customer vrs big box store!!!

larry merlau

Member
Messages
18,741
Location
Delton, Michigan
ok i have been as cordial as i can but i just got the last straw in email..we had a dryer die, got a hold of a friend that has consumer reports got the recommendation of there best model and brand to get in our budget. then checked for the best price online, turns out it was sears.com.. well in years past i have had good luck with some craftsman tools and there other products so ok best machine and best price, we order it and its setup for natural gas not propane, to get the machine now with a converter kit, enter in another 85 dollars it can be at my door in week.. ok not like it but ok they wont install the part.. that my problem.. so we get it in the time mentioned and the delivery guys are excellent and make sure they tell us to say so in the review card or call which ever we receive. not a problem.. now the trouble begins, i set down to look at the parts and the instructions ,yup i do read them first sometimes. well from the directions i need to take the back off and totally take this apart.. always in the past it was from the frnt??? do as the instructions say..well i take out the screws from the back and the back wont come off???? look again and the picture doesnt match my picture...:rolleyes: go to the frnt, try to see if the frnt comes off like normal yup. so i put the back screws back in and begin the process from the frnt.. well once inside it looks like the part is wrong but i relook at the directions and the part ...sure enough the part is from bosch and this is a GE machine:eek: let alone the regulator is completly opposite from what we have in our machine...so we call sears and mention this to them and they say sorry thats what you got, but you can send it back but its gonna cost you 65 dollars to send it back.. well as i see it now, after talking with a another parts guy the part is not right at all and the right one for it is only 58 dollars..i have written the sears.com folk a letter stating i dont feel this is right but i also asked it be sent there supervisor, like thats gonna happen.. this was purchased with a credit card online,, isnt there some law or ruling where we can make them take it back and we can deal locally instead!! a very unhappy sear.com non customer in future.. thanks for any input on the best way to handle this..
 
In another galaxy, far far away and a long long time ago, I used to own a Sears store. We would have done the conversion before the machine left the store or at time of delivery.
If a mistake was made, it was you attempting the conversion yourself on a product still under warranty.
The local Sears store should help you out just for the sake of good customer relations. But, these days Sears does not seem to understand what that means.
If they won't help, you may be stuck with cost of repairs and conversion. Try to get them to help you. If they won't, suck it up and call an independent dealer that knows GE stuff and pay for the conversion. Chalk it up to experience.
We returned a front load washer last week that was seven months old and we hated. But we had to pay about 3/4 the cost of the new machine we replaced it with. Should have complained louder and harder from day one instead of trying to be nice for seven months.
 
Contact your card's customer service people. They may ask for copies of the order forms for proof when they confront Sears. If all goes well they will take the money back from Sears.

Good luck kicking their tails.
 
frank, the only thing i did was look athe other part the plastic bas is open off course but i did try to have them do it and they declined.. and dan will try that and see it if will work. and for the manning up part, i was as nice as i ever am,, they should see the other side:)
 
when we bought our dryer they said gas dryers are sold with natural gas hook ups and propane conversion is extra.:dunno::dunno::dunno:

anyway the guy we had install it had the parts and did it in 20 minutes. Check with a local appliance install guy before you go any further with sears.
 
when we bought our dryer they said gas dryers are sold with natural gas hook ups and propane conversion is extra.:dunno::dunno::dunno:

anyway the guy we had install it had the parts and did it in 20 minutes. Check with a local appliance install guy before you go any further with sears.

will do bob we have tried to get ahold of one but its sat...and they dont answer phones well on wknds:)
 
Larry i would call back to Sears and progress your way through to management level.

My dealing with Sears (ok Sears Canada) has always been an excellent store with very helpful people and excellent customer service.

When i have been unhappy they have more than responded and even paid me for my troubles.

I dont accept first line staff on the phone or the store anymore if i am not getting satisfaction for my issue.

I think you have every reason to be mad as heck and have go at them. Just one thing. Take notes, write down times, and take names and employee numbers. Yeah its a pain but i collect all the ammo.

They need to make you whole or i would send the whole lot back and let them know thats what is happening if they aint gonna listen. Of course Sears is now owned by Kmart which was the chain that went into bankruptcy at one time so whats that tell you.:huh:
 
Man I hate to be the one to tell you this. Sears as well as Craftsman tools seems to have gone downhill fast after merging with KMart. We used to buy solely from Sears but then realized we seemed to be replacing some items sooner than others. Our washer and dryer were purchased from Sears in 1988, just replaced them a couple of years ago, had to have work done on the new washer already! The fridge we bought from them in '92 has been replaced, THREE new dishwashers in the past 7 years. Our latest one is on recall so we get 250 bucks towards a new one. Went in three weeks ago, ordered one, they said it would be in on Wed., Thurs I call, nope, will be Sat.. So on Monday I call, nope, order cancelled at factory. So we go back in, that model must have shared the part that is causing the recall so not available, so we pick the only other one Lou likes in the list of six eligible for rebate money. August 25th delivery now! This is our last Sears product. We replaced our stove last winter, went to an independent locally owned appliance store in Plymouth, tried there they didn't sell the line we needed to pick from on the dishwasher. I too am frustrated and I am not sitting with pieces. I understand your pain and when you said you ordered from Sears I immediately went :doh::doh:. Good luck tomorrow.
 
Call your cc company and start the charge back. Most of the cc companies will guarantee stratification on your purchase or your money back.:thumb::thumb:
 
well i got the last email and will wait till monday to contack the cc -bank its actually a cc-debit card.. but from waht frank has told us i am gonna get charged way to much for the return..
 
amazing to me that Sears has gotten this bad. Back in the 90's, before the Kmart takeover, I also worked there. We were on commission back then and made great money. We could not wait to exchange something. This way we got paid. We NEVER charged a restocking charge. I also remember that once a complaint was received at corporate, we got E-mailed and were given 24 hours to satisfy the customers. Things really have changed. I guess I will go to Lowes from now on for major appliances.
 
It's sad the way our products are going now... there was a time when just the name SEARS meant the very best. They don't and have never manufactured anything themselves, but had their own set of specifications that often were higher than the specs used by the mfgr of their own products... the Kenmore Fridges and I think the washer and dryers were made by Philco and the Kenmore was a better machine than the Philco.... nowadays they buys from whom ever has the lowest bid and just repaint I think...
I won't even talk about customer service.. that no longer exists. We were in Lowe's or Home Depot a while back, my wife saw a light in the lighting department she liked.. no price on it, so we asked a clerk... matter of fact we asked several clerks... 1. there was not clerk in the lighting department, 2. none of the clerks we asked knew the price or how to find it in the computer and 3. most of them just said " I don't know " and walked away...
 
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