Sears

I purchased an upright DiamondBack Fitness bike Model Apex U6, Item # 21753 on 12/28/10, brought it home, and assembled it that same night. I immediately discovered that none of the programs worked, as there was no resistance at all when pedaling. On 12/29/10 I called Sears and they said I had to call their support line. I did so and had to set up an appointment for a Rep to come out and repair it. The Rep came out on 1/4/11. He broke 2 of his tools just trying to remove the pedals to look inside, and had to leave without ever getting the base of the bike opened. He told me that it would take 2 more visits to resolve the isssue. One to diagnose the problem, and the 2nd to bring the correct parts to correct the issue. Each visit required that I set aside 4 hours of my day waiting for a tech to show up. I decided that that was not acceptable and called the Fitness Department Manager at Sears. After playing telephone tag and never getting my call returned, I called the Store Manager. About 30 minutes later the Fitness Department Manager returned my call. After much discussion an arrangement was eventually made for me to find a way to bring the bike back to the store. I asked her if the broken bike could be picked up and another delivered, but was told that since I didn't want to pay the money to have it delivered in the first place, that she couldn't arrange to do so now. She would order another bike for me, as I had taken the last one in the store, and when it arrived she agreed to have someone in the store assemble it, as I refused to have to put another one together myself! She also offered me $50 for the hassle of bringing the bike back and having to rent or borrow a truck to do so. I wasn't happy with the arrangement, but since it was the only one I had, I accepted it. I waited a week and a half for a call from the Fitness Department Manager to call me and tell me that a new bike had been received and was assembled and ready for me to pick up, but that call never came. Instead I had to call her again on 1/17/11 and she didn't even remember me at first. Once I jogged her memory she put me on hold and went to check to see if the new bike had been received. It had, so she said she was going to get someone to assemble it for me and would call me back to tell when it was ready to be picked up. I received that call at approximately 12:30 p.m. the same day and made arrangements to borrow a truck and have a friend help me to remove it from my cellar and load it on the truck. That afternoon I brought the bike back to the store and picked up the "NEW" bike. I used the bike on that day and it worked fine. On 1/24/11, I attempted to use the bike again and imagine my surprise when I again found that there was no resistance at all when I attempted to use the uphill programs! Also, when I picked up the new bike on the 17th I was told I should purchase the maintenance plan for something like an additional $65. My response was not only no, but hell no. I believe that when I buy a product in good faith, that it should work for a reasonable amount of time and I don't believe that one day, one week or even one month is a reasonable amount of time. I was then informed that the warranty on the product by Sears was only 30 days from the date of purchase, which was almost up! I can't believe that a customer is expected to put up with this type of service after purchasing a product in good faith that doesn't work!
I then sent an e-mail to corporate Sears and also to Diamond Back Fitness about the problems I'd experienced and the lack of customer support. I never heard back from Corporate Sears, but got a response from Diamond Back Fitness the same day. Diamond Back Fitness came and repaired the bike and discovered that Sears had assembled it incorrectly and that new parts had to be ordered to correct the problem. I finally had had enough and called Sears again and told them I wanted my money back and I wanted this bike out of my home. The bike is being picked up on Sunday, March 6th, 2011. I will never purchase another non-consumable item from Sears again. How they remain open is beyond me, but they will not get another opportunity to screw me over again.