A week a go I ordered two parts to repair a lawn mower. I ordered on part while at the Sears Parts and Service Center (White Oak shopping center) which took approximately 20 minutes before being helped. When the part was ordered I asked the employee could I have the shipping tracking number so I know when to expect it. He said, "no, but call us here and we'll tell you the status of your order". He then wrote the phn #, 301-681-1727 on my receipt which was fine.

Today, I called that phn # and was put on hold for nearly 45 min!!! At that point I hung up and tried back 30 minutes later and the phone was answered and quickly hung up. This happened 4 times!!! Then it rang continuously and I never reached anyone.

I'm 41yrs old and my parents use to take me to this Sears when I was a boy to buy me "Tough Skins" and when Christmas neared we made out our Christmas wish list for Santa by putting and "X" next to the toy we wanted in the Sears catalog. It was an EVENT when my parents told us "we're going to Sears".

The quality of the exceptionally poor service I experienced is only a reflection the quality employee that Sears now hires. Customer Service is crucial, especially in this current economic climate and Sears appears to be joining the growing list of American companies that were once great but now defunct or out of business.

My children will never know what the inside of a Sears looks like, you can be certain of that. But I do expect them to ask me one day, "Daddy, what's that big red abandoned building with the letters S E A R S on the side of it?

Fall 2008 I schedule service call for my Sears Craftsman lawn tractor as it won’t start. I reach a “LIVE” person and explain to her the problem and schedule a repair date. I explicitly tell her at least 2 times the tractor will be sitting outside along the side of the garage. I had done this on several previous occasions and came home and tractor was repaired and ready to mow.

I leave the tractor along side the garage on the day and drive 32 mile to work (good days 40 minutes) and check my phone mail messages. Sears AUTOMATED system had called and said a repair person would be at the house between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. These are the full working hours of most office workers.

I don’t hear anything from Sears all day and go home hoping to mow my lawn. I entered my driveway and notice the tractor is sitting exactly the same place as I had left it in the morning. I park the car and look at the tractor…nothing’s been done. A notice on the front door says a repair person was there at 8:30 am but couldn’t perform repair as no one was there.

I call Sear’s “800” number and reach a person and am told they can’t perform repair if no one’s there. I tell the person they had repaired in the past without any one there. I also told the person, I had explicitly told the female who took the service request the tractor would be sitting along side the garage and she didn’t say anything about my needing to be there during the repair. They offered to reschedule the repair but I was so frustrated I said I would try to fix it myself.

Due to my work schedule I wasn’t able to fix the tractor in the fall and decided to call and schedule in April 2009. I call and reach a very “AUTOMATED” system and place the repair order. The SYSTEM was so kind to tell me there would be an initial $109 fee but of course it would be offset against the final bill.

A few days after placing the service order, Sears calls trying to sell me “home improvements” to which I reply, “I’m not interested”.

I awake before 8:00 am on May 1, 2009 and work around the house while I’m waiting for the repair tech. I haven’t seen anyone by noon so I call my office and check phone mail for a message: nothing. A friend calls and we discuss the tractor issue and she tells me what happened to her a few years earlier.

My friend had placed a repair order with Sears. On the day of the repair she went outside without her phone. Sears called and couldn’t reach her in person and automatically cancelled the service call.

After I finish the conversation with my friend, I call my office again. Sears had called and left a message. I was next on the repair tech’s list and Sears would try to reach me again to confirm but if they didn’t reach me they would cancel the call. BUT, they provided their “800” number for me to call and confirm the repair.

I call and fight thru their “AUTOMATED” system and finally reach a live being. I explain they had left a message and I was calling back to confirm the repair. The guy on the other end wanted the number I was calling from or they wouldn’t provide the repair. I told him I was sitting at the address where the repair was scheduled but he kept saying they need the number I was calling from.

I let the guy know I’m a contract worker and loosing “X” dollars every hour I’m sitting and waiting on them. I also let him know I don’t provide my personal number since I don’t want to receive any “sales” calls. I didn’t mention I also don’t provide my personal number as I don’t want it “sold” to any of their other affiliated companies or outside companies. I became so frustrated I cancelled the order.

I’ll either figure out how to fix the tractor or it will be “trashed” and I’ll purchase from a company who is more considerate of customer time. None of this automated crap and their system message of “they’ll be there between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm.”

It seems Sears changes their policy to meet their convenience. IF the female taking the call in Fall 2008 had said I needed to be home…. IF they had called me in the Fall 2008 before the repair tech showed up (remember I was at my office at the number I called from)… I would have been home by the time the repair tech showed up… the tractor would have been repaired and they would have had a happy customer.

But even if we didn’t meet up in the Fall 2008… IF I had been able to speak with a LIVE person April 2009 they could have told me they would call before arriving …. I would have been at the office waiting for their call, I wouldn’t have lost “X” amount of income because I was sitting at home waiting for them to show up. On the other side of the coin, IF I knew the telephone number entered into their AUTOMATED system and the corresponding address for the service call, , , wouldn’t it show I was the person who placed the service call? How does Sears handle individuals having more than one “physical” location (i.e., landlord) who needs assistance at location A but the only phone number they have is at location B?

I’ve purchased many things from Sears over the years. This includes a chest freezer, a gas kitchen range, various tools used to fix cars, and tools, including a laser saw, to rehab a house. But, I will no longer buy anything from Sears or Kmart (their parent). I’ve seen a similar attitude at various Sears stores as to not providing customer service….they’re getting a paycheck.

P.S. Complaints.com may show this as problem with Beachwood, OH store. I don’t know where Sears’ complaint is located or the person on the other end of the phone is physically located. I could be speaking with someone anywhere in the United States or anywhere on Earth.

NOTE: This was originally filed on Complaints.com on May 1, 2009 as complaint #208822 and #211788.

My name is Robert Beaudine.
I have been using my Sears credit card since 1969.
I have bought numerous appliances from Sears and have had service contracts on all of them.
That all changed today.
I cancelled all my service contracts and then I cancelled my account.
It is no wonder that Sears is having difficulty.
I will never again do business with Sears.
Yout service department failed to show up to service my dryer.
I'll gladly pay somebody else to fix it knowing that they will at least show up.

I purchased a new STOVE 11/08 used slef cleaning oven for 1st time when it finished glass door was all streaked in between glass looking like it was a 100 years old. Unable to wipe it clean as stain was in between glass I called Sears, service tech came out, he was very nice but unable to help with the problem. I was told this was common, so I asked to replace the door with one that had no glass and was told this was not a option. It has been over 20 years since my last stove purchase so I was hoping this one would last as did the last one. This one already looks like it has been used for many years. If I was told this would be a problem I would have purchased another with a solid door. Sears hasn't even made an attempt to correct the problem and we are very unhappy with their customer service.

We discovered our food in the freezer thawed on April 4/09; called an electrician on Apr 6 who told us the compressor was gone ; on April 8th before taking the freezer to the dump called Sears who advised that only the seal around the top of the freezer would be covered under warranty. We found the freezer book to find that our warranty covers the problem; called Sears and were advised a Technician would be in on April 14th. Technician was in and charged $80.00 for a service call; not here 20mins and also advised food lost would not be replaced!! We lost 60 kg of food totaling $412.00. We were advised that the compressor would be replaced at Sears expense and we bought the freezer May 25, 2004; we were advised that the cost of the compressor plus labor would far exceed the cost of replacing the freezer. The freezer we had before was 25 + yrs old and this one isn't 5yrs old; what gives? I have been a Sears customer since the 1970's and EVERY appliance, lawnmower, snowblower, TV's, VCR's mattresses, hose has been purchased from Sears. We are looking for compensation for food lost as Sears appliance covered under warranty is your responsibility (perhaps not the total amt but at least 50%). I have read complaints from other Sears customers who are likely no longer Sears Customers and very upset they were not treated fairly; I certainly hope this won't be the case with our complaint. We don't carry maintenance agreements as the yearly cost would cover at least 2 or 3 new appliances if they broke down!!