Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Used to be a better store. The furniture is way too high. The clothing is not interesting but mandane. The lines are too long on their sale days. The Appliances are good but need to come down some more. On one day that I tried to shop there the retail cashier kept answering the phone with fifteen people in line. The air conditioner barely worked so I turned around and left without making a purchase. Over priced and average service does not make for a great place to be.

The problem I find is that Sears is just stagnant as a company. When I go into any Sears store everything from the floor layout to the type of merchandise seems the same as it did 1, 3 or 5 years ago. If they had great prices or customer service I could see that as a tradeoff but they have none of those things. Only the Craftsman lifetime tool warranty keeps me coming back to the store otherwise I could stay away for years at a time.

Samsung Stainless Steel 26.0 cu. ft. French-Door Bottom Freezer Refrigerator (RF267AE) ENERGY STAR®
Model# RF267AERS Sears price $2549.99.

At Samsung.com the MSRP IS $2399.00

Why Sears sells for more than MSRP is beyond me. They mark things up just to mark things down.

BEWARE!!!

They're known for their great Appliances and reasonably priced fine Jewelry but don't ever call on the phone and talk to a live person in the right department. In my experience the wait time to get assistance is ridiculously long and they never know where items are. It is worst than calling places like the DMV and other Governmental Agencies if you can believe that. Dare I say more?

i recently had some stuff for Christmas , shopping for 12 grand kids is not cheap so we put some toys' clothes. mp3 - players. shoes p.jay.s, we pick them up 4 days before Christmas we had allot more shopping to do so we did not check the bags till we got home well there were 2 pairs of pj missing i tried to call 4 time 4 times, the put me on hold then hang up on me . we went the next day to tell the Clerk. the called a manager the manager told me i am not going to give you free stuff? i paid for 4 pairs of pj i only got 2 she would not believe me
i have never met people who work for a major store act like she did . always check your bags
before leaving the store,

I would have thought that this retailer, whose long and illustrious history factored into my decision to purchase on-line, could do better. Apparently, they can't.

I placed an on-line order for a $900 major piece of hardware. I received my order confirmation and receipt the next day, informing me I could pick up the item at my local store. It's a 50-mile drive, so being naturally cautious, I checked to see that they actually had it. They didn't. That was Wednesday. Today is Saturday. I just cancelled the order. Why? After four calls to the local store and three to the on-line help phone, here’s what I got:

Local:
- directed to the wrong department
- placed on hold and disconnected from the store twice.
- told they were short-handed and couldn’t check inventory
- told the only model they had was for floor display and could not be sold.

On-line:

- on hold for 10 minutes
- told the order could not be changed, but I could go to the store and have them change it.
- told I couldn't cancel the order. To their credit, they told me they'd cancel after hearing my story. We'll see if that actually happens.

Sorry, Sears. Never again!

I have never had problem with any item I bought from Sears. I bought a small push mower 6 years ago. Just this summer I finally changed the oil (never added any), filter, and replaced the engine cut-off cable. I ordered the cable offline, no problems and recieved it in about 4 days. I bought a Sears brand shop vac about five years ago. I left it outside one night and it rained. Thinking that it woud never work again, I left it out there. About eight months later we moved and someone packed it up. After a little while, I thought I would try it. It works great, and its been about 2 years since I moved. I will never buy a different brand. The one thing that Sears can work on is there in-store customer service, which can be slow at times, sometimes I prefer not to be bothered though. As far as the return policy on tools, never had a problem. They would imediatly replace what I had broken, or give me one of greater value. Very happy with Sears.

Sears banned me for life for shoplifting! what a bunch of babies.

Sears sucks big time! The merchandise they carry is crap I wouldn't buy because it's all a bunch of over-priced, poor quality junk. It is way too difficult to get around in a typical Sears store because there is just too much crap/merchandise jammed in the aisles, and the rest of the store has merchandise cluttered way too close together to the point of nobody is able to get around it. And the employees are terrible too. Employees seem way too few and far between during my last few visits (which was during the afternoon on a weekday), and when I finally was able to get ahold of one, they seemed like they didn't know what they were doing. So long Sears! I'm never shopping there again!

I tried for two hours Saturday to order a $600 TV on line for local pickup. The TV was in stock. I had a Sears card and was looking forward to watching my new TV. But their website kept telling me I did not have permission to look at my order page then it would not apply my discount! I went to the store but they would not give me the online discount! What kinda show is this? Do Sears board members know this fiasco is occurring on a daily basis?

I would say Sears has the worst customer service, but I never could find any service. My order, a floor jack, came with a ripped, oil soaked owners manual. After a week of frustration, no satisfaction from the " customer service" for a legible manual. Also, cannot find a corporate number or email. First time shopping at Sears for a long time and I remembered it as a great place to buy tools. Times have changed. Good-bye Sears.

It's really a can't miss when you are in your 'just got married and got a house' phase and need a few survival items- tools, dishwasher, garage door opener, washer/dryer. . .and on-sale jeans if necessary. . .it's a store that I use whenever I need a house-purchase because of the decent return-policy and competitive prices. . .

Bonus points if your Sears has an automotive department. In these times where people work longer hours and have less free time, I love dropping the car off for new tires and a tune-up whilst the lady and I knock out some Roman-Pagan holiday shopping.

Sears Credit and Sears National Bank are crooks.
Sears and Sears Credit are two separate companies. Sears Credit is terrible. They never let you pay off your credit bill, they keep incresing the interest rate.

Craftsman tools are guaranteed for life, so that's decent. I bought a washer or dryer there a few years ago (don't remember which, bought the other at Best Buy), and it lasted until I moved out of my old apartment this summer, so I can't complain about that. The thing is, I live in an apartment that comes with all the appliances, and I don't have to do any of my own maintenance, so most of the time I don't have much need for anything from Sears.

Sears online sucks big time. I recently bought a digital camera on sale at www.sears.com and chose in-store pickup. Ten days later, I got an email stating that the camera was ready for pickup at the store. When I went to the store the next day, they don't have the camera. Instead, they asked me to choose from one of their other lower quality camera models. Classic bait and switch scam.

Sears sucks!Five years ago I bought one of their lawn mowers. Less than a year and about 8 cuttings later the lawn mower started leaking oil. I took it in to the sears repair center and they informed me that I needed a new seal for $60.00. I said go ahead and fix it. They called me two weeks later and told me it was ready for pick up. After picking it up I noticed that there was oil all over the back of my car. I called sears and they told me to bring it back. Well, I went straight to Lowes and bought a riding lawn mower. Now 5 years later my wife took the sears lawn mower back to sears to get it repaired so that my son could start cutting neighbors lawns for a summer job. They called her and said that it now needed a new carborator,tune up and a seal and the cost would be $260.00.
Are they @#%@ing idiots. I can buy a new one less than what they quoted me to get their unit that they say they repaired in the first place. Sears sucks!

I have to say that I love Sears!  I always buy Kenmore appliances; my 25-year-old Kenmore vacuum still does a great job...so do my 20-year-old Kenmore washer and dryer.  (I can't believe they're that old; I never thought about it, and just realized it, writing this review.)  I always use Easy Living paints, and have nearly all Craftsman tools--handed down from my father.  All of their prices may not be the lowest in town, but their merchandise is better quality.  In my experience, they have always stood behind anything they've sold.  I do a lot of shopping at Sears, and I'm happy with the purchases I've made.

Sears is the worst store I have ever gone, the worst customer service I have ever spoke to, and the worse managment, not to mention not the sharpest tool in the shed! I have been calling them for three weeks now trying to get my water heater issue resolved and I still don't have hot water! I have a replacement warranty but apparently sears likes to change the rules... Even though, what I have in writing is not the story they are giving me. All they do is lie and they dont care what their customers are going through!

I use to work for Montgomery wards @ Jantzen Beach, Or from 1997-2001
I worked in Apparel my boss was Sandi Brown. she is very good person and a great teacher. I miss working for Montgomery Wards, I cried when we 1st got the news to shut down.

I am an old retired Montgomery Wards store manager; INCREDIBLE that stores like Wal Mart and Target are the leading stores. Our Biggest rivals were Pennys and Sears; and every department was well staffed with professional salespeople. The Big Box idea of retailing is just sad.

Good pries in general, with more big ticket items than WalMart for sure, but since they merged with KMart, a super store concept might be an interesting future for Sears.

Sears, Roebuck and Company is not your grandfather's store! His Sears was a reputable reliable company that was trusted 100% and stood behind their products. Not the case for the Sears of today:-( I purchase a new $1300 Kenmore refrigerator that could only cool to 40 degrees on the coldest setting. After numerous attempts to fix, was told that 40 degrees was normal and nothing was wrong with the frig. I ended up having Sears take back their defective frig and I replaced it with a 12 year old frig from my basement that actually chilled food to 35 degrees. Sears charged me a $200 restocking fee despite my protests, insisting that nothing was wrong with the unit. I warn everyone now to stay clear of Sears and instead deal with more reputable companies.

Sears is the absolute worst place that I have ever encountered in my entire life. I will never step foot in a Sears again, even if someone paid me to do so. They have completely botched my gift wedding registry, and in their words, completely unable to do anything about it. They were all horribly rude, including hanging up on me several times. They are not able to shut my registry down, nor are the able to reset my lost password so I can shut it down myself. Please don't stop at Sears.

would rather shop at a flea market in a war zone.

Sears is pretty much the place, I go to for clothes, especially when they are on sale. The people who work there, are very helpful at times.

I miss the Sears Wish Book, though.

NEVER never never get a Sears card. The interest is crushing and excessive.

Sears Service runs the gamut from outright ineptitude to wonderful and it all depends on who the technician is.  You can identify that person by a code number on your bill and you can ask for that person to handle your need.  As for the attitude of people who man their phones, they are inexperienced, inept, rude, surly, poorly trained, without insight, and have been told to read from a prepared script of responses to customer questions.  They do not listen to what you are saying, do not consider in their own minds the information you are trying to give them and they do nothing to indicate that their brains are engaged in the conversation.  We bought a chain saw when we evacuated for Katrina and it has been impossible to start.  After making some adjustments to the idle screw, it would start after about 15 minutes of gut-wrenching effort and heaven help you if it dies while inside of a cut in a log.  There's no restarting it and it will be stuck there.  We took it to Mobile, AL store for repair and the surly clerk asked for $30 down payment and we were told the rate for work was $55. an hour.  Now after the fact, we learned that the $30 was nonrefundable because the saw was transported to Pensacola.  Who knew that?  It's not common knowledge.  Have to say they didn't have the nerve to charge for a full hour's work since only the carburetor required adjusting.  We paid $149 for the D*** saw and it cost us $53 to get it to work properly.  My husband is so angry that he won't touch it.  Says, if it doesn't start on the first or second pull, he's going to try to take care of the problem with an 8# sledge.  However, having said that, after a garden tractor repair fiasco, talking to the corporate office in Hoffman Estates, IL will get you much better treatment .  Still, the 7 major appliances in my home are from Sears and when they are done, Sears will never see us again.  The management better get better control of their people in customer service because it's going to kill the customer base loyalty.

I agree with StarkTruth. I used to love the Christmas Wish Book when I was growing up. I also think the turning point was when they started charging for their catalogs. I haven't bought from them since so I really do not know what they are like nowadays (we don't have any Sears stores nearby).

If there is anyone in your life you hate (I'm talking mortal enemy), convince them to get a Sears credit card. How these guys stay in business is beyond me.

The Sears in Burlington Washington has become so bi-lingual that an English only speaking person must read and re-read the sin age. Also, the sales girls were either too busy talking on the phone to acknowledge a customer or chose to be rather sassy. Having worked in retail and with the public the old saying is true, "The Customer is always right". My suggestion is that if you can't deal with that fact you have no business in retail. I will not be back to the Burlington Sears for a good long time.

Evil, evil! I took my child to have portraits made and have never in my life been treated so rudely. Not to mention that pictures I paid for were left out of my order and when I asked about them I was told to get out of the store. Stay away from Sears!

they have totally changed in the last 10 years for the best
and appliances one best place to shop for them

Its basically what you can expect from a mediocre department store. Although, I have dealt with their management team at a local store, and I got to tell you, they were plain out rude. But when I spoke with a customer service associate over the phone, they were more than helpful. Overall, theres much room for improvement, but like I said...mediocre.

Since K-Mart and Sears have merged Sears' quality and reputation has suffered. Another American institution gone by the wayside.

I used to love Sears. I remember going to Sears ever since I was 5 years old with my parents, shopping for Christmas. As an adult, I never bought clothes there because they don't have a good size selection. The smallest size they have is usually a six, maybe four, albeit a big four. However, I still loved their Craftsman tools and appliance center. No more. Their customer service is non-existent. Try calling them for anything, especially their repair center. You will be on hold for a good 15-20 minutes. If you ask for a supervisor because the person you are speaking with does not understand your problem, he will refuse or tell you there is no one else.

I will not trust their appliances anymore. My family has always bought Kenmore since the 1960's and had no problems. Now, just look up reviews of Kenmore appliances and Sears' service on any other website, and you will see that their service and quality of merchandise has gone completely downhill.

I bought a dehumidifier back in 2003, and after only two years (almost to the day), it stopped working. Mind you, my 20 year-old Kenmore in the basement has been chugging along non-stop 24/7 without a problem, and still is going. As for my new one, of course, what they said was wrong with it was not under warranty, and the guy at the repair center taking it in told me it wasn't under warranty before even looking at it (even though there was still a warranty on it). In fact, even though I had proof on their own website in my order history that I bought it in 2003, the guy put in my purchase date at 2000, purposely ignoring my repeated statements that I bought it in August of 2003! Putting the purchase date at 2000 would put it out of any warranty protection. I couldn't believe it. I asked him why he did that. He said he guessed based on the model. He finally changed it to 2003 after I made him look up my internet order history on Sears.com and made it clear that I will not proceed until he does.

Their prices and sales aren't great anyway, so you wouldn't lose a thing by not shopping there. Lowe's generally has better service, and they at least pretend to care. You don't have to wait even a minute to talk to a customer service rep. I'm furnishing my new kitchen with appliances from a local appliance store instead where you get better service since the owners have a more direct interest in keeping you happy and keeping you coming back.

Don't buy anything on credit from Sears, especially if they push a "don't pay for a year" deal on you. We had a horrible experience. When the bill came due, it was larger than we expected. So we called for a breakdown of exactly what we had bought. The reply was not helpful. It showed what we owed month by month but didn't show the items. We called again. (Each time we waited 15-20 minutes to get somebody.) We tried to get information on the phone, but the people we talked to either didn't know or refused to tell what we had bought. Again they said the information would be mailed. Again the information was useless. Now, because a year had elapsed, they began charging interest. We threw up our hands and paid the bill and paid the interest. Now comes another, larger bill for interest. We called to find out what was going on. The customer service person hung up on my wife. Over the past several years we have spent several thousand dollars at sears for large appliances for two houses. Never again. We have canceled our card and will never shop there again.

I just bought a 32cc gas weed eater on 3-15-06.Also the salesman assisted me on getting me the Repair Protection Insurance so if anything goes wrong they will fix it for free or get me a new one if not repairable at no charge. He also told me to get a 1 gallon gas can with oil mixture to mix with gas. It worked great the first time i cut the grass but second time i tried to cut the grass it didn't want to start. i sent it to the Sears repair center and told me it wasn't enough oil in gas mixture so they wanted to charge me $130.87 to repair the weed eater.I DIDN"T EVEN PAY THAT MUCH FOR IT WHEN I FIRST BOUGHT IT. The salesman is the one that told me to mix the small bottle of oil with 1 full tank of 1 gallon gas. They voided my warranty which i had no fault. I feel like i was ripped off!!!!

Having grown up with Sears, I have a nostalgia for the store, but now I only go there to buy Craftsmen tools and Kenmore appliances. I like the fact that I can still buy parts as needed to do my own repairs on the appliances and Kenmore has always been a very good value for the money. When I was a kid, I used to live for the Christmas catalog. Sears is facing too much competition now days and it's legendary status has dropped.

There isn't a layaway department. The major items at sears are costly and even if you do have an sears charge card why would any one want to pay on an item for years, instead of an 90 day layaway. (example: 28,000 btu air conditioner might cost 600.00 to 700.00 over 90 days that's 250.00 and third month less) with an sears charge card you will still be paying for this item and intrest for an even longer time.

Once they get your money, you're forgotten. And forget about delivery or pick-up for returns. The customer service is like speaking with robots. Ignorant, and callous. The truck drivers are muscle bound nitwits who won't go out of their way to accomodate the customer. What a shameful waste.

I will never shop at Sears again. They always prided themselves with the customer is always right and if you are not happy return the item with no questions/hassles. Not any more. I purchased a vacume cleaner and didn't like it. I returned it one week later and was slapped with a 15% stocking fee. Cost me $67.50 to return the item. Speaking to management didn;t help. They would rather lose a customer for life than waive the return fee. which by the way is a new policy. Thanks for the corporate address, which is very difficult to find and the employees at Sears refuse to give out.....Denise B..

To John J. Bluvas: Any problems you had with your Sears card is NOT Sears fault...Sears has nothing to do whatsoever with their credit cards..they sold the credit card division 3 years ago to CitiBank...the cards are now owned and issued by CitiBank..not Sears.....

denise8816 I had went to Sears and put a dual table in layaway on 11/05/2005. Was told by the sales person they would hold the table and I could make final payment the week before Christmas which I did on 12/17/2005. I was than told the table would come from the warehouse and be at the store for pick up on 12/20/2005. Only the table was not there and after 2 hours on the phone the manager at Macomb told me the table is not available for 3 months. Now this was my Grandkids Christmas present and was then told to buy something else on their list. Do they understand that at this time on 12/21/2005 what is left or hard to find. And then be told by this manage OH WELL

If you choose to buy sears products, better hope they last as long as possible. If they fail, might as well throw it away. Their customer service on parts sucks. It's always in stock but take forever to recieve and they have the most expensive shipping i have ever seen. First time shame on them second time NOT!!!

I bought a Kenmore Ultra Bake Triple Task Oven in March 2004. I had trouble with the bottom oven from the beginning. Sears came out in July 2004 to replace the heating element. As I do not use the second oven frequently, I did not recognize the problems again soon. There were many times when I questioned whether or not it was working properly, but with a busy life I made due. Prior to Thanksgiving, I felt the bottom heaters while on (which I had not done previously for fear of being burned), and it was cold. Again, I called a repair man. The first technician (not from Sears) told me that the fuse was blown and that it had been left dangling by the previous Sears technician. He did not want to replace it because he felt there may be some engineering problems with my oven that would cause this continuous problem. So, I had Sears come out again. Not only was the fuse blown, but the heating element was out AGAIN. This is a relatively new oven, and the bottom oven has had problems from the beginning. Do I wish I had addressed the problems with more zeal during the warranty? Absolutely! Should I have to pay $228 for repairs to my lemon? No. Until this is rectified, I will NOT buy anything from Sears, and I suggest you do the same. Shop Home Depot; shop Lowe's. Shop a store with integrity. Sincerely, Cindy Robinson

I recently had an issue with Sears for the last time. We are evacuees from Hurricane Rita. After the storm and everyone gets back to work, I call Sears to have them look at a dishwasher I bought from them and a refrigerator that I did not. I schedule one appointment to get it all taken care of at the same time (reasonable on my part, I thought). The first tech shows up at 8:00 on the morning of the scheduled appointment and informs me that he cannot work on the refrigerator. The refrigerator repairman has me on the list for the 7th call of the day. I call and ask to speak to a supervisor and would you believe, they told me that I could not speak to a supervisor. The lady even had the balls to tell me that no one at Sears could help. (She was right). My dealings with Sears Roebuck and Co. are over forever. Oh, by the way, Sears Corporate Address: Sears, Roebuck and Co. 3333 Beverly Rd. Hoffman Estates, IL 60179 Phone: 847-286-2500 Fax: 847-286-7829 Robert Currie Bridge City, TX

I have been a Sear's customer since 1951.I have never ever did Sear's wrong in anyway, and TRUSTED them. Today I get a my bill and I last owed $174.00 and found that I had been slapped with a $39.00 late charge. Went thru this entire house and can not find any billing for the month of August and the last payement I made was July. Who is to blame.Post Office or Sear's?My mails is home delivered, and I know I did not get a bill. So I have decided to return my Credit Card to Sear's and they can keep their stores, and their products as $39.00 is plain robbery without a gun.Especially when I paid my bill without fail before this incident.. Since K-Mart got their hands on Sear's, its been going down hill, and I have now decided I do need to ever buy from them again.Just fed up with their stuff, especially when I found some $1300 plus dollars of purchaes on my bill that I did not make , and I did get that squared away but they made me feel like a criminal to do so.. I have vented here as I can't find the damm Corporate address, as I would vent to the CEO ,and do so with passion

I recently needed a part for a stove I purchased at Sears. Spent 30 minutes on the phone with a person in their Dallas parts department going over the serial number time and time again, and then trying to describe to her the heating element I needed. After assuring me that the part was not available in any nearby Sears parts facility she agreed to send me the part. Alas, when the package arrived five days later it was a broiler pan, not a broiler element. I went to my nearby Sears store for some help and the thought that perhaps someone there could get this sorted out and they bascically told me to get lost. I got back on the phone with Dallas and they admitted to their mistake (woman selling parts didn't know stove from a garbage truck) and then told me I would have to mail the part back at my expense, even though it was their mistake. I found the part at a nearby supplier and will take the part back to a Sears parts place which, it turns out, did have the element in stock. So, about a half day lost. Whatever happened to a once fine company? After 40 years of buy appliances from they they are cooked at my house.

I'm hoping that this alleged merger will lead to some free standing Sears stores. I'm a former employee(20+ years ago) , and still enjoy doing business when its convenient. In Georgia, K mart is virtually gone. I would love to see Sears open up a mega store in a former K Mart site.