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Sears shocker

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byoungblood

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Sears has been notorious for doing this with people ordering things domestically as well. There are websites full of complaints of Sears cancelling orders, missing delivery appointments, etc., without any notification or explination.
 

pipsters

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I've ordered roughly 40 different things through Sears.com this year alone, most shipped some for pickup. Never once had a problem.

Well, once I did. They listed the item "shipped" when it really wasn't. UPS hadn't received it yet. Apparently the UPS truck comes once or twice a week to the Sears warehouse so Sears will print the ticket up and show it shipped but it won't be on a truck yet. Not the end of the world, it still got here when they said it would.
 

Buckgnarly

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I ordered soemthing for in store pickup, order got concelled but I was never told. I had to call the 1-800 number and some zombie told me it was not in stock at the store. Walked into that store two days later, product was sitting on the shelf, two of them actually. Morons were too lazy to look for it.
Second time **** like that happened in that store, first was with a set of Premium ratchets that the counter monkeys could not find, took an in store pickup order for them to "find" them.

Sears website is HORRIBLE.....rest of the store/Craftsman line is following right behind it....sad, b/c I really liked Sears/Cman stuff.......:(
 
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porcupine73

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Sorry to hear about that. I've had orders get cancelled on me before too.

Yesterday I did buy online/pickup in store on a few packs of those 9.99 specials on the tool bags. I couldn't believe the mess that was. It was standing room only in the pickup area, because there were 20+ people in there waiting to pick stuff up. As soon as someone would scan their receipt to pick something up, someone in the back would mark it as 'picked up' and it would move off the board. Then slowly, I mean taking 5 minutes plus per item, even the small ones, the guy would come out of the back and call someone's name who had been waiting there for who knows how long. He was giving out the $5 coupons, but was gaming the system so that it said his average fulfillment time today was 2 minutes. hahahahhaahahahahah. Their ready in 5 minutes or less is a complete JOKE.
 

Grogan14

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Sep 6, 2009
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Sears is owned by Kmart, is it not? And you know what Rainman says about Kmart...

Retail stores the world over are managed and manned by buffoons, mostly.
 

cashishift

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Sorry to hear about that. I've had orders get cancelled on me before too.

Yesterday I did buy online/pickup in store on a few packs of those 9.99 specials on the tool bags. I couldn't believe the mess that was. It was standing room only in the pickup area, because there were 20+ people in there waiting to pick stuff up. As soon as someone would scan their receipt to pick something up, someone in the back would mark it as 'picked up' and it would move off the board. Then slowly, I mean taking 5 minutes plus per item, even the small ones, the guy would come out of the back and call someone's name who had been waiting there for who knows how long. He was giving out the $5 coupons, but was gaming the system so that it said his average fulfillment time today was 2 minutes. hahahahhaahahahahah. Their ready in 5 minutes or less is a complete JOKE.

Same thing happened to me.

I went to pick up a BluRay player they had at a good price.... I go in there and put my name in.. 3 minutes (to the second) it says my order has been completed... yet I have talked to no one.

I pull one gal aside and asked her what was going on.. she just kinda brushed it off. I eventually got it about 5 minutes later, but jeez..

I only wonder how much longer Sears will be in business, they need a change in management BAD. They've lost their edge.
 

Super Sport

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I have never had order problems with Sears, but their website *****.

I had a similar problem with Office Max just recently though. Got a killer deal on some reams of paper. Got notice that the item was back-ordered, but not canceled. My card was never charged, and on the backorder notice it showed my total to be $0.00. I contacted customer support who simply told me it was canceled. I then got the email address of somebody a bit further up the ladder. He is sending me a $30 gift card over my $3 purchase. :bounce:
 

kippieland

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Oct 22, 2011
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I ordered a toolbox and they totally screwed up on that. It took almost a month to get here...but they forgot to tell me that. Not a good website
 

porphyre

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paging porphyre

Lol. I've got no beef with this one. :beer:

I don't care who you are, CONUS or International, it's inexcusable for a company to cancel an order and not notify the purchaser. It's especially sad because Sears started out as a mail-order/catalog company. I also agree with others that their website *****.

Now comparing a $5 Craftsman wrench to a $30 Snap-on? You're an idiot.

:D
 
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rj-oz

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This is part of the online transcript I had to endure, glad I saved it before the chat finished, it's nearly beyond belief--edited to protect the innocent--

Txxx: I am sorry, I just require your full name on the account, the billing address along with the email id that was used to place the order.

You: Billed To: Shipped To: Payment Details: Rxxxxxxx

Txxx: Just to inform the address you have provide unfortunately does not match the billing details.

You: The only difference is the Suburb (xxxs xxxx which my local postal service advised me to include for speedier delivery, it is the same address

Txxx: Alright, so would you like to go for shipping or store pickup?

Txxx: Sorry for the typo.

You: As I am in Australia it is highly unlikely I could pick up, do you have both orders recorded?

You: Both orders were billed from Fifty One with AU shipping costs included

Txxx: Yes, you are correct.

Txxx: I have rechecked our resources and have found that the billing information that you have provided is incorrect.

Txxx: I request You to call 1-800-349-4358 to avail help on phone.

Txxx: Can I help you with anything else today?

You: This surely cannot be correct, my order summary from FiftyOne says billing address is-Rxxxxxx

Txxx: As you have said that you reside in Australia, I request you to contact "[email protected]".
 
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-Brent-

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Their website is in desperate need of repair, for sure. Among many issues, check-out related especially, it will not hold my account info. I have remade an account a half dozen times, at least.

As well, if you do pay with Paypal and then go to pick it up, you'll have issues. Add to that, when you're picking an item up, the emailed confirmation number doesn't correspond with the in-house receipt numbers. This has caused several issues for me in the past. On all occasions they've had the item sitting on the shelf, marked and waiting for me.

Which brings up my last issue - the pick-up area personell is hit-or-miss. I've witnessed complete confusion and downright lazyness to A+ customer service. It's not that hard to pull an item and bring it to the customer but there have been a few that have bucked that system.
 

Stuey

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Their website is in desperate need of repair, for sure. Among many issues, check-out related especially, it will not hold my account info. I have remade an account a half dozen times, at least.

As well, if you do pay with Paypal and then go to pick it up, you'll have issues. Add to that, when you're picking an item up, the emailed confirmation number doesn't correspond with the in-house receipt numbers. This has caused several issues for me in the past. On all occasions they've had the item sitting on the shelf, marked and waiting for me.

Which brings up my last issue - the pick-up area personell is hit-or-miss. I've witnessed complete confusion and downright lazyness to A+ customer service. It's not that hard to pull an item and bring it to the customer but there have been a few that have bucked that system.
+1

I'm a HUGE fan of the food, but most of the waitstaff needs the boot. Most of my orders go without a hitch, but I've found that in-store sales personnel and higher-up customer service reps will do whatever it takes to make me smile.
 

Danglerb

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Sears is owned by Kmart, is it not? And you know what Rainman says about Kmart...

Retail stores the world over are managed and manned by buffoons, mostly.

I remember Kmart service, and while it wasn't fancy, it wasn't a screwup operation, and they had pop corn. This is all about Sears not knowing what to do with itself. The company that INVENTED ordering from home, now doesn't seem to know how it works.
 

thesilverone

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Their website is in desperate need of repair, for sure. Among many issues, check-out related especially, it will not hold my account info. I have remade an account a half dozen times, at least.

As well, if you do pay with Paypal and then go to pick it up, you'll have issues. Add to that, when you're picking an item up, the emailed confirmation number doesn't correspond with the in-house receipt numbers. This has caused several issues for me in the past. On all occasions they've had the item sitting on the shelf, marked and waiting for me.

Which brings up my last issue - the pick-up area personell is hit-or-miss. I've witnessed complete confusion and downright lazyness to A+ customer service. It's not that hard to pull an item and bring it to the customer but there have been a few that have bucked that system.

I've never had a problem with using paypal and picking up an item. I've also never had any problems with the conformation number not working.
 

porcupine73

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I thought Sears bought KMart, not the other way around? I can't remember though.

I ordered two tool chests several years back from the web site on Black Friday. My order when I placed it showed the sale price 69.99 each. But I got charged full price on them, like 179.99 each.

It took me over TWO YEARS to get them to give me back the difference. After many phone calls and nothing happening, I finally sent a letter by Registered Mail to Sears Headquarters, and it got referred to something called 'Sears White Glove Service' I think it was, and that finally got me my difference refunded.

And to boot, both of the tool chests were packed very poorly, and had the *(@#$%*@( bent out of them, like something 500 lbs was on top and they got picked up with a fork lift.
 

-Brent-

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I've never had a problem with using paypal and picking up an item. I've also never had any problems with the conformation number not working.

Really? Every occasion I've ordered to be picked up, I've had an issue. Nothing drastic, mind you, but still there was some sort of complication. The first time I thought it was me but the email confirmation numbers didn't match up to what the guy had in his hand.
 

Charles (in GA)

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50 mi south of Atlanta
I thought Sears bought KMart, not the other way around? I can't remember though.

Kmart leveraged the whole deal and is the owner of everything. They bought Sears knowing that Sears OWNED outright, a lot of real estate, that could be sold and converted to cash to pay off the leverage. That is what they did. Some of the stores were in malls that were dying, and Sears stayed while the rest of the mall was boarded up. Town where I grew up, the first indoor mall there had Sears as an anchor store. Mall declined and finally closed. City bought the whole thing and demolished the mall, leaving Sears alone by themselves. Sears refused to sell to the city. City built a new complex with a huge library and nicely decorated grounds, with the ugly Sears next door. Suddenly Sears went across town and built a new store, leaving the old one abandon. I think they thought it was worth more than the city offered, but finally gave in and the city acquired it also.

Charles
 

porcupine73

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Kmart leveraged the whole deal and is the owner of everything.

Ah ok thanks. I remember reading that story, especially about the real estate, but I remembered who bought whom backwards for some reason. Wouldn't mind seeing some blue light specials in the tool dept. though! :lol_hitti I remember the first time we went to Kmart when I was a kid, I got scared of the blue light special because I thought the police were after me or there was a fire in the store.
 
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porphyre

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Which brings up my last issue - the pick-up area personell is hit-or-miss. I've witnessed complete confusion and downright lazyness to A+ customer service. It's not that hard to pull an item and bring it to the customer but there have been a few that have bucked that system.

This.

I've got 3 Sears within a 20 minute drive and about 8 within the Metro area (call it a 40 minute drive). The closest one to me seems to the biggest. They nearly always have an item in stock for in-store pickup so I end up going there for 90% of my orders.

However, their pickup staff ****. I've had a number of times where I'd visit the store and find an item on the shelf, then go home and buy it online, taking advantage of online specials and coupons. I'd do ship to store. Then my order is manually canceled by the store because of "Out of Stock". Even though the website said it was in stock. Even though I was physically holding the tool some hours before. They checked the back, but were too lazy to check the shelves for an item. I always end up having to find a guy to pull it from the shelf to fill my order.

Second peeve is their dishonesty. Sears has a policy that if you're not served within 5 minutes, you get a coupon for $5. They even have a nice display board that shows the wait queue. Shows your name, how long you've been waiting, etc. I've had 3-4 times where they simply cleared my name off before the 5 minutes without giving my product, talking to me, or even sticking their head out of the receiving area. That's dishonest. I've also had waits over 5 minutes and they didn't offer the coupon. Every single time, I have to track down the manager and ASK for my coupon. It's horseshit to have a policy - a policy advertised on the website and on a big sign right there in the pickup area - and not follow through on it and worse, actively circumvent it.
 

porcupine73

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I've had 3-4 times where they simply cleared my name off before the 5 minutes without giving my product, talking to me, or even sticking their head out of the receiving area. That's dishonest.

I hate that too and have had it happen many times. I'm guessing it is commonplace. Probably the guy doing that keeps his immediate manager happy that the average wait time looks nice and low while in reality it is much longer. Then that guys boss is happy because all he sees on his computer dashboard is that the wait time is within specs and pats himself on the back for doing such a good job managing.

You are mistaken. As hard as it is to believe, Kmart purchased Sears in 2004.
Thanks for the link. I remembered it backwards. Charles hooked me up with an explanation too.
 

Stuey

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I thought Sears bought KMart, not the other way around? I can't remember though.

I ordered two tool chests several years back from the web site on Black Friday. My order when I placed it showed the sale price 69.99 each. But I got charged full price on them, like 179.99 each.

It took me over TWO YEARS to get them to give me back the difference. After many phone calls and nothing happening, I finally sent a letter by Registered Mail to Sears Headquarters, and it got referred to something called 'Sears White Glove Service' I think it was, and that finally got me my difference refunded.

And to boot, both of the tool chests were packed very poorly, and had the *(@#$%*@( bent out of them, like something 500 lbs was on top and they got picked up with a fork lift.

Two years?!

With me, if a refund issue gets dragged out for too long I file a credit card chargeback and then a BBB complaint. Sears has a top-notch team that responds to BBB complaints, and they will do pretty much anything that needs done to resolve the issue.
 

porcupine73

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Yes, well, I had several problems on that one, because the first couple times I called, they said it could up to several months for the credit to appear on my credit card. Then I forgot about it for a while and realized I never did see that credit, by then it was too late to dispute with the credit card co. So I did a few more chats/calls and they just kept telling me the same thing, should see the credit within a couple months. I did eventually get it, but only after this 'Sears White Glove' service got involved. But thanks for the BBB tip, if I have trouble in the future I will use that one!

I think I had the Sears/KMart buyout backwards because in my area, all the KMarts closed, but all the Sears stayed open, probably why I thought the buyout was the other way around.

There is a Sears Hardware near me, and that place always has excellent customer service. Very pleasant, responsive, knowledgeable personnel who seem genuinely interested in helping you. The exact opposite of my typical huge Sears experience. I believe it is independently owned perhaps and somehow franchised to get the Sears name on it or something like that.
 

porcupine73

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Sears has a top-notch team that responds to BBB complaints, and they will do pretty much anything that needs done to resolve the issue.

Oh I forgot another little tidbit to that story, when Sears did finally credit my card back the difference, they then charged my card for that same amount. This happened like three times in one day, leaving me with a net of -0-. So then I did have to dispute the charge with my credit card, but not the credit. They sided with me on that dispute, so that is how I finally got (and kept that time!) the credit.
 

toasterburn

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Happened to me too last week. I wanted to buy a toolbox that was half off only if you bought it online, but I wanted it shipped to the store to save shipping. I got a weird "your order was canceled" email later that afternoon. I called my local store and went through several people before I found someone who told me that an employee had mistakenly checked off that it was out of stock and that was why it was canceled. I put the order in again and that time it wasn't canceled and I got my toolbox.
 

porcupine73

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Hm I'm almost starting to think the 'canceled' thing is just gaming the system like the pickup time. I'm sure they have a guideline in which they are supposed to process order online/pickup in store so that the confirmation e-mail goes out to the buyer; I think it says within an hour or two on the site. So if they're running behind, it's much easier to just say the item is out of stock rather than risk blowing your KPI on exceeding the one or two hour time limit to process it.
 

-Brent-

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This.


Second peeve is their dishonesty. Sears has a policy that if you're not served within 5 minutes, you get a coupon for $5. They even have a nice display board that shows the wait queue. Shows your name, how long you've been waiting, etc. I've had 3-4 times where they simply cleared my name off before the 5 minutes without giving my product, talking to me, or even sticking their head out of the receiving area. That's dishonest. I've also had waits over 5 minutes and they didn't offer the coupon. Every single time, I have to track down the manager and ASK for my coupon. It's horseshit to have a policy - a policy advertised on the website and on a big sign right there in the pickup area - and not follow through on it and worse, actively circumvent it.

I had NO CLUE about this. Twice there were guys that unplugged the system computer and screen and had us re-register back in claiming a clitch. That makes so much more sense now since there were a few people waiting and the guys were obviously overwhelmed. I couldn't figure out how it wasn't working on their end if it was working on the customer's end (i.e., signing in).

I think this might have something to do with their monthly rating too, which is posted nearby the monitor.
 

porphyre

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I had NO CLUE about this. Twice there were guys that unplugged the system computer and screen and had us re-register back in claiming a clitch. That makes so much more sense now since there were a few people waiting and the guys were obviously overwhelmed. I couldn't figure out how it wasn't working on their end if it was working on the customer's end (i.e., signing in).

I think this might have something to do with their monthly rating too, which is posted nearby the monitor.

Dunno about your store, but my store has a sign on the wall explaining the 5-minute thing.
 

Neuswede

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... And you know what Rainman says about Kmart...

While quite true that K-Mart does ****, there is no K-Mart at 400 Oak St. in Cincinnati, where Rainman was filmed. 400 Oak St is the address for the Vernon Manor Hotel, where the hotel room scene was scheduled to be filmed. Some of the cast members may have stayed there as well. At the last minute, the hotel backed out and the scene was then shot on a set constructed at the local public television studio. "400 Oak St, K-Mart *****" is really a polite Easter egg to snub the Vernon Manor Hotel for disrupting the shooting schedule and generally being uncooperative with the crew. I never heard if the snub was added to the script or if it was an ad-lib (disambiguation) by Hoffman, but it is funny nonetheless.

Only slightly off-topic...sorry. We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.
 

ishiboo

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Lots of ****-talking about Sears/Craftsman recently, just to add I ordered that sweet Wiha hex driver deal and it arrived today... very quick!
 

-Brent-

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Lots of ****-talking about Sears/Craftsman recently, just to add I ordered that sweet Wiha hex driver deal and it arrived today... very quick!

I'm not talking trash. It's just "what's so" when I've used the website and tried to pick up at the local Sears. I've used them a bunch in the last year. In fact, my most recent difficult experience was with the Gear Wrench on-line sale a few days ago.
 

ishiboo

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I'm not talking trash. It's just "what's so" when I've used the website and tried to pick up at the local Sears. I've used them a bunch in the last year. In fact, my most recent difficult experience was with the Gear Wrench on-line sale a few days ago.

I'm not trying to take anything away from the Sears complaints or say they're not worthwhile or accurate, just adding my most recent experience. I also complained about Craftsman when I looked at it. :) I wasn't impressed with the latest Craftsman/USA made tools, but actually my experiences picking up my GW items at 3 different stores were positive as well.
 
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rj-oz

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Just an update on the ordering saga, just got mail telling me a completely different story, now it's one order was out of stock (I have looked each day since ordering and there they are right in front of me -ratchets--and available to order, the second order-the heavy discounted GW stuff-there was a glitch in our system and we are checking it out now.
was told to re-order for a 10% discount--???, sure.
 

firebrick

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Oct 17, 2011
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my order status says the x beams are not shipping till 12-28. Also says my metric flex heads were transfered from ups to the post office. they supposedly shipped a day prior to my standard flex heads that i got ups yesterday. weird!
 

gatewaysysop

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Reaffirms my believe (as does every thread like this, it seems) that my decision to never, ever, ever again buy from Sears on-line was the correct one. As I've long said, if I can't get it in the physical stores, I will gladly buy from a competitor at twice the price. It's not worth the hassle to deal with their ridiculous website, worthless phone support in India or all the delays, lies and poorly packed/lost/damaged items I've gotten over the years. :mad:
 

Kev442

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My order was broken into three parts. Part one arrived today in excellent condition. Parts 2 and 3 were scheduled for 12/28. Today they said part 2 shipped and part 3 will tomorrow. Weird.

As for Kmart buying Sears, the story is a little different. Kmart was bankrupted by a bunch of scumbags who worked the system. The common stock ended up at .02, but the scumbags made a special B stock that was ahead of even vendors. They screwed vendors and stockholders out of 2 billion and created Kmart Holding. Kmart Holding bought Sears Holding. They will eventually bankrupt them both again, steal the remains and pocket 2-4 billion again. They are laying low as all the recent mortgage/banking thievery has shined too bright a light on stock shenanigans lately. My wife got screwed out of her life savings by the scumbags at Kmart Holding Corporation.
 
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