T.G.G. Moogly
Traditional Atheist
My wife bought her first and only sewing machine from Sears in 1977. The reason it was her only machine is because she still uses it and it still runs like a champ.
We bought bicycles from Sears in 1979 and returned them within two weeks because the tires would not hold air and they just kept airing them back up only to be flat the next day.
I tried to buy a set of barbells from Sears as an 18-year-old. Got a rain check for the sale price because they were out of stock. No barbells ever showed up for months so I bought elsewhere.
Bought carpeting from Sears in 1986. They said I did not need new padding, which it did, but didn't know any better at the time. They popped the vent up in the corner of the room to show me how much spring was still in the padding but that wasn't in a traffic area. So the carpeting was flat within months. Live and learn.
There was an appliance/mail order Sears locally that had the worst customer service I ever encountered. Walk up to a register to check out and they tell you to go to another register. Employees standing around seeing customers at a checkout but not taking care of them. Walked in one day and and there's a new employee who walked over to me to help me find something. I almost passed out. Never saw her again, but all the older employees remained until the store closed. Bought a fridge there in 1993 that is still running like a champ.
The only time I bought an item that was not quality at Sears was a flashlight that did not work. It was packaged in that plastic so I could not check it in the store. Took it home and it didn't work. When I returned it they just pulled another one off the shelf but I asked to check it before leaving. It didn't work. Went through six flashlights and none of them worked. The surprised employee remarked, "None of these flashlights work!"
So I went to return it to the return desk which took 30 minutes because they didn't know how to credit me or give me cash. It was a circus.
Sears had a deserved reputation for great products but across four different states I never received good service. Maybe they didn't pay enough or maybe it was a cultural thing with Sears. Companies can be that way.
As a kid we always ordered school clothes from Sears. It was an annual ritual.
We bought bicycles from Sears in 1979 and returned them within two weeks because the tires would not hold air and they just kept airing them back up only to be flat the next day.
I tried to buy a set of barbells from Sears as an 18-year-old. Got a rain check for the sale price because they were out of stock. No barbells ever showed up for months so I bought elsewhere.
Bought carpeting from Sears in 1986. They said I did not need new padding, which it did, but didn't know any better at the time. They popped the vent up in the corner of the room to show me how much spring was still in the padding but that wasn't in a traffic area. So the carpeting was flat within months. Live and learn.
There was an appliance/mail order Sears locally that had the worst customer service I ever encountered. Walk up to a register to check out and they tell you to go to another register. Employees standing around seeing customers at a checkout but not taking care of them. Walked in one day and and there's a new employee who walked over to me to help me find something. I almost passed out. Never saw her again, but all the older employees remained until the store closed. Bought a fridge there in 1993 that is still running like a champ.
The only time I bought an item that was not quality at Sears was a flashlight that did not work. It was packaged in that plastic so I could not check it in the store. Took it home and it didn't work. When I returned it they just pulled another one off the shelf but I asked to check it before leaving. It didn't work. Went through six flashlights and none of them worked. The surprised employee remarked, "None of these flashlights work!"
So I went to return it to the return desk which took 30 minutes because they didn't know how to credit me or give me cash. It was a circus.
Sears had a deserved reputation for great products but across four different states I never received good service. Maybe they didn't pay enough or maybe it was a cultural thing with Sears. Companies can be that way.
As a kid we always ordered school clothes from Sears. It was an annual ritual.