I'm going to say something nice about Sears

[kenny]

There is lots of press about how Sears, once America's favorite store, is dying.
Recently I read Sears is expected to be bankrupt in about two years.

Lately my 40-year old Craftsman 3/8" ratchet wrench has been slipping into neutral.
(They have a lever to set them in one of two directions of rotation.)
I heard all Craftsman tools have a lifetime warranty so I brought it back.

I didn't need a receipt or ID.
The cashier just took it and handed me another from a cardboard box under the register that had one-each of several sizes of socket wrenches.

I looked at the replacement and told her, "This is not new."
She said, "We replace them with refurbished ones."
Sure nuff, all the visible moving parts were clearly new.

Mine was made in USA and the replacement wasn't so I asked whether they could refurbish mine and return it to me and how long that would take.
She said, "Sure, about 10 minutes. No charge."

She made a phone call and a gal came over and took my wrench into the back room.
10 minutes later I walk out with my old USA-made wrench with all new moving parts ... no-doubt made in China ... but still ...

I'm pretty happy.
Frankly I'm astonished!
Actually, I'm beside myself.
I practically fainted ...
Who would have thought that girls could fix tools?

 

[dk168]

I learnt how to wire a plug when I was about 11, does that count?

DK

 

[azstonie]

Girls probably MADE the tool in the first place, heehee!

Every appliance in my house is from Sears, LG washer/dryer, Kenmore Elite convection oven and dishwasher and french door fridge/freezer. The dishwasher gives new meaning to "lemon" but the others are fine. The service repairmen all tell me Sears has not made a profit in many, many years.

When these start to 'die,' I'll go with another retailer because waiting 2 weeks for my dishwasher to be fixed is too long for me.

 

[arkieb1]

My husband has a thing for the Sears tool bags, when he destroys one when he is in the US he goes and buys another

 

[AprilBaby]

Their appliances always rate well with consumer reports. That's about all I would go there for.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Their appliances always rate well with consumer reports. That's about all I would go there for.

Ditto. My old Kenmore washer dryer lasted for many years. Wish they still made the same models because I'd buy them again! But I haven't been in a Sears store in years. Sad to hear they probably will close, though. They apparently just didn't make the right choices to stay competitive. I don't know how JC Penney is doing, but they appeared to carry better quality merchandise and probably have a better chance of surviving.

 

[kenny]

I don't think I have been in my local Sears since I bought major appliances around 15 years ago.
What a difference!
The place was dead.

Lots of floor tiles badly needed replacement many years ago.
The workers were milling about trying to hide their boredom and look busy.
I watched one refold perfectly-folded sweaters.

I thought maybe a terrorist attack killed everyone in Southern California, or the rapture happened.

But, Dang! They can surely fix a 40-year old socket wrench for free.
Do I think Sears will survive much longer?
Let's just say I'm going through my garage, looking for worn out Craftsman tools.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Mine was made in USA and the replacement wasn't so I asked whether they could refurbish mine and return it to me and how long that would take.
She said, "Sure, about 10 minutes. No charge."

She made a phone call and a gal came over and took my wrench into the back room.
10 minutes later I walk out with my old USA-made wrench with all new moving parts ... no-doubt made in China ... but still ...

Yup, all my old Craftsman tools are made in the USA, if I had a choice I would never buy any tools made in China.

 

[Karl_K]

I worked at a plant for a while that made many of the craftsman sockets and some ratchet parts.
The qc they went through was impressive.
Of course production was moved to china then the qc went out the window.
There is no way the china sockets would pass the tests the US made ones would and they are actually some of the better China ratchets and sockets.

 

[kenny]

It might be time to rob a bank and start buying Snap On tools.

I heard they are the best sold today.
True?

 

[Karl_K]

It might be time to rob a bank and start buying Snap On tools.

I heard they are the best sold today.
True?

rob 2 banks and buy armstrong

snap on owns the auto repair market because of the snap on man/woman and setting up payment plans.
Some of their stuff is good some sub-par.
Their air-tools are mostly junk but a call to the snap on man and the truck comes around with a new one.
A buddy went through 3 snap-on impacts in a day.....
Their screwdrivers and drive bits are also sub-par.
Witte is a good premium brand but even good old Stanley high end line will beat snap-on screwdrivers.

 

[kenny]

Thanks Karl.
I'll check out Armstrong.