Confirmation Sears is circling the drain

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by cashflyer

I like Craftsman tools.

I used to, too, but frankly, the 3/8 ratchet I picked up for a couple of bucks at Harbor Freight gets more use than the 3/8 Craftsman ratchet. It feels better in my hand, the ratchet pawls have a more satisfying "click", and the HF tool has the reversing lever positioned better so that it doesn't sometimes reverse itself when I'm in an awkward position with the tool up in some impossible to reach crevice....

As to the lifetime guarantee....

I used to take a big handful of worn out Craftsman screwdrivers in every couple of years for lifetime replacements, but the "don't ask" lifetime guarantee has played itself out. Depending on who's working the counter, your satisfaction may no longer be guaranteed, and I'm not interested in the prospect of a hassle with some surly malcontent. Life's too short.

Used to be you could take apart the Queen Mary with one of their huge screwdrivers, and return it bent and ruined, with strapping tape holding the mushroomed handle together and they would give you a new one without so much as an arched eyebrow. Those days are gone. That ship has sailed. That dog won't hunt. Not these days..

[strupgolf]

I would have taken that "assortment pack", got what I brought in, replaced it, told the guys and girl to do the same, headed out and say see ya later.

[jorian]

My favorite wife was at J.C. Penney today, "gettin deals" as she puts it . She also said the store was empty, all three floors she had almost to herself.

How many wives you got?

[BE911SC]

Originally Posted by techweenie

There's a book in the Sears story. They put a CEO in charge who was a huge fan of Ayn Rand and decided the best corporate disciplines would come from 'objectivism' so he basically pitted all the divisions against each other. It's a real horror story, with employees making overt efforts to sabotage their peers' divisions... and the loser was the customer.

At Sears, Eddie Lampert's Warring Divisions Model Adds to the Troubles - Businessweek

As I said in my earlier post, they put a lousy CEO in and he wrecked the business. The employees lose too, not just the customer. There's a reason the Costco CEO doesn't want MBAs in his management, he wants people who came up through the ranks and love the company.

[tabs]

Originally Posted by jorian

How many wives you got?

He has just one wife, but she has a split personality. At least 3 known ones...

[tabs]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Yep, everyone knows you wear full sleeve sweater with a dress... bet his purse didn't even match the dress!

I was just gonna say that, these Vets just don't know how to coordinate HELLO!!!But a N CAL VET NOT KNOWING PLEZE, THAT IS JUST SO UNBELIEVABLE????

[tabs]

Originally Posted by cashflyer

A sweater vest with a dress???
Idiot.

I like Craftsman tools. Other than that, I have no business in a Sears store.

I just hope you do not get caught playing with the tools in the fitting rooms. Maybe if you ask that Clerk on a dare for some help selecting a slinky little black number he might come over for cocktails at 5.

[tabs]

News Flash, this just in....ALL THE STORES THAT I HAVE BEEN IN THIS WEEK ARE DEAD!!! EVERYWHERE...and I ask, 'Has it been this slow everyday?' Wal-Mart, Sams the Groceries etc..

Something is happening here and MR TABS doesn't know what it is, now do ya Mr TABS?

[sc_rufctr]

Much the same here... Most retailers are doing it tough.

So much for online shopping but is that the only reason?

[tabs]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Much the same here... Most retailers are doing it tough.

So much for online shopping but is that the only reason?

Ya gotta go to the Super to buy the grub mate, same with the bubbles that clean the various parts of your anatomy, cloths, transport and shack...U ain't gona have Amazon drop them from a Drone with a parachute ya bongo. Ya bin hangin with the Roos out back for too long. All that hip hoppin around would make me dizzy...

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Sears has sucked for a long time. No identity. Ditto Radio Shack. R.S. Has been pretending to be a phone store for the last few years but are nowhere near as good as the Apple, Verizon or AT&T stores for quality / selection and nowhere near as inexpensive as the Boost / T-Mobile / pay-as-you-go places for cost. I used to go there for components (resistors, capacitors, LEDs, etc.) but you can't even really find that stuff there anymore much less anyone who understands what they're for (usually some hipster-douche kid who just wants to sell you a phone or a worthless service agreement).

I'll miss Radio Shack about as much as I miss Blockbuster Video and for about the same reasons - no customer service at all. I'll miss Sears simply because they had a reasonably convenient tool section.

[mattdavis11]

I only go there for craftsman tool exchanges. Years ago, I needed to exchange a diehard battery still under warranty. It had been load tested at a shop up the road, no good. It would hold a charge for a few hours, but not overnight. I knew they would have to test it for themselves, and they did. 45 minutes later they inform me that the battery is good, and that I should bring the car with the battery in it to check for a parasitic draw. I told him it wasn't the car, informing him I can charge the battery just as he did, and check it a few hours later, without ever installing it, and it would show a voltage drop.

He argued with me, and insisted that they take a look at the car. Again, I told him it's not the car, it doesn't have to be in any vehicle to go bad in a few hours. He wouldn't exchange it.

I told him, right in front of all the other irritated customers, that he could take that battery and stick it up his a$$.

The other customers applauded as I walked out the door without a new battery.

[ckelly78z]

Originally Posted by biosurfer1

The icing on the cupcake was one of the young "men" workers at the cashier desk was wearing a dress, sweater vest, knee high stockings, big black Doc Martin shoes and had a nice blue bow in his shoulder length hair. .

Not that there is anything wrong with that......What goes through a manager's mind who hires and retains someone like this.

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by ckelly78z

Not that there is anything wrong with that......What goes through a manager's mind who hires and retains someone like this.

Don't assume the guy looked like that during the interview but to your point if he DID look like that no one to blame but the hiring manager.

[Scuba Steve]

Originally Posted by biosurfer1

... wearing a dress, sweater vest, ....

No, no no no. Mid-length sleeves at the shortest and nothing longer than a cardigan.

[tabs]

It simply must be Herme's scottish cashmere preferably in Navy Blue.

[legion]

I used to have a Sears credit card and spent a few thousand dollars a year there on tools. You guys can search for my threads on my air compressor and floor jack falling apart within a month of being out of warranty. Botom line, I went to the store, was told to call an 800 number, was promised full restitution on the phone and never got it. The end result was that I cancelled my Sears credit card and stopped buying tools there. That and I got sick of paying premium prices for mediocre merchandise that always had one proprietary high-wear part that was marked up 500%.

My grandfather worked for Sears for 30 or so years during its height. It used to be a quality company but they got full of themselves in the 70's, lost their way in the 80's, and have failed to keep up (much less innovate) since. The only people that you find working the floor in a Sears anymore are the least motivated individuals who don't bother to quit when they realize the whole company is a dead end.

I think their current CEO's strategy is to drive the company into the ground and sell of the assets.

[Eric 951]

"Fast" Eddie Lampert brought Sears to it's knees. Idiotic business models--merging Sears and KMart and (since he was so heavily involved with KMart prior to Sears) thought that KMart was the more "premium" brand of the (2).

Now both sell Craftsman and other Sears-brands further diluting the brands--off-shored Craftsman production.

Hell--he doesn't care--he is still making money and will make more when everything goes belly-up.

[asphaltgambler]

Originally Posted by techweenie

........................................they put a CEO in charge who was a huge fan of Ayn Rand and decided the best corporate disciplines would come from 'objectivism' so he basically pitted all the divisions against each other. It's a real horror story, with employees making overt efforts to sabotage their peers' divisions... and the loser was the customer. [/url]

^^^THIS is THE most accurate description of new and used car dealers business model I've ever seen. Now I will research who Ayn Rand is and more how Objectivism relates to business.

[fireant911]

I received a safety recall notice from Sears concerning an air compressor I had purchased earlier - this notice was delivered September 2012. I called, as directed in the recall notice, in order to obtain the repair kit (notice stated to immediately unplug the compressor and not use it). One year later I came across the notice again and remembered that no repair kit was ever received. I called again, gave all of the required information, and was informed that these parts were in route. Ten more months went by and, again, no repair kit. I contacted Sears again and was informed that I have to schedule a service call (original recall notice gave a link to video that explained how to perform the repair as the owner was to replace the necessary parts)... I was NOT going to make a service call for this! I was becoming more and more frustrated by the ineptitude that I was being faced with and explained that either the repair kit will be sent OR Sears will provide a new compressor since they had deemed my compressor a 'fire safety hazard'. Sears was willing to neither. I contacted the BBB and, finally, after 23 months, the repair kit was received. Sears in no longer the organization they once were...