sja@mhuxl.UUCP (Sam J. Anastasio) (02/17/86)
After reading all of these negative comments about Sears, I thought I should add my two cents(?). My first credit card back 20+ years ago was with Sears, and I have used it rather heavily throughout the period. I have never had even one single problem with them ever! I buy many items from Sears, but I do watch what I buy. And, if I am unhappy with something (which of course does happen), I return it without any problems. I purchase mostly by catalog-phone and almost always wait for special sale prices on the items I want. I consider myself an extensive consumer of many products, and Sears gets most of my business. If they are as terrible as most of the comments I'm seeing, I wonder how they stay number 1 in the retail sales business nationally. I am not trying to generate any flames, I just wanted to state my experiences. Sam Anastasio AT&T Bell Labs Reading, PA mhuxl!sja
chan@hpfcla.UUCP (02/18/86)
> I recommend their (Sear's) large appliances very highly. Our 20+ yr.old > refrig and freezer are still going strong. I believe that Sears OEMs most of their appliances from Whirlpool. You might want to check prices before you buy. -- Chan Benson {ihnp4 | hplabs}!hpfcla!chan
stu16@whuxl.UUCP (Pippin) (02/18/86)
> > After reading all of these negative comments about Sears, I thought I I have had the same experiences with Sears as Sam. In my case it has been 35 years - all over the country and in Hawaii. Absolutely no problems. I recommend their large appliances very highly. Our 20+ yr.old refrig and freezer are still going strong. And Allstate has been our insurance co. for at least that long with nothing but GREAT responses. -- Pippin Stuart whuxl!stu16
holloway@drivax.UUCP (Bruce Holloway) (02/19/86)
In article <573@mhuxl.UUCP> sja@mhuxl.UUCP (Sam J. Anastasio) writes: >If they are as terrible as most of the comments I'm seeing, I wonder how >they stay number 1 in the retail sales business nationally. I read in the paper that K-Mart surpassed Sears in retail sales last year. So perhaps they (Sears) won't be number one for long. -- Bruce Holloway Digital Research, Inc. 60 Garden Court Monterey, CA 93942 ....!ucbvax!hplabs!amdahl!drivax!holloway (I'm not THAT Bruce Holloway, I'm the other one.)
eric@chronon.UUCP (Eric Black) (02/21/86)
>> After reading all of these negative comments about Sears, I thought I > > I have had the same experiences with Sears as Sam. In >my case it has been 35 years - all over the country and in >Hawaii. Absolutely no problems. I recommend their large >appliances very highly. Our 20+ yr.old refrig and freezer >are still going strong. And Allstate has been our insurance >co. for at least that long with nothing but GREAT >responses. Until the past few months I would have said the same thing. I'm particularly fond of Craftsman tools: I had my toolbox stolen several years ago, and on pricing the replacement of tools accumulated over time found the cost to be over $800; I successfully convinced my homeowners' insurance co. that Sears' "no questions asked" replacement policy, even for broken tools, effectively meant that there was ZERO depreciation, and the insurance paid for buying new everything (less deductable). I'm still pleased with the quality of Craftsman hand tools. Fortunately, a year and a half ago I moved (well, I like it). Unfortunately, six months of address change notifications to Sears went ignored. More unfortunately, the forwarded mail was late, and I missed a payment because of it. I received a "make $n minimum payment by <date> or else" notice; I made that payment on that date, and have a stamped receipt from the store as I made it in person. The payment was acknowledged on my next bill, which was *finally* sent to the correct address. That same bill shows my credit limit set to zero. Sears has refused to reinstate credit, and has sent a "this is a nogoodnik" complaint to a credit bureau. Repeated long-distance phone calls and letters have resulted in no satisfaction. I am currently pursuing my rights under the Fair Credit Act, and adding my reply to the credit record. I, too, first received my Sears credit card as a graduating college senior nine years ago. In that time I have spent over $6000 at Sears. They sent me letters of the form "we notice you have $n in unused credit limit; why don't you come in to Sear and buy something", even when Nixon was trying to crack down on consumer credit. I will never buy anything at Sears again. -- Eric Black "Garbage In, Gospel Out" UUCP: {ucbvax}!sun!chronon!eric VOICE: (415) 941-0403 US SNAIL: Chronon Computer Corp. 2570 El Camino Real W. Suite 206 Mountain View, CA 94040
dov@imagen.UUCP (Dov Isaacs) (02/22/86)
> >> After reading all of these negative comments about Sears, I thought I > > > > I have had the same experiences with Sears as Sam. In > >my case it has been 35 years - all over the country and in > >Hawaii. Absolutely no problems. I recommend their large > >appliances very highly. Our 20+ yr.old refrig and freezer > >are still going strong. And Allstate has been our insurance > >co. for at least that long with nothing but GREAT > >responses. > > Until the past few months I would have said the same thing. I'm particularly > fond of Craftsman tools: I had my toolbox stolen several years ago, and on > ... > I am currently pursuing my rights under the Fair Credit Act, and adding > my reply to the credit record. > > I, too, first received my Sears credit card as a graduating college senior > nine years ago. In that time I have spent over $6000 at Sears. They > sent me letters of the form "we notice you have $n in unused credit limit; > why don't you come in to Sear and buy something", even when Nixon was > trying to crack down on consumer credit. > > I will never buy anything at Sears again. My experience with Sears, Roebuck, & Co. is great with Craftsmen tool type warranties, but lousy in terms of other forms of customer service and their credit card management. SR&Co. seems to be very inconsistent in terms of service and salesperson attitudes. Columbus, OH was fine; Burlington, MA was only fair; Cupertino, CA is absolutely lousy. I have noted a cutback in knowledgeable sales help, especially in areas of former SR&Co. expertise, such as tools, paints, housewares, hardware, etc. Heaven help you if you move. Advice to those moving and wanting to keep credit with SR&Co. without major trauma: (1) Pay off account a month before moving. (2) Close old account. (3) Open new account in new locale. They have major DP problems associated with "transferring" accounts from one service center to another. They don't all use the same programs and have incompatible file formats / data bases. Most likely such a transfer will treat "currently due" as either "past due" or "subject to interest". After one move, I felt that SR&Co. owed me consulting fees for debugging their systems. Sometimes they have been known to put a hold on an account with no apparent reason, forcing a needless trip to the credit department every time you need to use their card. I have found that a firm but friendly demeanor as well requiring them to produce their Credit Manager usually produces better results than complaining to their lower level "peons" who are underpaid, underappreciated, and have no power to help you. Bottom line though is that Sears, Roebuck, & Co. is sowing the seeds of its own destruction; previous reputation is wearing very thin ...
rfg@hound.UUCP (R.GRANTGES) (02/23/86)
[] ...I will never buy anything at sears again! oh come on now. Are you seriously going to let a screwup, probably by some terminal entry person, ruin a long association from which you have profited so well? I am no relation to sears, and I get very mad some times at what some of their people do. But its the people, not the store, which, on the whole, has some pretty good things for consumers going. Persist. Get to someone in authority. Call the store manager where you now deal and ask for suggestions. ask for who to call at Chicago. Get it straightened out. Its to both your advantage and the store. Don't "bite off your nose to spite your face," to coin a phrase. -- "It's the thought, if any, that counts!" Dick Grantges hound!rfg
al@infoswx.UUCP (02/26/86)
The only real complaint I have with sears is with their billing method. When you move from one "billing center" (I think that is their term) to another, you get a new credit card number. Your old account is transferred to your new account, and everything works OK, unless you use your card during the transfer. I ended up with two accounts, one of which I never received a bill & the other I did receive a bill. The balence in both accounts was from a purchase just prior to my change of address notification. One account was delinquent, the other was up to date. Needless to say, it took a while to straighten it out. The Moral: If you move, do not use your card from the time you send in a change of address until you get a new card.
king@kestrel.ARPA (Dick King) (03/03/86)
I applied for a mortgage, and the credit came back with a bogus Sears arrearage. I called the mortgage company, who told me that practically everyone comes through with a Sears arreagage, so he's gotten into the habit of ignoring them. I said "should I cancel my Sears account?" and he said "doesn't help - they'll do it anyway."
mberns@ut-ngp.UUCP (Mark Bernstein) (03/04/86)
** > I believe that Sears OEMs most of their appliances from Whirlpool. You > might want to check prices before you buy. > -- Chan Benson > {ihnp4 | hplabs}!hpfcla!chan Yes, indeed - do so. In shopping for appliances we found the best prices by going to a dealer/distributor whose business is primarily with builders and contractors, rather than a retail appliance store. All the same brand names, often for less than the same items *on sale* at a retail store. And yes, the comparable Whirlpool item, very similar to the Sears version, for *FAR* less money.