This holiday season, Sears continues its mission as an elaborate anti-capitalist prank, mocking the feeble attempts that shoppers make to obtain useful information from customer service representatives, and preventing consumers from exchanging money for merchandise. LouAnn, a longtime Sears customer, was left so frustrated after a recent encounter with the retailer that the vented to Consumerist, “I am tired of giving MY money to companies who CLEARLY don’t understand that I have a choice of where and how to spend my money.” That could be a mission statement for this site.

What happened to irritate LouAnn so? She ordered an important Christmas gift for her son for in-store pickup, waited a few weeks, and then contacted Sears to find out where it had run off to. A clueless customer service representative told her that it had been waiting for her for over a week. She knew that it hadn’t, and things just got less competent from there.

I placed an online order on November 16 for a 2-pack of WWE figures
for a Christmas gift for my 5 year old son. I had them shipped to the store.

On November 23, I called to check on this order, I was told it was “in transit”. When I checked it online, my screen read “processing”. On December 1, I called to check on this same order. Again, my screen read “processing”, a Sears CSR told me it was “in transit”.

I sent 2 emails inquiring about this order. At this point, I only wanted to know if they needed to be re-ordered, because my son REALLY wanted these.

I received an email from a Sears CSR on Saturday December 3 telling me my item was received at my local store November 21! I call my local store, the receiving department tells me my package came in Friday December 2.

I call Sears.com customer service, ask to speak to a supervisor. Wait on hold for 20-plus minutes, the CSR tells me the supervisor is available, she transfers me to the “Shop Your Way Rewards” department. I call back, ask for a supervisor, this time I am transferred quickly to a supervisor who was utterly clueless as to WHY I was so upset. My package had been shipped to the store, it’s ready to pick up, in her opinion everything was perfectly fine.

I tried to explain I wasn’t TRULY unhappy until I got the (false) email saying my order had been sitting at the store (knowing it wasn’t true). I said, “OK, let’s pretend it WAS sitting there this whole time. Sears doesn’t email me, call me or text me?” I know they have an automated service if your order sits too long.

The supervisor apologized for THE STORE not calling me. I was ok with the length of time the order took until I got that email. I have no idea where the person who emailed me got their information, but I spoke to the supervisor at the store when I picked up this item. He knows it was received on Friday, December 2.

The supervisor on the phone offered me a $5 gift card for my inconvenience. I told her to keep it, because if I had a gift card, I would need to buy something from Sears and that is something I won’t be doing again.

Sears lost a longtime customer over mishandling an order for a $28 item. Some people may think this is petty. I am tired of giving MY money to companies who CLEARLY don’t understand that I have a choice of where and how to spend my money. I am tired of shoddy products, nonexistent customer service, and CSR’s who aren’t trained properly by their employers.

For the record, I don’t fault the CSR’s. They were giving me the information Sears gave them. I think Sears should empower their CSR’s with more information, and a certain degree of autonomy.

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