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Dear Valued Customers: My name is Brian and I work for the Sears Cares Executive Escalations team. We want you know we are here for assistance. If you have any questions, concerns, or current problems you are experiencing with Sears please contact my office. We can be reached via email at email@example.com. In your email please include your name, phone number and an outline of your current issue and we will contact you directly. We appreciate your business and we look forward to hearing from you soon.
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Sears - Master Protection Agreement - Don't Buy It
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KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON -- I am an EXTREMELY UNHAPPY customer living a HORRIBLE SERVICE SITUATION â that sadly continues on...
Our problems began on 1/30/2013. I came downstairs that morning and our frig that we have had for only a few years had stopped working sometime in the night. All food was spoiled. My husband called the service number and we were given an appointment date on 2/6/2013 â A GUARANTEED ONE WEEK OF NO WORKING FRIG.
The service technician arrived, made an assessment and then insisted on ordering the part as an emergency â which we appreciated. He was rescheduled to come back to our home on 2/13/2013 â ANOTHER WEEK OF NO WORKING FRIG. But, he also said that if the part arrived sooner than that, call in and he could come earlier. We did call in, and no, they were not able to have him come earlier â clearly there isnât a policy for moving waiting customers forward in the queue.
So, on 2/13/2013 â the second technician arrived. He installed the part, but then made the assessment that a second part was needed to fix the frig because it still didnât work. He ordered that second part while still in our home. It also was ordered as an emergency, with our next service date scheduled for 2/18/2013.
On 2/17/2013 â my husband received an automated call with a message to call Sears. Our service appointment had been cancelled because the part had not arrived. Our next service date was scheduled for 2/22/2013. â NOW WE ARE OVER 3 WEEKS WITHOUT A WORKING FRIG. And again, he received an automated call on 2/21/2013 that the part had still not arrived, so our service appointment was cancelled again.
By this time, our family of 5 had had it. I took my three children out of town just so we could have a working frig. With all the service appointments scheduled, we expected to come home to a working frig. However, that was not to be.
We have now been talking with the Sears Repair Active Solutions group. Unfortunately, their record keeping is not good. We have talked with Robert, Jeremy and Hortense â none of which knew our story or had the correct dates and actions in their records, so we have had to enlighten them each time. When I have asked to escalate the call, each one told us that they were the ones who make the decisions and wouldnât transfer us to a higher decision making authority â stonewalling us each time. I believe their department is a black hole with no way of escalating.
On 2/22/2013, that group suggested that we rent a refrigerator and that they will reimburse us for the cost while our refrigerator is not working. First of all, why didnât they mention that a lot earlier. And second, our local rental companies only rent month to month. Since we are already approaching 4 weeks with this service issue, I am optimistic that this refrigerator situation will be resolved within the next month, so Iâll be stuck with part of the rental bill. And third, the rental company canât deliver anything to us until the middle of next week, so whatâs the point?
We also have $250 food spoilage coverage. Great. However, we donât receive that money until the frig is fixed. And what about the groceries that I cannot buy right now and the added expense of eating out or shopping daily since we canât save anything? $250 doesnât make a dent into our food elevated bill these last several weeks.
And then there is that we have been told by two of the service reps â Robert and Jeremy - that GE has reported that they donât have the part needed and it is back ordered indefinitely. If that is true, why on earth is Sears forcing us to endure this pain? They could instead simply move ahead with the replacement frig and we done with us.
I am a very patient person â I teach middle school - but I have reached my breaking point. I am done being patient. I am no longer giving Sears the benefit of the doubt. I have come to realize that sadly there is no one easily contactable who has any power to deal with our situation â which at this point is simply getting a replacement frig.
So, while we continue to be stonewalled and will have to endure this process to get the replacement in the end, we have contacted our attorney. My husband is a social media expert and will be doing damage to Searsâ reputation. This is what this service process has reduced us to â which in the end is simply telling the truth about our bad experience. Sears has lost us as a future customer as well as the many, many others that my husband and I will reach.
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tnchuck100 on 02/23/2013:
It's a sad state of affairs. You are simply one more dissatisfied customer in hundreds of others on this site alone. They really don't seem to care. The get worse and worse as time goes by. SearsCare may chime in here and offer help as they have done for many others on this site. I have never seen a report of anyone actually being helped by them. They appear to be nothing more than media damage control. They are pitiful.
trmn8r on 02/24/2013:
If I had a family of 5, and was at the mercy of a repair company with hard to obtain parts, I believe I would rent a fridge fairly quickly. Get whatever I could out of Sears to cover the rent later.
With appliance quality and longevity being poor today, your story does not surprise me. That's sad.
SearsCare on 02/26/2013:
I saw your post here and wanted to offer some assistance. We do apologize for the troubles you have encountered with the repair of your refrigerator. My name is Liz and I am with the Sears Social Media Support team. I can see how frustrating it is to receive poor customer while trying to rectify this issue. If you would allow us the opportunity, we would very much like to connect you with a dedicated case manager to further discuss options and see what can be done to make things right. At your convenience please contact our office via email at firstname.lastname@example.com so you don't have to be upset by this any longer. In the email please provide the best contact phone number or the number to which the refrigerator was purchased under (if different than the contact phone number) and we will call you directly. In addition, please include your screen name (stephanie.bullardbeares) in the email for reference to your issue. Again, we're sorry for any trouble we have caused and we hope to talk to you soon.
Thank you,
Liz R.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support
Bob on 05/28/2013:
Your first mistake was buying a GE refrigerator. If Sears made an attempt to order parts and GE doesn't produce them it would take time for them to find that out. A refrigerator that is "a few years old" made by GE is a problem waiting to happen. If you had read your protection plan document you would have known to ask for a rental refrigerator much sooner. Sears will get you a new refrigerator. Choose something other than a GE.
Geneva D. Hansbrew on 06/11/2013:
I purchase a small chest freezer, back in 2011 (Kenmore) well same story came home for lunch today 06/11/13 smell this bad order, open up the top it was all my food, the freezer has stop working, all my food was spoiled. Contact SEARS, I have to pay to have the tech come out/they offer me another agreement I have to pay for. I am a Single/working mother of two. The appliances (Kenmore Chest Freezer) should lasted some years before you have to call for a service tech to come. If this is the case they're no better than a second hand store. Running Big Time TV ads, with people running into appliances, That what their telling the Consumers in so many words "Big Problems if you dare Purchase a Kenmore.
DebtorBasher on 06/11/2013:
Geneva...what does being a single/working mother of two have to do with the problem? That doesn't make your complaint any more or less important than anyone else.
Sears Cares on 06/13/2013:
Geneva D. Hansbrew,
My name is Liz and I am a part of the Sears Social Media Support team. We can certainly understand your frustrations with having issues with your freezer. We would like to offer some assistance to connect you with a dedicated case manager and discuss your experience to see how we can get this resolved. At your convenience, please contact our office via email at email@example.com so you don't have to be upset by this any longer. In the email, please provide a contact number and the phone number the freezer was purchased under (if different than the contact phone number) and we will call you directly. In addition, please include your Screen name (Geneva D Hansbrew) in the email for reference to your issue. Again, we're sorry for any trouble we have caused and we hope to talk to you soon.
Thank you,
Liz R.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support
Kg on 06/15/2013:
I am in Virginia and second the disagreeable service from Sears. No parts brought even if diagnostic codes are provided, no show, non responsive to having appliance non operative for mo ths at a time. This is NOT the exception but the rule. Stay away!
Kirit Desai on 06/17/2013:
I can not express enough of how good service we have received from Sears Master Protection Plan. Any time we had any problem with any of our appliances, and I have all my appliances under their agreement, Sears Technicians have come timely, assessed the situation and always gave us the best solutions, even to the extent of complete new appliance replacement.
SearsCare on 06/18/2013:
Dear Kg,
We are indeed sorry to learn that you have had such a poor experience with our service(s). It's clear that we have let you down and for that we apologize. We would like to speak with you about your recent experience to see how we can make this right on your behalf. If you would like to discuss this situation further, please send the following information – contact #, screen name (Kg), phone # used at time of purchase to firstname.lastname@example.com and we'll reach out. We look forward to speaking with you!
Thank you,
Misty H.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support
DK on 06/25/2013:
I am going through a similar situation with my KENMORE range and I have come to the conclusion that my house will burn down and then I will get a new stove AS WELL as a new kitchen. I am very discussed with Sears. We have a house full of Kenmore appliances and this is the first time we have had a serious issue with one and are VERY upset with the response from the warranty/replacement dept. They don't really care, it's all about $$$$$$. And they want to keep it. So I just keep calling the Techs to come out and one day They will be as frustrated as I and sick of wasting $$$$ and they will realize that it WOULD HAVE been cheaper to replace my range. Good Luck to all with your appliance repair quests. Hope they are smoother than mine.
SearsCare on 06/26/2013:
We are terribly sorry for the troubles you have experienced with the repair of your range. My name is Liz and I am with the Sears Escalations team. We can truly understand your frustrations with the level of customer service you have received. We would like the opportunity to speak to you and see how we can get this resolved. Please send the following information – contact #, screen name (DK), phone # used at time of purchase to firstname.lastname@example.com. Again, we're sorry for any inconvenience we have caused you and we look forward to speaking to you soon.
Thank you,
Liz R.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support
Theresa Condel on 07/08/2013:
I am going through the same problem with my lawn mower. My brand new lawn mowers cable broke and the store sent it in for repair. Going on a month and still waiting on its return. Every week I get a call and it's not ready. The mower was under warranty. I contacted the store to see if they would replace it since its been so long and they will not. I am so aggravated with Sears. I am going to cut up my Sears card and never buy from them again and also let everyone I know about their service. I have gotten nothing but the run around
Mark W. on 07/08/2013:
I bought a Kenmore Elite in 2009. The liner cracked within the last couple of days. Upon seeking help, I was told that cracks are inevitable due to expansion of the plastic. A) Its a refrigerator....its not supposed to "expand." B) I am 50 years old and have NEVER seen cracks in a refrigerator. Then I discover that the problem is "cosmetic" and thus, the unit will not be replaced. Some sort of patch is going to be done. THEN, I discover that SEARS has known about this defect for YEARS and is selling a shoddy, defective product for almost a decade, without fixing it.
I will no longer buy from SEARS and will advertise the fact that SEARS does not stand behind its products and is willing to sell defective equipment.
Loretta S. on 07/21/2013:
My Experince:
Appointment scheduled 1-5p.
5:05p: no tech. 1st call to Sears and hear tech is behind and will be here at 5:35p.
-let Sears know I have an appointment and have to leave soon.
6:15p: tech calls saying he's here, their system was down and he was getting appointments 1 at a time
-told tech I was headed out and I wanted him back as the 1st appointment in the am
6:20: 2nd call to Sears who say they can't guarantee this, but they will have the tech call me that evening
Day 2: no communication from Sears
Day 3: random call from a Sears tech at 8:30am saying he's on the way and will be here in 15 min
-I didn't schedule you and I'm on my way to work. He hangs up on me w/o a word.
8:52a: call from Sears that the technician may have missed my appointment. YA THINK?? :/ So I rescheduled for this week, so we shall see.
-I tell the lady I have to go to the laudromat again this week and she tells me to call Sears for reimbursement. Hello! Isn't that who you are??
You know they send emails, call you, send letters to have you buy something and this is what you pay for??
SearsCare on 07/22/2013:
Dear Loretta S.,
We are indeed sorry for the unpleasant experience you have encountered with getting service out to your home and for the inconvenience this situation has caused. It's clear that we failed to meet the expectations that we set for service and having to use the laundromat to wash your clothes can be a bit more than irritating. We would like to offer our assistance with this service issue to help resolve and minimize any frustrations moving forward. At your convenience, please send the following information – contact #, screen name (Loretta S.), phone # used at time of purchase to firstname.lastname@example.com. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thank you,
Misty H.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support
Claudia J on 07/24/2013:
Purchased a Kenmore elite French door (trio) in Dec 2007. Ice maker "auger motor" went bust in Dec 2012. I was advised to purchase protection plan which would cover that repair and would offer 1 yr of protection parts and labour. I did this. Tech came out, fixed ice maker and explained service and warranty to me. On 7/16/13 unit displayed ER FF code. Unable to select ice/water options I called Sears. As per code parts were ordered and arrived days later at my home. 7/23/13 tech arrives and asks what parts were for? Told him Sears sent same based on code I gave them. Bottom line tech worked for hours installing parts, problem worsened when he realized it shorted out board he had just installed in addition to fans in unit. Told unit needed replacing, not cost efficient to repair. This refrigerator was nearly 3000.00. I purchased a 3yr MPA at time of purchase, of course all problems began after 5 year mark. How convenient? Sears offered me 500.00 toward purchase of new fridge and a meager 200.00 max on food replacement. So disappointed in Sears, honestly who buys a fridge for that much $$$ only to have it completely fail in less than 6 years? Shame.
SearsCare on 07/24/2013:
Claudia J,
Please accept our apologies for the disappointing experience you have encountered with your refrigerator and the service that has taken place this far. We understand why this situation has caused some frustrations and we would like to offer our assistance. Please send the following information – contact #, screen name (Claudia J), phone # used at time of purchase to firstname.lastname@example.com and we will reach out and discuss your concerns further. Hope to hear from you soon.
Thank you,
Misty H.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support
Wilders on 08/02/2013:
We purchased several appliances from Sears last "Black Friday." The sales guy talked us into purchasing the added protection plan. We've had our refrigerator serviced four times for the same problem. We were told by both the service rep and Sears rep that if it happened again, our Protection plan would refund/replace the fridge under the "No Lemon" clause. Well, it happened. When we called, they sang a different tune. They told us that we did not have the right protection plan. That all we had was the factory warranty, which does not cover for this problem. We argued that we had paid for the extra protection and that we had the documentation. She asked for a "certificate" number. Stating that if we had paid for the plan, we should have received a certificate in the mail. Of course, we did not have this. This was not a problem until it came time to replace the appliance. Now we are stuck with a noisy Samsung that sounds like a jackhammer during that night and sporadically spits out ice.
SearsCare on 08/03/2013:
Dear Wilders,
We're sorry to hear about the difficulties you're having with your fridge and the confusion surrounding your protection agreement purchase. It sounds like you have been going through quite a bit of frustration trying to get this resolved. We would like the opportunity to get you in touch with a dedicated case manager to discuss available options for assistance. At your convenience, please contact my office via email at email@example.com so we can help. In the email, please provide a contact phone number and the phone number the fridge was purchased under (if different than the contact phone number) and we will call you directly. Also, in your email, please provide the screen name (Wilders) you used to post on this site, for reference to your issue. We do look forward to talking to you soon.
David W.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support
Sears Employee on 08/12/2013:
Hello everyone I am a Sears Sales Rep I completely understand that a lot of you guys are disappointed. Now from what I see most of you guys have problems with the item not lasting long. Now, I don't think that you guys should blame it on Sears for the item not lasting as long as you want it to last because we don't have any control over any of that. If you go to any other store the same thing could happen. Anyway what I am trying to get to is for you guys to not blame it on the Protection Agreement. Sears does call right before your three or five year protection agreement does end so if you aren't sure that it will last then extend the protection agreement. Anyway I hope that you all have a wonderful day.
Overheating Dryer on 08/16/2013:
I have an overheating dryer and the Sears tech came today and said it was fixed. It still seems to be overheating. I purchased the Protection Agreement. When I attempted to schedule an appointment online to fix what they charged me for and told me was fixed today if you have a PA it will not let you schedule an appointment to fix what they did not fix. They attempt to make you call a number for troubleshooting. Very shady. I could only schedule if I checked the box that I did not know if I had a warranty/PA. After I finally scheduled an appointment I called in and they said it should be covered under the 90 Day Warranty for the service visit, but I would have to pay a trip charge. Again very shady! I just paid for it to be fixed and purchased a PA! Why should I have to pay again? Then I explained no I would not because I purchased a Protection Agreement. Then he said the PA does not go into effect for 30 days. What!? OK, now we are past very shady to downright FRAUD. Are you kidding me?! Why are they attempting to put me through the wringer (no pun intended) when I paid for the service call and it was not fixed the first time AND I purchased a Protection Agreement and they still are telling me I am going to have to pay. Either the man on the phone needs additional training or an outright fraud is being perpetrated. Hopefully, the tech will come and fix what they should have fixed a few hours ago on the first visit and not charge for something I have already paid for.
JayK on 08/18/2013:
I bought a Kenmore refrigerator during Augâ12 that stopped working during early Juneâ13. Still under warranty, Sears tried in vain for 2.5 months to repair it over 8 appointments replacing multiple parts. Sears finally gave up an offered me a replacement. Since same model is not available anymore, I was promised that the authorization department will offer me a dollar amount that I could apply towards purchasing a new refrigerator. I got the case # on Aug 8th and Sears promised a turn around time of 72 hours. Not it is double that time and the representative just now told me that authorization department is backlogged and it could take an additional 120 hours and that too is not a guarantee. She said she could not do anything about it including not letting me talk to her manager and that I have to wait patiently. I don't think Sears really cares much about its customers as there seems to be no flexibility such as I buy a new refrigerator now and Sears adjusts the amount after the auth department wakes up and comes up with the amount. I explained I have small kids and that didnât seem to make any difference. Very frustrating. After posting this on Sears community, I got the canned email response asking for my contact information to show that they are doing something about it. I have provided it and still waiting for a case manager to be assigned to me. It seems very shady the cust svc rep forwards the call to protection agreement benefits dept and then a round robin back to another cust svc rep. Dilly dallying tactics and Sears just wants to wear you down so you go away. I am seriously thinking of moving away from Sears to another competitor for all my appliances.
Sears Cares on 08/18/2013:
Overheating Dryer,
My name is Liz and I am with the Sears Social Media Support Team. I found your comment here and want to offer some assistance. We sincerely apologize for the disappointing experience you have encountered with your dryer repair. At Sears, we pride ourselves on making sure our valued customers are satisfied with our products and services and it appears we have failed met that goal. We would like to speak with you about your recent experience to see how we can make this right. Please send the following information – contact #, screen name (Overheating Dryer), phone # used at time of purchase to email@example.com. Again, we're sorry for any trouble we have caused and we hope to talk to you soon.
Thank you,
Liz R.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support
Sears Cares on 08/18/2013:
I saw your comment today and wanted to reach out to you to offer our assistance. My name is Liz and I am a member of the Sears Cares Escalations team. We are sorry for the troubles you have encountered with your refrigerator. We can truly understand your frustrations with what has occurred. We recently reached out to you on a different website on 08/15/2013. We have received your contact information and a case manager has been assigned to you. If you have any questions or concerns, please send the following information – contact #, the name and phone # used at time of purchase, as well as the screen name that you have been assigned to reference your post (JayK), to firstname.lastname@example.com. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience we have caused you.
Thank you,
Liz R.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support
Crafylady on 08/26/2013:
I worked for Sears for 7 years and sold their agreements. I love Sears warranties because they allow me to warranty my products up to 10 years after purchase, lowes only allows 7 years. They replaced my door and glass on my oven and a new electronic thing behind the buttons. They fixed my vacuum cleaner and are now repairing my refrigerator again. Last year the rubber gasket/seal around the door fell off and they fixed it. So they are fixing it again. I received my $250 food loss check and feel the warranties are worth it. I paid $260.00 for a year warranty on my stove, refrigerator and vacuum and received at least $1000.00 worth of service. Best warranty ever!
Andrea Navarro on 09/04/2013:
Sears Cares on 09/05/2013:
Andrea Navarro, my name is Liz and I am a member of the Sears Cares Escalation Team. I came across your post and wanted to express our apologies for the difficulties you have experienced with the repair of your air conditioner. It sounds as if we have let you down on just about every level imaginable and would like to offer our assistance. We would like the opportunity to speak with you to ensure your situation is resolved quickly and to your complete satisfaction. At your earliest convenience please send the following information – contact #, the name and phone # used at time of purchase, as well as the screen name that I have assigned to reference your post (Andrea Navarro), to firstname.lastname@example.com. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience we have caused you and look forward to speaking with you. Thank you, Liz R. Social Media Moderator, Sears Social Media Support
Chad S. on 10/25/2013:
Though my experience doesn't actually impact my livlihood like a bum refrigerator, washer/ water heater would, it is none-the-less frustrating. Not only due to the length of time between request and service, but also because I have been deceived by the support staff.
About a year and a half ago I purchased a nice LG TV from Sears. Though I normally wouldn't, I also purchased the master service agreement -- which has come in handy.
My first run-in with the service staff occurred last October, 2012. The coaxial jack broke off the back of the TV. Without it, and without HD service, the TV was useless. I called to have it repaired and was pleased to find it was covered under the service agreement. The repairman came two weeks later. He was there for five minutes, deduced that I wasn't lying, and ordered a part. The part arrived two weeks later and the TV was repaired. While the month span was more than inconvenient, I was happy that everything was in working order again and I hadn't spent a penny.
Recently, as in two days ago, the TV started behaving strangely. The screen would freeze, a bright light would pass atop the screen moving left to right, and white bars -- not entirely blocking the picture as they were more translucent -- would appear. This wasn't a constant event, rather it was happening in a predictable manner.
I called Sears to arrange a repair. Three weeks was the earliest appointment they had available. Needless to say, I was annoyed. Especially since I knew the song and dance all too well. The first appointment, the servicer would determine that I was being honest, but would need a part ordered and I would need to wait another two plus weeks for the repair to be completed.
I wanted so bad to get an earlier repair time that I began to read message boards looking for successful ways of getting through to Sears. Much to my dismay, I saw that depending on whether you were paying for the repairs yourself or if they were covered under a service plan would determine how quickly you were seen.
I didn't believe it, but I put the theory to the test. Since calling would reveal my phone number, I took to the Sears website chat. On two occaisions, I was given dates at least a week earlier than what I had been provided over the phone. I called again to confirm my appointment and asked if any earlier dates were available. I was told, "no." Little did the operator know, I was also chatting with a customer service representative who provided me an earlier date.
I kept my date three weeks out because I've already scheduled work around it, but I can't believe Sears would treat a loyal customer who purchased the protection plan any differently from one who is willing to pay the TV's current value to have it replaced. And yes, I am being sarcastic.
SearsCare on 10/31/2013:
Chad S.,
My name is Liz and I am a member of the Sears Cares Escalation Team. I came across your post and wanted to express our concerns for the mishaps you have experienced with your television. It sounds as if we have let you down on just about every level imaginable and would like to offer our assistance. We can truly understand how important it is to have your television repaired and working properly in a timely manner. At your earliest convenience please send the following information – contact #, the name and phone # used at time of purchase, as well as the screen name that I have assigned to reference your post (Chad S.), to email@example.com. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience we have caused you and look forward to speaking with you.
Thank you,
Liz R.
Social Media Moderator
Elizabeth on 11/19/2013:
11/7/13 Services
I'm experiencing a problem getting my LG plasma fixed, I had a technician come out and he said my power switch is broke, he called his boss and gave them the information and they said they wear going to replace my TV because they don't make the power switch to my TV . The tech from Sears gave my tv information,(60 inch) to his boss, he said his boss will give him a call back. He was waiting outside for a phone call from his boss. When he received his call, he was outside talking for 30 minutes with his boss. He came back in my house and said they ordered the part and it should be coming in the mail. 7/18/13, I received a remote control, I called Sears and they said there was no order placed for the power switch. Sears said the "Master protection Warranty don't replace buttons on the TV!" I was transferred to 4 different people waiting on the phone for 1 hour trying to get this problem resolved! One Sears worker told me that sounds fishy what your going through and transferred me to the main person in charge, I gave my information and I was disconnected!
SearsCare on 11/19/2013:
We thank for taking the time to let us know about this situation regarding your television. My name is Liz and I am a member of the Sears Cares Escalations team. We can truly understand how important it is to have the television repaired in a timely manner. Also, we can see your source of frustrations with the repair being delayed. We would be happy to connect you with one of our dedicated case managers to assist you and address her repair concerns. Please send the following information – contact #, screen name (Elizabeth), phone # used at time of purchase to firstname.lastname@example.com. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience we have caused your daughter and look forward to speaking with her.
Thank you,
Liz R.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support
Laura McClammy on 12/28/2013:
My family is currently suffering through a refrigerator nightmare with Sears that has gone unresolved for 3 months, despite supposed ORIGINAL manufacturer warranty protection, repeated unsuccessful repair attempts by Sears technicians, etc. The day before Christmas Eve, we waited from 1-5pm for yet another technician (appt.supposedly confirmed multiple times by Sears via phone and guaranteed by them via e-mail). You guessed it: 5 p.m. came and NO ONE had showed up OR called from Sears. I called THEM and asked why no one was here and was told and I quote, "The reason no one showed is because we have to reschedule." Seriously?! WHY didn't someone call us before we wasted 4 hours waiting on them?! BTW, the fridge is and has been leaking water onto our hardwood floor continuously for weeks. We asked them to at least send someone to disconnect the water line to the fridge to prevent further floor damage as we have tried to do unsuccessfully and were told they would not do that, that we would have to wait until the secondweek of January, 19 days later, for a rescheduled appointment. My Mom just slipped and nearly fell on the pooled water around the fridge in an attempt to lift and wring out sopping-wet towels, and we have no clean towels to shower with. deattmptipontment. In summation, Sears is shamefully dishonorable entity , untrustworthy and makes people's lives miserable. Sears was, at one time years ago, honorable and trustworthy. They should be taken to court for fraud and breach of contractual terms, and ashamed at the disintegration of their reputation.
Laura McClammy on 12/28/2013:
If Sears has failed to honor their warranty on an appliance you purchased through them, I suggest you post the details of your experience on as many social media sites as possible, and google "Sears class-action lawsuit" regarding both the appliance itself as well as the so-called warranty for same.
Fred on 12/30/2013:
I used to work for Sears Santa Monica store, primarily in the Sporting Goods department. Even though I've purchased major appliances and tools from them over the years, I've never had Sears service and repair center respond favorably when I had problems. They are consistent in their poor service and I highly recommend that you NEVER purchase their extended warranty contracts.
Becky Mowat on 01/13/2014:
It is a sin what SEARS has done to itself! It has ruined itself as a business, by not acting with integrity towards its loyal client base. I have been trying to be heard by their "customer service" reps for 2 months to no avail re the disintegrating plastic parts in the interior of my Kenmore fridge.
It's all about lining the pockets of their execs rather than really hearing what their customers are saying. I was told today that it was a "cosmetic" issue as well, and that I the customer would have to order and pay for new parts from the manufacturer. Shame on SEARS! Shoddy parts, shoddy service and promises not kept on their mission and values webpage. You cannot build a business with lost trust.
SearsCare on 01/23/2014:
Becky Mowat,
We appreciate you posting about your refrigerator. At Sears, we pride ourselves on making sure our valued customers are satisfied with our products and services and it appears we have not met that goal here. From your post we can see that this has been a source of great frustration for you and we would like to assist. My name is Liz with the Sears Social Media Support team. We would like the opportunity to connect you with one of our dedicated case managers to discuss you concerns. We recently reached out to you on 01/10/2014. As of yet, we have not received your contact information. At your convenience, please send the following information – contact #, screen name (Becky Mowat), phone # used at time of purchase to firstname.lastname@example.com. Again, we're sorry for any trouble we have caused and we hope to talk to you soon.
Thank you,
Liz R.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support
Deb on 02/11/2014:
I have to say I am very please with the master protection agreement. Having a purchased a front load washer and dryer it is a necessity. They are fantastic machines but with all the computer tech attached to them it's best to have the MPP. I have saved well over $900 in repair and labor costs in the three years I have owned my appliances. The MPP is up next month and I am going to renew it for another year.
Anna on 03/25/2014:
Sears master protection agreements only benefit the store where purchased, corporate, and the employee's paycheck. My experience is being on the receiving end as a Sears employee. Once under their misrepresented contract, you are at the mercy of their so called trained technicians. The end result is either a no call- no show, 2-3 week wait, incorrect part ordered, or multiple repairs possibly resulting in replacement months later with what you were told in the store would be at retail or msp, which is a lie. A prudent financial decision is to pay yourself that money, place it in your savings, and find a local reputable repair man who does service calls within 24-48 hours.
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Service nightmare
Posted by
I'd like to share my ongoing nightmare of circumstances surrounding the repair of a refrigerator I purchased through Sears. I have been attempting for several weeks to have this refrigerator, which is warranted, serviced. I've provided a timeline which includes my several, albeit, unsuccessful attempts to remedy this ongoing situation.
July 5, 2011:
1300-1700 hours: Pursuant to my calling and making an appointment, a Sear's service repairman was scheduled to come to my house between 1300 – 1700 hours, to evaluate my refrigerator.
2000 hours: At 2000 hours, the serviceman arrived and stated he needed to order some parts. He arranged for the parts to be sent directly to my house, and scheduled an installation appointment for July 15, 2011, between the hours of 0800-1200 hours.
July 15, 2011:
July 13, 2011:
In anticipation of the July 15, 2011 appointment, and per the serviceman's instructions, I emptied and unplugged my refrigerator.
July 15, 2011:
0800-1200 hours: I arranged to be, and was, at my house between the hours of 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM.
1400 hours: I called the general Sears repair number and inquired as to where the repairman was and what time I might expect his arrival. I was notified that a message was being sent to the repairman and he would call me within a few minutes.
1500 hours: Once again, I called the general Sears repair number. This time I was informed that the serviceman was running late and would arrive by 1730 hours.
1545 hours: The serviceman called me and stated he an emergency, was not coming out, and that he rescheduled the appointment to July 23, between the hours of 1300-1700 hours. I told him I that would not work and needed someone out immediately. He stated I needed to call the general number to reschedule.
1550: I called the general number, explained the situation and asked to reschedule the appointment the repairman made for me on July 23, 2011 between 1300-1700 hours. I was told they could not reschedule the appointment as I have an "active" appointment scheduled for today between 0800-1200 hours. I stated that time had already passed and that the repairman told me he rescheduled me for July 23, 2011, between 1300-1700 hours and that I needed an earlier appointment as I currently have house guests (with more arriving). I asked to speak to the supervisor and was told she was busy. I asked to have her call back and was told she would return my call within an hour.
1850: Once again, I called and explained the situation and that the supervisor who was to call me within an hour, had not returned my call. This time I was told that I qualify for "emergency service" and a message was sent to routing. I could expect a return call by early the next morning (July 16, 2011).
July 16, 2011:
0930 hours: I called to follow up on my "emergency service" and was told there were no technicians (repairmen) available today and they don't work on Sunday. I was told someone would call me within 12 hours and that I was still scheduled for service on July 23, 2011. I told them I needed someone immediately and was told there were no servicemen available and they didn't work on Sunday (July 17, 2011).
*No one returned my call. I placed another call and was told someone should call me back sometime within the next two days. Again, I stated that was unacceptable as I have a party of 30-40 people arriving on July 22, 2011. Again I was told no one worked on Sunday and if July 23, 2011 didn't work, they could come out on July 25, 2011 or later.
July 18, 2011:
0940 hours: I again called as no one had returned my calls and was told the earliest someone could come out would be July 23, 2011. Again, I asked to speak to a supervisor, who actually did return my call. The supervisor, Ryan, told me that within two hours, he would have someone from the "Blue Ribbon Customer Service" call me. I also indicated I lost a lot of food due to this situation and he told me I was entitled to a "food loss protection" up to $200.
1035 hours: Rebecca from "Blue Ribbon Customer Service" called. She assigned me a Case Number and told me she would get someone out as soon as possible. She did call back and told me a repairman was scheduled to arrive on July 21, 2011, between 1300-1700 hours. I asked her about the "food loss protection" and was told my specific warranty did not cover it. She also stated that she put in the notes that no one was to change/modify or cancel the July 21, 2011 appointment without her being notified directly.
July 21, 2011:
0600 hours: In preparation for the serviceman, I again unplugged my refrigerator and stored my perishables in an ice chest. (More food as I'm preparing for 30-40 guests.)
1537 hours: The repairman called and said he was about 15 minutes out. Again, I waited.
1635 hours: The repairman called and stated he was not coming out and sent a routing for another serviceman to come out.
1657 hours: I called the "Blue Ribbon Customer Service" representative, Rebecca and left a message. The call was after her normal work hours, so I called their alternative number and explained the situation. They stated that someone should call me by close of business tomorrow (July 22, 2011). I again stated I needed someone out immediately. Once again my food is thawing out and this time it's enough to feed 30-40 people.
1700 hours (approximate): I made several calls and was finally able to get a private repair company that sent someone out to put the parts in the refrigerator. He arrived around 1830 hours, put the parts in and expressed concern that the original problem may have been misdiagnosed.
After three weeks of numerous attempts to have, what one might refer to as a "simple" repair, the situation remains unresolved. I have taken time off work, lost a substantial amount of perishable foods, had overnight guests whom I've had to entertain in a third-world modality and to boot, have 30-40 people coming over tomorrow for a major celebration. Additionally, I've taken time off from work, sat around the house for hours on end, in anticipation of the repairman's arrival. It boggles my mind that a company (Sears) with a supposed good and reliable reputation has taken me on the chase of my life. I'm at wit's end. I'm afraid Sear's will not reimburse me for my time, my lost food and the private repairman whom I hired in a last-minute desperation.
Company Response 7/22/2011:
Dear Ms. DogPatchLair2:
We found this post and I wanted to reach out and express our concern and our deepest apologies for this situation. When we set up a service call, we anticipate that we can get the service tech to your home and the service completed within the time frame we give you. The issue with your service was most likely because a technician was held on service appointments that took longer than expected or as the tech told you he had an emergency and couldn't get another tech to your home. We can't ask a tech to leave a job partially done in order to make the next appointment(s). We wouldn't do that to you or any of our customers. We also can't know how long a particular job is going to take until the technician gets to the job and diagnoses the issue. Many times it takes longer because we are not going to cut corners for the sake of time. This does cause delays on occasion, but sacrificing quality for time is simply not an option for us. Of course, this is not an excuse, just an explanation. I can understand your frustration and inconvenience while waiting so many different dates for the tech to arrive. I can only imagine the hassel and frustration you are feeling. We would like to talk with you to see how we can make this right for you and make sure that everything that can be done for you is being done.
My name is Susan and I'm part of the Sears Social Media Escalations team. At your convenience, please contact my office via email at email@example.com so we can get this resolved for you. In the email, please provide a contact phone number and the phone number the refrigerator was purchased under (if different than the contact phone number) and we will call you directly. Also, in your email, please provide the screen name (DogPatchLair2) you used to post on this site, for reference to your issue and we do look forward to talking to you soon.
Thank you,
Susan R.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support
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Venice09 on 07/22/2011:
I apologize for not reading the middle portion of your review, but I don't think I have to. You are obviously one of the countless disappointed Sears customers who will never do business with them again.
I'm curious, did you use the option provided here to contact Sears customer service?
Jay on 07/22/2011:
This complaint is so typical of Sears service.
There are so many complaints about Sears poor repair service this site should provide a pre-worded complaint form that only needs a few pieces of information added. Appliance, problem, number of calls, number of missed appointments, number of wrong parts, number of "wrong department" calls, length of time to actually complete the repair.
SearsCare on 07/22/2011:
Dear DogPatchLair2:
We found this post and I wanted to reach out and express our concern and our deepest apologies for this situation. When we set up a service call, we anticipate that we can get the service tech to your home and the service completed within the time frame we give you. The issue with your service was most likely because a technician was held on service appointments that took longer than expected or as the tech told you he had an emergency and couldn't get another tech to your home. We can't ask a tech to leave a job partially done in order to make the next appointment(s). We wouldn't do that to you or any of our customers. We also can't know how long a particular job is going to take until the technician gets to the job and diagnoses the issue. Many times it takes longer because we are not going to cut corners for the sake of time. This does cause delays on occasion, but sacrificing quality for time is simply not an option for us. Of course, this is not an excuse, just an explanation. I can understand your frustration and inconvenience while waiting so many different dates for the tech to arrive. I can only imagine the hassel and frustration you are feeling. We would like to talk with you to see how we can make this right for you and make sure that everything that can be done for you is being done.
My name is Susan and I'm part of the Sears Social Media Escalations team. At your convenience, please contact my office via email at email@example.com so we can get this resolved for you. In the email, please provide a contact phone number and the phone number the refrigerator was purchased under (if different than the contact phone number) and we will call you directly. Also, in your email, please provide the screen name (DogPatchLair2) you used to post on this site, for reference to your issue and we do look forward to talking to you soon.
Thank you,
Susan R.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support
Venice09 on 07/22/2011:
Haha.. Jay, I've suggested that in the past. There should be a stock form for all appliance complaints. Just fill in the blanks!
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Ridiculous About Serving Customer
Posted by
ILLINOIS -- Sears repair service is the worst in the world. I first called Sears on 2/21 to come out for my refrigerator. Freezer side of my refrigerator stopped working. The tech comes out and sees that one of the sensor for the ice maker is not working and that's why the freezer side is not working. So he orders the part and according to him " he put a rush on it". Mind you, we are talking about a refrigerator here and all my groceries are going bad and I can't buy more groceries because of the freezer. I called them on 2/25 to find out the status on the part. People at Sears have no clue about the part, they have no tracking # what so ever. So finally one guy tells me if the part doesn't arrive by Monday 2/28, call us. Sure enough, Monday comes by and we still don't have the part. So I call Sears again and wondering what's going on. Again no one has any clue. After being on the phone with different reps for couple of hours, I get a chance to speak with a so called supervisor. He assures me that my refrigerator will be fixed on Tuesday. I told him, more power to him if you can have the part and a technician out here tomorrow. He said if I want to bet him. I said, I don't want to bet him but if he wants to take this challenge, be my guest. All I wanted was, my refrigerator fixed. He said, if he can't get this fixed, I can have his job (like I need his pathetic job with the ridiculous company) He said to call back Tuesday and speak to him if this thing is not resolved(he even gave me his Employee ID# and his extension#, which God only knows, even exist). I knew that he was full of hot air, So I took it upon my self and sent out a nasty gram to the following Sears executives
(email@example.com; email@example.com; firstname.lastname@example.com; firstname.lastname@example.com; email@example.com; email@example.com).
I didn't know if it's going to work on but it was worth the shot. After that, I did little more research and found a number for their "Executive customer service". I spoke with them and explain to them that it has been a week and no one has any clue on the part. The representative there, assured me that the part should arrive tomorrow BLAH BLAH BLAH. Well on Tuesday 3/1, the tech shows up and asks us for the part.
We are like, how the heck we know, you are the one who ordered it. He said, OK, he will reschedule his appointment for 3/3 and the part should arrive by then. I also received a call from the Executive customer service stating that they are responding to my email. So I was happy that my nasty gram wasn't a waste of time and energy. Couple hours after the tech leaves, the part shows up.
So I called and scheduled an appointment for 3/2. Now the interesting thing is, I am in IL, and Sears sends out a part from California VIA UPS Ground. Grounds takes 5 business day from California to IL. Now, one day for them to come take a look, 5 days for part to get here and one additional day for them to come out and install part. We are into 9 days of not having our freezer. It gets better. The tech that came out was the same tech that came out the first day. I had told him that the water had stopped working too but he apparently ignored me. So when he comes in on 3/2 (funny, he doesn't even ring a bell and puts a "sorry we missed you" sticky on the door and was about to leave, I happened to see him and ran out to stop him, he claims that he rang the bell and tried calling on my cell, what a bull crap). So when he comes in to install the ice maker, he just installs the ice maker and about to walk out. I asked him, how long will it take for it work? "He said 8 hours". I said fine but what about the water? He was like "what about the water"? I told him that I informed him on the first day that the water was not working. So he goes behind the refrigerator and says "Oh it needs a valve and he will order it". So my wife asks him, "what, another week for the part"? He goes "yeah" without any worries. Fine, it's only water, I can live with it. 12 hours go by and the freezer still not working and it's Thursday 3/3 now. So I reach out to the "executive customer service" and told her the tech was piece of work. he didn't do crap. So she apologized and said that she will send out another tech to come out on Friday between 8-12 on 3/4. Very frustrating but I had no other choice. We waited till about 12:15 on 3/4 and no one shows up. I called Sears and they said that tech was running little late and he will call us. I called them back again at 12:45pm and the person there said that he will be there in 30 minutes. I got little busy and didn't get a chance to call them until 2:30 to find out where the heck the tech was. They said, the tech took it upon himself and cancelled the appointment because we had the parts coming on 3/8. I am like what????? Parts were for the water and not for the freezer side. I was on the phone with at least 12 different rude people until 5:00 pm (I am not exaggerating) who had no clue what's going on and reading off the freaking scripts. I finally was able to get a hold of another executive customer service person and she said that she's going to have the tech call you. So the tech finally calls me and I explain to him that the parts that other moron tech ordered were for the water and not the freezer. I know this because, he told us that it's going to work in 8 hours, so why would he order other freezer parts (may be lying so won't get into trouble? humn.. interesting). He was really apologetic and said that he's going to have a senior tech come out on Monday 3/7. I was fuming at this point, now we are going into 3rd week and the freezer still not working. So I sent out another nasty gram to the following executive (firstname.lastname@example.com; email@example.com; email@example.com; email@example.com; email@example.com; email@example.com) So this morning on 3/7, I received another call from the customer service saying that, we will have to cancel the appointment because the parts are on order and no point of tech coming out. At that point, I wanted to reach out to the person on the other side of the phone and choke them. I explain to her that the parts were for the water and not the freezer and I begged her not to cancel the appointment. So she was nice enough to not cancel the appointment. I also reached out the tech who called me on Friday and asked him for help. He was really nice and reached out the tech supposed to come out and ensured that he was still coming out. So finally today the senior tech came out, was nice and professional and knew what he was doing. He checked several things and told us what to do and said that someone has to come out and install the parts are coming and it should work. This guy seems to know what he's doing so I trust that it will be fixed in next couple of days. But shame on Sears for letting it go this far. I didn't ask to repair a rocket, it's freaking refrigerator. It's ridiculous that it takes 3 weeks to service a refrigerator. I wouldn't recommend their service to any one. Had my wife been working, either her or I had to miss out 4 work days and not to mention, that we have to go out to Walmart to get some water throw away some groceries. PLEASE DON'T USE SEARS unless you REALLY want to take some blood pressure medication...
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Venice09 on 03/08/2011:
This review is lengthy and hard to read. There's probably a valid complaint in there somewhere, but I have to be honest and say that I couldn't read the entire thing. A scaled down version that gets to the point would be more helpful.
Anonymous on 03/08/2011:
I stopped reading when the OP insulted the employee about their "pathetic job". That tells me all I need to know.
getoverit on 03/08/2011:
It does sound like a horrific story - but there's always that whole thing about catching more flies with honey.
NMY on 03/11/2011:
Yeah sure, I agree, it's a lengthy review, but even if it helps 1 person, it serves it's purpose. throwback, I didn't tell the employee that I didn't want his pathetic job, these are my feeling after being screwed for 3 weeks. Your comments are just based on reading my story, I bet if you went through what my family and I went through, your comments would have been different.
Venice09 on 03/11/2011:
NMY, consider the fact that you could help more than one person if you rewrite this review in a way that's easier to read. Just a suggestion.
NMY on 04/29/2011:
Update, Today is 4/29/11 I am still waiting for a tech to come out and fix the same issue. My appointment was for between 8 -12, I called at 11:35 and was told that truck broke down and the tech will be late. Thank you Sears for calling ME and letting me know!!!. What a BS customer service.
NMY on 05/12/2011:
Update on 4/29/2011. A tech finally showed up at 3:00. I told him that he must have been backed up because his truck broke down. He was like "What? who told you that? His truck never broke down". I told him that Sears told me that when I called them, because he was scheduled for 8-12. He said, no, they put me at the end of his route, and those customer service people just make up stories so you will not get mad at them. This just can't get any better than that....P.S. it's 5/12, I still have a broken fridge!!!!
trmn8r on 05/12/2011:
Besides the verbal exercise, what did the tech do on 4/29?
NMY on 05/12/2011:
@trmn8r. He pulled the part out, compared it's specs with the new one and said " well the old part is OK, something else must be wrong" I wanted to choke him right then there because he could have check the specs when he ordered the part, he wasted our entire day for that?
ok4now on 05/12/2011:
Venice: I just knew that this post would get your attention. Difficult to read, the OP is venting and rambling without giving much specific information about the complaint. I did speed read this due to the length of the post. Kept looking for my favorite "Sears Cares" who solves every complaint with 100% complete customer satisfaction. LOL!! It appears that the OP has not been contacted by them yet. After they do we can expect a second Sears Complaint review. When will these people ever get their act together? Must be the K-Mart mentality.
Venice09 on 05/12/2011:
ok4now, look at the comments above ours. The OP posted an update on 5/12, and it's not going well. Can't say that I'm surprised.
ok4now on 05/13/2011:
Venice: I did see that. You and I have been commenting for some time now about the inferior quality and poor response from the seller for all of these appliances. Sears seems to be the poster child for this. Way too many negative reviews and lack of service from this once great company. Recently they had a 30% off sale on all Kenmore appliances. Gee I wonder why?
shoes2010282 on 06/03/2011:
I am sooo scared. I could start crying right now. I wrote a review about my issue with them and mine has just started. My fridge just went dead on 6/1/11. I received a date of 6/20/11 for a tech to get here. They left me a message that they have sent the part for the tech on the 20th. So how do they know what part I need? I've only had this fridge 1 1/2 years. I bought a protection plan (costly too yet). I'm going to be sick.......
rneely371 on 10/19/2011:
I am there too. Similar story...different people. Kind of like dragnet. The names were changed to protect the idiots. No nore Sears 4 me!
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Very Very bad service
Posted by
In Feb, 2009, we bought a side by side refrigerator/freezer with a dual cooling system from Sears. In May of 2010 our water dispenser quit, and we noticed the fridge was not as cool. The problem got worse so we called Sears Repair and scheduled a repair appointment.
I took time off work in order to be at the house between 8 am and 12 pm. The repairman came out on June 9 and diagnosed the problem - the fridge cooling system had frozen up - there was no problem with the freezer. He ordered some parts and on June 15th I again took time off work and the repairman returned, installed the parts and the fridge was once again working. He determined the work and the parts were not covered under our warranty and charged us $281.
Three weeks later the fridge again quit cooling â again, no problem with the freezer. We contacted Sears Repair on July 11th via the internet. Sears Repair responded that they would schedule us for July 20. I responded that Sears had already been out once and âfixed the problemâ and that I now had a non working fridge and according to their schedule, would continue to have a non working fridge for another nine days. Sears Repair then decided to schedule me for an âemergency repairâ and set up the appointment between 1 and 5 pm on July 13. I again took time off work to be at home when the repairman arrived. The repairman did not show up. I did receive a call a little after 4 pm advising me that the repairman was running late and would arrive between 5 and 6 - Nobody showed up. At 7:20 pm, we were called and told that the repairman would not be able to make it out that night and that Sears would call us to reschedule.
On July 14, I again talked with Sears Repair, and we started the process of scheduling all over again. This time they said they could schedule me for July 20 â leaving us ten days without a fridge. I explained my situation to them â a non working fridge, and advised them that the appointment they missed was an âemergency repairâ. Sears then decided that they could schedule yet another âemergency appointmentâ and set it up for Friday, July 16 between 1 and 5 pm â now only 6 days without a fridge.
I again made arrangements to take time off work to be at the house when the repairman arrived. He showed up a little after 4 pm and proceeded to go to work on the Fridge. The freezer was still working just fine. The repairman pulled a circuit board out of the back of the fridge and performed some tests, and then got into the fridge and saw that our cooling system was once again frozen up. He thawed the cooling system (removed a bunch of ice) and then determined that a heating element on the cooling system (keeps the cooling system from forming ice) was not working â it had a split in it. He then determined that the repairs the previous repairman had undertaken were not necessary and that our cooling system was still under warranty. He reversed the previous $281 charge and ordered the parts he felt we would need. He explained that while we just needed the heating element it could only be ordered as one unit that was a combination of heating element and evaporator.
He then determined that because he had cleared the ice that the fridge would function until a repairman could return and install the heating element. He turned the fridge on and waited to confirm that the blower was working that the fridge and freezer were cooling correctly. Feeling confident the fridge would run for a few more weeks, he offered me a Saturday appointment on July 31, so that I would not have to take any more time off work â which I gladly accepted.
Later on that night, I tried to use the ice dispenser in the freezer and learned that it was no longer working. I figured that when the repairman pulled and tested the circuit board that he did not correctly reinstall it as the ice dispenser was working just fine prior to his repair appointment.
The next morning I noticed that the fridge was once again not cooling â in fact it was sitting at 53 degrees. So, once again I called Sears Repair. And once again we started all over again with setting up an appointment over a week out. I once again explained the problem - how many times the repairman had been there; the fact that I had been scheduled twice for an emergency repair, etc, etc, and in addition, now the ice maker and dispenser were not working. The Sears Representative that I was talking to then referred me to a âtechnical consultantâ and we started all over again. Once again I explained my situation, the emergency repair, etc, and as a result, was referred to what I believe was called âcustomer solutionsâ, and we stared all over again. Once again I explained the situation, and asked if someone could stop by that day and look at the fridge â I explained about the circuit board, and told Sears Repair that I suspected that it had not been correctly reinstalled.
I got lots of apologies, acknowledgement that I did indeed sound frustrated, but the soonest they could get someone back out to the house would be July 28. That would leave us without a fridge for 14 days and there was no guarantees that the fridge would be successfully repaired on the 28th I explained again that I didnât have a working fridge, and according to their repair schedule, that I would be without a fridge for almost three weeks, I again requested that someone stop by the house and look at the fridge that day. Again with apologies, I was told that Sears Repair would not be able to stop by that day, and the earliest time would be July 28. We went back and forth for a while, and I expressed my frustration at their inability to properly diagnose and fix the problem - and their lack of customer service. It got me nowhere. I was told repeatedly that there was nothing else they could do for me. I ended it by hanging up.
Shortly after that, I was unpleasantly provided with the reality of why my Ice Maker and Dispenser were not working. It was because my freezer was no longer working. It was rapidly thawing!
How did it all end? That day, we went Refrigerator shopping â we had no choice! Sears left us high and dry without a functioning fridge and freezer and would do nothing about it until July 28. Bad, very bad, repair and customer service! Unbelievable, uncaring, unconscionable customer service!
In addition, during this whole two month issue, I also stopped by the Sears store to talk with the appliance manager to express my dismay that I had a fridge that was not working (at that time) just 15 months after I purchased it. He explained that if it had been a Kenmore product maybe he could help me. However he did agree to make some inquiries on my behalf and took my contact information. We never heard from him again. I also called and asked to speak with the store manager, explaining that I felt that he might be able to weigh in and help me move the process along to. I was assured he would get the message and would call me back after 1:00 pm that day. I never heard from him!
This was not the Sears store or service department that we have been accustomed to more than 37 years as Sears customers. Satisfaction Guaranteed? Not anymore.
Thereâs more to this, with regard to repeatedly being asked if I had an extended warranty, did I want to buy an extended warranty, - you know, you wouldnât have this problem if only you had bought an extended warranty. Does that mean that if I did have an extended warranty, the repairman would have shown up with the problem diagnosed correctly with the parts on hand and the fridge have been repaired the first time? Would the problem have been prevented if I had the extended warranty? I donât think so.
I also had a discussion with Sears Repair twice, regarding my hope that based on the history of this problem, the repairman would show up with the correct parts to make the repair, rather than looking at the fridge and determining that parts would have to be ordered â thus turning one repair appointment into many, depending on a correct diagnosis and my continued need to take time off work to be at home during the âfourâ hour window that Sears scheduled.
And, there was the issue about the cooling failure being a common problem with the brand I had purchased, not withstanding a new fridge only lasting 15 months.
Then there was a customer service representative who wanted to diagnose and deliver an opinion over the phone, based on the parts the repairman ordered. Point is, that person was not present when the repairman was at my house, and the repairman explained to me what the problem was, and why he took the action that he did to order the part.
Then there is the combined 12 hours of personal time I had to take from work in order to be at the house to meet the repairman. And of course, the no show appointment
Very very bad repair and customer service by a company who used to bend over backwards to ensure the customer was satisfied!
And, there is the company I bought the new fridge from. Upon learning that the fridge we decided to purchase would be on backorder for a few weeks, they delivered a loaner fridge to me, free of chargeâ¦â¦. Their idea, not mine. Thatâs the kind of customer service we would have received from Sears not too long agoâ¦â¦â¦..
Finally, after all of this, why would I ever do business with Sears again?
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Anonymous on 07/25/2010:
Sears service department has never been that good. One the warranty is up you can get any appliance repairman to take a look at it. Sears did their part under the warranty. Sometimes these things happen.
Venice09 on 07/25/2010:
Other than being a bit lengthy, which in this case was necessary, this is an excellent review. It is well written, easy to follow and sums up most of the problems consumers are having with their appliances, service and warranties. I don't even think SearsCares can do anything about this now since so much damage has been done and you have already bought a new refrigerator.
I hope people take the time to read your review because it will give them a good understanding of what could be in store for them when something goes wrong with their appliances. And not just with Sears but with any brand or retailer.
Again, excellent review. Very informative.
Helpful on 07/26/2010:
Sears seems overwhelmed in certain areas of the country and has a difficult time handling the available workload. You're absolutely right that an extended warranty would have no way guaranteed the problems wouldn't exist or, when the repair was done, it would be repaired correctly. The fact that the unit broke down, needing to be repaired, opens the door to a plethora of negative possibilities. With that said, many extended warranty programs do have, what is commonly referred to as, a no lemon guarantee. Ultimately this means that if Sears couldn't fix the problem, by the third time, the problem is assumed to be unrepairable and the replacement is at Sears cost, not yours. You may find it useful to read one of my blogs entitled "Buying Right".
Hopefully you'll enjoy your new refrigerator. Best of luck with it.
Venice09 on 07/26/2010:
The lemon law looks good on paper, but it's not worth what a company will put you through to get it honored. Just read the reviews! You can also go to my blog and read my comments. I will never buy an extended warranty again.
Helpful on 07/26/2010:
Good for you; however, I've seen this no-lemon guarantee work wonders. If you can't trust the retailer you're buying the merchandise through, you're buying from the wrong retailer.
Venice09 on 07/26/2010:
Well, it's not good for me at all, or for the countless other consumers who don't seem to be able to hit on a retailer that can be trusted. I guess we're just not lucky.
SearsCare on 08/03/2010:
To Sarichef,
I do apologize for the delay in finding this comment. We have been going through an upgrade process of our own in order to handle issues more efficiently. I also hope that you come back to this thread and read this note.
Unfortunately, this is the hottest part of the year and most every service organization is stretched fairly thin in some areas. That doesn't justify what's happened to you and the service problems. I know you've already purchased another refrigerator from another retailer, but if you'd allow us the opportunity we'd like to talk with you about what happened. We can't fix an issue if we don't have specifics on which service unit was involved, etc. We would also like to discuss some things we have available to ensure that you don't have this situation in the future should you need our services again.
My name is Brian and I'm part of the Sears Cares Escalations team and we'd like to work with you. At your convenience, please contact my office via email at email@example.com. In the email, please provide a contact phone number and the phone number the refrigerator with the abysmal service was originally purchased under (if different than the contact phone number) and we'll call you directly. Also, in your email, please provide the screen name (Sarichef) you used to post on this site, for reference to your issue, and we do look forward to talking to you soon.
Thank you,
Brian J.
Senior Case Manager
Sears Cares
2cent-er on 08/28/2010:
wonder what happened, did the poster get some satisfaction?? nice that Sears responded but to what end? so we [readers] can think Sears cares??.. Sears has been in the service business forever. there's not much new on how to satisfy your cust'; just give them timely professional service..so why the need for a special resolutions team. everything should be SOP.. why, for instance, is a call back cust' put at the end of the Q. they should get same day/next day service. the parts should be avail on a timely basis. Sears certainly has the clout to demand this..appliance repair has always been a seasonal, demand service business requiring additional people and overtime at peak periods.. Sadly Sears is just following the nat'l norm for warranty/contract service. depending on the 'round robin' of consumer dis-satisfaction-keep trading unhappy cust' with all the other manf/retailers.
Venice09 on 08/28/2010:
Obviously I agree with you, 2cent-er, but I'm not sure Sears can afford to do that anymore because there are so many complaints. I also think things got much worse after the merger with Kmart. I'm actually surprised that this SearsCares team even exists. But OPs have come back to post good results so they must at least be helping some people.
As I've said before and it may sound naive, but I keep hoping Sears will be the one to come out ahead in the appliance world. As you pointed out, they've been in the business forever and should know how to get it right. I think it's more a matter of their ability to do what needs to be done. I'm not so sure Sears in a position anymore to restore its long standing reputation. But I do know that there are still people out there who are loyal to Sears and think of them as trustworthy. All is not lost, but it could be if they don't do something to turn this around.
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Sears Did Not Honor Refrigerator Warranty
Posted by
My 2-year old Kenmore refrigerator quit running on August 12, 2007 due to a defective compressor, which is covered under the 5-year warranty for sealed components. When you call Sears, you get the usual options to select and questions to answer. Then you are put on hold awaiting a live person. This person will be the next person available and could be in any city or state. You canât get the same person you talked to last time. You can give the employee ID number and they still donât know who it is. You must start over with the entire story after you repeat your phone number, name and address. Several times I was disconnected after telling my story and had to start over with someone else. I frequently got conflicting answers, like âno, they donât do warranty repairsâ to âyes, they do warranty repairsâ. This is the worst customer service experience I have ever had. Below is a summary of my stressful experience. Following that is the unbelievable details. You will see that Sears continuously changed their story. I got the impression that they were trying to wear me down and drop the issue.
1. My first phone call for service, Sears said the refrigerator was no longer under warranty and it would take a week before Sears could service it.
2. I said I would call someone else for service because I needed it repaired sooner.
3. When I called back and explained that a local non-Sears repair service said the problem was the compressor, Sears did not tell me that the warranty was now void. In fact, my warranty description in my manual did not say the warranty would be voided if someone else worked on the refrigerator. Sears proceeded to sell me the service agreement saying that the compressor would be covered under warranty and the service agreement would cover the labor. They did not say that the service agreement would not cover the repair since some else worked on the refrigerator. I asked them to fax the terms of the Service Smart agreement. They said they did not have faxing capabilities. I asked them to email it; they said they could not, that I would have to wait until it arrived in the mail about 10 days after paying for it.
4. They proceeded to schedule an appt. A week went by, and then the service tech arrived and said he would not replace the compressor because someone else worked on it. He proceeded to write a report that was inaccurate and made it look like the repairperson had damaged the refrigerator.
5. I called Sears back and explained that the compressor is covered under the 5-yr warranty. They say the âagreementâ is void because someone worked on the refrigerator. I canât get them to consider the factory warranty and forget about the service agreement. My manual does not state the warranty is void if someone other than Sears works on the unit.
6. 9/5/07: Received the service agreement contract. If says this agreement does not cover service required as a result of a repair by someone not authorized by Sears. The compressor failed before the repair tech arrived. I called him because the refrigerator quit running. The failed compressor was not caused by the repair tech.
7. I asked multiple Searsâ personnel if I could fax them the write-up from the local repair tech, which indicates the compressor, was not working upon his arrival. They said they could not receive faxes. The non-Sears repair tech has agreed to appear in Small Claim court if it comes to this.
8. I filed a claim with the Better Business Bureau. Sears said my warranty was void because the non-Sears repair tech damaged the refrigerator. This is not true. I will file with Small Claims.
9. I did Win in small claims court because Sears did not show up.
Below is the detail:
1. My 2-year old Kenmore refrigerator stopped running on 8/13.
2. 8/13: Called Sears, Service Tech could not come until 8/21.
3. I could not go w/o a refrigerator for that long, so I called a local service. Only the sealed units were still under warranty. He replaced the start/run switch for $190. It did not help. He said was a faulty compressor and he would not touch it since it was under warranty.
4. Made the appt. and asked them to have the service tech bring a compressor when he comes so it could be repaired right away.
5. Cannot bring compressor at first visit. Must come, charge $65, diagnose, and then order the part. Takes a few days to get in. Then they will set up the next appt to install.
6. Cannot have 2 appointments on the books, so they cannot set up the second appt now
7. Compressor is under warranty, but the labor is not.
8. We stocked food into coolers and purchased many bags of ice. Eventually we bought a small refrigerator for $140. We had already lost about $125 in food.
9. After I made the appt. I spoke to Employee x. He said I have to select and pay for the plan prior to making the appt.
10. Must cancel my appt if I want to take the plan, and then reschedule.
11. Canât provide an est. cost. So we cannot decide in advance if we want the plan.
12. Called to get service plan. Went through all the automated questions again, a person put me on hold for at least 5 min., and then we were disconnected.
13. I called back and got the plan. She confirmed that the plan was accepted even though I had an appt.
14. 8/21: the service tech said he would not repair the compressor and that it was no longer under warranty because someone other than Sears worked on the refrigerator. A new compressor would be $452 and the labor $177. He didnât give us the $500 per the Service plan agreement.
15. 8/21: I called Sears and spoke with Employee y of the Dept of Repairs. She said the warranty was voided when the other repair service replaced the switch even though they did not touch the compressor. The unit was still sealed.
16. 8/21: I requested to speak with her supervisor. She said she was the âtopâ and there was no one above her to talk to. She said that even if I talked to the CEO, he would say the compressor was not covered under the warranty. I persisted and she left a message with the NCR Dept. who must respond within 24 hours.
17. 8/22: The NCR Dept did not respond. I called them. They were unfamiliar with the situation and I started from scratch. She said that I needed to call the mfg for the warranty. I said it was Sears, She said no it is Kenmore. She said that the service tech could not do the mfg warranty work. Then why did they send him? I asked for the $65 service charge to be refunded and to cancel the service agreement. She gave me the Cancellation dept. Gave all my info again. They donât handle the Service Smart cancellations. They will transfer me to 1-877-469-5663. Employee z cancelled the agreement. He said the service tech can do warranty work.
18. 8/22: I called the Kenmore number. It was Sears. Selected repairs and was transferred to warranty, but got the Tech Line who handles Service Smart disputes. He reviewed my info. The mesa service tech had reported that the wires were hanging loose and shorted the compressor. That is false. I explained what happened and offered to fax my receipt and description of the repair. Employee A âtheyâ have been looking at this as not being covered by the Service Smart agreement. He feels it should still be covered under mfg warranty and there is no need to fax the repair slip. He was the first person who actually âlistenedâ to me and had any empathy. He will have Employee B call the Mesa Service Unit tomorrow morning and get this resolved.
19. 8/23/07: Employee B has not called me. Called 1-800-767-2000, Opt 1 and asked for Employee B. No such person. They suggested I call Natâl Customer Relations at 800-927-7836 or Protection Services Resolution Center at 1-888-528-6326. I asked them to connect me to the Service Smart Tech Line in High Point, NC (800-827-6655). They did and someone took a message for Employee B since she was out to lunch.
20. 8/23: Employee B called me. We became disconnected and she called me right back. The Tech Mgr from Mesa has not returned her call. However, she said the compressor should be covered under the warranty and the motherboard, if needed, is most likely covered as well. She will order the parts and schedule service from Mesa. The next avail appt is Wednesday, Aug 29, between 8 and noon. She will tell them not to send the same service tech. He should have at a minimum given us $500 towards a new appliance per the Service Smart agreement. Employee B will reactivate the Service Smart agreement I cancelled. We can cancel after the appt if it is not needed. Can confirm the appt by calling Tech Line again at l 800-775-2023. I can also reach her at that number. She will be out until next Wed, but will in during our service call in case we have a problem and need to contact her.
21. 8/23: I called 800-775-2023 and asked for Employee B. She was gone or away from her desk. I left a message. Perhaps the motherboard should be ordered right away in case it is needed. I donât want to wait another week for a second service appt.
22. 8/28/07: Sears left VM at 6PM to cancel tomorrow repair appt.
23. 8/28/07 11:00 AM: Called 800-775-2023. Employee A and Employee B are out. Employee C confirmed that the Service Smart agreement has not been reactivated. I explained that Employee B was going to do 3 things for me last Thursday. 1) Order a compressor, 2) reactivate my Service Smart, 3) schedule a service appt for Wed. Aug 29 between 8 and noon. We have yet received the compressor. I asked Employee C to leave a message for Employee B so she sees it first thing in the morning in case we need to reschedule the service appt.
24. 8/29/07: Talked with Employee B. She said they cancelled the appt. for the same reason they did not repair the refrigerator the first time (they determined the compressor was not under warranty). Why did they make this appt in the first place if they were going to refuse to honor it? Why wait until the night before the appt. That adds 6 more days w/o a refrigerator. Employee B will call them. She said Sears must legally replace the compressor.
25. 8/29/07: Sears Repair in Mesa called to set up appt. for Fri or Sat. Set it up for Fri, Aug 31, 8-noon.
26. 8/29/07, 12: 45 PM: I called the Tech Line. The gal confirmed that the compressor is covered because I did not have Service Smart âbeforeâ the other company worked on the refrigerator. She confirmed my Service Smart was reactivated to cover the cost of the labor to replace the compressor. She will have Employee B check on the status of the compressor and get back to me.
27. 8/30/07: I called Employee B to confirm part was ordered. She did not respond to that question, but said that Service Smart could not cover the repair because someone else worked on the refrigerator. I explained again that the compressor is covered under the âfactoryâ warranty. She said âYou have a good point, Iâll look into that and get back to youâ
28. 8/30/07, 2PM: Employee B called to say that the warranty is void because someone worked on the refrigerator. She cited their service tech notes that say the previous repairman damaged the refrigerator. I told her, as I had told her before, that I would fax her the repair slip for the previous tech that states that the compressor was weak and maybe bad before he even finished his repair. After all, I called repair service because the refrigerator was not running. So, something was wrong BEFORE the repairman came. She said I could get $500 from Sears (my $240 that I paid for the service plan plus their $260) but it must be spent at Sears. I told her I would never buy an appliance from Sears again. I then told he I would contact an atty. She said she could no longer talk to me and gave me the number of Natâl Customer Relations (800-927-7836).
29. Called Natâlâ Customer Relations and explained briefly what is going on to Allie (56059). She said they handle service agreements, not warranty. I should call the Mesa service unit regarding warranty 480-497-7733. I have talked with them in the past and they refuse service because they say the warranty is void.
30. 9/13/07: Retrieved Small Claims form to complete.
31. 9/13/07: Called Sears Repair number, selected warranty. Explained the situation to Althea. She said she could not determine where we bought our refrigerator, just when. But she said if I would cancel my Service agreement, then make a repair appt., the compressor will be covered under warranty. She said to call 888-528-6326.
32. 9/13/07: Called 888-528-6326, spoke with Employee D and said I wanted to cancel my agreement. She put me on hold and Employee E answered, a Sears Tech Support. I said I wanted to cancel the agreement. He started to read the notes. I summarized it. He said the compressor would not be covered if someone else worked on it. But they would refund my $240 for the agreement. Then he said there were a lot of notes and he better speak with his supv first (He said âsheâ, I suspect it was Employee B). He said someone would call me back tomorrow. His deptâs direct line is 800-775-2023. That is the number for Employee Bâs dept.
33. 9/14/07: Called 800-549-4505 (customer service). Spoke with the regulator compliance specialist. She is working on my claim with the BBB and plans to respond soon. Her number is 800-762-3049, ext 16357. I explained that I had not been given a chance to provide the local service techâs findings and accurate description of repairs. She gave me her fax number 512-248-7945.
34. 9/18/08: Sears responded to the BBB claim saying they would not pay the claim. They said to call for a full refund of the service agreement plan. I had to call two or 3 phone numbers and speak with multiple people to get the refund. They tried to charge me for the service visit in which the service tech did nothing. I refused to pay that. After being on put on hold, they came back and agreed on a full refund.
35. 10/5/07: Sears replied to the BBB complaint stating that they believe the repair tech damaged the refrigerator and therefore they would not honor the warranty.
36. I will file with small claims on 10/9/07.
37. I won in small claims court because Sears did not show up.
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tnchuck100 on 12/06/2008:
So what was the end result?
Soaring Consumer on 12/06/2008:
He won in small claims. I really like when these stories have happy endings.
hello dolly on 12/10/2008:
Won what?
myconcern on 01/02/2009:
Sears had to reimuburse me the cost of the my refrigerator, the small refrigerator I purchased to use until the claim was settled and the settlement costs. It came to about $1650. If they would have covered the compressor in the first place it would have cost them much less.
Slimjim on 01/02/2009:
Good job following through with a legit situation and making them pony up via the courts. You ended up doing OK for the effort.
hello dolly on 01/02/2009:
Good for you. The pits that it took so much to make it right but hopefully this will make Sears do the right thing when they have the chance.
gush on 04/25/2010:
Sad what people have to go through in order to get what was rightfully theirs in the first place. I'm surprised Sears isn't in the news about this.
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Incompetent Uncaring Company, I Am Surprised Used To Have A Great Name
Posted by
BELLEROSE, NEW YORK -- Mr. Bruce Johnson
President & CEO
Sears Corporate Office
3333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179
Dear Mr. Johnson,
I am writing to you with a sense of desperation, as I have been unable to get service for my Refrigerator which has had a service contract from Sears since I purchased it. Both my wife and I have been repeatedly lied to, mislead, and in general, treated with a complete lack of compassion or understanding. I'd like to give you a brief history of what has been going on although I am sure if you access my file in your records by my name, address and telephone number you will see our repeated attempts to try to get the service we paid for.
On Sunday, May 18, 2008 at approximately 2:30 pm my wife heard a loud irregular noise coming from our refrigerator. When she opened the doors she found the lights were out in both refrigerator and freezer and noticed that rather than the gentle hum of the motor there was silence. She immediately brought the matter to my attention. I checked my circuit breaker panel, which has a dedicated line for the refrigerator, and visually noted no change in the switch. My wife called 1-800-4MY-HOME and scheduled an appointment for service for the following day.
On the morning of Monday, May 19, 2008 while I was waiting for the service man to arrive I went to my circuit breaker panel and threw the circuit breaker for the line for my refrigerator. I went upstairs and noticed that the power had returned to the unit, but when I opened the freezer door, I noticed there was a strange odor but was not sure if it was related. I had a doctor's appointment so I had to leave before the serviceman came, but my wife stayed home and waited to receive service on the appliance. That afternoon the serviceman came, I don't know his name but his ID is #0881045 his name must be on record concerning this service incident. He asked my wife what had happened and he immediately informed her before inspecting the refrigerator that it was probably a problem with our electrical system and there was nothing he could do. He asked for a vacuum cleaner which my wife provided. He vacuumed the front of the bottom on the refrigerator, which incidentally was already vacuumed and clean, for approximately 30 seconds. He replaced the bottom guard, he opened the freezer door, noticed condensation and informed my wife that first we should consult our owner's manual to determine what type of noise our refrigerator is supposed to make, and second that we must have left the freezer door open which caused the condensation and said there was nothing more that was needed to be done and left.
Mr. Johnson, both my wife and I have owned refrigerators our entire life; we were born after the era of the ice box, so we are absolutely familiar with the sounds a refrigerator is supposed to make. This was not a noise which is made during the normal operation of a refrigerator. Also, he made no indication as to the odor that emanated from the refrigerator. In my opinion this technician is incompetent and could have prevented the following chain of events. Unfortunately I was not here when the serviceman came as possibly I would have been able to make sure that the serviceman did his job. Rather he took advantage of my wife, who is not familiar with the technical aspects of the operation of a refrigerator.
By the time I returned home it was approximately 5pm and the house reeked of a strange chemical smell. At which time we placed a follow-up call to 1-800-4MY-HOME to reschedule another appointment. Incidentally, by this time there was a large puddle of water on the floor in front of the freezer door and my frozen food was beginning to thaw. When we spoke to the dispatcher they informed us that since the Monday service call had not cleared from the computer they could not schedule a new service call and that we would have to call back the following morning. As to the chemical odor, the service representative told my wife he would make a "health, or safety" report and someone would get back to us shortly in regard to the odor. That night no one had gotten back to us and my wife began to experience difficulty breathing as the result of this chemical odor she needed to take medication for her condition brought about by this gas, and I had to thoroughly vent the house before we went back home. That night I had my wife sleep at her sister's house and I returned home and opened all the windows and activated my attic fan in an effort to clear the house of the gas.
I picked my wife up first thing Tuesday morning, returned home, and called the service center. They informed me that they would not be able to schedule an appointment until Wednesday, at which time I asked to speak to a supervisor. I was transferred to Vanessa at your corporate offices who kindly said she would look into the matter while I was on hold and informed me that their service vehicles were vandalized so they couldn't schedule me for that day, but that they would put me on the schedule for Wednesday unless a vehicle became available sooner. They gave us an appointment for Wednesday between 8am-12pm.
Both my wife and I waited for the serviceman, At approximately 1PM Mr. Lenox, I.D. #13540 arrived at my home, he appeared to be very knowledgeable and professional, and immediately recognized the odor as refrigerant. Mr. Lenox pulled out and inspected the rear of the refrigerator and then opened the freezer, removed the cover to the evaporator and found two holes in the side of the evaporator that apparently blew out which started the release of gas on Sunday. He also verified that all our frozen food was ruined but was unsure as to whether we were covered for the loss on our service agreement. Mr. Lenox informed us that the compressor, the evaporator, the coils and some other part needed to be replaced. He said that it has been his experience that a job as extensive as this has never worked successfully. He called his manager to explain the situation advising him of his lack of confidence in replacing the parts but his manager insisted that he first replace the parts and if that doesn't work then Sears would replace the refrigerator for the customer. Naturally, when Mr. Lenox informed me of this I was unhappy with his manager's decision because at this point it has been four days since we have been without a working refrigerator, we lost all our perishable items and at best the parts will come by the 22nd of May at which time I call for an appointment which wouldn't be until at best the 23rd. Having no control over the situation, I patiently agreed. He informed me that the parts will be sent to my home, at which time I should call for a third service appointment.
On Thursday, May 22, 2008 I called the service department to inquire as to when the parts would be delivered as I have been taking my family to restaurants for 5 days now and it's beginning to get costly. The dispatcher I spoke to was very helpful and informed me that the parts were to be delivered that day, the 22nd and she would go ahead and schedule the service call for Friday, May 23rd so that I would not have to go through the holiday weekend without a refrigerator I would like to commend that person but she hung up before I was able to get her name or I.D. #. I was informed that the serviceman would be here between 8am and 5pm. The parts did arrive later that day, Thursday the 23rd of May, as the service dispatcher promised.
On the morning of Friday, May 23, 2008 I called to find out approximately what time the service technician would be coming as my wife had a doctor's appointment and I had an emergency dental appointment, and wanted to make sure that one of us would be here for the serviceman's arrival. I was told that he would be here sometime between 12pm and 5pm. My wife and I left at 9:30 for our respective medical appointments, and I put my home phone on call forwarding to my cell phone so as not to miss any phone calls from Sears.
While I was in the dentist chair, a call was forwarded to my cell phone from the technician, inquiring about the number of boxes that were delivered. I informed him that three boxes were delivered, he told me that there should have been four boxes as four parts were ordered, and it wouldn't make any sense for him to come if all the parts were not available. But he did say that he would check with his dispatcher to see if all the parts were delivered. When I got home from the dentist I called the dispatcher and informed him what the driver said to me, and he verified that all the parts were delivered and advised me that he would notify the serviceman. I asked him "can he guarantee that I will get my repair today?" ? He told me he would try, at which time I asked to speak to a manager. He forwarded me to your corporate office, customer care department, where I spoke to Mike, I.D. #54272. I explained the entire story to Mike, he looked up our records and told me he understood my frustration, put me on hold, spoke to the dispatcher then got back to me and assured me that the service technician would be there to try to repair my refrigerator, if the repairs were unsuccessful Sears would authorize a replacement refrigerator. He even gave me his extension at 1-800-609-5650, extension 18473 and told me to contact him personally if there were any additional problems as Sears had dropped the ball 1st on Monday with an incompetent service representative, 2nd Monday night by not having someone call back concerning the safety issue which was posed by the leaking refrigerant that was reported, and 3rd that Sears allowed my family to be without refrigeration for 6 days now.
At 2:30pm I started to get a little nervous because the service technician who came on Wednesday informed me that this was a 5 hour job and it was starting to get late in the day. I called the service department and they assured me that the serviceman was on his way to my location. I asked to speak to a manager, they forwarded me to the corporate office again, and I spoke to Ann, ID #631138. I asked her to connect me with Mike at extension #18473, she told me she could not transfer me but had me repeat my entire story again. Then she asked me if she could put me on hold, called the dispatcher and assured me that I would get my service call today.
At 3pm I called the corporate office and spoke to Ben, ID #69375 and he assured me that the serviceman was en route after checking with the dispatcher. I asked him if I could speak to his supervisor and he informed me that the manager was away from his desk but would get back to me before 5pm.
At 3:30pm I called corporate office and spoke to Jessica, ID #49597 and asked her to transfer me to Mike at extension 18473 and she told me that she was unable to transfer calls. I asked her if I could speak to a manager and she told me that there was no manager available and that she was the highest level of contact I could speak to and that their supervisors are only there for quality control. Again, I explained my entire story which she verified by the notes on our account. She asked if she could put me on hold, she spoke to the dispatcher, got back to me and told me that the service technician was on the way.
At 4:30 the service technician telephoned and said that he was stuck in traffic but was on his way and that he would be here within 45 minutes to an hour.
At 4:45 we received a phone call from the dispatcher saying that we would not be receiving service today as this is a two-man job and the helper was not available to assist the service technician. She told me that she would have to reschedule our appointment and my wife told her that it would have to be first thing tomorrow morning. She then replied that since it was a holiday weekend no service could be made until Tuesday.
At this point my wife and I were beside ourselves with a sense of frustration and powerlessness. We have been dealing with incompetence, lies, and treated with a total lack of professional courtesy. I placed another call to the corporate office and spoke to Dannia #11514. I explained the entire situation yet again which, as you can imagine, I was tired of explaining when they have it all written out in front of them in their computer records. I must say that Dannia had very poor professional telephone ethics; she informed me that she couldn't transfer me to Mike at extension 18473, that her supervisor, Carlos, was out of the building and would get back to us Saturday morning. At this point for my own health and wellbeing I had to stop pursuing trying to get satisfaction as I was getting nowhere.
At 3:19pm today, while in the process of composing this letter, I received a telephone call from Pat, ID #76307 (who initially refused to give me her I.D. but then checked with her manager and was ordered to do so) and asked me if she could reschedule my appointment for Wednesday, May 28th!!! I asked her if she was aware that they cancelled my service appointment on Friday and told her that I wanted someone here first thing on Tuesday morning. She told me that no one was available at that time. I asked her to please connect me with her manager and she informed me that she could not transfer me and that she would have her manager call me back. A few minutes later at 3:28pm Charles Smith at the call center (who claims to have no ID number) telephoned and said (as if he was doing us a favor) that he was setting up an appointment at their earliest convenience for Wednesday, May 28, 2008.
Mr. Johnson I have no idea what is going to happen next but I think you would agree with me that we've passed the point of reasonable customer service. It is now Saturday, May 24, 2008 at 5pm. It is obvious I will not have any refrigeration until possibly Wednesday which will make a total of 11 days without refrigeration. I have had to feed my family at restaurants for each of these days. I have had to spend an evening in the emergency room. I have had to throw away $350 worth of food. I had to cancel a family barbeque that we had planned for Memorial Day weekend. I have absolutely no confidence that when the service technician does replace these parts that my refrigerator will operate properly for any reasonable length of time, if it operates at all, as your service technician informed me that he has never seen a refrigerator work after this type of repair.
Mr. Johnson I am sure if you review my purchase history you will see that my wife and I have been loyal customers for many years, both in our purchases and our service contracts. I have also influenced many people to shop at Sears as I have always been pleased with your company and have never run into this level of incompetence and disregard for the customer's satisfaction. I am writing to you as a last ditch effort to avert the continuing injustice that has resulted as policies that you may be unaware of. Also please be advised that I am forwarding a copy of this to the Better Business Bureau of New York and to consumer advocates at WNYC Channel 5 Fox "Call for Action" and WABC Channel 7 News, "Help Me Howard", as I am just one poor consumer without any leverage caught under the Sears corporate rock.
I have tried to name as many contacts as I could so that these people can be instructed on how to handle this type of situation should it occur in the future as I am sure you wouldn't ever want your family to go through a situation like this.
I hope to hear from you in the very near future. I have gone through the expense of sending this letter via FedEx so it will arrive in a timely manner. Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely yours,
Lawrence J. Sypowicz
cc : Better Business Bureau
Complaint filed 5/25 on line
WNYW-TV/FOX 5 New York, NY
205 East 67th St.
New York, NY 10021
ABC Channel 7 News
77 West 66th St.
New York, N.Y. 10023-6298
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Anonymous on 05/26/2008:
why is A&E service so incompetent? Why don't they have the proper training? Why do you only hire techs that have no experience with both appliances and customer service?Why,after all of the many complaints against A&E service you still use them as your factory service?
Anonymous on 05/26/2008:
Sears continues to ride its previous good name among middle class consumers into the dirt. About 40-50 years ago, Sears was where the emerging middle class, with lots of disposable income, shopped. They built loyalty around their products and they were the one-stop-shop for "Mr. & Mrs. Everyman". Everything from appliances to undergarments could be had. Today, the former Sears only live in name...and hordes of consumers, brought up seeing 'Sears' as a trusted name, continue to shop there. And, they are frequently disappointed. I doubt this venerable old company will be around much longer. It exists only as a name to be exploited by corporate suits.
LauraW on 05/26/2008:
This letter is a model of what a good complaint letter should be. It is very well-written, with details of what transpired, including ID numbers and dates. There are no threats or dramatic pronouncements. I hope that Sears will answer, but I doubt it. I agree with the previous comments about the decline in Sears service. When one sees dozens of complaints about a business, and no one in management seems to care, can the demise of said business be far behind?
tugboat on 06/28/2008:
Two bankrupt companies, Sears & Kmart merged to become a bigger mess. Lousy customer service, incompetent employees & a even more useless management team & what should we expect from them?
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Bad Customer Service/Repair Center
Posted by
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA -- 10/2/07 purchased brand new freezerless Kenmore fridge from the Sears in Northridge, California. On 1/5/08 my fridge was making a loud gurgling noise as well as a steam release noise. I unplugged it and all of a sudden, water came gushing out of the bottom and inside of the fridge. I called repair center and was informed that no one can come fix it that day and won't be able to until Tues. I informed rep that I'm leaving town for a week and can't have them come till the 15th. He set me up for for a window of 1-5pm and I told him I can't take any time off for this and need an appointment after 5:00 pm. He informed me that the latest appointment available would be at 5:30 and that he would schedule me for that time on the 15th. I then asked if I am eligible for food reimbursement even though I did not purchase the extended warranty, and I was told yes. He transferred me to the warranty dept and I was disconnected. I was on hold for a while and then was bounced around person to person until finally someone knew the correct answer and was told I'm not eligible. I informed the woman that close to an hour of my time was wasted because of uninformed staff.
On the 14th I receive an automated message confirming that my appointment was between 1-5. I called customer service again and the rep sent a message to the router center to put me last on their list. He informed me that the last appointment was at 5:00 and not 5:30. He game me a number to call the next day and ask to speak with a manager and explain the situation and to make sure that they received the message.
1/15/08 I called the no. and asked to speak with the supervisor. I explained the situation and she told me that the last call is at 5:00. I asked her if she can have the tech come to my house at 5:10 and she said no that she doesn't have the power to do that. I informed her that my ex husband used to work for Sears, and yes she can do that, but she refused and told me that the tech had 8 jobs, he's only done 3, has 5 left, it's 1:10 and he hasn't taken his one hour lunch yet and she guaranteed that I'm last on the list and that she's sure he's not going to finish his jobs before 5:00 and that he probably won't get to my house after 5:00. At 3:40 I get a call from the tech informing me that he's on his way to my house. I told him I'm not home and won't be till about 5:00. He said he can't wait and I told him that I spoke with the manager and what she said the case was and not to go far because I'm going to call her. I called again and the same supervisor answered the phone. She informed me that he can't wait and that there's nothing she can do about it. I asked for a phone number to headquarters and she said that there isn't one. I said yes there is and I want it and she said that District is the highest number they give and she gave me the number I just called her on. I asked her what good is that going to do me if I get her and she's not helping me. I told her I already lost $300 worth of food, my time back on forth on the phone with them, and now money because I have to by 3 meals a day for us and cannot afford that.
She wasn't helpful so I said fine I'll go to the newspapers with this and hung up. Within 30 seconds, the tech called me and told me that he doesn't want me to be upset anymore and will try to accommodate me, but that he can't do it that day because they were sending him to Calabasas and will not pay for him to come back to where I lived because he will not be back till about 7 and they won't pay for that and they won't pay for him to wait for me to get home in an hour and he promised me to schedule me for tomorrow and put me last on the list again. I agreed. I gave the key to my neighbor, who was getting out of work at 3:00.
1/16/07 I called the tech to confirm the appointment and he informed me that he did make it, that he put me last on the list, but that he did not have the call and it was given to someone else. He gave me a number to customer service (the original number I called to set up the repair service) to call to get an approximate time of when the tech is coming today. I called and was informed that the appointment was done for tomorrow 1/17/08 and not today. I explained the situation to customer service and she put me on hold and spoke with the warranty dept and they said that they can't come today and don't do same day service. She then called the router department where I dealt with that original manager and she was told the same thing and that they will give my call to a tech who finishes early in the area and that they will call me and inform me of what's going on. My neighbor was kind and left a 1/2 hour early from work in case they come early. I never heard from the manager and they never came!!!!!
I had sent a complaint to headquarter the previous day and I received an email today informing me how much they value me as a customer and had the nerve to ask me to call them. Hello....you sold me a piece of crap, I'm getting jerked around and blown off by your repair center, I have lost $300 worth of food, I'm on high blood pressure meds and have to eat out, my blood pressure is now sky high from the stress they have caused me, spend extra money to eat out, spent at least 5 hours on the phone and you're freaking asking me to call you to resolve the situation. Apparently they can't pick up the phone and call me after all this crap they put me through and have the nerve to tell me to call them. They've already made me jump through hoops, and they want me to jump through more. You have got to be kidding me. I responded to them with an update. And after not hearing back from the manager by the end of their business day, I told them to come and pick up the fridge. I don't want it. I don't want it fixed and don't want a replacement. I told them that I want to be credited on my credit card and that if they don't pick it up, I will not pay for it and will fight till the end to save my credit.
I actually called the store and spoke with the sales person and explained everything. I had looked at the fridge and freezer a year before and promised that I would go back to him, which I did. He informed me that they won't take the fridge back because the 90 days are up....it broke 3 days after the 90 day period! He transferred me to One Source, but got disconnected. He called back to follow-up and I told him I won't waste anymore time being put on hold and jerked around and I'll take this to the BBB and newspapers. The heck with the papers...this site is better...but I will be filing a complaint with the BBB. He said that he will call them and will have someone call me back.
I will get rid of my Sears account, and will never step foot in Sears or K-Mart and will research to see what other sister/parent companies of Sears and won't go to them.
WHAT IS UP WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE IN CALIFORNIA? They reel you in, take your money and screw you!
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Mario The Great on 01/16/2008:
You refusal to work with the repair team is rather unsettling. Just because your husband used to work for Sears, doesn't mean squat. You try to use this to your advantage and then get mad when it doesn't work for you. You were given a clear time window (1-5) and couldn't make that commitment. You sure were quick to let everyone know that you were leaving and wouldn't be back but when you did come back you were more than willing to give your key to the neighbor. Why didn't you do this in the first place? Yes, there is a return policy of 90 days and yes, you didn't make it. Even the less than smart customer rep. would know NOT to tell you anything knowing that you hadn't purchased an extended warranty. There is no way that they would cover ANY food loss without the purchase of it. What makes you think that it's covered anyway? Oh yeah, your husband used to work for Sears and yes, they can. It's consumers like you that make people in retail mad. It's not your store, you don't own them, you're not always right, we can't always make it your way, sometimes we try our best and finally, if you really want to know what Edward Lampert owns, here you go:
1. Sears Holdings Corp - Sears, Kmart, Lands End, The Great Indoors, Orchard Supply Hardware, A&E, among others.
2. Autozone
3. Citigroup
4. Autonation
5. Home Depot
6. Clear Channel.com
So, if you really want to not set foot in anything owned by Sears, there you go.
Anonymous on 01/16/2008:
My thoughts echoed here Mario.
Anonymous on 01/17/2008:
www.searsholdings.com/invest/ Great site to learn about
Sears holding corp.
But each company must stand on their own and I wonder were Sears falls in on that list??
Mario : I don't see any reference about her husband ever working at Sears???
Mario The Great on 01/17/2008:
Ninny - 2nd page, 1st line. It's actually her ex-husband. Makes me even more livid. I'll bet you she doesn't go around telling McDonalds that her ex-husband used to work there and she knows that former employees get an extra pickle. Heck, how many women do I know that use their ex-husbands as leverage in ANY situation? I know of NONE. :) my3cents worth.
Anonymous on 01/17/2008:
sorry about that , didn't see the second page.
see we all make mistakes.
Ponie on 01/17/2008:
ninny, I can understand your overlooking that comment. After reading the first page of her exclaiming 'I want what I want when I want it,' I almost didn't go to the second one either. I don't think there's any question why her spouse is now her 'EX!'
BTW, I just reread the first sentence. I didn't know any company makes a 'freezerless' refrigerator. I thought all of them had a freezer...but what do I know, I live in an apartment where I don't have to go appliance shopping.
Anonymous on 01/17/2008:
There are some customers out there , that don't make any sense at all.
I believe this is one of them.
Sears can't bend over backward for these people.
Otherwise they would be making service call at two in the morning.
CrappyCustomerServiceEverywhere on 01/21/2008:
Actually Mario, my ex husband working for Sears means that the only advantage I have, is a huge one....I know how customer service operates. I told the manager about him working there, so she knows not to jerk me around, but she still did, and I knew what to do. Did you ever think that may be I just moved to this location? Maybe thatâs why I didnât want to give my neighbor my house key while I was away for a week. If Sears didnât sell lemons (apparently other customers on here are complaining about lemons from Sears) then I wouldnât have to worry about it!!!! If customer service did their job, then life wouldâve been easier for all. I know you have a hard job working as a customer service rep. No I donât own the store nor the people, but THEY OWED ME A FRIDGE since the one I have broke 89 days from the day it was delivered to me, till the day it broke!!!! Yes, I was quick to tell the customer rep that I was leaving...thatâs because I was...he was trying to make a repair appointment for me while I was away....maybe I shouldâve just let them come knocking on my door..oh wait a minute...they wouldnât have...they freakin blew me off 3 times. I wasnât sure if the food was covered, so I asked...but the less than intelligent customer service, as most are, informed me incorrectly. If he, and the other idiots I delt with knew their job, then I wouldnât be pissed about being passed around person to person in midst of being on hold for a total of 45 minutes. Thatâs what pissed me off....not the fact that it wasnât covered. It sounds to me like you hate your job. Perhaps you may want to consider working as a security guard at a morgue...that way you wonât have to deal with customers like me....ones who wonât get jerked around, by lazy and unmotivated customer service reps sitting behind the phone and scratching their nuts while theyâre snoozing on the job. The sales person and the repair tech who finally showed up were the ones to help me out...they and the delivery guys told me all the issues that customer services causes their customers...how they dick people around. Thatâs right...One Source called me right away, apologized and I had the fridge the next morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Apparently, this customer is right!!!!!!!! Let me tell you something...I know youâre really busy doing nothing working as a customer rep...but I am the President of a PTA for a school holding 1200 children, work full time, a single mom and guess what....also own a RETAIL business, as well as getting ready to go to school to enhance my RETAIL business. I donâtâ have time to be played with nor to waste because of unmotivated and incompetent idiots at customer service. So youâre crying to the wrong person. Instead of being a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem. Instead of being on here complaining about customers like me....you know the ones who arenât passive...maybe you should start doing research starting from the first post on here of an unsatisfied customer. Oh wait, you may be noticed and succeed. What a jerk!!!! Itâs customer service reps like you that will keep me away from Sears and will have me going to family owned businesses. Itâs also customer reps like you who just motivated me to open another business...watch out, I might be the next one to write you up on how youâre doing with customer service!!!! Donât bother responding to this, I wonât be wasting my time....The 5 minutes I just spend was enough on you and the likes of you.
jktshff1 on 01/21/2008:
Crappy, as you name fits you well also,
your last 3 posts have proven what the others said about your attitude.
You need to learn to work with people.
Ponie on 01/21/2008:
'I'm going to stop right here, before the evil in me comes out.' Too late.
I don't have to worry about silly things like appliance purchases/repairs. My people get paid to take care of things like this.
hello dolly on 01/21/2008:
I have only 3 thoughts I would like to share on this situation
1)Do you understand "warranty"? As in the manufacturer provided a period of time with no cost REPAIRS because this is a mechanical piece of equipment that may experience a failure. 1 such failure does not equal LEMON.
2) Can you please provide me with the information about the class you took to make you so successful that you can both own your own business and address the PTA with that attitude and language and still hold your head SO HIGH !!
3) For those of use who are slow please go over again how your neighbor was too new and untrustowrthy to hold the key the first time suggested and so trustworthy just a week later....possibly the answer to #2?
hello dolly on 01/21/2008:
Ponie I just saw a new Samsung fridge that has 4 doors. It is advertised as follows
top left - deep freeze
bottom left - soft freeze
top right - fridge
bottom right - soft freeze or fridge
Very good looking box. As I am remodeling my kitchen I have looked at 100's of appliances so if there are any you want me to look at for you just give me a heads up. LOL
Randy1133 on 09/16/2008:
Its really fun when Sears loses your service order you pay in advance for and you spend 4 hours on the phone proving you ordered what is showing up on your credit card labeled "Sears". I am still waiting fir the refund to show on my card.
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Sears Master Protection Agreement on Wine Refrigerator proved to be worthless!
Posted by
ONLINE PURCHASE FROM SEARS.COM, PENNSYLVANIA -- I purchased close to $6,000 of kitchen appliances in September 2011—from your store in Greensburg, PA, and a wine refrigerator online at Sears.com. The wine refrigerator was a built-in EdgeStar CWR460DZ (serial 1106910067) with a Sears Master Protection Agreement filed under my cell number. The warranty was good to 8/14/2016.
The wine cooler stopped working in November 2013. I scheduled an appointment for December 17, 2013, 1-5 pm and took ½ a vacation day. The tech from AE said there was a problem with the compressor/some related part. He called it in and his office claimed that my Sear Protection Agreement had been improperly processed by Sears. He told me my agreement was thus canceled and that I would be rebated the $89 I originally paid for the wine cooler. He left with my wine cooler sitting in the middle of my kitchen and departed.
I then called the Sears Protection Warranty Office, back and was told that my original agreement was only good until December 17, 2013 (what a coincidence) and not 8/14/2016. She said the technician should not have left and should have completed his work. She suggested that I buy a one-year extension of my protection agreement to make sure there were no problems. I did for $74.51 and charged it to my Visa card. She also said that she would arrange for another technician to come back to my house and that she would call me by 3:30pm. No one called or came; so, I called back at 3:50pm. The new person told me that since the wine cooler was not a Kenmore, they would not honor the agreement that Sears sold me and that I would be paid back my $89 original agreement cost plus the $74.51 I had just paid.
I asked to talk to her superior. That person said that they would make good on the original agreement for five years and refund my $74 and understood my frustration. She asked for the model number of the EdgeStar and then told me that they would not honor the agreement.
I asked to talk to someone who resolves conflicts. That person told me that she would review my case and call me back within one hour (before 6:00pm). She did not call back.
I called again, and was told that my agreement would be honored. We rescheduled an appointment for January 8.
December 27, I received a check for $89 from Sears, which I paid for the original protection plan. I did not cash the check, I wanted warranty that I paid for.
January 8, 2014, the Sears Tech was scheduled to fix Wine Refrigerator between 8am-12:00 noon. The tech called and refused to service my Wine Refrigerator. I lost another ½ vacation day. I called back and
spoke to Deon. He told me that it would cost more to service my wine cooler than it cost. I told him that the new version of my wine cooler cost $799; so, I found it hard to believe that a compressor replacement would be that expensive and the warranty did not mention anything about Sears being able to back out of their responsibilities because the warranty office views the cost of fixing the wine cooler to be too high. He suggested that perhaps Sears would pay for the parts and that they would charge me for the labor. I requested a name of someone to appeal my case to. He told me to write a letter of complaint to Executive Customer Relations, 333 Beverly Rd, Mailstop RR, Hoffman Estates, IL 60179. I mailed the letter on January 9, 2014. Deon mailed me a $65 Sears gift card.
January 23, 2014, I called Sears Warranty and talked to Tina to check on the status of my claim. Tina said that Erin was working on my case and was scheduled to contact me that day.
January 24, 2014, the Senior Case Manager with Sears Executive Office, emailed me to let me know that the brand of refrigerator that I purchased from Sears was not eligible for warranty coverage from Sears. I emailed her back to remind her that they not only sold me a warranty on 07/27/2011 but a renewal for one additional year on 07/17/2013 for $74.51. She said that the tech person had informed me initially that the warranty was not valid and inferred that I should have know better than to purchase the additional year.
My contract (i.e.., Certificate Number 026780454400091) states that I am covered to 12/17/2014. The Product is a wine cooler, model number CWR460DZ. Under Sears Protection Agreement Terms and Conditions: "This Sears Protection ("Agreement") is a legal contract that describes the terms and conditions of the Protection Plan that you have purchased. Obligations under this Agreement are backed by the full faith and credit of the Obligor." Under 2. Coverage for Repairs. "We will pay on your behalf the cost of parts and services that are needed to maintain the proper operating condition of your Covered Product." Under 3. Coverage for Replacement. "We have the sole right to determine whether a Covered Product will be repaired or replaced." Nowhere in the agreement is there a suggestion or statement that Sears may just unilaterally cancel this agreement.
Sears did not honor their Sears Master Protection Agreement with me. The EdgeStar wine refrigerator (new model number CWR461DZ, but identical to mine) sells for approximately $799. Sears still sells EdgeStar at the Sears.com online site where I bought my original wine refrigerator. I would bet that they will still sell you a warranty.
I talked to a judge about taking this to small claims court. The odds of collecting are slim and more expensive than the original cost of the wine cooler and my time.
I give!!! No more Sears for me!
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Sears Cares on 03/06/2014:
Hi, my name is Brian with the Sears Cares team. We're sorry to hear about the troubles you have experienced in getting your wine refrigerator serviced. I noticed from your post that you have spoken with a case manager in our executive department. If you would like, you can email firstname.lastname@example.com with the case number your case manager has given you and we will ensure they receive your message. Again we apologize for any trouble we have caused and we look forward to resolving your issue soon.
Thank you,
Brian H.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support
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I Will Never Shop at Sears Again.
Posted by
ROSS TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA -- I have never experienced such horrible customer service from a company in my life. On July 15, my husband and I bought a refrigerator from the Sears at Ross Park Mall. It was delivered on July 21, 2012. The delivery people were not careful in unloading the refrigerator and broke the prong on the electrical cord. I cannot plug in my refrigerator. I was told that someone would come to repair my refrigerator on Monday, July 23. Not ideal, but whatever.
On Monday, I received a call telling me that delivery people were on their way to help me with my dryer. Hello, my dryer is fine. It is my refrigerator which cannot even be plugged in. After spending over an hour on the phone being transferred from one department to the next, being disconnected, and waiting on hold, I was told that we would receive a call on Tuesday night with the window period for when a repairman would come to fix the refrigerator.
I never received a phone call. I called Sears this morning asking why the hell have I not received a call saying when a repairman would be coming. They said that someone would come between 1-5 P.M.
While I was out, I received a phone call from Sears informing me that there are not any repair technicians available today, that is why we didn't receive any confirmation call last night; I was told that the next date when a repair person would be available is on August 2, 2012. I yelled at the customer service person. 11 days without a working refrigerator. It is not my fault that Sears delivery people broke the prong on the electric cord for my refrigerator. I would be up a creek without a paddle had my husband not found a replacement prong at Home Depot; this is absolutely unprofessional and wrong.
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trmn8r on 07/25/2012:
Replacing the plug isn't something you should have to do, but it is pretty easy. Far better than sitting for a few weeks without a refrigerator. Typical poor Sears service. I bought my appliances from an appliance company, and I am confident that if they had done this on delivery they would have sent someone from the store that day to repair the plug.
Sears should send you a check for $10 or $20 to at least cover the cost of the plug, but I wouldn't count on that happening. They just want to see you go away, which is odd since you are the customer.
SearsCare on 07/25/2012:
To: tammyalam,
My name is Dianne and I am part of the Sears Social Media Escalations team. I am very concerned about what I have read here about your refrigerator. I came across your post and I wanted to reach out and offer our assistance with this unfortunate situation. At Sears, we pride ourselves on making sure our valued customers are satisfied with our products and services and it appears we have not met that goal here. From your post I can see that this has been a source of great frustration for you and your family and we would like to assist. Sears Social Media Escalations Team is a single point of contact for escalated concerns which means we step into a situation and handle it start to finish with one Case Manager. We would like to look into this situation further and offer our assistance to help resolve this issue.
At your convenience please contact our office via email at firstname.lastname@example.com and a dedicated case manager will contact you directly. In the email, please provide a contact phone number and the phone number the item to be serviced was purchased under (if different than the contact phone number) and we will call you directly. Also, in your email, please provide your screen name (tammyalam) you used to post on this site, for reference to your issue, and we do look forward to talking to you soon.
Thank you,
Dianne D.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support
copper_works_ on 07/25/2012:
You probably just voided your warranty by not having a tech do it. If anything like that happens again, I sure it won't, but refuse to sign for it. They broke the contract by not delivering a usable product.
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Sears is no longer a name to trust
Posted by
Three weeks ago we purchased a nice Samsung fridge at the Sears Outlet. We carefully described our space limitations (there is a wall on one side that extends out very far) and the model was said to be okay. Delivery was fine but fridge not pushed in before the delivery guys left. Once we pushed it in, we found that the fridge was too large for the space as the door hinge opened wider than the cabinet (unlike our flush mount fridge that used to be in the space). We originally scheduled to return the item and then canceled as my husband hoped he might be able to do something to the wall to allow the unit to fit. After consulting with a contractor, we decided that it was not possible and needed to purchase a replacement unit.
We found a smaller unit at our local Sears store. Customer service was fine and we scheduled an exchange for the following week.
The delivery men were early, which was great, but they were horrendous. Instead of removing the doors, they forced the fridge through doorways and got it stuck in the kitchen. They then removed the doors and got it placed properly after scratching my walls and tile floors. They reattached everything and left, after telling me they broke a flower pot (that they didn't clean up).
After they left, I went to get the fridge ready and noticed a lot of damage. There were scratches on both sides of the cabinet, the right door was damaged, and the front door handle had been chipped. Even this I could live with. Two hours later I heard an incredible grinding noise and then the fridge began running very hard with a loud whining and grinding sound. I called for service, was dismissed by the man I talked with whom said the sound was "totally normal," and told if I didn't like it to return the item. I contacted my saleswoman who also said to return the item if it was too loud.
So, I contacted delivery, told them to return and take the fridge as it was damaged or defective and that I would not be purchasing another product from Sears. The folks who scheduled the pick-up were very apologetic. I then called the customer care folks and complained. They apologized as well.
However, NO ONE said hey, let's replace the item with something that works. This would have been my first thought if I was working customer service.
The delivery guy arrived on time the following day. He was surprised that they didn't offer an immediate replacement.
When my husband looked the machine over and had plugged it in again to see if he could replicate the noise - he could - he said it looked like the area near the compressor was damaged. He was simply amazed at how Sears handled this and he was angry that a) the repair people dismissed my concern - he believed they would have been more responsive if he had called and he thought this was unacceptable; and b) that no one at Sears at any level offered to replace the fridge.
Needless to say, we're never buying at Sears again. We've purchased many items over the years from them but haven't for a few years and I can say that things have changed a great deal and NOT for the better! We are using a small local appliance company for our fridge replacement and we're willing to go a week without a fridge to do so.
I am now hoping that our credit cards are properly credited following this fiasco. If not, I'll write a separate complaint. If I held stock in this company I would sell it. Sears will not be in business long if it does not improve its service. There are too many competitors today.
I'm very disappointed and cannot recommend Sears for appliances.
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Venice09 on 10/19/2011:
I agree that this was a miserable ordeal, but when you told them you wouldn't be buying anything else from Sears, maybe they interpreted that to mean you didn't want a replacement.
You're better off using a local appliance store. You'll get more personalized service.
I hope you get your refunds from Sears without having to chase after them.
At Your Service on 10/19/2011:
With all respect, Sears delivered not just one but two fridges. They were more than willing to exchange the initial fridge even though it wasn't their fault the fridge didn't fit. There's absolutely no indication that they would have been unwilling to replace the second fridge, but crosman2468 never made the request. They only were upset and complain when it "wasn't offered."
This is absolutely much, much more of a compliment rather than complaint.
Venice09 on 10/19/2011:
Why should this be a compliment?
Sears agreed to an exchange because that's their policy. The second delivery was "horrendous". The refrigerator didn't work properly because it was damaged. The OP was lied to by customer service about the noise being "totally normal".
None of that deserves a compliment.
I think Sears did the OP a favor by not offering a replacement. Chances are it would just be more of the same. Going to a local appliance store is a wise decision.
SearsCare on 10/25/2011:
To crosman2468,
I'm very sorry to hear that you've had such a bad experience surrounding the delivery of your second refrigerator. I certainly can understand your frustration and disappointment with the damage done to your home and to the refrigerator and I hope that the damage to your home has been addressed properly. If it has not then we would like the opportunity to help you with this and the return or replacement. My name is James and I'm part of the Sears Cares Escalations team and we want to restore your faith in Sears. At your convenience, please contact my office via email at firstname.lastname@example.com. In the email, please provide a contact phone number and the phone number the refrigerator was purchased under (if different than the contact phone number) and we will call you directly. Also, in your email, please provide your screen name (crosman2468) for reference to your issue, and we do look forward to talking to you soon.
Thank you,
James H.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support
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