit is a cheapo CRT monitor: More » -
civil rights
Updated: Customer Thinks Sears Blasts High-Pitched "Mosquito" To Ward Off Teens In Store
UPDATE: We called the Sears in question and they say there's no high-pitched ringing going on at this store. They didn't install any Mosquito devices and they aren't having any malfunctions right now that would cause such a ringing. The woman who picked up in women's apparel said that in response to what was being said on Twitter, they even sent out some young associates to check out all the entrances and they didn't hear anything.
If you're under 25 and happen to be in Pennsylvania at Granite Run Mall, you're probably going to want to avoid shopping at Sears. Like many stores across the country, the Sears here is using an ultrasonic weapon known as the Mosquito to deter teens from loitering, according to the experience of reader Jonathan K: More »
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sears cares
Sears Finally Delivers Air Conditioner, Follows With Barrage Of Phone Calls
Remember Eric, Fleur, and their epic air conditioner ordeal? When we last spoke to them, they were AC-less, hot, cranky, and reaching out to the Internets for help. Now they have their air conditioners, but only after a stunning show of disorganized solicitousness on the part of Sears. More » -
sears
Sears Won't Deliver Air Conditioner Until Customer Pays Fee Sears Forgot To Charge
Eric wrote to us this week with a tale of such epic dysfunction while trying to purchase air conditioners from Sears that there's not much we can add to it. Inside: Imaginary deliveries, super-secret New York City surcharges, and the hazards of daring to order anything over the phone. More » -
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stupid
Craftsman Doesn't Have The Ability To Cancel A Duplicate Order
Reader C.W. is wondering why Craftsman (which is part of Sears) doesn't have the ability to cancel a duplicate order. Especially since there appears to be a "cancel" button on the website. More » -
above and beyond, kind of
Sears Customer Service Runaround Results In New Sander
Can we tag a story "above and beyond" if the customer service cycle is so screwed up that it eventually works out in the customer's favor? When jpodbuild tried to get his Craftsman sander repaired or replaced, he couldn't get anyone on the phone who could actually help him—eventually he would end up back at the first number he'd called. He decided to show up in person and let the store manager handle the phone calls. New sander! More » -
recession
Sears: Lose Your Job, Keep Your Purchase, Forget The Debt
Acknowledging that skittish consumers are still unwilling to buy big-ticket items, Sears tomorrow plans to unveil a bold new guarantee: if you lose your job after charging a purchase worth $399 or more to your Sears card, the retailer will credit 1/12th of the purchase price to your account for each month you are unemployed. If you stay jobless for one year, the debt is entirely forgiven, and the appliance is yours to keep. More » -
spyware
Sears Settles With FTC Over Spyware Charge
In 2007 and 2008, Sears invited select customers to join the exclusive "My SHC Community," which involved installing an app that would monitor online browsing in exchange for $10. The app was called spyware by researchers and the FTC, because the data it collected on customers included "details from their online shopping, bank statements, drug-prescription records, video rentals, library-borrowing histories, even the names and addresses of their e-mail correspondents," as well as "data about the users' computers, printers, and other devices." More » -
appliances
Maytag Refers You To Sears Repair, Then Claims Sears Repair Isn't Authorized
Consumer affairs columnist (and my former colleague) Dan Higgins stumbled upon a well-guarded secret—the real reason the Maytag repairman has nothing to do. It isn't because the appliances are so reliable. No, apparently it's because Maytag dispatches Sears repairmen to make warranty repairs, then refuses to reimburse customers because Sears isn't an authorized repair provider. At least that's what happened to this nice elderly lady. More » -
made in USA
Buy American? Sure, If You Can Afford It
Is it possible today to buy U.S.-made goods in mainstream, reasonably-priced stores? The answer, ABC's John Donvan learned while reporting a "Nightline" story to be broadcast tonight, is a rather emphatic "no" when it comes to clothing, and otherwise "maybe." More » -
coupons
Sears Pays $10 In Coupons For Your Email Address
Max wants to know why he hasn't received the $10 gift certificate that the cashier at Sears promised him for turning over an email address to receive marketing messages. We contacted Sears and found out what's actually going on. More » -
math problems
Sears Fails Third-Grade Math
Quick, what's 2 x 15? Did you get 40? No? Then you're apparently overqualified to run Sears' website.
More »
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email addresses
Contact Sears Executive Customer Service
searscares@searshc.com
Brian J.
Senior Case Manager
"Sears Cares"(Photo: LancerEvolution)
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sears
Sears Loses Lawnmower, Shrugs
Tracy needed a new lawn mower, and ordered one online from Sears. Later that day, an email arrived announcing that the lawnmower was ready for pickup. For whatever reason, Tracy wasn't able to make the 17-mile trip out to the store until more than a week later. The mower was....well, nobody quite knows what happened to the mower. More »
sears
New York, 9:02 PM
Sat Nov 21
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