Thank you Ms. Tilsner; yes, sad but true. Sears is another slice of Americana that was once steadfast and dedicated to people and their needs. Their retail existence now may just be to save face(?). I bet the horror stories will continue to mount...

I AM ANOTHER CUSTOMER THAT WILL NEVER SHOP AT SEARS. I BOUGHT NEW APPLIANCES IN 2001 AND I HAD TO CALL IN REPAIRMEAN FOR REFRIGERATOR AND DOUBLE OVEN WHICH COST ME ABOUT $700.00 TO FIX. NEVER MIND GETTING THE REPAIR CONTRACT IT WAS ONLY GOOD FOR 5 YEARS. I REMEMBER THE OLD OVENS THAT WOULD LAST FOR YEARS WITH OUT CALLING IN A REPAIRMAN. I ALSON ALERTED ALL FREINDS AND RELATIVES NOT TO BUY APPLIANCES FROM SEARS ANY MORE.

I agree. I had my own Sears nightmare. Part of their demise was to stick to old retail practices while the world changed. Years ago I ordered a a dishwasher. My wife liked the display model so we ordered it, and were told we'd have it shortly. Of course they promptly charged our Sears card. Upon our first bill, we hadn't received said merchandise so I called them, refusing to pay. They told me that the dishwasher would remain on my card, but to call them and they'd note I hadn't received it and not charge my account interest. After THREE months, I cancelled the order. Ironically I bought a Whirlpool dishwasher at an appliance store across the street who were all to happy to give me free delivery (Sears wanted $50, so I was going to pick it up) the very next day. Done deal. Or so I thought... later that year we applied for a mortgage, only to have problems because Sears reported us 90 days late. We almost lost our low interest loan as rates were creeping upward. Sears refused to help us at all in this situation. Guess who hasn't darkened their door since?

I too had a problem with Sears. Several years ago I purchased a washer and dryer from them. The washer would "walk" across the floor whenever it hit the spin cycle. I called out the repairman and when he finally showed up all he did was lift the back of the machine up and set it back down. For this amazing repair I had to pay him $75.00. Shorthly after he left I put a load in the washer and lo and behold as soon as it it the spin cycle it walked across the floor. I put a stop payment on the check. I got nasty phone calls from Sears. Then about a year later I got a letter saying they would ruin my credit because of non payment. Rather than argue with them (I did have documentation as to the events but that didn't matter)I simply paid the bill just to make them go away.

Again, customer service has bit the dust. Have you noticed that many companies live and die through customer service? Sears and Applebees are two prime examples. I have also visited both establishments in the past year and have been greatly disappointed with the lack of good customer service and attention to detail. Isn't it a shame how Sears is trying to revamp its image through the "Home Makeover" show, to no avail? I so want them to succeed, but I just don't see it happening.

I am a retail salesperson for Sears, in appliances, as I have been for over the last 10 years. Sears, like all of it's major and minor competitors (those still in business, that is) has struggled in the face of increasing competition, rising costs (infrastructure, healthcare, etc.) and decreasing margins. Since the catalogue days, the dynamics of retail have changed and intensified: old line retailers are faced with redefining themselves in the context of business models built to new, lean and swift paradigms. Change is messy. Care must be taken that the pace be quick enough to connect with the new age, and slow enough to keep the ship from shaking apart.
With regard to appliances, Sears has never manufactured one. They contract the best and most competitive manufacturers to do that. When I sarted selling them, most customers were replacing brands (including Kenmore) that had lasted 20 to 30 years. Today, that lifespan seems to be about half of that, and Consumer's Union affirms that observation. That experience then is not unique to Sears,but across the board to every retailer of appliances, since virtually all employ the same manufacturers. Like automobiles, features are up, options are up, and thickness of sheet steel (where still used rather than plastic) is down.
Costs of sheet steel, however, have more than doubled, and competition for resources has expanded with globalization.
Like other workers, my benefits cost me more, and give me less. I see fewer customers than I would like, but my employer insists that there be enough (more than enough?)associates available to cover volumes of customers we haven't seen for a while. At the store level, and as far up the chain as I can see, the focus is still on our customers, on providing them with knowledgable and friendly help as promptly and courteously as possible.
Sears still matches our competitors prices, and usually provides the best value and service of any retailer. Sears provides warranty support for all the appliances it sells, and offers preventative maintenance agreements, which are renewable after the initial term expires. To my knowledge, no other company offers as high a level of after sale service.
I'm not a clothing expert by any means, but the changes I've seen in Sears soft lines over the last year have been remarkable. The store I work in has shown a marked improvement in the appearance and presentation of the apparel departments, with Land's End leading the way. I share our customer's frustration with the consolidation of the cash wraps to fewer locations, but the division of responsibility between cashiers and merchandise assistants seems to help those who need help, while accomodating the independent shopper.
Like most of our shoppers, I hope the Sears experience continuse to improve. We must note, almost nothing in this world is as it was fifty years ago.

I quit shopping at Sears years ago and vowed to never give them a penny of my hard-earned money ever again...and I haven't. I had had bad experiences with Sears that I just let slide, as I imagine others have done, but the last time they pulled 'A Sears' (as my friends and I now use the term for sticking it to someone and not giving a damn)was when they failed to deliver the brand new refrigerator I had ordered. Our old one finally gave out and we were forced to live out of an ice chest (with small children) for four days until they could deliver. The Friday arrived and Sears was a "no show". "Didn't make the truck" was the excuse "but we'll be out this Friday". Again...a "no show" the second week. And yet again on the third WEEK. Telling me that they only deliver to our area once a week and well, I would just have to wait until the fourth week and 'see if it makes it on the truck'. Are you kidding me? I had been living out of an ice chest for almost a month because of these idiots. The customer service person couldn't have cared less, but for all my trouble he was going to offer me a $10 gift certificate to Sears. Oh geeze thanks...as if I was going to EVER shop with THEM again. I told him to keep it. I cancelled the order, cut up my Sears Gold Card that day and have never given them another penny. I followed up. My complaints on the phone were placated and mail sent via the web went unanswered. I have encouraged everyone I know to NOT shop there and when I mention it, I always hear someone else's Sear's Horror Story. I will be a very happy camper the day they finally go out of business for good!

Well I will never buy at Sears again either. My dryer broke, my husband went up to the store, bought a dryer, went over the measurements twice with the salesman, told not to worry, we would get the flat back model, so it would fit thru my basement door. Needless to say, delivery day comes, and they sent the wrong dryer. The drivers didn't care they had other deliveries, so they took it back. I called the store, got the salesman on the phone and he insisted my husband had ordered the dryer sent, when I asked for a supervisor, he transferred me to a line that no one answered. When I called back, I was told the manager had left for the day. It was Saturday afternoon, did he think i was an idiot??? So my husband comes home, goes up there and gets the floor model and brings it home in his truck, to make matters worse, he had to pay for the new dryer because it would take 2 days to credit the return to his checking acct. By that time I was at the Laundrymat with my 5days of building wash piles. Thannks Sears, Lowes can have my money when I get the new kitchen next month!!!!

Yes I agree, they are gearing to investments, But invest in what. If they invest like they run stores
I watch what they invest in, and do the other,
Mr Sears and Mr Robuck should come back from the grave and slap someone around a bit.

if you dont like sears please do us all a favor and not shop there and dont cry about it on the internet sheeeeeesh stfu retards

I had a very bad experience with Sears parts store. Got stuck in traffic and arrived a few minutes after they supposedly closed. The door was unlocked so I walked in. I was told in a very rude way that they were closed and that I would have to return the next day. I explained that all I needede was a single part for my washer and that I had the number of the part. Too bad. They were closed. Didn't matter that I was leaving town the next morning for two weeks and my family needed a washer. Too bad for me. Come back tomorrow.
I came very close to making a pile of all the Sears stuff that I own and leaving it in my front yard with a free sign and a disclaimer that the new owner assumed all risks associated wut Sears and their staff.
I stopped by a local appliance shop. They had the part and I bought it from them. So long Sears. May you rot and close forever real soon. Good riddance. Your management is clueless and customer service must be a foreign word to your staff. No more Craftsman or Kenmore for me.

I'm a former sears specialty repair center associate of ten years, I'm now a Service Manager of a electronic repair center at a competing business..I can tell everyone with their negative comments of sears, that the negative experiences that are encountered by each and everyone, is not representative of all sears locations...I've learned a long time ago,That sears upper management"corporate"goes out of their way to take care of it's customers,Something i don't see alot of companies do, I encounter people that are in charge of handling a company's business everyday in my position, and from what i see by experience, is that most people are just down right lazy, dont go out of their way to help the customer at all because it means they have to make a effort they don't want to make,and everybody wants to pass the buck to someone else,I myself have to make multiple calls everyday to handle even the most simple things, that should take minutes to accomplish,but often takes days because Nobody knows how to multi-task,or stay focused on pleasing the customer..I feel alot of the poor customer service is caused by young employees,that just want to show up and get a paycheck,they just want to get through the day doing as little as possible and go home,or others that have never been showed how to work hard, or properly trained to do their job..I remember the days when i was a kid, things were a little different then..Jobs were harder to keep, I first worked at a restaurant that moved at a very fast pace,I multi-tasked,got the orders right,food hot,polite to the customers,and had the manners to thank them for their business and have a nice day,The customer base grew greatly because of great service..Today's world,same aged kids,slow to fill orders,orders usually wrong,food old,cold,or sitting under a lamp for hours,hand you your bag,and most are impolite, never even say thank you..I've even been waited on while they talk on the cell phone...I know i'm off the subject some,but What i'm getting at,is it's not always the company you buy from, it's the manager, and the staff he has, and what he demands of his people..If these instances of customer dissatisfaction always stay in house,and not brought to corporates attention, the manager or his staff have nobody to answer to, that's where sears corporate comes in, they will make it right with the customer, I know this from a fact, we used to get calls in often from Sears corporate in Hoffman Estates IL. to take care of dissatisfied customers,Sears would make sure the customer was satisfied,and often offer the customer a pretty decent award for their trouble,they wanted to genuinely keep a customer....I hear alot of people talk bad about sears,but after being on the inside, and outside, i know it's more the local employee's that most customers are dissatisfied with, than the company itself.. Even though i'm no longer employed by sears due to corporate downsizing in the 90's, I know sears corporate does bend over backwards for it's customers..I still purchase craftsman tools because they replace them if they ever break,I've got a craftsman riding mower that i abuse heavily because of my rough yard layout, never a problem with it in three years of weekly use. The appliances are made by major companies,such as whirlpool,maytag,ect..sears uses the kenmore name on those makes,with slight changes/upgrades to name them kenmore,so any failures can be linked to the manufacturer,not sears, they only sell the same product everyone else does,only upgraded with sears exclusive options the others dont have, with the kenmore logo,at usually a better price,and sears will match or beat the price of any competitor,plus they have the largest repair fleet, larger than all the others put together..and when it comes to service,we all know, theres good techs, and bad techs,usually a bad one will get rooted out along the way,the best answer is to request a different repair person if your unhappy with the first repair tech, after all, were all human, theres people that care about the job they do,and the customers satisfaction,and those that dont,I'd just ask everyone to realize, it's not sears the company that has provided you a disservice,it's the store manager that has failed you..Make yourself feel better, and him worse, call Sears corporate and raise a stink about him and/or his employee, it will be handled quickly to your satisfaction..plus for all the do it yourself repair guys, sears has parts and breakdown diagrams online for appliances,lawn and garden equipment,ect on the sears website,and will ship then direct to your door, I dont know of any other retailer that supplies the repair parts online with breakdowns like sears...Give them a chance, with all the companies out there like wal-mart, and target, that are helping build china's infrastructure,and military, you'll find it very refreshing to see that sears supports our troops,and people in need, in this country..Not overseas.

I have been a lifelong customer of Sears. Yes, I do admit that Sears' Service (the one area where Sears dominated retail) has deteriorated in response to the changes in consumer patterns. Also, the quality of their staff has definitely fallen. However, the quality of their merchandise is as good as it has ever been. This may reflect the variance between different stores . . .

Sears is a great store and I wish those who complain would stop. Can you imagine what this country would look like if all we have is Wal-Mart and Target.

I buy all my tools, appliances, tires, batteries, and clothing (Lands End) at Sears and never have had an issue with anything purched at any Sears stores.

I've listened and read many of the complaints and realize most are insignificant and come from those who wouldn't be happy no matter where they shop. A friend of ours will never shop Sears because the battery on his drill retired after three years of use and Sears would not replace it for free. He could not understand why but I guarantee no one else would replace a used battery either.

Let's stop complaining and shop Sears before we are limited to only a few cheap unAmerican outlaws.

I am a full time department manager for a large Sears store. There have been alot of changes since K-Mart bought us. We are trying to find our way in light of all the big box competion. Sears is very customer oriented. I admit sometimes when it is very busy we get a little off track and forget our manners. I apologize to everyone here that had a bad experience For everyone customer that had a less then pleasant shopping experience there are thousands of others that have a wonderful shopping experience. Upper management is responsible for the people they hire and every once in the while one of the associates that interviewed very well turns out not so great. As a rule once that discovery is made they are coached and guided to change their behavior. Believe me it does not go unnoticed. The issue is that if one associate does not act in the Sears way then it looks bad for the entire company. Most associates are eager to please the customer. We have a fairly new program called Gem. The actual name of this program is Guest Enhancement Manager. We all take turns walking the floor talking to customers and helping out where needed. I hope those of you that had a bad experience come back to shop and let us have another chance to make you happy.

Roz

So THAT'S the problem with Sears - K-Mart bought it! And we all know "K-Mart sucks" [via the movie "Rain Man"].
Sad, but true, I remember the catalogue days. And while those days are not the same as before, I get a lot of HOT catalogues that are appealing to look at. And locally I love my Target (with the French pronunciation, if you will). Their stores are stocked with a variety of excellent items displayed in an appealing manner. Store is always impeccably clean, and customer service is satisfactory most of the time. The last time I heard about buying at Sears was after my credit card was stolen and the person rung up about $500 in items from Sears. I told the CC rep that all of those couldn't be mine and told them they could check back to about 1980's as the last time I have bought anything there. Sad, but true. And if Sears is selling all 'American' products, what does that say about America??????????????

I am retired from Sears and I do not shop there anymore.Here is my tale of woe.Almost 5 years ago I bought 5 Kenmore appliances from Sears.First the heating elements in dishwaher bent dowm and burned a hole in the tub and leaked on my floor.Service man came and said this was normal,changed tub and element.Started happening again,changed element.Every once in a while I bend element up so it won't happen again.Then micro- wave acted up,sometimes it won't work.The washing machine needed part,ordered part,sent wrong part,ordered again.Compressor in refrigerator needed to be replaced,service man shows up 4 1/2 hours late,orders part, 2 weeks without refrigerator.Two weeks ago wife called on marks on pattern on glass top stove was told it would cost $65.00 for someone to come and look at it and she probably used wrong pots.I am afaid to say this, but the dryer is working fine.Cancelled Sears card after 37 years, they did not care.No help in stores.The hareware store near me no help,no stock no customers

I used to be negative on SEARS until lately. I guess it deepends on the store you shop> I've had a wonderful experience at the SEARS in White Oak, MD.
Best price, curteous service and follow up.

Thank you for your honest and true comments about Sears. My mother worked for many years as a store catalog manager. She would turn over if she were still alive about the status of Sears. I worked many years in retail also. Sadly, retail has lost total focus for today's consumer.

Today's consumer is not really that different then the past generations. They have more choice today.
However, the art of consumer service is no longer an important focus with management.
1. The doing away with commission sales persons was
the most stupid idea ever presented.

Just walk into any store today, Sears, TJ Max, a Macy's or whatever and looking at the disaray of merchandise makes my mind shutter. Then when you can locate a "sales" person and ask I would like to see a certain "size" in a particular item. All you gete is a blank stare and some mumbling excuse like "all our merchandise is out on display, and if it isn't there, we don't have it".

Don't retail stores still have a training department ? Are we still focuse ? Somewhere I learned once upon a time that cash flow was important and that it isn't a crime to make a profit.

Your article sounds like the foundation for a good book - like: "What's Wrong With American Retail".
Not everything is made in the Orient.

I can remember when my daughter was young, she is now in College and we always looked forward to the Christmas catalog. She would circle everything she wanted and hence Santa had a way of getting just the right things. Those Christmas catalogs/toy catalogs were the signal that Christmas was on the way and such excitement and joy over just a catalog. Hours spent looking at the thing. The spring horses bought from it along with disney castles and things that only Sears carried. They should go back to that. I know the catalog business had to be a big part of their business especially at Christmas.