Sears..
Once upon a time I believed Sears stood for Simply excellent and reputable service and that if only a frog had wings he wouldn't bump his ass when he hopped. HA!
Long before I had ever been a part of the Sears family, I had held Sears in the same regard as many of their long standing customers. I thought of Sears and I envisioned Fathers in mock neck sweaters and beige pants, pushing their pigtailed little girls in the back yard on there swing set while the moms in there aprons happily yanking a baked cow from the gleaming Kenmore oven. The teenage son mowing the lawn on his super powered Craftsman lawn mower. What fantasy land had I been living in?
I used to work for Sears in their now aptly named "Corporate Customer Service dept. In the time since my emancipation from Sears... I have read several customer complaints.. many on Alec Saunders Blog. (saunderslog.com) and what I found there really didn't surprise me.
I feel bad to this day for those people of my past whom cried on the phone because they were too elderly lift something that delivery left by the door.. the people who have laundry up to their ass because that technician called in sick and "unfortunately" can't reschedule you until next week because this is all that the system will let me do...
I guess it's time to just face facts...
The Sears of the past ... Is Dead.
Before you think of calling sears customer service 1-800-664-1888 or emailing home@sears.ca
1-888-473-2772
Or Corporate Customer Service, 500 College Street, East, Belleville, Ontario K8N 5L3 or try contacting anyone from "The President's Line" 1-800-973-7579... Perhaps you should learn the answers you want before wasting precious moments on hold... or screaming and raising your voice to some poor associate, just sitting at a computer, trying to support their families.
For starters, I have been told since my departure, that President's Line is gone, disbanded. The end of the line is "corporate customer service"
You can write your complaint... you can email it.. but the fact remains. They all go to Belleville .. and are dealt with by people who all work on the same level of the office. They could all stand up and see one another.. including the people you scream at.
Yes I will admit there were some associates who were incredibly rude and dismissive to customers and there were those who cried along with their customers. But the things that must be taken into consideration before labeling the customer service associates.
- They MUST stick to policy. Returns - 90 days.. THAT IS IT. 30 days for seasonal, health care, fitness, etc. 60 day comfort guarantee for Mattresses. Don't try ... even if you were on holiday... if you were sick for 3 months.. if you were hospitalized... If you are past the return policy.. you are stuck with whatever you purchased. ..however if the item is defective after that time.. if it carries a warranty, issue will be looked at.
- Warranty - Most items come with a manufacturer warranty. Usually 1 year. Manufacturer means company who builds it and sears buys it from them. Even Kenmore.. Isn't Kenmore Sears? Kenmore is a name only. It's a big bottle of polish rubbed on a very large turd.
Truth is.. Kenmore products are made by Whirlpool, Maytag, Electrolux.. and probably more. It's probably a chuckle to purchase Kenmore because you hate maytag... just to find out ... OH! Maytag!
If the item is covered by the sears protection agreement. You may get somewhere in repair.. and recovering losses but ONLY if a technician says "IT'S UNREPAIRABLE" they won't do it otherwise. Or unless the parts are never ever available .. otherwise, once it is out of warranty.. the customer is responsible for it. and there is nothing customer service can do, other than write down that it upset you.
So if you call your sales person knowing your item is out of warranty and they say, nothing I can do, but maybe Customer service can do something for you... DON'T waste your time. The sales persons don't want confrontation so you give you the 1-800 # so you can feel justified.. just to sit on hold on for 30 minutes to be told no. And believe me. The people you hear it from do not like saying it. Many of them hear all kinds of yelling and swearing.. I have known people emotionally drained at the end of the day. I've known people that have spent their breaks crying in between calls in the lunch room because we couldn't go over policy and they got talked down to, swore at, called names.. and they didn't do anything more than get a job and try to keep their rent paid.
If you recieved something damaged.. You are given the option to keep it with a discount. Or a reorder. Or have a technician/repair person fix it. These are options, not something they force on you.
- The following sentences will not make the associate's rules they must work by vanish
"I have been a sears cardholder for ............"
" My parents ALWAYS shopped at sears.."
"I have spent $XXXXX,XXXXX.XX @ Sears in the last X years"
" A Company as big as sears and you can't do this....."
"I could have gone to the brick."
- Believe me, they know that... and I speak from experience.. when I would get yelled at and called some of the most horrible but creative derogatory names I'd ever heard, I was probably wishing you had. But out of about 25-40 calls in a day I would estimate that 4 weren't resolved, or happy by the time I hung up.
If they can help you, they will... If you're in policy they'll help you. They do not have the ability to make everything better magically overnight, and because of their own limitations must use their systems to communicate with other areas, and they do so on the good hope that it will be indeed dealt with swiftly, putting their trust in the dept. designed to work together to keep the customer happy. When it doesn't, it is not only the customer who suffers but also the person who did their job and well only to be screamed at and belittled to the state of a bumbling idiot because the next person in the line didn't get it done when they were asked and the customer is having to call back.
Now.. a few things on Sears behalf... Only because I did work there and I did not only hear the bad things.
- Not every market area has difficulty in their service/delivery etc dept. Not every major appliance breaks down. Not every mattress sold will sag. Sears catalogue is a valuable service for people who just can't get out to shop. And if you go to work head held high, keep your nose to the grindstove, do what is expected and leave the emotional baggage at your desk before you go home to your family... it is a great place to work. The location itself, the people and the job weren't bad it was the corporate thumb we lived under and the expectations for making Money! Money! Money!...save.. sell...save..sell.
Believe it or not.. There are two sides to every story and in my years at Sears, I did see people go above and beyond, I did have very happy customers and I did hear Thank you more than fuck you.. even though some days I heard it a lot. For the people suffering.. And those wanting to rethink Sears..
Research purchases... models, brands etc.. Investigate warranties, policies etc... Don't go into purchases blind, just to walk into a wall when you get to needing help. Keep in mind.. if you need customer service they are there.. but they are just people , people with feelings who do want to help, but are limited by rules. ( I am speaking of the polite ones who try to help)
Well, rant over for now. I just felt like shedding my light I hadn't really ever gotten that off my chest before but now that I have, it feels kind of good.
- Moving on..
- M
