We need a new water heater. The repair company we had been working with all week to see if ours could be fixed could not get one installed until tomorrow. I called Sears to see if they could have one installed today instead. After the sales rep checked my address and what size and type of water heater we need (and me being on hold for a long time), he came back and said great news, we have two different types of water heaters available in your area that can be installed today. I verified that if I proceed, the water heater will in fact be installed today. He double checked and said yes. So, I gave him my cc number and purchased on through Sears. I canceled the other one that was scheduled for delivery tomorrow. I had been told that I would recieve a call within 1-3 hours with a time that the water heater would be isntalled. After 3 hours of not hearing anything, I called to check in. At that point I was told that I live in a market where same-day installation is not possible. This is where I start to have major problems with the way Sears conducts business: 1. I gave the sales rep my ADDRESS, including city, state and zip, so that he could verify that same-day installation was in fact available for me. He supposedly checked on this, and I was told that it was available. 2. The same-day installation was THE ONLY REASON I chose to purchase our water heater through Sears. The fact that they told me this was guaranteed and it turned out not to be was total fraud. They told me what I wanted to hear to get the sale. 3. The "manager" I spoke with to discuss my extreme dissatisfaction with their fraud, said she understood my frustration (speaking right off of her script, I assume) and would be able to send me a $50 gift card to make things better. When I went into detail again about how if I am told something will be installed on a certain day and that is the reason I agree to purchase it through a specific company, I expect their end of the agreement to be upheld. At the point of the sale, when the sales rep is given my address, they should have all of the information necessary to determine what delivery/installation options are available. The "manager" told me that the sales reps did not have access to information about a city permit in my market (a top 30 DMA in the US). That is not my fault. It's actually not the sales rep's fault either, but it is SEARS' FAULT. They are knowingly not equipping their sales staff with the adequate information to provide customers with the services they offer. They are committing fraud by guaranteeing services to get sales that they can not hold up. In the end, the "manager" offered to take $50 off my bill when the water heater is eventually installed. That is not enough - without their fraudulent behavior, they never would have gotten our $700+ business to begin with. 4. When I googled Sears customer reviews, I couldn't believe all of the negative and similar things that I read. It's clear that Sears does not care about their customers. Perhaps that is why they're facing massive store closings and other issues.
Dear Lifeaid,
My name is Stephanie L. and I am part of the Sears Social Media Escalations team. Please accept our deepest apologies for the troubles you and your wife have been through concerning the repair appointment on your refrigerator. We are very sorry that that the appointment was never scheduled, we entrust our agents to build trust with our customers and this did not happen, and missed service appointments are never acceptable. We understand your time and your wife’s time is valuable and rescheduling can be frustrating. We do value you as a Sears customer and would like to speak with you concerning this experience; we would also like to go over the options we have in order to see this matter is resolved. At your convenience please contact our office via email at smsupport@searshc.com and a dedicated case manager will contact you directly. In the email, please provide a contact phone number and the phone number your Miter Cutter was purchased under (if different than the contact phone number) and we will call you directly. Also, in your email, please provide your screen name Tommy Quick, you used to post on this site, for reference to your issue, and we do look forward to talking to you soon.
Thank you,
Stephanie L.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support