Ariel has read Consumerist for long enough that, given a choice, she probably wouldn’t order a dishwasher from Sears. But she rents, and her landlord is not so wise. Here is their sad but familiar tale: lots of delivery appointments, missed days of work, and no dishwasher. [More]
appliances
When Should My Appliance Service Agreement Actually Begin?
By 9.16.11
When should a new warranty begin? Reader ournextcontestant wonders this after purchasing a service agreement from Sears for a broken dishwasher. The new warranty begins on the day it was purchased, and not on the day that the appliance is put back in working order. Ournextcontestant doesn’t like this, believing that Sears is robbing him of valuable days of the warranty. Maybe weeks or months of the warranty, considering how long it takes Sears to actually fix things. [More]
I Would Like To Use My Year-Old Electrolux Stove To Cook Some Meals
By 8.24.11
Electrolux seems to think that Bridgette wants something completely unreasonable. What she would like is for her sleek stainless steel Electrolux range, an induction stove and oven that she paid more than $3,300 for less than a year ago, to heat up and cook food on a regular basis. It doesn’t. The burners stop working, for weeks on end, seemingly at random. She didn’t drop more than three grand on a stove so she could end up using a hot plate in her own home. [More]
Instead Of A Kitchen, Best Buy Leaves You With 3 Big Empty Spaces
By 7.28.11
Best Buy sent some real stumblebums to install Amy’s stove, dishwasher. and kitchen range. First, Best Buy sent the wrong kind of workers, then they sent the wrong dishwasher, and then the right guys showed up with the wrong tools. Now she’s going to have to end up waiting a total of five weeks to have all the appliances in her kitchen installed correctly. Kind of a crappy way to treat someone who just plunked down for three major appliances with you. [More]
EECB Leads To Dazzling Best Buy Service, Fridge Upgrade
By 7.8.11
Best Buy? Above and beyond? Yes, it’s possible! The new refrigerator that Sandy ordered was delayed by several days, leaving her fridgeless for a week. She wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of feeding her family without the modern appliance, so she fired off an email to all of the executives she could get her pixels on, copying us on all correspondence. Suddenly, she was summoned to the store to pick out any fridge she wanted for no extra charge, with immediate delivery. And a present for her son, too. [More]
How I Took On Electrolux And Got A Working Refrigerator
By 7.1.11
Stuck with a fancy refrigerator that had a defective, leaking ice maker, Bob refused to accept a future of frequent repairs until the fridge’s warranty ran out. Instead, he took on Electrolux and refused to back down until he had a functioning replacement fridge. Here’s how he did it. [More]
Even Sears Doesn't Know What It Sells Anymore
By 6.9.11
Sears might be doing an okay job with adjusting to doing business in the 21st century if they weren’t stuck with a pesky brick-and-mortar store network. Maybe. When John returned a malfunctioning dehumidifier to his local store, he wanted to exchange it for a working one. He couldn’t, though, because the item was out of stock. Logical enough: dehumidifiers are popular in the summer. Yet he was able to go home, order the item online, and pick it up at the very store he had just been told was out of the item. [More]
Bosch Replaces Malfunctioning Washer, Breaks Up Matching Set
By 5.6.11
The good news: after seven months of repair attempts, Sylvia was able to get Bosch to replace her washing machine. The bad news: she paid big bucks for a matching washer and dryer set not too long ago, and the new washer on its way doesn’t match the perfectly-working dryer at all. Is she being unreasonable to want a warranty replacement that is part of the pretty matched set she paid for? [More]
Sears Delivers New Stove, Ends Family's 6 Weeks Without Cooking
By 3.15.11
Remember Ian, whose family was stuck with a series of defective Kenmore stoves and hadn’t been able to cook at home for six weeks? He reports that Sears delivered a new stove to his house on Saturday, and this one seems to be actually functioning. So far. Hooray! [More]
Best Buy Screws Up Appliance Delivery Badly Enough To Drive Customer To Sears
By 3.10.11
Jason ordered a new dryer from Best Buy, and his experience was so frustrating that he actually threatened to buy from Sears instead. How bad does a shopping experience have to be to drive a man to such madness? [More]
Sears Replaces Reader's Basement-Flooding Washer
By 2.22.11
Consumer victory! After being featured on this site last week, reader Sharon’s basement-flooding washing machine is going to be replaced. While the replacement itself is due to Sharon’s own diligent work trying to make Sears see logic, she’ll be getting more expensive replacement washer for her trouble after her Consumerist appearance. [More]
Brand-New Kenmore Washer Won't Stop Flooding My Basement
By 2.16.11
Sharon bought a Kenmore Elite Steam washer and dryer from Sears in August 2010. When the appliances showed up in September, they promptly began flooding her basement. She’s been scolded for not following directions correctly (even though she claims to follow the washer’s instructions to the letter) and is coming up on her fourth repair visit for the same problem. Sears keeps reassuring her that she’s a valued customer. Right. Tell that to her basement floor. Update: Sharon is getting a new washer. [More]
Whirlpool, Free Us From This Fridge's Unholy Buzzing Sound
By 1.28.11
Justin and his wife saved up and bought a sweet, petite, shiny new Whirlpool refrigerator from Lowe’s. They were thrilled with their new purchase for about three weeks, until it began to make an unholy buzzing noise. No one can make the buzzing stop. Not Whirlpool, not Lowe’s, not an endless procession of repairmen, and not either company’s executive customer service. What now? [More]
If Your Snowblower Clogs Too Easily, Check The Shear Pin
By 1.21.11
If your snowblower seems to be clogging up all the time, rather than curse the gods you may want to check to see if the shear pin snapped off. [More]
3 Hours Before Delivery, Sears Notices Your Stove Is Out Of Stock And Discontinued
By 1.13.11
Oh, Sears. Why don’t you understand that the point of commerce is to sell merchandise to your customers? Chad tells Consumerist ordered a set of appliances for his new home from Sears, with a delivery time 8 days in the future. Three hours before his delivery window, Sears called to let Chad know–oh, yeah, the stove that he ordered was discontinued. [More]
How I Saved $145 At Sears By Checking In-Store Computer Kiosk
By 11.30.10
Leigh made the most of her idle time while waiting in line to buy a dishwasher at Sears. On a lark, she pulled up the product she was going to buy at a nearby kiosk and found it was listed $145 cheaper online than she was about to pay. She confronted the salesman, who was stunned by the price difference but gave her the lower price. [More]
Haunted House Or Dead Rodents? 5 Tips From Consumer Reports
By 10.28.10
Do your appliances and lights randomly turn on and off? Are doors all over your home opening and closing by themselves? Do you hear ghostly footsteps in the attic? If so, your house may be haunted — or you could just have dead rodents, really bad appliances, and low relative humidity. Consumer Reports goes Ghostbusters to help you get Gozer out of your garage. [More]
KitchenAid Doesn't Care That Your Oven Won't Turn Off
By 9.24.10
Chris writes that he spent $1,700 on a KitchenAid brand stove four years ago, and that stove now has a problem that the company isn’t interested in fixing. The off button for the oven doesn’t work. Chris correctly thinks that this is a safety issue, but there are no authorized repair technicians willing to travel to where he lives. KitchenAid representatives promised to help…but now the warranty has expired, and now the company offers no help at all. [More]
