Sears Customer Service

As expected, no one from Sears called me back in 48 hours so I gave them a call by the third day.  That did not resolve anything, except them offering me fifty dollars credit and no more.  I asked to speak to their manager and was told their manager did not take calls, but was only there to guide them on their calls.... which resulted in me writing the below email to Sears customer service and their response.

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Subject:  Order Issues: I just want my dryer!‏

From:  me
Sent:  October 9, 2009 2:21:01 AM
To:  home@sears.ca

To whomever this may concern,

We've recently purchased a house, much like many friends and coworkers of ours, and we were quite impressed with your salespeople.  They were knowledgeable, sincere, and helpful in every way imaginable.  We were very much in awe with the flexibility Sears had to offer in terms of payment options, delivery dates, and even price matching.  Although, we've heard and read many complaints about your company, we were sure that they were one off events, and people tend to only remember and talk about the unpleasant.  We've even been recommending Sears to many of our friends and family, and mentioned time and time again on our blog what a pleasant experience we've had.  To date, we've purchased a refrigerator, range, washer, and dryer for our new home, and we've been able to move our delivery date along with our delayed renovation date.   Unfortunately, this was where our troubles began.

On the date of our delivery, only the refrigerator and range arrived.  When asked, the delivery man told us these were the only ones loaded on to his truck.  Maybe the washer and dryer were coming in a separate truck?  He didn't know.  Nearing the end of our 12pm to 6pm window, I decided to give Sears a call.  The customer rep looked into our order and told us that the order for the washer and dryer had been cancelled the week before, but no note was made as to why that was.  I assured her that we did not cancel it, and she proceeded to look further.  She explained that maybe it was a clearance item and they no longer had it in stock, which was why it was cancelled, but shouldn't someone have called us to let us know ahead of time?  Or, even advise us that this could happen?  She looked deeper and found that the washer was still available and told me she was going to place the order again and call me back with details.  Sure enough, she called me back later that evening to arrange a delivery date for the washer.  The dryer, however, she could do nothing about because we had bought it at a Sears warehouse sale and so we would need to call them directly to arrange something.  By then, it was late Saturday night, and I'd have to call them on Monday.

So on Monday, I gave them a call.  It was a while before anyone picked up, and even then, the man on the other side told me there was nothing he could do for me and referred me to a 1-800 number.  Calling that number, landed me with another reference to another 1-800 number.  After waiting 25 minutes there, the customer rep confirmed the order was indeed cancelled (maybe due to a computer glitch), and that he would investigate into the matter and see about reordering the dryer.  He told me he'd call back within 24 to 48 hours with the results.  Three days past and I have not heard back, so I call the same 1-800 number again.  The customer rep I got this time said he couldn't help me and that I need to call the warehouse.  I explained to him that I tried that already and 3 days ago, someone at this number told me they'd look into it.  He told me he'd transfer my call to another department, only I got transferred to a lady that only spoke French.  She then transferred me to a second lady who ALSO only spoke French, who then bounced me to some guy who's new on the job and I can hear someone coaching him from behind.  He was nice, but also was unable to help me.  He gave me the number to the delivery hotline, but what good is it when I was told the order was cancelled?!  He then told me to try calling this OTHER 1-800 number.  At that number, I had to re-explain my situation, and the lady put me on hold to try to call the warehouse herself.  She then came back to say no one picked up and she left a message with the manager there and he'd call me back.  I asked her to give me the number to the warehouse and the manager's name in case I don't hear back.  She says she wouldn't be able to do that and I'd just have to wait.

A couple hours passed, and I decided to call again and see if I can get a more definite answer.  This time, the customer rep Glenda, told me she'd personally follow up with the warehouse and call me back later that day, or the next day at the latest.  She seemed understanding and so I hung up.  Later that afternoon, Glenda called me back to say that the dryer we ordered was no longer in stock.  I asked how that could be, since we had bought it from the warehouse that day.  I mean, they made sure the unit was there before we paid.  We personally saw them fill out a form and stuck it to the unit, OUR UNIT's box!  She says she has no idea, but we could look through their catalogue and order something similar and they'll offer us $50 credit.  As generous as that sounds, the dryer we had ordered and paid in full, was a 6.7 cubic feet Kenmore, front loading, see through glass door, for $399.99!!  The cheapest front loading dryer you have with a glass door was already at $599.99!!  And it doesn't have all the functions of our previous one, and it's also only 5.8 cubic feet!  What good is $50 credit going to do me?  I've always thought of Sears as a responsible corporation committed to customer satisfaction, but this is an outrage.  Shouldn't Sears own up to their own mistakes and at least replace my previous dryer with something comparable?

I'm deeply disappointed that a big corporation such as Sears would not step up and try to win a loyal customer back, but instead have their customers shoulder their responsibility for them.  I'm sure that a corporation such as yours would have calculated average customer lifetime values.  I'm only 27 to-date, which means this is the start of my journey with Sears.  I now leave it upon you to make right this situation, so I can go on recommending your services to many of my friends and colleagues, who are also just starting on their journey.

Hope to hear from you soon.

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Subject: CASE: 1558188 Order Issues: I just want my dryer!‏

From: home@sears.ca
Sent:  October 10, 2009 2:34:36 PM
To:   me

Hello Ms. Chu,

Thank you for taking the time to bring your concerns to our attention. We value you as a Sears customer and regret that you have had an unpleasant experience.

We have directed this important issue to our Corporate Customer Service Department for further review. One of our Customer Service Representatives will be in touch with you to address your concerns.

We appreciate your continued patience and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Regards,

Angelique
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Subject:  CASE: 1558188 Vicky / Order Issues: I just want my dryer!‏

 
From: webmaster@sears.ca
Sent: October 11, 2009 2:26:21 PM
To: me

Hello Ms. Chu,

Thank you for your email to Sears.ca and for bringing this issue to our attention.

I can certainly understand your consternation over these developments and we very much apologize for the error made at the warehouse in terms of the sale of your dryer. I also acknowledge that you are not accepting the prior offer made to you of a $50.00 credit on another machine.

In order to look into possible resolutions for you I have sent a note to our buying team asking for information as to the replacement model for the dryer you purchased. Once I have heard back from the buying team I will advise what dryers are now available with equivalent features. My understanding from looking at the order was that you chose a model in a black colour. Is this correct?

After I am aware of availability and costs I can then propose a resolution. Please be assured that you are a valued customer and we will do everything reasonably possible to resolve this for you.

Again, we are very sorry for the difficulties you have experienced in the purchase of this dryer and we regret the further time you have had to expend on the telephone in connection with this matter.

Thank you for using Sears online.

Regards,

Vicky
Sears Corporate Customer Service