One might think that if one iteration of a store has a sale on a certain product, another store under the corporate umbrella could feasibly offer the same product at the sale price as well. Not so with Sears and its various stores, according to one Consumerist reader. [More]
sears
Sears Lost $421 Million Last Quarter, Didn't Spend It Fixing Up Stores
By 11.18.11
Last year, I formulated a theory that the continued existence of Sears is a massive anti-capitalist prank. The stories that readers send us indicate that the chain isn’t very good at key parts of retailing: attracting customers, selling merchandise to them, and not actively driving the customers you already have away. It’s not just Consumerist readers avoiding Sears these days: the power couple of Sears and Kmart lost $421 million in the quarter that ended on October 29. [More]
Sears Is Determined To Not Send Us Any Sheds
By 11.10.11
In the early part of this century, you could buy kits to build an entire house from Sears. It’s probably just as well that they don’t do that anymore–at least, based on the experience Joe’s wife has had trying to get Sears to ever deliver the shed that she paid for. At least she gets the excitement and inconvenience of receiving delivery notices, then not having anyone show up with her shed. [More]
It Should Not Take Six Attempts To Deliver A Dishwasher
By 10.20.11
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]
When Buying A Mattress From Sears, Maybe Also Invest In A Truck
By 10.14.11
This probably isn’t news to you, Sears, but you’ve lost another customer for good. This time, it’s reader Jeff, who had a nice experience buying a mattress at his local Sears store, but a terrible experience trying to get the mattress delivered to his house. People do not enjoy taking a vacation day from work and then not having the delivery person show up. Four times. [More]
A Precise Timeline Of How Sears Screwed Up Selling A Car Battery
By 10.6.11
Dennis found a $5 off code to purchase a new car battery from Sears, but assumed that ordering his item online and then picking it up at the store would not be a two-day odyssey involving a half-dozen employees and an order that somehow only materialized once it was canceled. He did things the old-fashioned way and just bought a battery at the physical Sears store. Now he has to wait seven to ten business days for his refund for the original order. [More]
Reader Saves $400 Using YouTube To Fix Her Washer
By 10.4.11
The fable goes that the nice white-haired appliance guys are a dying breed and they’re way better than their outsourced, van-driving, retail store counterparts. But sometimes the local guy is just as bad as the guy in the store wearing the official colored shirt. When her Kenmore model 417 front-loading washer went bust-o, Jane discovered she was able to save $400 in repair costs by learning how to fix it herself from Youtube videos. [More]
Sears To Make DieHard Batteries Available For Sale At Meijer
By 9.29.11
One month after Sears realized it could make more money by allowing its Craftsman tools to be sold through Costco, the retail chain has decided to allow another of its long-standing exclusive house brands to be sold by another retailer, as it has given Meijer stores the rights to sell DieHard car batteries. [More]
Buying Sears Refrigerator Ends In Gnashed Teeth
By 9.19.11
Remember when stuff just worked? You bought it, brought it home, and it diligently performed its advertised function? Me neither, but suposedly there was a bygone era where products were made to last, instead made to break. In any event, we’re certainly not in those times now, and Jeff’s tale of trying to buy a simple refrigerator from Sears is proof positive. [More]
5 Appointments To Deliver Sears Dishwasher, Still No Dishwasher
By 9.8.11
When Wesley’s dishwasher died, he found himself in a sad and typical modern predicament: it was easier and more cost effective to go and buy a new dishwasher when his broke. So he ordered one from the Sears Outlet. This turned out to be a bad idea, at least if he wanted a dishwasher actually delivered to his house. If you enjoy waiting around for installers to never show up, perhaps Sears is your store. [More]
Sears Repair Stands Customer Up 4 Times, Delays Repair 7 Weeks
By 9.2.11
It seemed to a California woman that spending a few hundred extra bucks on an extended warranty for her Sears washing machine was a good investment. And with a newborn in the house, the ability to summon a repairman with a phone call for no out-of-pocket cost. That’s true: assuming they show up and actually repair the appliance. Local Sears employees instead dismantled the machine, ordered parts, and then proceeded to stand her up four times, leaving the family without a working washer for seven weeks. [More]
Sears To Start Selling Craftsman Tools Through Costco
By 8.31.11
Do you like Sears’ brand of Craftsman tools but don’t like shopping at Sears? Well, this might be good news for you. The retail chain has announced you will be able to buy Craftsman wares at Costco stores as early as this coming weekend. [More]
Silly Reader Thinks Appliances Should Last Longer Than A Year And A Half
By 8.24.11
Maura has figured out what the “cares” in “Sears cares” actually stands for: “customers are reliable suckers.” That was the subject line of the e-mail she sent us about the experience she’s had trying to get her Kenmore washing machine fixed. Her washing machine that is what we once would have called “new,” is broken at only a year and a half old. [More]
Sears Customer Service Just As Broken As My Garage Door Opener
By 8.11.11
Kristi’s garage door opener is from Sears’ venerable Craftsman brand. When the chain assembly broke, logically she contacted Sears to come fix it for her. The repair-scheduling website was slick and easy to use, perhaps lulling her into a false sense that she was in for a professional and logical commercial transaction. Then, it was time for the garage door repair person to actually show up. [More]
Went To Firestone To Fix Flat, Got $1,600 Estimate
By 8.3.11
A Redditor has posted images of his repair estimate he got from Firestone after taking their car in to fix a flat. The Firestone mechanic said they couldn’t just put a plug in, they needed to replace the whole tire. And while they were at it, they said the Redditor should overhaul their electrical system for $1,600 because the blinkers didn’t work, even though they did work. [More]
Sears Can't Repair My Fridge, Won't Declare It 'Unrepairable'
By 8.3.11
All that Consumerist reader Jill wants right now is a fridge with a working ice maker. Alas, after four repair visits and months of finger-pointing and runaround from Sears, her 6-month-old fridge still lacks a functioning ice maker and it doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon. [More]
The 8 Largest U.S. Retailers With The Worst Sales
By 8.2.11
If we’d told you 10 years ago that Borders and Circuit City would vanish off the face of the planet and Blockbuster Video would be auctioned off to a satellite TV provider for pocket change, many people would have expressed disbelief. But those once-great stores have had their heyday in history, so now it’s time to look into the magic 8 ball to see if doom lies ahead for other major retailers. [More]
Washer Floods House, Sears Puts Dams Up In Front Of Customer
By 7.29.11
When his washing machine from a Sears Outlet failed during its very first load of laundry, flooding the house, Rob thought that everything would be okay. Replacing the defective washer was a painless and easy process, thanks to the staff of his local store. Getting Sears to cover the thousands of dollars’ worth of water damage to his home…not so much. [More]
