On another retailer in the penalty box
So, is there anywhere left to shop?
My Mom is an inveterate shopper at Sears. She tells me that she found out during a tirade with them (more on that in a bit) that she opened her Sears credit account in 1964. Pretty much every appliance she owns is a Kenmore, and a few years ago, she bought a Kenmore dishwasher. It has pretty much been a lemon ever since. It has broken four times, and has been repaired by Sears each time. Of course, they charge her roughly the price of the dishwasher each time they fix it, so I think all told she has paid about three times its original cost in repairs.
So it broke again. She called Sears to tell them what a lemon she bought and how annoyed she was that the thing needed yet another >$100 repair. The sympathetic person promised my Mom that they would waive some fees to make the bill a bit less. So, repair guy shows up, tells my father that he knows nothing of this waiver, and refuses to leave the house until my father gives him a check for the amount including fees.
My Mom called Sears to complain. They had a record of her call and a record of her being promised the fee waiver. However, they told her that they wouldn't refund her money. I'm sure my Mom was probably very obviously angry, but is it good customer service to refuse to honor a promised refund for a customer who has had your credit card for 40 years and owns one of each of your appliances? So she's done with Sears, and even though I've never been a fan, they're in my penalty box, too.
If you want to read more, check out the Consumerist's latest Sears horror story.
I haven't shopped in Wal-Mart, Sears, Best Buy, or Circuit City in ages. I've wandered in to a few of those places out of desperation, but I still have managed to escape without giving them any of my money. Looks like another Amazon Christmas!
My Mom is an inveterate shopper at Sears. She tells me that she found out during a tirade with them (more on that in a bit) that she opened her Sears credit account in 1964. Pretty much every appliance she owns is a Kenmore, and a few years ago, she bought a Kenmore dishwasher. It has pretty much been a lemon ever since. It has broken four times, and has been repaired by Sears each time. Of course, they charge her roughly the price of the dishwasher each time they fix it, so I think all told she has paid about three times its original cost in repairs.
So it broke again. She called Sears to tell them what a lemon she bought and how annoyed she was that the thing needed yet another >$100 repair. The sympathetic person promised my Mom that they would waive some fees to make the bill a bit less. So, repair guy shows up, tells my father that he knows nothing of this waiver, and refuses to leave the house until my father gives him a check for the amount including fees.
My Mom called Sears to complain. They had a record of her call and a record of her being promised the fee waiver. However, they told her that they wouldn't refund her money. I'm sure my Mom was probably very obviously angry, but is it good customer service to refuse to honor a promised refund for a customer who has had your credit card for 40 years and owns one of each of your appliances? So she's done with Sears, and even though I've never been a fan, they're in my penalty box, too.
If you want to read more, check out the Consumerist's latest Sears horror story.
I haven't shopped in Wal-Mart, Sears, Best Buy, or Circuit City in ages. I've wandered in to a few of those places out of desperation, but I still have managed to escape without giving them any of my money. Looks like another Amazon Christmas!
posted by Chris at 9:55 PM
3 Comments:
What's your beef with those other retailers? You're not one of these "Walmart is evil" hysterics, are you?
Wal-Mart just sucks. Every time I went in there it was a problem. They would always find some reason to make it take 20 minutes to check out. I would always walk out of the place agitated, and if I go to Target it is never that way. I'm in and out with no fuss. It is just about a million times more pleasant to shop there.
Best Buy screwed me over with a TV I bought there. It died just out of warranty, and because I didn't buy their overpriced extended warranty they wouldn't even talk to me. Instead, I took it to the local family owned appliance store, and even though I told them up front I bought it at Best Buy, they helped me get it replaced by Panasonic.
Circuit City gives me the same vibe as Wal-Mart. No direct complaint there, I just don't like shopping there, so I buy stuff on-line and it is cheaper, easier, and I have never had a problem ordering from Amazon.
I can't argue with you on any of those points. Our local Walmart is a decent place. I buy from Best Buy for the financing (they hate me -- I always pay it off). But I would never buy a warrantee from them ever. I had a TV blow out as well and it cost a couple hundred bucks to fix. But when you compare it to the hundreds and hundreds I would have spent on stupid warantees, it was worth it.
But I'm shifting more and more to online.
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