NOYFB
Ideal_Rock
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2008
- Messages
- 2,649
I apologize that this will probably be long, but I need to vent about this and offer a PSA to anyone who is thinking of ever buying appliances for Sears. One word - DON'T!
It all started when DH informed me on Thanksgiving that he wanted to surprise me with new appliances for Christmas (because I've been saying for months how we need new appliances - ours are 12 years old and broken in various places) but realized that I would want to have some input so suggested we go internet shopping on Black Friday. I was ecstatic and couldn't wait to start shopping the next day.
We both really wanted a french door refrigerator but unfortunately don't have the space to accommodate one once the doors are open (Chicago condo) so we opted for a bottom pullout freezer fridge. We also wanted a (gas) convection oven with a warming drawer. We searched all of the popular places in the area to buy appliances from and found the best Black Friday deals at Sears. We ordered both Kenmore Elite and saved $1400 and were pretty pleased with ourselves. We anxiously awaited our delivery on Sunday 12/6.
Our first red flag was that we never received a confirmation email of our order. Luckily, I had saved the confirmation page as a PDF to my laptop. We scheduled our delivery between 8-12 and were told that we’d receive a call the night before with the 2 hour delivery window. I was actually quite surprised when DH got that call (since we never got the email) and we were told our delivery would happen between 9:45 and 11:45. So, prior to this window, we got up and transferred all of the food from our fridge into coolers and placed them on our back stairwell (which is not insulated) so they would stay cold.
The delivery men showed up at 10:30. I was watching out the window for them since our buzzer doesn’t work and saw them show up in an Enterprise Rent a Truck. This was my 2nd reg flag. I later learned that Sears does not actually employee it’s own delivery people. They contract them out. So, I have no idea what company these guys actually work for, as they’re overalls only had stitching that read “Authorized Delivery”. One of the 3 delivery men came upstairs to my front door where I proceeded to tell him that it would make more sense for them to bring the appliances up through the back stairwell since it is a straight shot instead of 2 turns (we live on the 2nd floor which actually more like the 3rd floor because there are garden units). I then escorted him to my kitchen. He asked me “We’re taking these, right?” meaning our old appliances and I replied “Yes, they recycle them, right?” since we had paid an extra $15 for haul away and according to the website they are supposed to be recycled. He seemed distracted as he said “Uh huh. I’m just gonna grab a snapshot.” and proceeded to take pics of my old appliances on his cell phone. This was my 3rd red flag. Then he looked inside the fridge and the stove and asked if both items still worked. DH and I both replied that yes, they still work but they are broken in various places and that’s why we’re replacing them. Then he goes on to say to us “Ok, what you’re gonna do, after we leave and customer service calls you, is to tell them that you want a refund on the haul away. Tell them that you gave them to a friend or that you had us take them out to the alley. Because I’m gonna take these for myself.” He didn’t ASK us, he TOLD us this! This was my 4th red flag. I knew that this was unprofessional and most likely illegal, but DH was like “Well, I’m just glad they’re going to a good home” not realizing what was actually happening because he’s such a nice guy like that
The delivery guy (known as James, I would find out later) then tried to head back out my front door and I had to remind him that he needed to bring the appliances up through the back entrance and that I had to show him where that was and what it looked like. He seemed to be in a hurry to get back out to the truck without looking at the back entrance. That was red flag #5..
We had specifically requested on our order to “leave items in box” as we did not require installation.
Because of all the red flags I already had with this situation I parked myself in my front window and watched as they unloaded my new appliances. I was SHOCKED at what I saw. First of all, they took both appliances OUT of the boxes (without ever discussing this with us) and then James spent 20 minutes on his phone talking to his GF/wife explaining that he was bringing her home our old appliances and trying to convince her (she didn’t want them from what I gathered from his end of the conversation). Meanwhile, the other 2 delivery men were just standing around waiting for him to finish fighting with his GF/wife about this. This seriously went on for at least 20 minutes. Now mind you, DH is in the kitchen CLEANING the old appliances for this guy who TOLD us he’s taking them, because he’s conscientious that way and has no idea what I am seeing while looking/listening outside my front window. Once James finally gets off the phone I notice the other 2 guys (who are actually the guys who carry the appliances) have no hand truck/appliance dolly or blankets or ANYTHING to protect my new appliances. What they have are blue straps that they tie around their waists and just LIFT the appliances and carry them upstairs that way. The stove was first. They left my new fridge out on the street (mind you I live on a one-way street and at this point they are blocking traffic and people are having take the side road (which is one way the opposite way) to get around. These guys (I have resorted to calling them the 3 Stooges now) wrap these blue straps around the side of my new stove to try and carry it, and don’t secure the oven door. So, yep, you guessed it, the first that happens is the oven door comes crashing down on the metal ramp of the delivery truck. I see them do this and am LIVID! So, I rush out the back to meet them, telling them I saw what happened and inspecting for damage. I see scratches on the oven handle but they assure me that since it’s covered in plastic it will be ok. They bring it upstairs and proceed to take our old stove out. While they are out preparing to bring up the fridge I rip off the plastic and see scratches on the handle as well as dents in the side of the stove (from the straps or their feet? I don’t know), as well as matching dents on either side of the control panel (from the straps, I imagine). I show this to DH and by this time I am freaking out. They proceed bring up the fridge and DH tells them that we have a problem and shows them the damage. Then I notice that there’s a huge scratch/dent on the side of the fridge and that the freaking door is configured on the wrong side, when I specifically requested that the door handle be on the left so that the fridge opens to the right. I am even more LIVID now and DH is trying to calm me down so I don’t go ballistic on these 3 stooges!
We have them call their delivery service 800 number to report the damage because we tell them we’re not signing off on anything until we have some confirmation of a resolution. James spent about 30 minutes on the phone with someone in another country who was absolutely no help at all and just said they’d reschedule a delivery for 12/22. We asked about compensation for the $$ DH spent on the parts to hook up the gas line (about $50) and were promised a $50 gift card. We were offered no email confirmation of this conversation at all. All we got was the CS rep’s unit number (which by the way is 24224 and her name is Sophie, but I’m sure that means nothing if you call). We requested some sort of written confirmation that both items were delivered damaged and that we were requesting replacements. Sophie was unable to do this. Why, I don’t know. By this time, red flags are popping up ALL OVER the place in my head. She said the fridge would be replaced on12/17 and the stove would be replaced on 12/22. Why they couldn’t do this on the same day is beyond me, and another rant altogether (if you stay with me long enough). I also pecifically requested a different delivery team as well, based on the unprofessionalism of the 3 stooges as well as some sort of blanket/tarp and hand truck to ensure damage doesn’t happen to the replacements.
Meanwhile, while all of this is going on one of the 3 stooges has the nerve to ask me if I have a restroom he can use. Now, I’m a nice person. Don’t get me wrong. But you’ve just seriously f*cked up my new appliances/Christmas gift due to your negligence and incompetence, and you have the nerve to ask to use my bathroom????? I’m sorry, but no. I don’t have a guest bath. I have ONE bathroom - the one I just remodeled in the spring. I had read on Sears’ website that their delivery people are prohibited from removing their shoes in customers homes. I do not allow anyone in my bathroom with shoes, for one thing. Secondly, since I already knew these guys were shady since they were illegally going to take our old appliances for their own benefit I did not want them snooping around my bathroom and possibly stealing my medication (call me crazy, but it’s happened before). Third, unless you have been specifically instructed to deliver something into any other room in my house, you are not to be in any other room of my house. I told him “No, I don’t.” and I didn’t care. I was so pissed at this point I just wanted these guys out of my house.
Fast forward to later that evening when I am unable to get anyone on the phone in customer service and notice that Sears has an “online chat” feature. I start chatting with Dan and explaining our situation with him. At first he kept trying to redirect me to the delivery dept. 800 number but eventually realized that I wasn’t giving up until I got some sort of written confirmation from him with these events. He kept reassuring me that the fridge door would be the correct configuration when they replaced it and I kept requesting confirmation of this. He kept telling me he could’t do that and eventually sent me an email stating as such (now was that so hard?). I also asked about the $50 credit and when he looked in the notes he didn’t notice anything. I told him we were promised it by Sophie so he actually sent me an email with this as well. By the end of my 40 minute chat with Dan I was feeling somewhat better about things.
Later that night DH and I hook up the stove, because we’ve been told we can use it until it’s replaced, and seriously, we need a functioning kitchen, and realize that it’s not going to work with out existing gas line (won’t sit flush against the wall) and the knobs get extremely hot when the oven is on. So….we decide to just return the stove and order another one online from Abt (much more reliable company and delivery/installation folks). It’s going to cost us 2x as much but we like the stove better, so it’s worth it in the end. It’s being delivered 12/15.
The next day I try to call Sears to request a refund/return on the stove instead of an exchange and am again forward to their delivery dept and speak to Sally, who states she understands and will make “notes on our record” but can’t send me any kind of written confirmation or give me any confirmation number of this arrangement. So, again, I go on Sears live chat and this time chat with Downey. While chatting with Downey I ask him if it’s possible for their delivery folks to pick up the stove that we are returning for a refund on 12/17 when the exchange the fridge, instead of coming back out again on the 22nd, so they don’t need to make 2 trips (and we don’t need to be home for another day). He tells me he will ask the delivery folks and gets them on a separate chat to which they say they can’t do that, but can do everything (exchange the fridge AND take back the stove) on the 22nd so it will all be done on the same day. This means that we’d wait 5 days for our fridge exchange, but it seems like a better option so I agree to it. 5 minutes later Downey comes back to the chat and says that the chat with the delivery team has ended and that they’re just going to stick to the original plan (exchange fridge on 12/17 and pick up stove on 12/22). I cannot believe this! They promised me one thing and then totally backed out on that promise. So now, DH and I need to be home on 3 separate days just to get these appliances replaced, AND we’ll have an extra stove at our house (which we have no room to store) for a week!) On top of that, Downey says he can’t give me any type of confirmation that I have requested a return/refund of the stove and I tell him this is unacceptable based on what the original delivery guys did (informing me that they were going to just take my old appliances) and that my fear was that without some kind of written confirmation of my request the delivery person would just come in, take the stove I paid for and take it home with him b/c I have no confirmation that I wanted to return it for a refund. After much arguing (about 1.5 hours) with Downey, he finally sent me an email with a confirmation. Again, why was that SO HARD?
This is a freakin’ nightmare! And I applaud you for reading the whole thing and I hope that this serves as a PSA to never ever purchase any appliance from Sears as I have absolutely ZERO confidence in them at this point. Customer service is a freaking joke. Delivery service is a freaking joke and I'll be shocked if a) I actually get my fridge replaced (without damage and the door on the correct side), b) I actually get refunded for the stove that I'm sending back and c) I actually get the $50 credit I was promised...twice. Or that either of these deliveries/pick ups happen in the scheduled time frame (I requested 7-9am for both).
It all started when DH informed me on Thanksgiving that he wanted to surprise me with new appliances for Christmas (because I've been saying for months how we need new appliances - ours are 12 years old and broken in various places) but realized that I would want to have some input so suggested we go internet shopping on Black Friday. I was ecstatic and couldn't wait to start shopping the next day.
We both really wanted a french door refrigerator but unfortunately don't have the space to accommodate one once the doors are open (Chicago condo) so we opted for a bottom pullout freezer fridge. We also wanted a (gas) convection oven with a warming drawer. We searched all of the popular places in the area to buy appliances from and found the best Black Friday deals at Sears. We ordered both Kenmore Elite and saved $1400 and were pretty pleased with ourselves. We anxiously awaited our delivery on Sunday 12/6.
Our first red flag was that we never received a confirmation email of our order. Luckily, I had saved the confirmation page as a PDF to my laptop. We scheduled our delivery between 8-12 and were told that we’d receive a call the night before with the 2 hour delivery window. I was actually quite surprised when DH got that call (since we never got the email) and we were told our delivery would happen between 9:45 and 11:45. So, prior to this window, we got up and transferred all of the food from our fridge into coolers and placed them on our back stairwell (which is not insulated) so they would stay cold.
The delivery men showed up at 10:30. I was watching out the window for them since our buzzer doesn’t work and saw them show up in an Enterprise Rent a Truck. This was my 2nd reg flag. I later learned that Sears does not actually employee it’s own delivery people. They contract them out. So, I have no idea what company these guys actually work for, as they’re overalls only had stitching that read “Authorized Delivery”. One of the 3 delivery men came upstairs to my front door where I proceeded to tell him that it would make more sense for them to bring the appliances up through the back stairwell since it is a straight shot instead of 2 turns (we live on the 2nd floor which actually more like the 3rd floor because there are garden units). I then escorted him to my kitchen. He asked me “We’re taking these, right?” meaning our old appliances and I replied “Yes, they recycle them, right?” since we had paid an extra $15 for haul away and according to the website they are supposed to be recycled. He seemed distracted as he said “Uh huh. I’m just gonna grab a snapshot.” and proceeded to take pics of my old appliances on his cell phone. This was my 3rd red flag. Then he looked inside the fridge and the stove and asked if both items still worked. DH and I both replied that yes, they still work but they are broken in various places and that’s why we’re replacing them. Then he goes on to say to us “Ok, what you’re gonna do, after we leave and customer service calls you, is to tell them that you want a refund on the haul away. Tell them that you gave them to a friend or that you had us take them out to the alley. Because I’m gonna take these for myself.” He didn’t ASK us, he TOLD us this! This was my 4th red flag. I knew that this was unprofessional and most likely illegal, but DH was like “Well, I’m just glad they’re going to a good home” not realizing what was actually happening because he’s such a nice guy like that
The delivery guy (known as James, I would find out later) then tried to head back out my front door and I had to remind him that he needed to bring the appliances up through the back entrance and that I had to show him where that was and what it looked like. He seemed to be in a hurry to get back out to the truck without looking at the back entrance. That was red flag #5..
We had specifically requested on our order to “leave items in box” as we did not require installation.
Because of all the red flags I already had with this situation I parked myself in my front window and watched as they unloaded my new appliances. I was SHOCKED at what I saw. First of all, they took both appliances OUT of the boxes (without ever discussing this with us) and then James spent 20 minutes on his phone talking to his GF/wife explaining that he was bringing her home our old appliances and trying to convince her (she didn’t want them from what I gathered from his end of the conversation). Meanwhile, the other 2 delivery men were just standing around waiting for him to finish fighting with his GF/wife about this. This seriously went on for at least 20 minutes. Now mind you, DH is in the kitchen CLEANING the old appliances for this guy who TOLD us he’s taking them, because he’s conscientious that way and has no idea what I am seeing while looking/listening outside my front window. Once James finally gets off the phone I notice the other 2 guys (who are actually the guys who carry the appliances) have no hand truck/appliance dolly or blankets or ANYTHING to protect my new appliances. What they have are blue straps that they tie around their waists and just LIFT the appliances and carry them upstairs that way. The stove was first. They left my new fridge out on the street (mind you I live on a one-way street and at this point they are blocking traffic and people are having take the side road (which is one way the opposite way) to get around. These guys (I have resorted to calling them the 3 Stooges now) wrap these blue straps around the side of my new stove to try and carry it, and don’t secure the oven door. So, yep, you guessed it, the first that happens is the oven door comes crashing down on the metal ramp of the delivery truck. I see them do this and am LIVID! So, I rush out the back to meet them, telling them I saw what happened and inspecting for damage. I see scratches on the oven handle but they assure me that since it’s covered in plastic it will be ok. They bring it upstairs and proceed to take our old stove out. While they are out preparing to bring up the fridge I rip off the plastic and see scratches on the handle as well as dents in the side of the stove (from the straps or their feet? I don’t know), as well as matching dents on either side of the control panel (from the straps, I imagine). I show this to DH and by this time I am freaking out. They proceed bring up the fridge and DH tells them that we have a problem and shows them the damage. Then I notice that there’s a huge scratch/dent on the side of the fridge and that the freaking door is configured on the wrong side, when I specifically requested that the door handle be on the left so that the fridge opens to the right. I am even more LIVID now and DH is trying to calm me down so I don’t go ballistic on these 3 stooges!
We have them call their delivery service 800 number to report the damage because we tell them we’re not signing off on anything until we have some confirmation of a resolution. James spent about 30 minutes on the phone with someone in another country who was absolutely no help at all and just said they’d reschedule a delivery for 12/22. We asked about compensation for the $$ DH spent on the parts to hook up the gas line (about $50) and were promised a $50 gift card. We were offered no email confirmation of this conversation at all. All we got was the CS rep’s unit number (which by the way is 24224 and her name is Sophie, but I’m sure that means nothing if you call). We requested some sort of written confirmation that both items were delivered damaged and that we were requesting replacements. Sophie was unable to do this. Why, I don’t know. By this time, red flags are popping up ALL OVER the place in my head. She said the fridge would be replaced on12/17 and the stove would be replaced on 12/22. Why they couldn’t do this on the same day is beyond me, and another rant altogether (if you stay with me long enough). I also pecifically requested a different delivery team as well, based on the unprofessionalism of the 3 stooges as well as some sort of blanket/tarp and hand truck to ensure damage doesn’t happen to the replacements.
Meanwhile, while all of this is going on one of the 3 stooges has the nerve to ask me if I have a restroom he can use. Now, I’m a nice person. Don’t get me wrong. But you’ve just seriously f*cked up my new appliances/Christmas gift due to your negligence and incompetence, and you have the nerve to ask to use my bathroom????? I’m sorry, but no. I don’t have a guest bath. I have ONE bathroom - the one I just remodeled in the spring. I had read on Sears’ website that their delivery people are prohibited from removing their shoes in customers homes. I do not allow anyone in my bathroom with shoes, for one thing. Secondly, since I already knew these guys were shady since they were illegally going to take our old appliances for their own benefit I did not want them snooping around my bathroom and possibly stealing my medication (call me crazy, but it’s happened before). Third, unless you have been specifically instructed to deliver something into any other room in my house, you are not to be in any other room of my house. I told him “No, I don’t.” and I didn’t care. I was so pissed at this point I just wanted these guys out of my house.
Fast forward to later that evening when I am unable to get anyone on the phone in customer service and notice that Sears has an “online chat” feature. I start chatting with Dan and explaining our situation with him. At first he kept trying to redirect me to the delivery dept. 800 number but eventually realized that I wasn’t giving up until I got some sort of written confirmation from him with these events. He kept reassuring me that the fridge door would be the correct configuration when they replaced it and I kept requesting confirmation of this. He kept telling me he could’t do that and eventually sent me an email stating as such (now was that so hard?). I also asked about the $50 credit and when he looked in the notes he didn’t notice anything. I told him we were promised it by Sophie so he actually sent me an email with this as well. By the end of my 40 minute chat with Dan I was feeling somewhat better about things.
Later that night DH and I hook up the stove, because we’ve been told we can use it until it’s replaced, and seriously, we need a functioning kitchen, and realize that it’s not going to work with out existing gas line (won’t sit flush against the wall) and the knobs get extremely hot when the oven is on. So….we decide to just return the stove and order another one online from Abt (much more reliable company and delivery/installation folks). It’s going to cost us 2x as much but we like the stove better, so it’s worth it in the end. It’s being delivered 12/15.
The next day I try to call Sears to request a refund/return on the stove instead of an exchange and am again forward to their delivery dept and speak to Sally, who states she understands and will make “notes on our record” but can’t send me any kind of written confirmation or give me any confirmation number of this arrangement. So, again, I go on Sears live chat and this time chat with Downey. While chatting with Downey I ask him if it’s possible for their delivery folks to pick up the stove that we are returning for a refund on 12/17 when the exchange the fridge, instead of coming back out again on the 22nd, so they don’t need to make 2 trips (and we don’t need to be home for another day). He tells me he will ask the delivery folks and gets them on a separate chat to which they say they can’t do that, but can do everything (exchange the fridge AND take back the stove) on the 22nd so it will all be done on the same day. This means that we’d wait 5 days for our fridge exchange, but it seems like a better option so I agree to it. 5 minutes later Downey comes back to the chat and says that the chat with the delivery team has ended and that they’re just going to stick to the original plan (exchange fridge on 12/17 and pick up stove on 12/22). I cannot believe this! They promised me one thing and then totally backed out on that promise. So now, DH and I need to be home on 3 separate days just to get these appliances replaced, AND we’ll have an extra stove at our house (which we have no room to store) for a week!) On top of that, Downey says he can’t give me any type of confirmation that I have requested a return/refund of the stove and I tell him this is unacceptable based on what the original delivery guys did (informing me that they were going to just take my old appliances) and that my fear was that without some kind of written confirmation of my request the delivery person would just come in, take the stove I paid for and take it home with him b/c I have no confirmation that I wanted to return it for a refund. After much arguing (about 1.5 hours) with Downey, he finally sent me an email with a confirmation. Again, why was that SO HARD?
This is a freakin’ nightmare! And I applaud you for reading the whole thing and I hope that this serves as a PSA to never ever purchase any appliance from Sears as I have absolutely ZERO confidence in them at this point. Customer service is a freaking joke. Delivery service is a freaking joke and I'll be shocked if a) I actually get my fridge replaced (without damage and the door on the correct side), b) I actually get refunded for the stove that I'm sending back and c) I actually get the $50 credit I was promised...twice. Or that either of these deliveries/pick ups happen in the scheduled time frame (I requested 7-9am for both).
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And no, you're not the only one, unfortunately. Seems the 2 of us are not the only ones either...
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