Is there anything we can do about Sears?

[Stuey]

Is there anything that we as a tool-loving community can do about Sears and their false advertising practices?

This past weekend presented yet another majorly frustrating instance - their advertisement said "50% Off All Gearwrench."

Were all Gearwrench products discounted? No. Not online, and not in stores.

Is there anything that we can do about this and to prevent similar advertising practices from occuring in the future?

Prior to this incident were several "Save on All Wrench Set" promotions that excluded many wrench sets.

Am I the only one noticing this pattern of complaints? Maybe I'm more sensitive to these issues because I try to evaluate the exclusions and details of promotions to better relay sale information via here and ToolGuyd?

I don't want to even get started on how the 5 mins or $5 in-store pickup policy is supremely flawed. The clock is stopped at the 3-4 min mark and then I wait another 4-10 mins until my order is located, collected, and brought out to me.

I love Craftsman but hate Sears. What's a toolaholic to do?!!

 

[posaune]

No, you aren't the only one noticing. I will add that I would buy a lot more from Sears if they would actually put up the correct prices! At least at my local store, the sale prices are RARELY posted.

One of the best things about Sears is the sales. Not posting them seems counterproductive.

 

[fordracing200]

switch to harbor freight or a truck brand.....haha

 

[Adam McLaughlin]

I really think that you guys are going off the deep end; this is a large company paying minimum wage to the kids at the mall, not some specialty store with engineering students and grads running the show.

You get what you pay for.

Adam

 

[fordracing200]

what does that have to do with sales advertisements??

 

[Adam McLaughlin]

Whoops. I thought we were continuing the bash in regards to their poor customer service for being un-knowledgeable about company policies and products.

Adam

 

[Stuey]

Whoops. I thought we were continuing the bash in regards to their poor customer service for being un-knowledgeable about company policies and products.

Adam

Yes and no.

This is what usually happens:

Stuey finds a nice sale. 20% off all socket storage/40% off all wrench sets/50% off all Gearwrench, etc.

Stuey goes online and tries to order. Hmm, socket racks, rails, and holders are not on sale. Most of the wrench sets I'm interested in are not on sale. Gearwrench ratchets are not on sale.

Okay, Stuey then assumes that the same is limited to in-store merchandise. Nope, still doesn't work.

Stuey then goes to one or more Sears stores.

"Sorry, socket trays racks, rails, and holders are not classified as socket storage or organization."

"Sorry, that's a set of wrenches and thus it does not classify as a wrench set."

"Sorry, that Gearwrench product is not the one shown, and the one shown is the only one on sale."

"Sorry, that Gearwrench product is not eligible for the 'All Gearwrench' sale." "Why?" "Because it's not pictured." "But it says 'all' ." "Yes, but that's not what it means."

The online engine doesn't recognize socket storage as socket storage, and other products are excluded from certain sales without reason.

In-store, lower level employees often fabricate excuses in attempt to escape from their obligation to seek assistance from managers and higher-ups.

On the rare occasion that I do get to a higher up, the results are mixed. Most often, they'll either tell me that they'll refer me to a district manager, or they'll provide an override right then and there after acquiring approval from a store manager.

I'm starting to believe that all this is done on purpose to get people excited and in the store in a false advertising bait and switch type of maneuver. I mean, if this was all due to simple miscommunication, it should/would have been rectified by now.

I fired off an email to Sears to see what they can tell me. Failing a satisfactory response, I will escalate my complaint/inquiry to the BBB.

 

[troublemaker427]

I went to Sears Friday to buy the Craftsman 1/2" impact gun they had on sale for 50% off. It isn't their best gun but for $19.99 I thought it was a good deal. The sale started on Friday and ran through Fathers Day. I walked into the store at 4:30 on the first day of the sale. Guess what, they are out of them!! I asked them to check the next Sears 20miles away. They were out of them too!!! How can you have a 3 day sale and be out of the item 6.5 hours into it at two seperate stores? I had to order one and according to saleskid it might be in this coming Friday or the next Friday or the next Friday.... If you are going to have a sale and advertise an item, stock it!!!

 

[r6_cannibal]

BBB is likely your best course of action. It wouldn't hurt to get a few people to email sears and follow up with BBB in case a satisfactory response is not provided. Together we stand

 

[Stuey]

Troublemaker - what likely happened is that many people ordered the impact gun for in-store pickup. Once that happens, within an hour or so the product is set aside for those orders.

Or it's possible that stores had very few of the tools in stock.

*cough* bait and switch *cough*

Or a replenishment shipment may have been delayed.

 

[BrianJ]

Another option is to file a complaint with the state AG office for false advertisement.

Brian

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

Another option is to file a complaint with the state AG office for false advertisement.

Brian

Personally, I think that is a better thing then the BBB, along with sending a copy to the CEO (or really, their secretary).

Government is funded by taxes, and they have the authority, and the $$$ to back any issues.

 

[Ruiner]

I refuse to shop there anymore, simply because they've been pulling that **** for years, on everything, not just tools...Sears can kiss my ***, I'll shop at Menards or online for the tools I need...

 

[expatriated]

Is there anything that we as a tool-loving community can do about Sears and their false advertising practices?

Sadly, Sears is doing more to themselves than we could ever do as a group. This type of business practice is unsustainable. Whatever money they are making is in spite of their current approach to business, not because of it.

 

[Chris Adams]

Actually, Sears has always had some unusual employment policies over the years. These policies have lead to what you people are complaining about.

Sears, many years ago, decided on a business plan that included many, many part timers with low pay and benefits, combined with the strongest seniority system in retail.

This means if you work there you are a part timer, with lousy pay and benefits, but if you 'tree hug' for a LONG time, and play the local/corporate politics right you will eventually, without regard to actual competency, be promoted to a high paying, good benefit position.

This sounds great at the table. Keep labor cost down, promote the solid loyal experienced people and keep them.

In real life you get people who know they won't ever be promoted because they don't plan on working there TEN years in a peon position before having a decent job.
So only the tree huggers, people who can't find better work, last till they get powerful/lucrative positions.
Add to that the knowledge (which the employees soon have) that NO MATTER how much they take care of customers or do the actual work, the promotions come from how they interact/**** up to their superiors.
Who got where they are by sucking up to their superiors and out lasting the competent people who won't wait many years for a good job.

So you politic, **** up, look sharp and Oh, yeah, if you have the spare time, you do your job.
Or you work as you go through school, or while you have a day job, or you keep shopping that resume around.

This policy was instituted many years ago and the Sears corporation is reaping the rewards.
Competency is discouraged, looking clean and sucking up is rewarded.

The only way this could ever change would be bankruptcy followed by a MAJOR change in management.
Don't hold your breath.

I have had the misfortune of hiring long time Sears employees in management positions. OK, I didn’t hire them, but had to ‘fix the problem’ when others had.
You get a very sharp looking, smooth talking, corporate sounding employee who sounds fabulous. But can’t actually ACCOMPLISH anything.

 

[Skyline]

I went to Sears Friday to buy the Craftsman 1/2" impact gun they had on sale for 50% off. It isn't their best gun but for $19.99 I thought it was a good deal. The sale started on Friday and ran through Fathers Day. I walked into the store at 4:30 on the first day of the sale. Guess what, they are out of them!! I asked them to check the next Sears 20miles away. They were out of them too!!! How can you have a 3 day sale and be out of the item 6.5 hours into it at two seperate stores? I had to order one and according to saleskid it might be in this coming Friday or the next Friday or the next Friday.... If you are going to have a sale and advertise an item, stock it!!!

Consider yourself lucky. Craftsman impact guns ****. I had their top of the line 1/2" gun, and I don't think it was good for more than about 200 ft lbs.

If you want a decent gun, and don't want to pay truck prices, look for IR or Aircat.

 

[Bustawrench]

Another option is to file a complaint with the state AG office for false advertisement.

Brian

My thoughts exactly.

Wouldn't be the first time Sears got busted for pulling some scam.

 

[FNFS2000]

ummm the best and easiest thing is if everyone stops buying there.... It takes no effort and it works!

 

[Stuey]

ummm the best and easiest thing is if everyone stops buying there.... It takes no effort and it works!

Yes, but where else am I going to get a $50 Gearwrench product for $30?

 

[Merkava_4]

I don't know what's keeping Sears in business ... I'm beginning to think they're tied to some kind of large organized crime conglomerate and are using Sears to launder their money.

 

[FNFS2000]

I don't know what's keeping Sears in business ... I'm beginning to think they're tied to some kind of large organized crime conglomerate and are using Sears to launder their money.

That makes alot of sense. The store's I see are never very busy at all, and they obviously don't care about their customers.

 

[FNFS2000]

Yes, but where else am I going to get a $50 Gearwrench product for $30?

There has to be other online stores cheaper than sears, the big stores are never the cheapest and most certainly never the best when it comes to service or communication. I've never shopped for the brand, but there must be a thousand toolstores that sell it for the same price or less.

 

[Kevin54]

I fired off an email to Sears to see what they can tell me. Failing a satisfactory response, I will escalate my complaint/inquiry to the BBB.

I wouldn't waste my time with the BBB. All they do is take your complaint, forward your complaint to Sears, wait for Sears to say no it didn't happen, then post a response to their (BBB) website saying that the dispute has been settled or it was an complaint that will be kept on file. If Sears does not respond, then they have to send out another letter to Sears. If they don't respond again, then they post a negative about them or will just post that Sears didn't respond. The BBB that we have in Ohio is a joke from what I have seen. They do not resolve disputes.
Better bet would be to get in touch with your local new station (ours is called "2 on your side") It seems that they investigate claims and get results.

 

[eborcim]

Give Stuey a Cigar!!! He hit it right on the head!

I'm starting to believe that all this is done on purpose to get people excited and in the store in a false advertising bait and switch type of maneuver.

Now you know why Grocery stores put the milk and perishables in the back of the store so you have to walk through the processed foods to get them. Sort of a bait n' switch.

How about starting a pressure group headed up the Garage Journal Crew? Put together some text with common sense and send it to Sears/Craftsman?

 

[FNFS2000]

Too much work, just stop buying there and they will go away. Why bother with them, let capitalism work on its own.

 

[J.A.F.E.]

I noticed the same thing and in all truth it antagonized the **** out of me. I have seen them do it on more than one occasion. It happens often enough for me to believe it's intentional. I wanted some Gearwrench stuff but what I wanted wasn't on sale at all! So much for 50% off all Gearwrench. I had a pile of tools and just left them on the counter when they wouldn't give me the sale price. Likely I'll end up buying most of them anyway (except the Gearwrench - not likely I'll buy much of that from Sears) but they could have had my $$ that day and didn't.

Not to give a venomous discourse but Sears in California is deceptive about many things. Their automotive "shops" have been in hot water with the Bureau of Automotive Repair for some time. Unnecessary repairs, charged parts not replaced, etc, etc. Who else but Sears could f up Die Hard batteries? Most people had one as a replacement now who even bothers? The "subcontractors" they use to install appliances and painting and garage doors and such are notorious thieves here too. Sears doesn't seem concerned about that either.

I'm not a fan but I really would like them to get their act together and become the company they have the potential to be.

 

[Coach James]

When I was in college, I worked in a Lowes/HD type store. Every other week we had a sale. We didn't get the sales flyers until the day before the sale so we had no idea what was going to be on sale. Many items we stocked had a shipping schedule determined by the vendor or home office. There were few items that the store management could order. We had many angry customers yelling at us, but it was beyond the control of the people in the store, including the manager.

The BBB approached my company about joining. I didn't as I saw no reason to. The basic sales pitch was "As long as you pay your annual dues, we will not post any negatives about your company". At that point I knew the BBB was a joke.

Coach

 

[Stuey]

Sears has over 16,000 complaints over 3 years and still has an A- rating...

But, the BBB came through the two times Sears really screwed me over. The complaints prompted someone at Sears to contact me, and they were fully capable of assiting me unlike the handful of associates that failed miserably before I filed the complaints.

 

[metal1313]

sears is a joke, the big store near me is god aweful. its full of morons and tooth-less bastards. their tool department was much bigger 5yrs ago, now its all ****, flashy useless stuff to make lazy people even lazier.

there was a sears hardware near by that i loved, good tool selection, the staff actually knew something about it, except for the cashiers but thats ok. they also had a great fastener assortment. then sears hardware became sears appliance center and it started down hill, their tool selection became smaller, the store was no longer clean and they never seemed to get restocked. sears shut them down about a year ago, now when i need grade 8 bolts i have to go 45mins to a fastenall and if i only need one of something hope theres a ripped open bag

sears can die, they have killed themselves and i will never buy a craftsman power tool ever again

 

[Nik_95Cobra]

Sounds like they've been hiring professional arm twisters to make some of you shop there.

 

[Fedwrench]

I think alot of you guys are getting all worked up over nothing. It's a given that when you only pay people slightly over minimum wage, you're not going to get the best and the brightest. Additionally, I really think that the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing at Sears. Look at how the same item can have different prices. The are hidden rules like the sale only applies to the sets available in the retail stores. Personally, I think Sears would be alot better off if they never used the word "all" in any of their ads. That way no one would be broken hearted when the set they want isn't on sale. We could ***** about Sears for forever and still not adequately cover our issues.
However, there have also been lots of times when people from this board have gotten great deals too. Remember the 50% of Gearwrench sales that worked last year? The half off open stock wrenches and sockets was a great deal too recently. There have also been times when people here have screwed Sears repeatedly. Have we forgotton about last year's widely reproduced $5.00 off coupon? Sears could and should do a better job of advertising accurate sales. I guess I just have lowered expectations so that, I'm happy if something I want is on sale, and I'm able to get it. I also let the ones that don't work roll off like water on a duck's *** because, despite its faults, I like having Sears around and would hate to see them fail from their own stupidity.

 

[fordracing200]

Consider yourself lucky. Craftsman impact guns ****. I had their top of the line 1/2" gun, and I don't think it was good for more than about 200 ft lbs.

If you want a decent gun, and don't want to pay truck prices, look for IR or Aircat.

yeah me too, got the professional 780ft lb and it wouldn't even spin lugnuts off....I returned it and caught attitude as to why I was. I simply said "it wasn't what I expected" and All I got was a handful of money and a dirty look

 

[rsanter]

hostile takover
we all start buying sears stock untill we own enough of the stock that we have a controling interest.
we throw out all the old bums and start running this thing right. most of us are much smarter than most of them.
once we have a controlling interest we fire the worse of the fools at the stores and replace them with GJ members that are currently out of work, that way we have people in the stores with an ownership interest.
we can pay dividens and bonuses to the GJ members in the form of tools.
onve we get the thing turned around and the market comes back, we can then sell it off and we will all be millionairs.

thats the plan
bob

 

[Merkava_4]

I think alot of you guys are getting all worked up over nothing.

Fedwrench is right!! You guys are expecting too much.

 

[Kona Cruisers]

"Excuse me? Excuse meee? I'll take my traveller's checks to a competing resort... I could write a letter to your nation's board of tourism and have this place condemned... I could put... strychnine in the guacamole..."