I scheduled for in home service one week ago. Easy to do - a sense of confidence that, backed by Sears, everything would run smoothly. Wow, what a disappointment. I printed my Service Appointment doc and waited the day of servoice for the technoican to arrive. I was scheduled for 8am-12pm. 8 o'clock, 9 o'clock, 10, 11. Nobody. I called the 800 number and got a recording "..he is supposed to be there today between 8 and 12". Tell me something I didn't know.

At 11:40am I called and found my way though the recorded prompts to talk to someone live (regretfully I didn't get her name because she OBVIOUSLY doesn't like her job). She asked for my phone number and said she would text (?) the tech and have him call me to tell me when he would be arriving. 12:30 and no call - nothing. 1:15 I called again. Was told the guy would be calling within 15 minutes. Still no call. Finally I received a call at 1:30 saying - looks like he'll be there between 3 and 4!!! Now my window of time has grown from 8 to 4! If I wasn't here when he got here I would have been charge $129. I'm sure things don't work in reverse.

Sears ought to put a system in place to communicate with their customers (who trust them) when their tech will be there. Would it be so hard to further automate their system to send a text or an automated voice mail the day of the service saying "You're fourth in line. We expect our tech to be there at about 11:15." How great would that be??? I could have adjusted my schedule and maybe gotten some things done, things that ARE important...to me - the customer.

Sears Home Central - the only piece missing is "service" while the District Mgr eventually stepped in to resolve the problem that should have never occurred as it was like taking a walk thru the desert! But let's start at the beginning;

THE GOOD:
An order for a new furnace, installation (i.e. plumbing, furnace & electrical) is placed and after some lackadasical follow-up by Chris, he finally relays a good installation date. Installation day arrives and the furnace & plumber are right on time. Dismantling the old one (while trying to salvage parts - but for whom?) takes place and a punch list of needed items (good thing there was a local plumbing store) is made. One could argue this both ways but it is what it is... Even the dent put in the storm door when removing the old furnace wasn't upsetting as it's the basement door but a dolly with small wheels takes alot of grunt work. Getting the new one off of the pallet also caused a visible dent to the furnace skin but since it was small and even though noticable it was to a bottom portion of the furnace. While there shouldn't be any dents I suppose I should be "Happy" it was only a small dent!

Well off to lunch and punch list they go after getting the new furnace in place. To my surprise the electrician shows up 30 minutes afterwards. I am impressed only to find that the former job he was at was a "washout" as they weren't ready... so perhaps more by accident then good timing.

THE BAD:
Everything seems to proceed according to plan with all three working most of the time and oddly enough not getting in each others way. The electrician is caught a bit flat footed since he did not undo the original electrical set-up and needed to look at the old wiring to figure out what needed to done. Seems to be a flaw in the walkthru that we had to make arrangements to have someone home so the furnace people could assess and take pictures.

with the temp dropping below freezing they have everything in place and are ready to test fire the furnace. Ignition, Contact - NADA! Ignition, Contact - HADA... Now what? So the electrician goes out gets his testers and find there is juice but the "contact plate" above the furnace had shorted out somewhere along the line (although it had been perfectly working before the dismantling occurred). Ok, now what? Out to their Trucks they go - no plate. The Furnace people even though not their responsibility might have one and have been known to give out parts (that they don't seem to be reimbursed for, according to them) but alas nothing. Well, off to the Part's Store you go, right! Nope, he doesn't have money to buy a part and indicates he needs to get one thru the "sears suppliers". Well this is your problem to which he replies "not my problem but Sear's Problem". So does this mean we have to take another day off and be here tommorrow? The electrician indicates he can be back tommorrow so I say, "i'll pay for the part and you get one locally". Someone can reimburse me! Unfortunately, none at Aubuchons and electrical supply places too far to go as it is now nearing 4pm. The electrician then tells me of a job that is 1st in line the next day and doesn't have any idea when he can be back tommorrow but after a "heated" debate says well that one will need to wait and I'll try to be here by 8 am.

So, what about the heat? No problem as we will "jury rig" the safety device to have juice and it shouldn't be a problem. The electrician then shows me the work order for his part and it was pretty pitiful in terms of what parts were going to be needed (actually there were no parts listed) but service people should have enough cash/credit to buy unexpected & needed parts... So they splice the wires together and off he goes...

THE UGLY:
A call is placed to the Sears Cenral about this problem and "Abdoul" a supervisor answers the phone. I explain the situation to him in no uncertain terms in colloquial english at times. He then goes into cover up mode that Sears is not responsbile to supply such a part. Excuse me! It does say Electrical, it was working fine before you started and now it's shorted and you say SEARS is NOT RESPONSIBLE TO SUPPLY THIS PART! Who's your boss and what's his number? Ryan Kiernan 781-471-2961,

Yes, is Ryan there? No he is at a seminar all week. Can he be reached as this is not a happy camper? Well No, he can't. Do you mean he doesn't have a cell or contact number? Silence... well can you wait a second...

This is Mike Vidulich, (who is the district mgr) and after hearing the story is amazed that 1. noone had the part, 2. the customer is putting upfront cash as the technician doesn't have it 3. there is a reason it's called a saftey device and 4. the job "ain't done right, & the customer is going to be impacted uneccessarily. Mike, indicates we are turning around the electrician to return with the part while asking the furance people to stay until he arrives to ensure all is well.

Great! Then 6 pm comes - no electrician when I hear the furnace people say, "he's coming in from boston and we can't wait any longer and off they go". Granted it's electrical but still an uneasiness set's in. So upstairs I go and around 7 pm., I hear a door open and someone is in my basement (unannounced & uninvited).

With great caution I confront the intruder while having him produce identification. I say, "do you typcially enter someone's house without first askiing permission? They told me where the door was and the door was open (i.e. unlocked). My front door is also open but that doesn't mean you just walk in!

Well, he has the part and installs the electrical properly and so far, so good which ought to be the end of the story, right?

Well, I left out the part of the new thermostat that was suppose to be a honeywell one for heating only and not the emerson that is still sitting in it's box that controls heat and a/c. More interesting was the debate between the furnace & electrican as to who's responsibility it is to install the thermostat and I looked at them and said "well it ain't mine".

So perhaps a call to all their bosses at corporate Peter Aoan who is the regional GM at 407-551-6000 is warranted to tell him of the good, the bad, the ugly and those who helped (like Mike) and those who were doing CYA (like Abdoul) while also reminding all of them - I'm still waiting for the correct thermostat and still won't be doing a customer install.

Let's hope it's smooth sailing from here.

Today, October 6, 2008, I had my Frididaire dishwasher repaired by Sears Home Services (Sears service order #:65914956). While the repair technician was on-time and courteous, I am absolutely livid about the $179.00 charge for essentially unplugging the drain hose. The time spent in my home was less than one hour and no parts were required. I expected the charge to be the $65.00 minimum house call fee, assuming that was the hourly rate. I was not quoted the total charge before completion of the work. I have had similar work done by a local firm within the last 2-years at another house and that charge was $75.00. The Sears technician stated that this is the Sears-mandated charge based on the service requested “code.” According to him, “the cost has nothing to do with the time needed to make the repair.”

This has done it for me with anything associated with Sears. I mean service, the retail stores, the tools/appliances (which I buy a lot), and the automotive store. I am through! Price gouging of this sort means Sears cares nothing about its’ customers.