Sears May Be The Worst Place To Get Appliances?

Posted by ok4now on 2012-11-05:

I agree. Look who is number one on this site for Most Talked About Companies....Sears! And why is that? They have the worst appliance and customer service reviews. They do damage control with "SearsCare" which is just a smoke screen for their incompetence. This once great retailer is poorly managed and about to go under. Do NOT but their inferior appliances.

Posted by SearsCare on 2012-11-05:

Dear Wittville,
My name is Brian and I am part of the Sears Social Media Escalations team. After reading your post, I have to say I am very concerned, and would like to offer my team's help in making this right. We aim to provide top notch products and services to all our customers, but from your post it is clear that we have come up short of our goal. We understand how discouraging it is for you to be dealing with the same repair over and over again. We would like the chance to help find satisfactory resolutions to the issues that you are experiencing with both your refrigerator, and your dishwasher.
At your convenience, please contact our office via email at smadvisor@searshc.com so you don’t have to continue to be frustrated by this. In the email, please provide a contact phone number and the phone number the appliances were purchased under (if different than the contact phone number) and we will call you directly. Also, in your email, please provide the screen name (Wittville) you used to post on this site, for reference to your issue, and we do look forward to talking to you soon.
Thank you,
Brian S.
Social Media Moderator
Sears Social Media Support

Posted by wjk898 on 2012-11-05:

Just a warning about ALL appliance purchases these days...no matter where you purchase them just cross your fingers. These are not your parents' namebrand appliances. There is more than a small chance you're gonna get a lemon. Read the reviews - and by no means purchase these iffy things from Sears. That's askling for it. Their lack of customer service is now legendary.

Posted by t.caldwell on 2012-11-05:

I agree . I will never buy from sears again.My dishwasher quit working after a couple months. We have been trying to get it fixed for 3 or 4 weeks.Sears does nothing but give you the runaround.Long story but we still do not have a working dishwasher.My parents always bought their appliances at Sears they used to be a good company not anymore . Save yourself the trouble of dealing with Sears dont buy from them.

Posted by AlaPaul on 2012-11-06:

I think the quality of the service may be related to where you live. I've never had a problem with them. Also Sears doesn't build the appliances,they just sell them. I do agree though, appliances aren't built to the same high quality of 30 years ago.

Posted by Duane Hadley on 2012-11-08:

I used to buy all my appliances from sears not any more.I dont think its so much to do with sears. I think it is more to do with the makers of these products.infearer parts they use.

Posted by uchu on 2012-11-08:

Agree with AlaPaul. I have purchased appliances from Sears and all seem to be working well *knock on wood*. Sears installation service for the dishwasher was very professional and reasonable, compared to other local vendors. I guess it really depends on where you live (or, as they say, the luck of the draw).

Posted by Fred T on 2012-11-08:

I went through 3 fridges with the same very poor quality and service and then the manager of the langley BC Sears tried to ban me from the store after I returned 3 fridges. Their headquarters were just as bad in their handling of the situation and I still have all the documents to show how they treat the customer.Since then I have not bought anything form SEARS for a number os years even if the price maybe lower.

Posted by Sears Hater on 2012-11-08:

Yep, I can't stand Sears either and will NEVER buy from them EVER EVER EVER again... and NEVER recommend them to anyone... In fact, I always tell people my horror story with them...
I had so much trouble with a fridge I bought from them last year... I had to return it 2 times cuz it had defects both times!!! The only reason we didn't buy a fridge from somewhere else is that others don't carry a side by side without a water/ice dispenser, I don't like the freezer on top or bottom models either... Sears was the only place that had them...
It took me a month and a half to get a decent fridge, without defects... meaning I had to unload and load the fridge so many times it was SOOOO frustrating! And THEN, to top it off, I had to have a service tech come and drill a hole in the 'dip pan' thingy at the back (on the last fridge) cuz that fridge had issues too... but at that point I was so fed up, I just kept the last fridge... I hope when I go to get my refund on the extended warranty they don't try to screw me out of it, saying I got servicing! Cuz I will LOOOOOOOOSE it !

Posted by myexperiences on 2012-11-08:

totally agree. I haven't bought one appliance that last more then 2 years off them since the 90's.

Posted by Demi93 on 2012-11-09:

I went through what your going through with Sears with a Kenmore refrigerator. I even finally got help from Brian (who wrote a comment above). He's a nice guy but the extra personal "help" did not cover the crap we went through (or the money). After 20 years of loyalty to Sears and buying my appliances,washers and dryers and lawnmowers from them we said NO MORE. We will be looking for a new dishwasher and oven next but I can promise SEARS will not get us again.

Sad to see such an American Icon die.

Wanda M.

Posted by love them bassets on 2012-11-09:

I used to buy all my appliances from Sear's, but after having to wait two weeks each time when my refrigerator stopped running, i said no more and went to Lowe's and have never gone back. I stopped shopping in sear's years ago and have not regretted it. The management team at Lowe's is top notch and any problems get handled with one phone call. Sear's needs to stop selling appliances and lawn equipment and focus on drapes and bedspreads.

Posted by At Your Service on 2012-11-15:

I can't say I'm familiar with the Austin, Texas area, but I've got an extensive background with appliances.

I've always found Kenmore somewhat overpriced for the actual product. Kenmore is not a manufacturer, but rather a Sears store/name brand. Do they break? Absolutely. But I'm not aware of any appliance that can't.

It is very true that appliances are not built like those of yesteryear. But, in fairness to all the manufacturers, the pricing hasn't increased over the decades as in other forms of merchandise. Surprisingly, you can still pay about the same price today for a dishwasher as you did thirty-some years ago. The same goes for just about any appliance you may consider.

So what has changed? For the most part, loyalty to the brand. Think about your parents and grand-parents back in the 50s and 60s. Chances are, they were very brand loyal. Certain brands in everything they purchased. Manufacturers grew their market share by building further loyalty from mother to daughter, father to son. Hopefully friends and neighbors found the opportunity to tout their preferred brand during the local bridge game or bar-b-Que. Then the 70s happened. Remember the long gas lines and ridiculous high cost of living increases. All of a sudden, the consumer wasn't quite a brand loyal. Brand loyalty took a back seat to price. Sure brand X was always dependable and lasted a long time, but there was brand Y where we could save a few dollars. No one expected the appliance to break down when it did, so maybe saving the money and trying brand Y isn't a bad idea. Many consumers followed and the successful manufacturer listened by cost cutting any way they could. The average life of appliances went from twenty-five years to fifteen and then ten -- if you were lucky. Manufacturer's warranties, which are a definite cost to the merchandise, got reduced considerably too.

Yep, we were becoming more of a disposable society.

Does the manufacturer make some miraculous difference? Not absolutely. Browse this site or the web in general and there's complaint after complaint of nearly every brand out there. Doesn't seem like any are immune. What about retailer? Retailers can help considerably when reality doesn't match one's expectations. One may generally find small pockets throughout the nation where one retailer does a better job. Nationally, however, as someone else suggested, there's not a single retailer without imperfections. Lowes and Home Depot both have layers of negative reviews here and throughout the web. And yes, along with Sears too.

Posted by dijon509181 on 2012-11-15:

It is good business to produce products and appliances that do not last and believe it is done on purpose. Things coming from overseas are not cheaper because they have to be replaced shortly and when you factor in the expense of their defects and short mortality you actually have a high priced appliance or product. I'm keeping my old appliances as long as they will work.

Posted by myexperiences on 2012-11-22:

I don't have a Sears appliance or tool I would recommend. Only reason I bought them was based on the reputation they had when I was young (70's, 80's). I don't think any of their engineers actually went to school, because the reasons their stuff breaks is usually such an obvious problem. Control panels directly over heat/steam vents, wires over the hottest part of the unit, thin plastic and cheap connectors on the most heavily used parts, etc. I went as far as write them to apply for a job on their design team, stating I had absolutely no design or engineering skills or training - I'd make a great department head.

Posted by Acher on 2012-12-09:

This is not new! I bought my fridge 18 yrs. ago. A month or two out of warranty the ice dispenser starts leaking rusty stains are left visible. Who makes a ice/water dispenser with screws that rust? It would have cost half the fridge to replace or repair. No help from sears!

Posted by Barbara on 2013-01-11:

I purchased a wall oven from Sears in 1989 and it gave great service until 1 week ago. I will purchase another wall oven from Sears and take my chances in spite of all the negative reviews about their products and service.