I am baffled as to why Sears is going down the crapper

[AlDente67 563]

So our dishwasher electronic panel died a sudden death, and we decided to just get a new one.  SO I hop online and look around the typical retail sites and find the perfect model for our needs at sears.com for a great sale price.  The others had not yet announced their current sales, so sears beat them all by $200 on the exact same model.  So I place the order for in-store pickup (I can pick it up and drive it home for much less than forking over $99 for home delivery).

Confirmation email states availability of on or before Nov 2 (I placed the order on Oct 19).  Ok, well I guess we will suffer for a bit, lol.  On Nov 5th, I call to inquire if it has arrived and the rude ass at the store transfers me to the "manager" which is a phone that nobody ever picks up.  From his gruff tone, I assumed that only a manager could handle those complex interwebs orders, and someone in authority needs to be involved.  In this case a dead phone in a closet.  I actually put it on speaker and let it ring 40 times before ending the call, just to see if someone got annoyed enough to actually pick up the call.  So I go back on the site and open a chat.  Person was very nice and apologized but the unit was in "high demand".  Awesome, I must have picked a good one to be that popular.  To make up for it, he gave me a free 3 year warranty, and promised the thing would arrive within 2 days.  Ok fine.  That came and went, so again I chat...sorry, we can have it by the 9th and we will give you free in-home delivery.  Ok, getting annoyed, but whatever...

Meanwhile my online billing now shows 3 dishwashers at ever-increasing prices (plus a $99 delivery fee).  I now call and am told they will credit back the difference later (what? When is later?).  The 9th came and went so now I am pissed.  I call again and get hung up on promptly.  I call right back and get the same guy who hangs up immediately.  So I call a third time and get some girl overseas who takes the brunt of my frustration as I instruct her to cancel everything completely and email a confirmation (which, of course, never comes).

I hop online to the big Blue store down the street and place the same order, now at the same sales price.  It is ready an hour later.  I go pick it up and go home.  Pretty easy.  Meanwhile, I get a call from sears yesterday (!) saying my unit will be arriving soon if I want to come and get it...  at the store 20 miles away.  Unreal.

Sears - almost a month

Blue bigbox - 1 hour

Hmmm...

The funny thing is that we realized we actually could live just fine washing a few dishes in the sink each day.  Dinner for 15 over the holidays might be an exception, but otherwise the earth still turns.

[BobA 1,235]

11 minutes ago, AlDente67 said:

So our dishwasher electronic panel died a sudden death, and we decided to just get a new one.  SO I hop online and look around the typical retail sites and find the perfect model for our needs at sears.com for a great sale price.  The others had not yet announced their current sales, so sears beat them all by $200 on the exact same model.  So I place the order for in-store pickup (I can pick it up and drive it home for much less than forking over $99 for home delivery).

Confirmation email states availability of on or before Nov 2 (I placed the order on Oct 19).  Ok, well I guess we will suffer for a bit, lol.  On Nov 5th, I call to inquire if it has arrived and the rude ass at the store transfers me to the "manager" which is a phone that nobody ever picks up.  From his gruff tone, I assumed that only a manager could handle those complex interwebs orders, and someone in authority needs to be involved.  In this case a dead phone in a closet.  I actually put it on speaker and let it ring 40 times before ending the call, just to see if someone got annoyed enough to actually pick up the call.  So I go back on the site and open a chat.  Person was very nice and apologized but the unit was in "high demand".  Awesome, I must have picked a good one to be that popular.  To make up for it, he gave me a free 3 year warranty, and promised the thing would arrive within 2 days.  Ok fine.  That came and went, so again I chat...sorry, we can have it by the 9th and we will give you free in-home delivery.  Ok, getting annoyed, but whatever...

Meanwhile my online billing now shows 3 dishwashers at ever-increasing prices (plus a $99 delivery fee).  I now call and am told they will credit back the difference later (what? When is later?).  The 9th came and went so now I am pissed.  I call again and get hung up on promptly.  I call right back and get the same guy who hangs up immediately.  So I call a third time and get some girl overseas who takes the brunt of my frustration as I instruct her to cancel everything completely and email a confirmation (which, of course, never comes).

I hop online to the big Blue store down the street and place the same order, now at the same sales price.  It is ready an hour later.  I go pick it up and go home.  Pretty easy.  Meanwhile, I get a call from sears yesterday (!) saying my unit will be arriving soon if I want to come and get it...  at the store 20 miles away.  Unreal.

Sears - almost a month

Blue bigbox - 1 hour

Hmmm...

The funny thing is that we realized we actually could live just fine washing a few dishes in the sink each day.  Dinner for 15 over the holidays might be an exception, but otherwise the earth still turns.

This is not the first horror story I've heard about Sears.  They carry other peoples businesses on their site and don't sell their own stuff anymore.  It's a shame what they've become.

[Downtownv 1,772]

Really Baffled?

The last 3 times I was in Sears

Warchung- I could find a person to even talk to, I left

Toms River- The garden Center hooks were empty May 31st B'Bye

Hamliton Mall-I met with 3 of the absolute stupidist people they could have found to put on the time clock.

 

They feel from Grace 20 years ago.

Dinosaur company with no skills employees. But they own the real estate, THAT is where there only value is today.

[Sniper 6,372]

What's Sears?

(only kidding)... I have a ton of Craftsman tools from back in the day when they made good, non China, crap. I use to go into the Sears store in Freehold Mall like a decade ago, the place went totally to hell. They shot themselves in the foot a long time ago...

[M1152 713]

IMHO the Sears downward spiral started after Sears & K-Mart merger.  So now instead of two decent companies it’s now just one big bad one. Purchased a Whirlpool refrigerator a few years back and I noticed it was not sealing correctly due to the frame being racked or out of square. Called Sears and asked for a replacement. Before they took #2 off the truck I took a carpenter square out to the replacement and checked and it too was out of square so told the delivery guys not even to take it off the truck.  #3 arrives and I check for square and its OK. Refrigerator get installed and overnight the compressor takes a shit and temp rises and all food is lost by morning.  I call Sears up and they said they would send a tech out in a week. I go into the store and talk to one of the sales guys and he was useless. By this time I’m furious and ask for a manager. The manager offers a GE replacement the next day and IIRC he gave us a $100 for our food lost. So like any place else, some employees are great and will go the extra mile while other employees are like tits on a bull

[Underdog 1,593]

Sears offers less options and less  convenience and cannot compete with Amazon and other specialty and online venues and of course Walmart.   It's products are at a cheaper Walmart-engineered quality, but not Walmart's pricing   There is nothing about it that is like the old department store model.   The irony is that its roots started as catalog ordered and then the large mall department stores emerged and now it has gone the way of the dodo.   It offers nothing better than the other options which can beat it on price, options, convenience, or customer service.     JC Penny and others are also moving in this direction.   The biggest problems for us with its competitors are that Amazon doesn't have any real competition and its run by elitist liberals and Walmart sells single-use junk.   Target represents the largely false "upscale" option for the newer generation of Walmart shoppers that want  better options and  can pay a little more, even though it is largely a gimmick and in the packaging and presentation.  Who gets up on a Saturday and says, "Lets go shopping at Sears"?  Nobody!  The Sears model, now, is more like an Odd Lot/Marshall's type model and doesn't have the name recognition it did with the older generations being replaced and carries outdated or undesirable older models.    The last thing I purchased there were a Sears (Atari) 5200 and husky pants, besides tools.  I used to buy tires there until their CS aggravated me.  Tools and appliances have been a staple but their value has eroded.   We should just blame Trump.   

[AlDente67 563]

Speaking of Amazon...

 

Thrice now in the last few weeks, I have ordered some items on next-day delivery as a Prime member.  I chose these items, among other considerations, for the next-day option.  In all cases, the items were delayed by a day or two (so 3 days, not next day).  I chose these because I needed it the next day.  Amazon, has 3 monster distribution centers within 10 miles radius from my address.  It isn't as if I live in Tumbleweed City, Iowa.

Given the fact that Amazon is trying like mad to hire warm bodies around here (I get an email a day offering to hire anyone who doesn't have a syringe dangling from their arm), it seems like they are running short of warm body applicants willing to kill themselves for $15/hr.  Maybe they need to rethink their model of hourly whipping.  The 30-day retention rate must be close to zero.

[BobA 1,235]

8 minutes ago, Underdog said:

Sears offers less options and less  convenience and cannot compete with Amazon and other specialty and online venues and of course Walmart.   It's products are at a cheaper Walmart-engineered quality, but not Walmart's pricing   There is nothing about it that is like the old department store model.   The irony is that its roots started as catalog ordered and then the large mall department stores emerged and now it has gone the way of the dodo.   It offers nothing better than the other options which can beat it on price, options, convenience, or customer service.     JC Penny and others are also moving in this direction.   The biggest problem is that Amazon doesn't have any real competition and its run by elitist liberals.   Target represents the largely false "upscale" option for the newer generation of Walmart shoppers.   Sears model, now, is more like an odd lot Marshall's type model and doesn't have the name recognition it did with the older generations being replaced.   

The irony is Sears started out as catalog sales.  When they did they revolutionized retailing.  In 1906 catalog sales was what the internet and Amazon is today.  And it had the same impact on Mom & Pop stores as Amazon does on the brick and mortars today.  Over the years Sears grew from catalog to stores to strip malls to megamalls to sudden death.  They're getting dusted the same way they crushed the Mom & Pop stores.  And the face of retailing changed rapidly on them by Amazon as they rapidly changed the face of retailing in their days.  Now Amazon is dabbling in brick and mortars.   What goes around comes around.   

[AlDente67 563]

I admit it, I had a catalog back in the late 70's with the Bra section.  You know you did too.     

 

[BobA 1,235]

1 minute ago, AlDente67 said:

The 30-day retention rate must be close to zero.

Amazon work their people like dogs.  They barely have a 180 retention rate.  Also Amazon is up to 17.25hr as the signs say near me.  Apparently in creasing the minimum wage doesn't make a better worker or create a better work ethic.  Who wudda thunk it?   

1 minute ago, AlDente67 said:

I admit it, I had a catalog back in the late 70's with the Bra section.  You know you did too.     

 

And to this day they swear they weren't real models!  I looked hard and I couldn't tell!

[Underdog 1,593]

11 minutes ago, AlDente67 said:

I admit it, I had a catalog back in the late 70's with the Bra section.  You know you did too.     

 

Cheryl Tiegs?

I has the coveted Star Wars blue Snaggletooth, and the Sears Atari that was replaced with plastic parts to cut costs, much as Walmart does today.  

 

[AlDente67 563]

1 minute ago, BobA said:

Amazon work their people like dogs.  They barely have a 180 retention rate.  Also Amazon is up to 17.25hr as the signs say near me.  Apparently in creasing the minimum wage doesn't make a better worker or create a better work ethic.  Who wudda thunk it?   

I am a contract IT guy by trade,  so I tend to supplement in the off weeks between gigs.  One of which was at a bigbox overnight crew running lift trucks and whatnot.  Anyway, the crew was around 8 people.  6 of which were ex-Amazonians (as the HR fops call themselves).  All of them told the same story...work like a dog for 10 hours...get treated like a rat for 10 hours...etc etc.  But after 1 year, you get 1 share of stock!   yay!  Calling Robin Leach...  I'd love to see Bezos do a single shift.

 

 

 

[BobA 1,235]

4 minutes ago, AlDente67 said:

I am a contract IT guy by trade,  so I tend to supplement in the off weeks between gigs.  One of which was at a bigbox overnight crew running lift trucks and whatnot.  Anyway, the crew was around 8 people.  6 of which were ex-Amazonians (as the HR fops call themselves).  All of them told the same story...work like a dog for 10 hours...get treated like a rat for 10 hours...etc etc.  But after 1 year, you get 1 share of stock!   yay!  Calling Robin Leach...  I'd love to see Bezos do a single shift.

 

 

 

If you investigate Amazon working conditions in other countries where they don't have the labor laws as we have here it reads like a slave camp. To include people getting carried out after collapsing and sometimes dead from exhaustion.  No bathroom breaks to the point in England the workers were peeing in trash cans near their work areas.  Bezos sucks and should give all his money to CNJFO.   

[Downtownv 1,772]

29 minutes ago, AlDente67 said:

I admit it, I had a catalog back in the late 70's with the Bra section.  You know you did too.     

 

I need this ,after picturing your pages all stuck together!

[siderman 1,136]

Yea, the big mother box store was crap for a while other than the tools. But- I was devastated and heartbroken when the Sears Hardware 30 seconds down the street closed 2 yrs ago. It was like a good friend always there,  like an extension of my garage/workshop. They even carried appliances, dishwashers, fridges, washing machines, it was plug and play when I needed something. I'm starting to tear up again, gotta go....

[W2MC 1,699]

Sears is swirling.

They made some very bad decisions, went into a hole, and got bought by a guy (Eddie Lampert - another Goldman-Sachs puke like Phil Murphy) who initially thought he could turn them around, but gave-up and milked it dry before pushing it into bankruptcy and walking-away.

Wanna read more?  See https://www.investopedia.com/news/downfall-of-sears/

I wouldn't buy a thing from them; and their 'extended warrantee' soon won't be worth the paper its printed on.

 

[njJoniGuy 2,131]

1 hour ago, W2MC said:

...I wouldn't buy a thing from them; and their 'extended warrantee' soon won't be worth the paper its printed on.

You mean like the Lifetime Warranty I bought from Leslie Edelman's in the mid/late 70's on my S&W's ???

[W2MC 1,699]

16 minutes ago, njJoniGuy said:

You mean like the Lifetime Warranty I bought from Leslie Edelman's in the mid/late 70's on my S&W's ???

You and me both!  I bought one on my model 41 ...  well, the gun's worn-out and needs a rebuild (per S&W) and Edelman's is long gone.

 

[Downtownv 1,772]

Edelman's was a helluva store sad they're gone.

[W2MC 1,699]

True.....

always had great stuff. 

 

[Krdshrk 3,877]

7 hours ago, FXDX said:

IMHO the Sears downward spiral started after Sears & K-Mart merger

But... you can ship your pants...

 

[PK90 3,569]

I wore the pages out on these things every December.

The Penneys catalog was good for T&A pics.

[silverado427 10,660]

2 hours ago, Krdshrk said:

But... you can ship your pants...

 

That's a great commercial