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Sears built there reputation with their good warranties. the last few purchases I made at Sears were bad experiences. A vacuum cleaner, was blowing out a white dust, so I returned it. they gave me a hard time from the get go. "Sorry I can't help you. " Many calls to headquarters finally got some results. they wanted to charge me 15 to return the darn thing. I then bought a dive watch, that quit working due in three days due to water from the shower getting in to it. Sears told me, I got it wet, so it was not their fault. I told them "it is a dive watch, it is supposed to get wet" they just looked at me, and gave me the old, "sorry I can't help you". Needless to say my shopping at sears for 50 years, is at an end. they are no difference now days than one of the big box stores, but with less costumer service.
Yepper, it's true. Had to have a Supervisor come to my rescue. The sales clerk told her,"he got it wet" the Supervisor just stared at her, then stared at me, like what do you have to say about it. I said "it's a dive watch, it is designed to get wet." so I got a refund. but who needs the grief, or poorly made products.
Sears really trashed Kmart into ultra tacky! It's hard to believe that Kmart could go farther downhill, but it did! The soft-lines at Sears were always second rate. Discount stores like Kmart actually sold more stylish stuff. Maybe not better made, but slightly more stylish. Then Sears took over and started dumping all of their crap into the Kmart stores. The few things I bought at each store are gone. Sears discontinued flooring and other big ticket items, and Kmart has reduced it's home fashion area, like towels, to tacky low quality limited selection. The biggest change I saw at Kmart was merchandizing went out the door. They just load pallets into the middle of the isles now. Why can't they realize that Target is doing much better due to trendiness and merchandising? Blows my mind.
What's sad is that Kmart sells junk that is of worse quality than even Walmart and sells it for HIGHER COST!!!
I can't wait for the day that Sears goes the way of Wards.
About 16 years ago, I went into Sears to buy a certain item for my sister. To my surprise, there was a sign on the display that read "50% off, this rack only". Another sign close to the register read, "All bras Buy 1, get one free". The B1G1 sign stated the specific brand. There was no small print. So, instead of buying her ONE, I picked up 4.
At the register, the total came to $60 plus tax. I pointed to the signs and asked her to redo the transaction. She then told me that the 50% off sign was on the wrong rack, and the B1G1 promotion ended the day before. I argued that the signs were up and she had to honor them and asked for a manager. She called someone and while waiting, I noticed the "If the item fails to ring up correctly and the difference is $5 or less, you will get up to a max of $5 off per item." There was no other small print.
I pointed out this additional sign. She then walked around and pulled down all three signs, and told me to leave the store or she would call security. I suggested she call the police instead and said that was the ONLY way they were getting me out of there at that point. The manager finally came up to the register. After listening to everything I said, she said I was being unreasonable. Perhaps, but by then I was ANGRY. I suggested that she honor her signs or prepare herself for a lawsuit that would cost the store WAY MORE than $60. She decided I was right, but asked me to pay SOMETHING. We agreed on $5.
I got WAY MORE than I bargained for, but I didn't shop there again for 6 years.
That Christmas, I was in Walmart and noticed a cookie jar was on sale for $7.50, marked down from $10 - I grabbed one for each of my sisters. Walmart had similar sign up ("If item doesn't ring up correctly...") near the registers, offering $5 off each incorrect item, if their register made an error. It rang them up for $10 each. I didn't notice though until I was in my car. I walked back in, went to customer service and they gave me $15 back, plus tax. The following day, I went in to grab another one for a friend. It rang up incorrectly again, but I pointed it out before paying. Apparently, their sign had small print that said you had to pay first and get the $5 back as a refund. I never correct a cashier anymore - now I wait until after to bring the receipt to customer service.
6 years later I decided I had been unreasonable with Sears and went online to buy a tool cabinet for my husband. I ordered it online and had it delivered to the store for "free". The store called me and told me it was in stock, and I scheduled a time to pick it up - my dh was coming home from a 6 month deployment Dec 23rd.
To make a long story short, I hauled my then infant son to the store, waited for 3 hours being shuffled here and there and left empty handed. The manager had mollified me by offering to have it delivered to my home THE NEXT DAY. (5 days before Christmas) for free and gave me a $50 gift certificate. It didn't arrive. My big Christmas surprise/homecoming for my husband was ruined. It arrived Dec 30th, dented badly. To add another insult, they charged me $45 for delivery. I went in to talk to the manager on New Year's Eve. My dh went off with the gift certificate to look for something else for himself (His bday is New Year's Eve, BTW). He got picked up by security for trying to pass a fake gift certificate.
Sears, never again.
KMART's prices are usually 30-40% higher than Walmart. They were going out of business "final clearance sales" in COS right before we moved in the summer - their prices were STILL higher than Walmart or Target!
I've generally had decent experiences the times I have shopped at Sears,although I think Penneys has better quality clothing.
The Kmart in my area seems terribly understaffed. Maybe they are trying to save money by hiring fewer people? I did find cute Christmas-themed air diffusers there,but they only had a few in stock--I wanted to give them as gifts. That seems to be a big problem with Kmart-they don't stock up on items.
I'm not so sure that Sears is the problem here. It is just that KMart (who was in Chapt 11 for so long) has this weird reputation of two year old merchandise being restocked over and over and their stores being in substandard shape....compared to WalMart. If they could get beyond this mental stigma....they have a real chance of pulling out of the hole. In Florida, those stores are always 'warm' due to them watching cooling costs. This becomes mentally associated with poverty.
Sears, even though their revolving credit policy put them on the map as con artists, DO have good merchandise. With time and decent marketing....I think they have a chance of giving WalMart and Target a real run for their money. The revival of the 'Lay-A-Way' Plan is a first good step. Getting some decent AC in the Florida stores would run a mean second step!!!
I did buy cat food at redlands,ca kmart last year. They had spray paint i wanted that was on sale (.99 can) but was out of stock. I received a rain check good for 3 cans of grey spray paint @.99 each. To make a long story short they told me that color has been discontinued a month after i first got a rain check. Bad customer service. I havent shopped in sears in many yrs. I do though like craftsman tools & the life long warranty.
"people rushed for the washer/dryer set only to be told that they managers of Sears handed out tickets to people (sometimes only 2-3 tickets per store) as early as 2 AM"... they do this with the "hot" toys every single year!
Yes, it is annoying. But Sears/Kmart are not alone. I like Sears, I shop a lot there also. I worked there for many years as well.
...I do though like craftsman tools & the life long warranty.
Even the tool warranty is not what it once was.
A while back, I took a broken 1/2" ratchet back to get it replaced. Instead of being told to grab a new one off the shelf, as had always been their practice, the guy reached into a drawer and handed me a rather beat up "re-conditioned" ratchet.
Better than nothing, I suppose, but not the "old" Sears...
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