September 16, 2006

• I should give a little more background about my ongoing battle with Sears. The AC is covered under a warranty and back in the summer of 2004 was went it first started having problems. They came out and “fixed” it, although, it really never returned to peak form the rest of that summer. Last summer, it was off and on and they came out several times to try to repair it, eventually saying that if they have to come out 4 times in 12 months to fix it, it would be replaced at no cost. By the end of the summer, it was sort of fixed, but again, never seemed to be at peak performance, it never blew out really cold air, but did the job just good enough to make it about 73 degrees in here, which a little hotter than I wanted it, but tolerable. That was the way it ran for most of this summer until late July and early August, when it stopped cooling the house. They were supposed to come out I think it was the 2nd Thursday in August, saying they would be here between 9-5. Well, it rained that day, in fact, there were some pretty severe storms in the morning. Shortly after 10 in the am, they called and said they would not be there all day because of the rain and we would have to reschedule. This upset me off to no ends, because the rest of the day, while overcast, was not raining or storming. Ok, I got over that, I just didn’t like the idea of having to go back to the end of the line, in other words, had to make an appointment for another week and a half. They came back out and said it was a compressor and they had to order the part and would fix it once it came in. A week or so later, the man came by to install it. Turns out, it wasn’t the compressor, but instead, he thinks its a coil of some kind. I made another appointment for them to come out, this time again on a Thursday, from 8-12. The day came and went, no repair guy and in fact, he didn’t even bother to call, kinda like being stood up on a date. Well, when I got home from work and called them that night, I was FUMING. The lady  that answered couldn’t have been any less helpful. Now, I was yelling and very upset, but working in a customer service call center, I know exactly what is over the line and what could be said, and believe me, I was not over the line at all. She raised her voice at me and kept cutting me off and was just a general, well, for lack of a better term, bitch. Needless to day, I asked for a supervisor but was told none was available. I found it hard to believe, so I hung up her. I called back and talked to a nicer lady who still could not put me through a supervisor. She did, however, promise me that she would have her supervisor call me the next day. This, of course, never happened, so on Saturday when I had time, I called back. I spent over a half hour talking and being transferred to everybody but Santa Claus and not a single person could tell me why they didn’t show up, but instead kept offering to reschedule. Well, if I did that I would once again be put to the end of the line, and I just wouldn’t have that. I had to get to the dentist, so I asked for a supervisor to call me back in an hour. He also gave me the number of another person to call in the customer relations department. After returning from the dentist, I placed the call to the customer relations department, where a lady told me that the reason why he didn’t show up was because the call was closed, as it was stated that we would be getting a whole new unit. Finally, I had an answer that made me happy. She told me she had to look into things more and would call me back Monday. On Monday, she left a message for me to call another office, which I did and was told that they were not going to replace the whole unit, but instead just a coil. I said that this was incorrect and that I was supposed to get a whole new unit, all she needed to do was talk to this other department. The next day, I called back when I was at work only to be told the same thing, so I called the customer relations department and was told that the lady I talked to was out of the office, but according to the notes, I was supposed to have a coil replaced. I was pissed. There was a message when I got home from somebody else at Sears, so I called back and was once again transferred several times. If there was one reoccurring theme its that each time I called, I was being sent all over the place like pizza delivery guy on Super Bowl Sunday. And, another thing that was common was that each of these people I spoke to didn’t know anything that I was going through, it just seemed like I was getting a different story from each person I talked to. Finally, a supervisor came on the line and was very apologetic and understanding. I told him I was promised a new unit and found it unacceptable that I was getting one. He said that he could not promise me anything, but that he would send a guy out tomorrow to look at the coil. I explained to him how they had not shown up twice before, but that I wanted them to make sure they were going to be there.He promised me that the guy would be here right at 6PM. I told him I wanted the guy to come because I wanted to talk to him.Now, I give the driver credit for being punctual. However, he showed up early and nobody was here, therefore, he left a note for us to call him. At this point, I don’t think I could yell anymore. I called the customer relations department back the next day and talked to the original lady that told me I was getting a free unit. She insisted that she never told me that, but instead told me that the coil was going to be replaced. I know what she said to me, and she left me with the distinct impression that I was getting a whole new AC unit. I calmly explained to her that with what I had been through not only last year but also this year, I think that a new unit is what is best for not only for me, but also for the whole company, as it couldn’t be very cost effective to keep sending somebody out. I explained that my family, going back to my parents, have been Sears people for over 40 years, and how we have 16 things that we pay for each year to keep under warranty. I stated that with all that I had been through, the tons of phone calls and being stood up, at this point, I deserved a new unit, and if she couldn’t give it to me, get me to somebody that could. She gave me the number of her supervisor and told me to contact him. He is some sort of manager dude. I tried calling and got no answer. I called several times and no answer.  I called the customer relations department back and was told that not only was he out of the office, but he also doesn’t have voice mail. I asked to have him call me. Friday came and went and no call. So, this is where I stand now, on the brink of contacting their corporate headquarters  in Hoffman Estates IL.

  This doesn’t even tell the whole story. I mean, for the sake of time, I left certain things out. I can’t even begin to tell you how many people I spoke to and how much time I spent on the phone. Add that up with the times somebody had to be here to wait for them and all of a sudden, its a lot of time. Plus, the people I did speak to had poor customer service skills. Maybe I have a higher standard because I’m in customer service, but if this is their idea of customer service, I should get a job there, somebody like me would rule that company.

  Please, feel free to pass this story onto anybody and everybody you know. Post it on your blog. Email it to people.And just think about it, this story isn’t over yet. And, I will be re posting it again the next time I talk to them.

  • 3:42 pm
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