Major Complaint Against
Sears Carpet and Air Duct Cleaning
By Karen S. Hannah
June 6, 2011

Complaint Filed Against:

Sears Carpet and Air Duct Cleaning
8922 Telegraph Road
Lorton, Virginia 22079
703-738-0022

I would like to file a formal complaint against Sears Carpet and Air Duct Cleaning (at address listed above) regarding the air duct work they provided, the work that still needs to be completed and the fact that I cannot get anyone to return my calls. I have asked for the service staff to return to my home to fix a clothing rack they broke away from the wall and to fix furnaces where they installed UV lights. I have called numerous times and left messages with Brooke Demetriou and Reggie and cannot get anyone to return my calls.

Complaint Outlined Below:

On May 9, 2011, a crew from the company listed above cleaned the air ducts, the dryer vents and installed Ultraviolet (UV) lights in two furnaces in my home. And returned to fix items on May 13, 2011.

Numerous things have gone wrong as a result of the work they performed in my home to include a clothing rack in master bedroom closet that was pulled out of the wall during their service procedures – all of which have not been resolved/fixed. Add to this the fact that I cannot get anyone to speak with me about the issue. I have called and called the company, have gotten the run around, was told they would fix the problem but now I leave messages and can get NO ONE to return my calls. All I ask is that Sears or someone of their choosing come out to my home and make the required repairs. I spent $1, 919.50 with this company and feel that they need to fix the damages and provide professional service.

The reason I chose Sears to perform this work to begin with was because I heard numerous reports about how air duct companies were ripping people off and I felt Sears (because of their name and longevity of business) was a reputable, professional, strong and solid company….one that would not rip me off and would do an outstanding job. Boy was I ever wrong! I will NEVER EVER use Sears for ANY type of work and will spread the word throughout the community about the service I received (or haven’t received) from Sears.


The following is my complaint, the activities involved (by date) and the reasons for my complaint:

• On May 9, 2011:
o A team from Sears Carpet and Air Duct Cleaning from the main office in Lorton, VA provided the following services:
 air duct cleaning
 dryer vent cleaning and
 installation of two Ultra Violet (UV) lights – one in furnace in the attic and one in the furnace in the basement.
o Crew consisted of one man who installed the UV lights and two men that performed the air and dryer duct cleanings.
o No one from the crew explained to me the processes that would be involved or walked around with me to inspect the vents prior to or after they were cleaned. I was, however, shown where to look to ensure that the UV light bulb was working.
o After the crew left, I walked around to look at the vents and noticed that the crew:
 Left dirty hand prints all over the attic door (which is in ceiling in the master bedroom walk-in closet),
 the furnace in the attic was making a rattling noise (was not doing this prior to UV light installation),
 part of the wall/sheet rock was torn away from wall where they had removed vents for cleaning,
 one vent was bent and not put back properly,
 they left a mess on the floor in the basement furnace room (metal shavings and putty on floor from the installation of the UVA lights) and a mess outside on the ground where they had cleaned dryer vent,
 they left two large black marks on the wall in the master bedroom and a large black mark on the door jam,
 it appeared that several of the vents had not even been touched (reason I say this is….one vent in the basement closet had a spider web going from the wall to the vent before they came to do work and the same spider web was still there after they left – so they could not have even touched that vent),
 there was debris hanging out of one of the vents that was not there originally, and
 the crew threw away all of my air filters without telling me. Francisco told me that the filters needed replaced and he could install lifetime filters for $200 a-piece. I told him that I would purchase my own filters and replace them….never dreaming that he would throw my current filters away and not tell me.
o After seeing all of the above, I submitted a complaint to their company by completing the survey form on their website (I never received a call regarding my complaint).
o I also called and left a message with complaint that said all ducts were not cleaned and dirty hand prints left on ceiling/walls. NO ONE EVER CALLED ME BACK.

• On May 10, 2011, I called again to file a verbal complaint. Spoke with Reggie who told me that a crew would be out to look at/fix items on May 11, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. but he needed to confirm this timeframe and would call me back with confirmation. HE NEVER CALLED ME BACK.

• On May 11, 2011:
o I called to ask Reggie if the 5:30 p.m. timeframe was confirmed. He said he would call me back by 3:00 p.m. HE NEVER CALLED ME BACK.
o By 3:00 p.m. no one had called to confirm 5:30 p.m. timeframe. Since traffic is terrible in the D.C. area, I really needed to know if I needed to leave work soon in order to meet the crew on time.
o I called again and asked for Reggie; I was told that he had gone for the day. What great customer service….leave for the day and not return promised calls!
o Since Reggie was gone, new staff member said it looked like the appointment was set for 5:30 but he needed to call me back. Then he asked if the appointment had been scheduled for 5:30 a.m. I laughed because I knew the crew was not scheduled to be at my house at 5:30 a.m. Plus he just said the 5:30 p.m. timeframe was on their schedule. Then he said, “….you are right….they will be there at 5:30 p.m.”
o At 5:50 p.m., I called Sears to see if the crew was still coming to my house and was told that they were finishing up a project and would be at my house soon. It would have been nice and professional if they could have called to at least let me know they were running late.
o Around 6:45 p.m., I called Sears again and spoke with Brian….I asked how far away the crew was and if they had any idea of what time they would be at my house. I was put on hold for 8 minutes. I was then told the crew would be at my house by 8:30 p.m. They asked if I wanted to reschedule and I said “yes” because I felt that their vent cleaning machine (if they had to use it) was a little too noisy for 8:30/9:00 p.m. on a school night especially when I have young children living close by. Sears rescheduled the crew visit for Friday, May 13 at 7:30 a.m.
o No one ever called to let me know they were going to be running late nor did they ever apologize for my inconvenience.
o The individuals on the phone were rude and no apologies were ever given.
o Please note that I had to take vacation time from work so that I could be at the house to meet the Sears crew by 5:30 p.m. and then for them to not show up on time!!! This was totally unprofessional on the part of the company!

• On May 13, 2011:
o Crew was scheduled to arrive at 7:30 a.m. They did not show up until 7:50 a.m. – 20 minutes late….it would have been nice if they could have called to say they were running late.
May 13 (Continued):
o I asked crew to put on shoe covers because of hardwood floors – they said they did not have any which I thought strange since they were going to be working in people’s homes for the rest of the day.
o Stephen was the lead person of a three man crew; he stated that Sears is very good company and wants to do well by their customers.
o He had the crew clean the dirty hand prints off of the ceiling and several black marks on the wall (one would not come off of the door).
o He had the crew look at the vents that I felt had not been cleaned – they told me the vents had been cleaned and then told me that the spider web that was there probably grew back after the Monday crew cleaned the vent. There is no way that happened because it was the same exact spider web that was there ½ an hour before the Monday crew arrived and was there ten minutes after they left.
o He had crew chalk around the vents and said that that should have been done by the first crew on May 13th.
o He asked me if the Monday crew gave me warning stickers to put on the furnaces that state that the unit had a UV lights installed. I told him I had not been given anything to put on the furnaces or given any information about the UV lights. He said that it is a state law to have the notice placed in plain view on the furnace and asked if I wanted him to put the sticker on the furnaces. I told him that if it was a state law and they were supposed to put those on the furnace after light installed…then “yes” I did want him to put stickers on the furnaces. He placed a sticker on the furnace in the basement and then HANDED ME the sticker and TOLD ME to put it on the furnace in the attic. I told him that Sears installed the lights and if it was a state law for the stickers to be on the furnaces, then he needed to put the sticker on the furnace in the attic. He had a crew member go up in attic to place the sticker. After his worker came out of the master bedroom closet where entrance to attic furnace is located, I heard the two crew members laughing as they were coming out of the room (this could be when the clothing rack was pulled away from the wall).
o Stephen asked if I had reviewed the DVD about the UV lights that was given to me when the lights were installed. I told him that I was not given a DVD from the Sears crew on Monday. He told me that all individuals that have UV lights installed are supposed to be given a DVD….so he asked a crew member to bring a DVD in from their truck. What type of company is this….that doesn’t install required stickers on furnaces and doesn’t provide clients with the required DVD?
o He then proceeded to tell me that the lead crew person who worked on my house on Monday did not do his job and would be reported. I am a recruiter and I know how hard it is to find jobs in this economy so I asked that the person not be fired….perhaps they just needed additional training or counseling. Stephen said the person should be fired because the crew should have chalked around the vents, should have installed stickers, given me the DVD and walked through house prior to and after services provided. He even made a comment to his co-workers saying “Can you believe she doesn’t want him fired….”
May 13 (Continued):
o Stephen asked me – “Do you live alone in this big house?”……that was totally unprofessional and should never be asked of a female (anyone for that matter). Do I feel comfortable after that????
o I stated that I expected better service from Sears, especially after having to spend $1, 919.50. He laughed when I told him the amount….so I asked him if he thought I got ripped off. He stated for the amount that I paid and the fact that I added on dryer cleaning and the UV lights to the original work order; that the lead crew member from Monday should have given me a large discount because of all the work that I had done. Now that is reassuring! I asked if there was any way to get a refund or discount and he said “no…they all work for themselves and that is how they make their salary by commission”. Wow and just think…..I thought Sears would be a reputable company!

• On Saturday, May 14:
o I hung some clothes on the clothing rack in my master bedroom and noticed that the rack bounced up and down. This had never happened before so I looked to see what was causing it. I found that the clothing rack and been torn away from the wall and sheet rock and insulation debris was all over the floor under the rack and on my clothes hanging on the rack. This had to have happened when one of the Sears crew members was going up into or out of attic (they must have leaned on the rack for support and it pulled out of the wall) because the clothing rack was securely attached to the wall prior to the work that was done in my house. I know this because I had rearranged sweaters on the top of the rack and dusted the shoe rack underneath the week before the work was performed and the rack was securely in place and the shoe racks had sheetrock or insulation debris on them.
o I again completed the Sears online form to complain about the clothing rack being pulled out of the wall and I left my cell phone number for someone to call me. I left my cell number because I was going on vacation for a week the next day.
o No one from Sears ever returned my call.

• Sunday, May 15 through Sunday, May 22 – I was out of town on vacation – part of the time I could not get service on my cell phone and was worried that Sears had tried to call me but I wasn’t able to retrieve messages or make calls. To no avail….NO ONE HAD CALLED ME BACK.

• On Friday, May 20:
o I called and spoke with Reggie about the clothing rack and asked if anyone had read my online survey complaint about the clothing rack and wondered why I hadn’t I received a call back.
o He asked which of the two crews broke it (the Monday or Friday crew). I told him I did not know which crew broke it but that one of them was responsible because the rack had not been broken prior to Sears coming into my home to perform work.
May 20 (Continued):
o He said since I didn’t know which crew was responsible that I probably broke it. He said that a lot of customers break things and then blame the Sears crew. This is absolutely insane and ridiculous….accusing me of breaking my own clothing rack and asking them to fix it!
o He said that he would have to ask the crew which one broke it and asked me to call him back at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, May 23rd.

• On Monday, May 23 – I was unable to call Reggie at 9:30 a.m. or all day because I was called to an all day meeting at work.

• On Tuesday, May 24:
o I called Reggie to apologize for not calling at 9:30 a.m. on Monday and to see what he found out about my clothing rack and to ask when they could come out to repair.
o He said he forgot why he asked me to call him on Monday and stated that he didn’t remember a conversation about a clothing rack. I repeated the information I told him on May 20th.
o He stated that he needed to contact the workers from the two crews and ask them who did it. I reminded him that he said he was going to ask them that question on Friday, May 20th. Reggie said that Stephen was out sick all this week and couldn’t be asked about the incident. I asked why he didn’t call him on Friday and he said that Stephen was working in Baltimore that day and could not be reached (not reachable by work cell phone???? …..which I know he has….and why didn’t he reach out to the other crew on Friday as he said he would?). Plus…..he had just stated that he didn’t remember anything about a clothing rack.
o I asked Reggie why no one acted on the complaint that I submitted by email (the week prior) and he stated that he is not sure what upper management does with complaints and that they have 50 techs that are really backed up because of complaints (comforting isn’t it).
o Reggie then stated that upper management needed to look into this situation.
o Even though he said upper management had to take a look at the situation…..He then stated that he couldn’t set up a schedule for repair until he had something to put in his notes and that he would have to contact both crews to get input for his notes.
o He said he would call me back in 20 minutes – HE NEVER CALLED ME BACK.
o Called main office again and was told that a service worker would come take pictures of my clothing rack and let me know if they would fix it. Was told that service member would come to my house on May 24th to take pictures of the damage.


• On May 24th:
o Nick came to house to look at broken clothing rack and to take pictures.
o He looked at rack and went outside to make a call to his boss (whom he called Brooke).
o He came back and held up his cell phone and said the camera on the cell phone was too small, that it wasn’t big enough to take a picture of the broken clothing rack. What?! You send someone out to take pictures with a cell phone????!!! I
o He said there was nothing that he could do….that I needed to call his supervisor, Brooke, who would then send a subcontractor to my house to fix the clothing rack. And I took vacation time from work again for this…..they could have told me this over the phone!

• On May 25 and 26 - I was involved in all day meetings and unable to call Brooke.

• On May 27, I called Brooke and left a message on her voice mail…explained situation and asked her to call me on my cell phone. SHE NEVER RETURNED MY CALL.

• May 28-May 30 – I was out of town for Memorial Day weekend.

• On May 30, when I returned from being out of town, I found that the duct tape that was placed on my furnace when the UV light was installed had come loose in numerous places and air was pouring out of the unit cooling the furnace room. I tried to push tape back into place but it keeps coming loose. Also the furnace in the attic was now rattling (wonder if the duct tape is loose there as well) and the air was no longer coming out of the vent in the bathroom in the master bedroom (air flowed out of this vent prior to air duct cleaning).

• On May 31:
o I called the Sears at 11:08 a.m. and spoke with Corey. I called to report the new findings listed above and he asked me if I was the person who had a damaged headboard in my bedroom. I laughed and said they must have a lot of issues to fix and was told yes they did.
o I then mentioned the new items that needed fixed (listed above) and the fact that I could not get anyone to call me back about fixing my broken clothing rack. I was put on hold for two minutes.
o Corey then told me that they could NOT schedule any repairs for me AT ALL and that this had to be taken care of by top management…it was a quality control issue. I told him that I had called before with an issue and was given a timeframe for repair crew to visit house….why couldn’t they do the same again. He said there was nothing he could do for me, that the company couldn’t make any promises and that I must talk with someone above him. I asked who was above him and he said that I needed to call someone in management. He did not offer to say who in management or how to get in touch with them so I asked him who I should call. He told me to call Brooke. This made me laugh because she hadn’t returned my previous calls to her. Plus, the person who came to take pictures of my clothing rack told me that Brooke was the finance person…..not top management. Even though he could not help me, Corey was pleasant during our conversation and the nicest of anyone that I have spoken with from this company.
o So again I called Brooke and left a message on her voice mail…this time explaining the clothing rack situation and the new items that needed fixed. I asked her to call me on my cell phone because I had to go on a business trip. SHE NEVER RETURNED MY CALL.

• On June 1, third call to Brooke – again left message and asked for her to call me. SHE NEVER RETURNED MY CALL.

• On June 2, fourth call to Brooke – again left message and asked for her to call me. This time I also left a message stating that I had been advised by her service department to call her regarding the repair needed for my clothing rack, that I was doing what was asked of me by her company, that I had called and left three messages for her. I stated that I was not a confrontational person, that all I wanted was to have the clothing rack repaired and the furnace and air vent fixed. I also stated that I did not want to have to take this to the Better Business Bureau, Sears Headquarters and perhaps with a lawyer in small claims court. I asked her to call me back and advise me what I should do if she was not the proper person to contact. SHE STILL HAS NOT RETURNED MY CALLS.

• Other items to mention:
o I called the company and asked for the address to Sears Headquarters – was told they didn’t have it – said they were a third party contractor. I asked if they didn’t have to report their service activity to the main Sears Holding Co. and if they did, they should have the address. If they didn’t have the address, I asked that they look it up since they use the Sears branding on their trucks, shirts, advertisements and billing statement and really should have that address. I was put on hold for a while….then was given the Lorton, VA address as the Sears Headquarters address (funny that they gave me this address isn’t it). I stated that was not the Headquarters address and asked that they look it up and give me the real address. They said they would call me back with the address. NO ONE EVER CALLED BACK.
o I called again for the Sears Headquarters address. Jose answered the phone, put me on hold while he went to get the address and then told me they do not have an address for Sears but he gave me a toll free number to call (1-800-469-4663).
o Of all of the phone conversations held with individuals from this company, I never once heard them say they were apologetic for the situation that I was experiencing.
o Big mistake on my part is that I should have gone on the Internet and read the customer comments about this company prior to scheduling them to perform work in my home. Several individuals wrote comments on the Internet about the shoddy work that was performed by this company and the fact that they couldn’t get anyone to return their calls…..hmmmmm…sounds similar to my situation.

• Since I cannot get anyone from this Sears company to return my calls or fix damaged items, I have no other option then to proceed with contacting Sears Headquarters and the Better Business Bureau. I may get work done by private company and then take this Sears third party vendor to small claims court for reimbursement of items that had to be fixed.

• I sincerely hope that my calls and/or this letter are acknowledged and the work is completed soon so that further action through small claims court is not required.

• My name is Karen Hannah and I can be reached at:
o Cell phone: 757-593-2300
o Work: 703-696-6241
o Home: 703-910-6575

• I cannot believe that I trusted Sears to do a professional job and then trusted them to fix whatever was wrong. I am amazed to find out how wrong I was about a company that has been around forever and that Sears would actually allow this type of work to be performed and ruin their good name.

• It is amazing to me that this company states on their website that they are fully licensed and GUARANTEE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION on all vents and air ducts. HOW CAN THEY SAY THEY GUARANTEE CUSTOMER SATIFICATION WHEN THEY WON’T REPAIR ITEMS THEY BROKE, WON’T COME FIX FURNACES THAT NOW LEAK COLD AIR AROUND THE UV LIGHT THEY INSTALLED AND WON’T CALL CUSTOMERS BACK?????

• I will definitely spread the word throughout the apartments, condos, townhouses and houses in my community about the shoddy and unprofessional services provided by this third party vendor for Sears.

Shame on Sears for allowing this company to use their good name and then ruin it!!!