Sears closeouts

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  • onedash
    Veteran Member
    • Mar 2005
    • 1013
    • Maryland
    • Craftsman 22124

    #16
    I know someone who work at sears. Well at least he used to. havent talked to him a couple years. He always said their motto is customer satisfaction guarenteed! He gave me some crazy examples.
    A woman comes into the store with some shoes. they were wore out. She said she wanted to return them. After arguing and fianlly getting the store manager she walked out with new shoes.
    Another time someone brought in a computer. (he fixes them for sears) he didn't deal with customers though. He just fixed them. Anyhow they said it doesnt work and they wanted to return it. It was about 2 years old. everything was old and outdated.no additional prodcut replacement anything. After about 30 minutes of screaming at the store manager they walked out the door with a new computer.
    He said that was common at all sears and didn't know how they made any money. He got paid by sears and the companies whos computers he fixed under warenty like HP, Compaq etc....
    This was in California and Ive never tried to replace something that I actually wore out from reasonable wear and tear but I guess its possible. Always speak to the STORE manager not the department manager.
    YOU DONT HAVE TO TRAIN TO BE MISERABLE. YOU HAVE TO TRAIN TO ENDURE MISERY.

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    • moosewood
      Forum Newbie
      • Apr 2005
      • 24
      • Durham, NC, USA.

      #17
      I agree with onedash. I've almost always had good luck with the managers. Most of the time they seem in such a hurry that they will ring up almost anything I ask just so they can get back to work. However, here in Durham, NC, the kids that work the registers are, in my opinion, as dumb as a post. I often wonder if they are rejects from Kmart. 2cents
      James

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      • Andrew Benedetto
        Veteran Member
        • Mar 2003
        • 1071
        • SoCal, USA
        • Unisaw w. 52"Bies,22124CM & BT3K

        #18
        I had a order for som compressor filters/housings for $32,SAID AVIL. TO HAVE STORE PICK UP,went to check out,the price went to $72!. The weight,less than 10 lbs. b/c they said out of stock at warehouse but could ship to home but not to store as it says on web page?
        This is outragous makup,Maybe it is really ebay in drag. What a waste of my time. I worked at Sears in the 70's and this would not have been acceptable .
        The merger with Martha will kill their sales b/c that store was based on CS. I shop anywhere else if possible.
        Andrew

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        • Stick
          Senior Member
          • Sep 2003
          • 872
          • Grand Rapids, MB, Canada.
          • BT3100

          #19
          My mother worked for sears for many years, eventually rising to department manager level. At that time anyway, they did indeed have a company policy of customer satisfaction, which basically meant if the customer got loud enough and nasty enough and was demanding enough to go to the right person, they would get satisfaction just to shut them up. This was a major source of problems for the department managers, since they would get chewed out later for trying to do their jobs if they could plainly see that the customer was blatantly trying to rip off the company.

          They also had a policy of, whenever managers got close to retirement, "reorganizing" and laying them off so that they collected no company pension, then swiftly re-reorganizing back to exactly the way it was before. This happened numerous times while my mother worked there, and she eventually resigned over it. They were also decidedly anti-union, threatening instant dismissal for anyone caught even reading literature. Pay for overtime was non-existent, and the only staff that were actually full time were the department managers and above, so the bulk of the staff had no benefits.

          They were also incredibly cheap. Example - in order to get a pen, staff had to produce a non-working one for replacement. This in an environment where customers are constantly wandering off with the pens after signing their cheques or credit card receipts. As a kid I had to pick pens out of the garbage at school so my mom could keep her department in pens. To get a roll of tape, they had to turn in the old core.

          Employees got coffee and meal breaks, but had no lunch room or anything, and were forbidden from using the store's coffee shop, so they were forced to leave the store and go to another restaurant in the mall.

          The only advantage to working there was the employee discount. It worked in addition to sale prices, and it went up along with the employee's position, so a department manager could get some pretty decent bargains. At that level they also had quite a bit of personal discretion as to what they could mark down, and why, and how much they could mark it down.

          I think it's hilarious that K-Mart bought Sears. The last K-Mart stores in this part of Canada closed about 20 years ago. At that time, they were nothing more than a joke, like a giant dollar store, where nothing was sold that came from North America, or could be expected to last more than a year. It appears that is where Sears is headed.

          Comment

          • silverfox
            Veteran Member
            • Jul 2003
            • 2863
            • Richland Center WI, USA.
            • BT3100

            #20
            It's really a shame about Sears. I'm old enough to remember when it was a great store. I have seen it deteriorate over the years and haven't shopped there for 30 years or so. Used to be they had older clerks that actually knew about clothes or appliances or tools and the customer service was stellar. I think what killed them was the catalog department. You could order anything cheaper than it was in the store and could return it with no questions. It used to amaze me that they could make money that way when I was one of the people standing in a return line with maybe 30 or more other people. Anyway...it seems it's the sign of the times. A lot of stores that were once good and customer oriented have gone the way of Sears. In my older age, it appears to me that the future will bring almost no stores and everything, ...banking, buying, etc will be done by computer. I don't like it but it seems the trend. I like going into a store and having someone knowledgeable show me things so that I can make a considered purchase, but I have not had that happen for some time now. The younger generation finds it easier to punch up some buttons on the computer and in a few days the item is at their home.
            Mike

            Comment

            • ironhat
              Veteran Member
              • Aug 2004
              • 2553
              • Chambersburg, PA (South-central).
              • Ridgid 3650 (can I still play here?)

              #21
              One more quick memory and then I'll let this thread die. Almost everyting has been said that can be said, afterall. I recall in the late 60's, when I was beginning 'my own' life that Sear & Roebuck's tool department was staffed by men who knew tools and how to use them. I loved that place and still have some of my first Craftsman hand and power tools. Then, in the early 70's there was a distinct turnover of tool department staff. The knowledgeable old fellas were gone and replaced by older ladies who, I swear, were moved there from the millernery department - and darn mad about it too. That's when I noticed the decline but every generation has a mind picture of any store/ institution and its perceived demise. I too have gone to other sources for the majority of my purchases as my Craftsman tools wear out.
              Later,
              Chiz
              Blessings,
              Chiz

              Comment

              • djmcheme
                Forum Newbie
                • Aug 2005
                • 24
                • .

                #22
                Malefactor is obviously a Sears hater and isn't interested in getting a good switch. He just wants to badmouth a good corporation.

                Comment

                • Bill in Buena Park
                  Veteran Member
                  • Nov 2007
                  • 1865
                  • Buena Park, CA
                  • CM 21829

                  #23
                  Wow - how did this ancient thread pop back up?
                  Bill in Buena Park

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                  • cwsmith
                    Veteran Member
                    • Dec 2005
                    • 2737
                    • NY Southern Tier, USA.
                    • BT3100-1

                    #24
                    Easy enough to do I guess if you're doing a search and don't pay attention to the date of the last post. (Been there, done that.)


                    CWS
                    Think it Through Before You Do!

                    Comment

                    • capncarl
                      Veteran Member
                      • Jan 2007
                      • 3564
                      • Leesburg Georgia USA
                      • SawStop CTS

                      #25
                      I've had good luck with my Sears / Craftsman woodworking equipment, most of which I have found on the closeout shelves. Sears has always been the only store in the area that actually has any large tools on display. Like them or not you have to admit that most of craftsman tools are equal to or close second to most other offerings. I would really hate to see them go.
                      capncarl

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