Sears

So we thought the Sears Scratch and Dent would be a good place to buy a fridge and freezer for our garage to bring down food costs. We wouldn't mind a little scratch or ding, it wodlnt affect the performance and we trusted Sears...because they are Sears. Boy were we wrong!
We paid $1100.oo one Kenmore Elite Freezer (still working) and then one Fridgidare FLCH17F7HWA-it is a freezer OR a fridge depending on how you position the switch. Purchase date April 19, 2009. They were new (just discontinued, never sold or repaired we were told)so they had a one year warranty.
In January of 2010 the Fridgidare stopped working. The repair man came out and fixed it. Then it stopped working again April 19, 2010. Sears sent someone out and fixed it under the one year warranty.It was the same repairman as in January. This visit he said "This is a lemon. It was sold to work as a fridge or freezer, ut it always breaks when used as fridge. There have been alot of angry customers that bought this one. You should buy the warranty, it is $85.00 a year and dont let it expire because you will need it."
Problem:We were not in the position to buy the warranty at the time. So Sears only stood buy that repair for 90 days.
We called Sears Scratch and Dent during that 90 period to let them know it wasnt realistic for us to spend $85 dollars a year on warranties. The expectation was that in making a purchase from Sears, they stood behind their products and service. The person on the phone at the warehouse acknowledged that were alot of problems with that particular item. He passed on to his manager who also acknowledged the same thing and passed us on to Customer Solutions. After 2 weeks of phone tags with a guy in that department, we were told "The Lemon Law would not apply to that item as it was bought in the Scratch and Dent Warehouse and was therefore not considered "New". Mind you, the tag on it was marked "New" not "Returned" not "Repaired" but "New". So "New" in the Scratch and Dent at Sears is essentially a "Used" item as far as Washington State is concerned (and according to Sears Customer Solutions.
We couldn't return it as we had had it for longer than 30 days. It broke after 8 months the first time, the day the warranty was to expired the 2nd time and now...
It is March 27th, 2011 and it is broken again.Yes, if we could have coughed up the $85 dollars lastyear we could get it fixed-not for free remember the warranty was $85.
It jst seems if you buy a major appliance for even $1000.00 from the "New" showroom floor, that the real cost is $1000.00 plus $85.00 for every year you expect it to keep running. I would think 10 years is reasonable so the true cost would be$1850.00
I called Sears today to see if they could help us out and how much to come out.
The first guy accidentally disconnected me.
The 2nd guy snidely said "MOST people buy the warranties. I expressed the frustation of the additional expense os $85.00 a year for the expected life of an appliance and again snideley"Well you can just take that up twith them in Warranties."-click.
The 3rd person, a young woman tried to help, but coudlnt and said it was best to call Customer Solutions in the AM. I did want to be transfered to the supervisor in regard to the prior person-and I was put onto hold music for several minutes and disconnected.
The 4th person needed me to explain the entire thing again as he wasn't allowed to allow me to talk to a supervisor again...but eventually attempted to transfer me, there was hold music for a long time, a phone rang for several more minutes but it was never answered.
Sears is not the company my parents knew and trusted. Sears is not the company I grew up trusting. maybe hard economic times has turned the Amercian icon into a fly by night operation concerned with how much money they can make off of warranties rather than being a trusted establishment.
Just remember these days, the price tage on products sold at Sears is just the amount needed to get it out the door, not the true price of an additional $85.00 for the life of the product.

I used to work for Sears on two different occasions, the latest being from 10/2008 to 9/2009. Sears as a whole do not care about their employees or customers. My story:

The manager of the Shoreline Sears (Laina Lundgren) is a screamer, extremely loud and shrill. She will think nothing of screaming in front of you for an honest misstep. This happened to me one month into my employment with her, when she screamed at me in full view of customers for asking a customer to go to another cashier because my card reader wasn't working. The customers told another assistant manager because of how Lundgren treated me and what they witnessed, they would never come to that store again. I got hauled into the office to be screamed at again for the same dang thing. I think she was mad she got called on her behavior by customers.

I did my best at my job to avoid her whenever possible; I needed the money. Then in June 2009 (the same day Michael Jackson died), I was just getting off work and I was headed down to the first floor in the store's elevator. I was not distracted in any way and was looking straight ahead when the doors opened. I injured my right foot stepping off because the elevator had stopped about 1 1/2 to 2 feet above the floor. I had to ask three times for an accident form before I got one.

A doctor visit and an MRI later said I had to stay off my foot until the follow up, which was going to be around the beginning of August 2009, but the harassment started within a week after my actual injury. With me being a bus rider and on crutches (I don't know how to drive a car) made it impossible for me to obtain a ride to work to receive the light duty they were offering. They kept griping at me every couple days even though I had a doctor's note and showed them and everything.

Finally, in mid-July I was bothered again, with me again repeating I had to follow what my doctor said. Less than 2 hours later, Laina Lundgren called me herself and threatened to fire me if I didn't show up the next day. I decided to try and come in because I needed the job. I showed up in crutches and aircast and shorts (because I couldn't fit pants over the aircast). The HR lady asked if I could at least take my cast off and I told her no, the doctor says I must wear it--and if I was going to be in back shredding papers anyway, who's going to see it?

The paper shredding went on for three weeks, until my follow-up, which went fine. I was back to being a cashier until the beginning of September, when I was called into LP to discuss money I supposedly stole. They informed me they saw me putting money into my pocket, but they did ask me if I remember the customer in question. "Oh yes, it was a guy who had an estimated 34 cents coming back which I offered him, and he waved me off, saying "Keep it." I said "Sure? It's 34 cents..." But he said "I don't need it." So yes I did put it in my pocket because I have always been proud of keeping an even till. (The most I've ever been off in my entire life is about 20 cents, but almost always my tills have always counted even.)

LP claims that any extra change becomes property of Sears and that it should've been put into the drawer, and that it says so in the COC. Believe me, I've looked the whole thing over and nowhere does it say so at all. I believe they were just trying to find a reason to fire me because I was the only one who complained about the elevator malfunction--as it turned out, another problem happened after my accident and also people have hurt themselves on it in the past before me, but never said anything about it.

I got sent home for the day while they "investigated." Three days later the LP lady called me from her own house and told me she was instructed to let me go. What--the boss lady didn't have the guts to do it herself? I filed for unemployment, for which I was approved a few months later--then they appealed, saying my firing was just. We had to do some court thing over the phone, but they never showed up, so I won by default. At least I was prepared with what I felt was a solid argument, but I am glad my stuff with Sears is over because of all their harassment BS.

This kind of thing shouldn't happen to ANYONE. If I had the means and the money, I would sue for wrongful firing and harassment concerning my injury. The funny thing is, I would let the lawyer KEEP anything that was won, because for me this would be a matter of principle, and that's my honest word. I don't want money from this if anyone can take me on--I just want to stick it to Sears to make sure they think twice before doing this to someone else.