Richard Warren Sears started in business selling watches through mail order catalogs. He and Alvah C. Roebuck founded Sears, Roebuck and Co. in 1893. as a mail order business … the predecessor to today’s internet giants! The first Sears retail store opened in Chicago on February 2, 1925.
I urge you not to buy an appliance from Sears.
Sears still has the golden brands of Kenmore appliances and Craftsman tools, even if their reputations are slipping. We have been loyal customers for forty years, going to Sears for quality and the reliability of its warranty. Recently we purchased a high end dishwasher from Sears. The machines is a Kenmore.
It stopped working yesterday.
Sears informs us they will not do anything about this until they send out a technician to look at the machine. That will take over two weeks. When the technician finally comes, I was told that it could take as much as month more if the parts are not available. A rival appliance company told me that the Kenmore is made by LG and that LG is having major parts problems in the US.
Edward S Lampert. Net Worth: $3.5 billion. Source: In 2205, Mr. Lampert’s private investment company, ESL, purchased Sears and merged it with Kmart. Lampert is currently the 367th richest person in the world, with a net worth of $3.1 billion.. ESL recently moved from Connecticut to Florida, apparently to avoid paying taxes in Connecticut.
Here is the transcript of my discussion with Andrea, employee number 251507, of Sears Customer Care”
“Sears, at its discretion. will decide when it can provide service under warranty. In this case, 2 weeks”
I was told that I had only two alternatives. One was to hire an independent applicance repairman, at my expense. I assume this would also void the warranty. The alternative was that Sears has a rental company that would provide me a machine, however I would then have to pay for that machine’s installation.
I suspect that this sad loss in Sears great service reflects Sear’s financial problems.
The Motley Fool , a very respected investment adviser, wrote the following just after the Christmas season,
“A walk through one of the company’s stores – is sobering. There’s not the flurry of bargain-hungry shopper activity that one routinely finds at global leader Walmart (WMT). The “cheap chic” allure of Target (TGT) isn’t there. … Sears Holdings is in a bind. It needs to lower its prices to compete with Walmart, but it can’t afford to work on even leaner margins given its current lack of profitability.”
What Next?
In 2004 Sears was merged with Kmart by a private investor named Edward Lampert. Mr. Lampert renamed the joint venture “Sears Holdings.” Reports on financial sites say that Sears is now on its way to the sort of corporate bankruptcy that makes huge amounts of money for private investment firms who specialize in “vulture capitalism.” Last month, Mr. Lampert, increased his stake in Sears Holding Corporation and now owns 64 percent of the firm created by Richard Sears in 1893. The Washington Post, reported that Mr. Lampert wants “Sears Holdings” to function as a hedge fund with money being diverted from the maintenance and improvement of stores to non-retail financial investments. You can read more about Mr. Lampert’s recent plans for Sears here.
You fucking crazy asshole who goes to Sears and puts flyers in all the appliances. Go shop somewhere else you cheap ass punk. P.s. your blog sucks, get a job.
Your comments, other than their profanity, are welcome.
I only handed out these notes because many customers, like myself, go to Sears because we trust the tradition associated with the name “Sears.”
Rather than being upset with my efforts, why not call Sears yourself and ask them if I am telling the truth?
Otherwise, I recommend that you shop at COSTCO or Albert Lee. Even there be sure to ask “how long do I have to wait for a warranty repair?”
I respect what Riley said. Im a Sears shopper for life and have had nothing but great customer service from them.
Mark,
I too am a long term Sears shopper .. at least 40 years.
Sadly, if you read what I wrote, “Sears” is now a venture capital firm. “Sears Holdings” owns “Sears” and K mart. My guess is Sears” is becoming more a branch of K mart than the quality, middle class firm we remember.
Still …. probably like you, I had hoped “Sears Holdings” would build on the Sears reputation.
So, here is my suggestion, call Sears Customer Support yourself. If they will talk with you ask them how long the wait us today under the same warranty.
Let me know
I just asked them about my Kenmore refrigerator and they said they’d be out tomorrow… I think you’re blowing smoke….
This is dumb
Who takes the the time to do this? Seriously….
Actually, I LIKE your question.
The truth is we have spent a couple of thousand dollars at Sears for appliances recently and are now worried that our warranties may be worthless.
My hope in doing this has been that I can reach enough customers that Sears will change it policies or at least make good on what they do with us.
At worst, I have cost them money by influencing a few sales and helped other customers to ask questions.