Sears Kenmore Elite Appliances Consumer Reviews - Page 2

OCEANSIDE, CALIFORNIA -- *Please note my UPDATE above indicating successful resolution to this problem. Sears replaced my tub and swapped out all parts from my old tub to the new one at ABSOLUTELY NO CHARGE to me! Many thanks for the assistance from California Department of Consumer Affairs within the California Attorney General Office which helped me force Sears to honor their warranty. Here is my complaint concerning my Kenmore Ultra Wash Dishwasher, Model No. 665.16039400, Serial No. FR4704571, purchased 01/08/2005.

The tub developed a small crack and leak on the inside where a screw on the outside of the tub attaches a metal bracket to the tub. This leak allowed water to accumulate on the floor under the dishwasher, eventually soaking and ruining the toe kick portion of one of our kitchen cabinets. My owner's manual shows the dishwasher tub has a FULL (not limited) WARRANTY for the life of the dishwasher against leaks. The owner's manual states the following:

"FULL WARRANTY FOR THE LIFE OF THE DISHWASHER, ON ULTRA LIFE TUB MODELS, AGAINST LEAKS IN THE TUB AND INNER DOOR PANEL. For the life of the dishwasher, if a leak should occur as a result of failure of the polypropylene tub or inner door panel due to cracking, chipping or peeling, Sears will replace free of charge the tub or inner door panel."

I called the Sears 1-800-4-MY HOME customer service department and talked to two representatives. The first told me that the dishwasher was only covered by a one year warranty. I explained to her that my owner'€™s manual stated the dishwasher had a lifetime warranty on the tub. After checking with her manager, I was told that if the tub is defective, they will replace it for a $129 charge. This charge is for the Technician Service Call to diagnose the problem.

At first, I scheduled a technician, but called back immediately after hanging up because I was confused. I wanted to know if the $129 service charge would be waived when the technician verifies the tub is defective and under warranty. The second representative also said the $129 service charge would apply even if the tub is under warranty. Since I was not satisfied, I canceled the service call. I then went to my local Sears store where I bought the dishwasher and talked to the appliance manager. He could not help me, but did give me the 1-800-549-4505 corporate number to discuss the problem.

I called this corporate number and talked to a representative. She again told me that the $129 service fee would apply. Again, I tried to explain that the tub had a full lifetime warranty, so she put me on hold to check. While on hold for an extended period, I was hung up on.

So I called back again (now a fourth time) and talked to another representative. She understood my problem and frustration, and looked up the warranty information on my dishwasher. She verified that the tub was covered with a lifetime warranty. When I asked why I would be charged $129 for a service fee, she tried to explain to me that the PARTS were covered by the warranty, but the LABOR was not. She said the $129 service fee was a flat rate labor fee to install the free parts.

At this point I became quite frustrated and explained to her that she was incorrect. I quoted the actual FULL (not limited) WARRANTY language (a copy of which she had in front of her), stressing that it said "€œSears will replace FREE OF CHARGE the tub or inner door panel"€. She insisted that this was "œpoorly worded"€ and that it only covered PARTS, not LABOR. I disagreed and told her that this is a legal contract AS WRITTEN for a FULL (not limited) WARRANTY between the manufacturer and the customer. As such, it is not limited to parts only. I also told her that nowhere in the tub warranty paragraph does it stipulate ONLY PARTS, NOT LABOR is covered.

She sympathized with me, but said "€œmy hands are tied"€. She said she could only offer a technician to replace the tub for a flat $129 labor fee regardless if it took 30 minutes or 30 hours to fix. Realizing I was getting no satisfaction, I asked to speak to a manager that could offer me something that would be beneficial to both of us. She responded that she was a supervisor and has the ability to authorize action, and there was no higher authority.

My response was that she was not offering any solution different from what the other customer service representatives were offering. She then provided the contact information to me for the Executive Customer Relations department. So I wrote a letter, took pictures, scanned the owner's manual, and emailed all of this to the Customer Solutions Department at Sears Holdings Executive Customer Relations Department at the following email address: shc@customerservice. Sears.com

The first email response I received said the dishwasher was not under warranty. So I replied that they were wrong, and stated that their own customer service representatives on 3 occasions had verified that the dishwasher was under warranty.

Their second email response to me said they verified that the dishwasher did have an "exceptional parts" warranty, but that a technician would be required to examine the dishwasher and the claim to verify that it is covered by the warranty. The email also said that Labor would not be included for this service. I responded again and said this was a FULL LIFETIME WARRANTY, and as such Parts and Labor should be included. There was no response to this.

At present, the dishwasher has been out of service for over 2 weeks, and I have heard nothing back from Sears Holding. So I forwarded this complaint to the California Department of Consumer Affairs, and the Illinois Attorney General Consumer Fraud Bureau for their investigation and assistance. In the meantime, I am posting this to various online consumer protection websites to share my negative experience with Sears, and to declare that I will never purchase another Sears branded product ever again.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- Purchased a Kenmore elite refrigerator freezer side by side model number 795.5137. Took delivery on a Wednesday. The doors were taken off for entrance into the house. Plugged it in about 3pm after putting the water line on and taking off the tons of tape used in shipping. Four hours later still as warm in the fridge as outside. Called tech service after being transferred three times to an expert on this fridge I was told I must wait 24-36 hours. I explained I had food sitting in ice chests and on my counter, he said do not put food in. I waited 24 hours and did not open the doors at all.

When I checked the fridge was still warm, the fan was blowing warm air. I called the tech service transferred three times to the EXPERT this guy had me press a few buttons and asked that I hold my phone up to a small speaker on the door. The speaker let out what sounded like a fax machine. The expert said from that sound he could tell the fridge was in fact cooling down and that the inside temperature was 74. I explained that in my house and outside the temperature was 70 so I would be better off leaving my food outside. I then was told wait a few more hours which I did.

At somewhere after 11:30 pm I had had it I called again and was told to call delivery service and have the fridge exchanged. I had to wait until the morning. I called delivery service and was told I could not get a new fridge delivered for three days. I raised hell and got a next day delivery. Next day new fridge arrived at 3pm delivery guys took off doors brought it in and took the old one. I asked delivery guy if taking the doors off may have had something to do with the problem he said no way. So I hooked up the water line peeled off the tape and plugged it in.

Four hours later nothing fan blowing warm air. Called tech same transfer three times finally got tech said I must wait 24 hours do not open doors. I tied a string on the handles so nobody would open this thing up. 24 hours later untied the doors expected to find a fridge waiting to cool my food and guess what yep warmer than outside, called tech service again told I should check outlet voltage which I did and it was perfect, I even ran a heavy duty extension cord to an air condition outlet in the living room and no difference.

Tech said I need to schedule a repair man, was told 10/24 first available I explained to tech on phone that that is over a week away she said nothing she could do. She then said if you have medication in the fridge it will be considered an emergency. I said I do have medication in the fridge and she made the appointment for three days out. As I write this my wife is on the phone getting nowhere with Sears. I will not be waiting for a tech I will be getting this back to Sears and purchasing a reliable fridge from somewhere else. I'm done with Sears if I could I would drive this fridge to the CEO doorstep and leave it there. I have been a lifelong Sears customer no more

You be the judge. I want your feedback before I file a claim in County court next Monday. I stupidly made the ASSumption the Master Protection Agreement was for the customer. In reality it is the, "€œSEARS Master Protection Agreement"€, NOT the "Customer Master Protection Agreement."€ The MPA is pure profit for Sears and they throw enough hurdles in the way it is worthless insurance. 28 years as a customer purchasing appliances for rental houses, 14 refrigerators, 6 washer/dryers, and 3 vacuums, big screen TV:

And beginning in March 2008, I finally began 2 1/2 years of buying high end appliances and squirreling them away into storage for my own kitchen remodel. The remodel took us forever doing it ourselves for cash. 1st appliance we installed on a hot August day in 2009- since it was a simple plug-in was the wine cooler. 16 months old by the receipt date, but never used by us- it won't work. On 8/15/09 out comes the service technician under the $190 Master Protection Agreement who puts a big ugly fluorescent green sticker on the $515 wine cooler as "Scrap product, not repairable."

The techie says the cooler still has a "test piece"€ on the end of a missing copper pipe and never should have been sold to us. He also tells us he knows we didn't do it because we can't buy the "test piece" he's looking at. The tech told us to take it to the Thurston County dump. (Sears owes me $10 for that too.) A few days later, I received a phone call suspiciously chastising me for waiting more than a year to use the product, then grudgingly telling me I have a $500 credit toward another cooler.

I kept buying other appliances as they became available and when I was paying, I was told by Sears' staff I could ONLY use my postcard to buy another wine cooler. Knowing we still have at least another year on the remodel and not wanting to get chastised twice, I waited patiently until the kitchen was done (hallelujah) in August 2010 to go buy another cooler with the $500 credit (and prayed during those long remodel months the new appliances in storage would work when the time came.)

Guess what? When I went to buy in July 2010 a much more expensive GE Profile wine cooler and presented the postcard for the $500 credit, the Lacey Sears store wouldn't honor it. Sales staff told me I needed a "œPA #". The staff called a phone number, 800-479-6351 handed the phone to me, whereupon ** gave me PA # **, but told me it was useless because I had had only 90 days to use it. First I'd heard of that, especially after getting chastised for buying too early the last time and getting rejected multiple times to use it on other appliances!

** offered to send a 2nd techie out to verify the wine cooler was indeed broken. (Now what good would that do? The 1st tech sent to me was incompetent? I found this was a "€œred herring" to side track me as Sears corporate and I, both had the 1st tech'™s laptop print out that said the unit was defective.) I explained the cooler had gone to The Dump under the 1st tech'™s instructions. I tried explaining that denying me the credit toward purchase was a stupid decision since the $500 credit was against a $1055.99 item and I would be paying them an additional $600 for the GE Profile cooler.

So Sears has my money for the very last kitchen I will ever buy from them. Over 2 1/2 years I bought a Kitchen Aid frig, Jenn Air double ovens, a Kenmore range, a Kenmore Elite gas cook top, a Kitchen Aid warming drawer, 2 Maytag & Kenmore Elite dishwashers, 2 Kenmore Elite washers & 2 dryers.

I have just gathered all of the receipts, notes, 1st tech computer print out, green Replacement Audit Tag, and post card for proof of every word of this and next Monday I am going to file in small claims court for the wine cooler, dump fee, and Master Protection Agreement fee. We'll see what a judge thinks is equitable. At the very least, I want refunded the $515.93 wine cooler, 8.8% sales tax, $10 dump fee, and the $190.43 MPA fee. P.S. In August 2010 we bought a Danby 2-door combination wine cooler and beverage center from Walmart for $990 and are very pleased with it!

P. S.S. 10/24/2010 I received a response from Sears Cares- another mockery of a phrase. Their offer is re-issue the authorization code to shop Sears for a new wine cooler: "While I would encourage you to keep your Sears wine cooler and perhaps return the purchase made elsewhere, you would not be required to keep the wine cooler obtained with the re-issued authorization code. You would be welcome to give it as a gift, or perhaps sell it for profit."

No thanks Sears Cares, I have a set of values & morals. In this poor economy, I would sooner gift $500 worth of food. Furthermore, Walmart earned their sale with a good Danby product that worked. Why would I stick it to their profit margin with a return of a perfectly good product 4 months later?

I am fleeing the Corporate relentless pursuit to the bottom by thrashing and abusing an excellent, long term customer- me. I have found a reason Sears/Kmart went bankrupt. My mission and sport now will be to use every avenue available to me to tell future customers the ailing Goliath has suicidal depression and will abuse them too without regard or regret.

On October 6, 2009, we purchased a Kenmore Elite stove/oven. In the 8 months that we have owned the appliance it has broken twice. With both instances a part needed to be ordered and we were without the full use of the appliance. All together, in the 8 months we have owned the appliance, we were without full use of the appliance for approximately 30 days. When we purchased the oven, we also purchased a refrigerator and a dishwasher. We purchased all 3 appliances and had faith in the brand and the products. Since the oven has now needed repair twice we have since lost faith in the product.

When we contacted Sears Customer Solutions they were no help. My husband spent 2 hours on the phone with customer solutions, talked to at least 5 different people and still received no resolution. All he wanted was to speak to someone that had authority to either give us a replacement unit or a free 5 year warranty. 2 people flat out refused to give him their supervisor's name and contact information. My husband was asking for reasonable information.

Once he found out the initial person could not help him, he wanted to talk to their manager. After being transferred to that person and it became apparent that they could not help him, he asked to speak to their manager. At this point ** refused to give us the name of his supervisor, corporate address or phone number.

Initially we were asking for a new stove to replace our appliance; no upgrades, no compensation for the 30 days we did not have full use of it. After spending $1600.00 on an appliance, you do not expect to have it break 2 times in 8 months. Our reasoning is that if we continue with this track record, in 4 months when the oven breaks again, it will be out of warranty and we will need to pay out of pocket. Both repairs involved electrical parts and we feel that there is something wrong with this unit's electrical system. It's like replacing your tires because of uneven wear.

The tires may be new but the alignment is still out causing the same tire wear. During our conversation, ** our case worker, put my husband on hold to write down some notes. He asked ** to have a copy of his notes to make sure he was writing down the correct information. He flat out refused to fax or email us a copy. Then my husband politely asked ** to read his notes to him and again his request was denied. At this point my husband's frustration level was on the rise. He had been on the phone for 2 plus hours and been placed on hold several times.

He couldn't figure out why ** would spend so much time on the phone so he asked him if he was allowed to hang up on him, again he refused to answer my husband's question. He tried to explain to ** that if they had pride in their work and believed they were selling a good product that there shouldn't be any problems with giving us an extended warranty.

He also explained to ** that we would be without an oven for a week and how would we cook. He suggested for us to rent an oven and he could send us a $25.00 voucher. My husband asked ** for our case number so we would have a reference number; again ** refused to give it to him and then hung up on my husband as he was in mid sentence.

This has been a very frustrating and eye opening experience for us as consumers. Our old GE oven was over 15 years old and we had never needed service on it. We are truly regretful that we did not buy a new GE oven instead of the Kenmore brand. Furthermore, it is absolutely ridiculous to spend 2 hours on the phone with customer solutions and not receive a SOLUTION! In closing, you have lost us as Sears consumers and we will be telling our family, friends, neighbors, business associates and internet contacts about the unpleasant customer service we received from Sears.

There are thousands of peoplehaving the issue of accelerated corrosion on these machines. The corrosion seems to be the result of sabotage. These washers have aluminum bearings which are attached to the steel drums. This is a no-no that is well known to anyone who makes machinery. The galvanized action between the aluminum and steel will lead to severe and rapid corrosion. The replacement of the bearing is too costly to make it worthwhile. Sears will not sell the bearing alone so once you pay for parts and labor, you will probably spend more than the cost of a new washer.

The corrosion of this bearing is guaranteed and Sears has deliberately sold these faulty washers. The corrosion will probably begin to occur within a few months, but will progress at varying rates depending on other factors. It seems that the average life of these bearings is 5 years from what I've read so far. One person replaced his bearing near the 6 month mark and it corroded severely again approximately 6 months later. I am sure there are many more cases like his that are not heard about.

The reason I am here is to ask for a fair resolution to this matter. Instead of pushing for recall, I propose a less expensive solution for Sears. I think Sears should start a program to cover the repairs of bearing corrosion for 15 years from the purchase date of each machine OR offer each affected person a fair, partial refund on their washing machine (a pro-rated amount based on the expected appliance life of 15 years plus a fair amount toward installation fees, etc).

I also think a website and phone hotline needs to be set up for the owners of these machines so that everyone has access to this program and the refund amounts or promise to repair are written in plain English (or whatever language is suitable) on the webpage. I'm tired of this company pushing little people around and I want to see that everyone is treated fairly. If you are with me, please leave a comment. Sears, your Kenmore/Frigidaire washer is a piece of junk.

Not only did it fall apart after less than 4 years of use, but it badly damaged my tenant's clothing and bedding causing hundreds of dollars in losses for me. Are you prepared to reimburse me for my damages? Don't contact me until you are. I will be adding up my losses and contemplating what I think is a fair compensation before I file a case with the local small claims court. I have alerted a class action lawsuit specialist to this issue and they are eager to take the case as we already have over a dozen people on board.

I only began research on this 3 days ago and can imagine how many thousands of people would come forward if I did a little advertising to find victims. I'm ready to settle this. If you have something to offer me, put your terms in plain writing on this site. If you do not post your intentions, I will assume you plan to manipulate me, and I'm not interested.

Exposing your company for the selfish entity that it is, is somewhat rewarding, so make your offer a good one, if you want me to be happy. Keep in mind that I paid $649 for the washer plus $199 to "setup" which included connecting two hoses and plugging it it. In addition I paid for delivery and purchased the top mount dryer which I have no use for without the washer. I hope you have a reasonable and fair offer to put on the table.

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ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA -- Please reconsider before you choose Sears to install any new central heat and air system if you are in the Tampa Bay area. My experience should make you run the other way. We decided to go with Sears because we wanted a company that had been around for a long time when we were making such a large purchase. We signed on the dotted line wrote them a check and the fun begins. We agreed on an installation date and the vans pulled up only to find out they weren't from Sears at all they were contracted from Sears to install my new ac unit might I add only 1 of them spoke English.

OK I was just excited that we would have a nice cold house that evening. The unit was installed both air handler and outside compressor. Things seemed fine until June when it really warmed up and I started noticing all these little bugs and water dripping in my hallway. Then boom a huge chunk of my ceiling came crashing down.

Called Sears they finally had the original installers come out and check the unit to see what was wrong. I had water everywhere. They didn't hook up the drain line and they also didn't install the safety for the drip pan so the unit continued to run and overflowed into my attic creating a huge mold problem along with the now huge hole in my ceiling.

1 month later they sent this man out not with any company to patch the hole in my ceiling. I hope by this point you are running in the other direction away from Sears. OK so we get through that part in an untimely manner and the next summer comes, the air conditioner will just not keep up with the heat. I call Sears they said these new energy efficient units run this way and not to worry so we sweat through that summer with the unit running constantly.

The thermostat was set at 76 and it would always read 78 to 80 and finally catch up around 11 at night. Next summer season 3 comes and the unit starts to freeze up am fed up with Sears and call another company it's out of freon. They refill the unit and have to come back out again before the end of the season to refill and insist that I will not have a working unit next summer. They were right we are now into the 4th dreadful year with this unit a few days away from it's install date and sure enough it completely quits. Shuts the breaker off and everything.

Sears gets to deal with this once again because it's under warranty. So they come out after being without air for 4 days and tell me that my compressor has froze up and needs replaced but good thing it's under warranty. It will take 2 days to get the new parts but the labor will cost you 500.00 plus 80.00 for my trip today. So this big piece of junk I bought from them has cost me a grand total of 6280.00 and that's not including the charges from the other service trips from the other company! PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM SEARS I REALLY HOPE YOU WILL CONSIDER AN ALTERNATIVE THIS COMPANY IS HORRIBLE AND WILL ROB YOU BLIND!

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS -- On March 7, 2005 I purchased a brand new "energy efficient" washer and dryer set from Sears and paid $1,909.79 for the set. Three short years later my washing machine quit working last Wednesday evening July 2, 2008. I spent all day Thursday on the phone with Sears repair centers trying to figure out what the F11 code meant that was being displayed on my washing machine.

I was told that it was some type of electrical / computer problem and that it would take a technician coming out for a $70 service call to diagnose this problem as the warranty on this machine was only 2 years. I scheduled for the repairman to come to my home which they told me would be on Monday as Friday was the 4th of July holiday.

On Monday, July 7, 2008, a technician came to my home around 3:30 pm. - After hooking up his computer to my washing machine he told me that the part that needed replaced was something on the back- some type of main control board. He told me that he could either order a rebuilt one which would be $100.00 less than the new one but that a rebuilt one would take approximately five days to get here. However, he informed me that the new part was on his truck in stock and it was $279.43. He then told me that it would be a total of $402.33 to fix everything.

I told him to go ahead with the new part as I couldn't wait another five days to have my washer fixed and needed it taken care of. He proceeded to put the new part on and a while later informed me that this did not correct the problem. He said that to fix the washer he was going to need to order another part as he didn't have it in stock and it would be approximately five days to get THAT one.

I told him that had I known that was the case, I wouldn't have paid an extra $100.00 for the NEW part that he just installed. He again repeated himself that it would take approximately FIVE days to get the part that was needed. I asked him why he couldn't have it overnighted and he explained that the "emergency ship" had closed at 2PM from taking orders so he wouldn't be able to order it to be expedited but would still order it today. He said "You can call the 1-800-4-MYHOME number tomorrow and they will give you a tracking number so that you will know exactly what date it will arrive".

I said "I have paid A LOT of money for a washer and dryer that are only THREE YEARS OLD only to have this $400 problem and now your telling me that you can't fix it for another five days. When is Sears going to do something to help ME as their customer" and he replied "They're not".

He then informed me that I would need to put at least $375.20 down that day to get the part ordered. I asked him "What if you get this other part and that's not the problem either, then how much more is it going to cost me" and he said "Nothing. It will either be fixed or we will refund your money". I said "Can I get that in writing" and he told me "No".

I called on Tuesday July 8,2008 to the number I was given and asked for a tracking number and was told there wasn't one to call back later. I called Tuesday evening again and was told the part hadn't even been ordered as they were trying to find one. I called on Wednesday July 9th and was told there was still no tracking number and the part hadn't been ordered yet. I called later in the day on Wednesday July 9th and spoke with a customer service rep at the same number and was again told the same thing. I asked her to speak to a Supervisor who could help me get to the bottom of this and she told me there wasn't one.

I again told her I needed to speak to a Supervisor and she, in a very mocking sarcastic tone told me "they aren't taking calls today". I said "Then I would like whoever is above them" and she said "There isn't anyone" and I said "I would like to speak to someone there clear to the top that can help me with these problems" and she said "you are" and I said "Oh you run Sears" and she said "Yup". I then asked for her name and her employee number or last name for identification, both of which she refused, however, she told me that this phone call was being recorded. I hung up.

I then called the Sears Customer Relations number at 1-800-549-4505 and spoke with a rep. He was extremely professional and took all of the above mentioned information. He assured me that he would forward this to someone who WOULD get to the bottom of this and be contacting me within 24 hours.

Today is Thursday July 10th and I still have not received a phone call. Therefore, this afternoon I called the same customer relations number where I spoke to the first gentleman and then spoke with a female rep today. She asked me for my phone number, name and address, pulled up my file and then asked me what she could do for me. I said I had spoken to a gentlemen yesterday who assured me that someone would call me within 24 hours and nobody had. She then said "Well what's going on" So she made me go through the ENTIRE details AGAIN! After doing so she said "Well I'm really sorry this has happened to you but there is nothing I can do for you.

You will just have to wait for someone to call you back". She also told me that the part "looks like" it had been ordered however could not provide me with any type of tracking/shipping information. Today is now Friday July 11, 2008 and I just called the parts department again and was told that the part had been ordered from Whirlpool on July 9, 2008, and was being sent to Sears and then they would send it to me and it would be here in another 10 days. In the meantime, I have now been without a washer for 9 days and it appears that since nobody at Sears will take responsibility or be accountable for their products that it will be another few weeks.

Had I known about the customer service that Sears provided I would not have bought this appliance 3 years ago. I sold a standard GE washer and dryer that I had bought in 1992 when I bought this new set and it was still running perfectly and had never had any issues. I also was not aware that these new front load style machines with the computers in them bring MAJOR repairs charges. It's not something that you can buy a part and fix at home. Do yourself a favor and don't buy a piece of GUM from Sears!!!!

SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND -- Sears refused to honor warranty obligations for a microwave purchased on 20 December 2003 (Kenmore Elite Ultra Wave Microwave Hood Combination, model 721.63663). The Sears technician improperly diagnosed our problem and Sears refused to acknowledge their responsibility under the warranty. The microwave malfunctioned on 23 November 2007. We contacted Sears to arrange service. We knew that an “F-9” error likely referred to magnetron malfunction which was covered under the 5-year manufacturer's warranty. After a two week wait (7 Dec), the technician arrived to diagnose the unit.

We told him that we suspected the magnetron which would be covered under the warranty. Although we were not aware of this at the time, the Sears technician misdiagnosed the problem. Instead fingering the inverter board which was NOT covered by the warranty. Since the warranty seemed to be void and the technician estimated an additional wait of 2+ weeks for repair service, we declined their estimate and paid $65. The following day (8 Dec), we contacted another service representative who could respond more quickly to fix the inverter board.

This representative corrected the misdiagnosis and installed a new, operational magnetron within one hour for $305.25. He assured us that he was accredited and therefore Sears should process a refund for the warranty-protected magnetron. After gathering documentation for the purchase and the warranty, we contacted Sears on 23 December 2007 and received assurances that progress would be made the same day. The representative (Jessica) agreed our case was strong because the Sears technician misdiagnosed the problem and sent us down the wrong path. We never received the promised return phone call from Jessica or any other representative.

All further contact (through BBB) was met with furious corporate resistance. Sears insisted up and down they would not pay us a shiny dime to account for their 1) incompetent technical service, sending us down a misleading and frustrating path, and 2) the cost of the replacement part and labor which was warranty-guaranteed. Sears needs to fulfill their legal and ethical duty and reimburse us for 1) flawed technical service ($65), whereby the problem was misdiagnosed. In medicine, this is called MALPRACTICE, and for 2) the effective repair by third party technician who replaced the component covered under the 5-year warranty ($305).

The microwave now works again. No thanks at all to Sears and their tawdry warranty promises. Regardless of your eventual decision, my family and I will never again shop at Sears. I now know what I can expect from Sears' Jurassic customer service stance in the future. This has been a terrible affair with your 'customer service' and 'escalation' staff. Minimizing the problem, failing to follow up with phone calls and failing to be accountable for Sears mistakes that caused all these problems.

It would have been incredibly inexpensive for your Corporation to satisfy this straightforward claim. But instead Sears chose to chase away ALL of my future purchases for home appliances, car repairs and any other 'service' Sears provides. Rest assured, I will share this with everyone I can. And I will never spend another cent at Sears or their affiliates.

SCHERERVILLE, INDIANA -- When I was 18 (in 1989), my first 'real' job was at the local Sears store in the Auto Center. During my time there, I learned that, above all else, customer satisfaction was to be my greatest concern, as it was for my supervisor, my manager, and store manager. There were times that I remember staying up to two hours past closing time in order make sure a customer left happy. This is the primary reason that my wife and I decided to purchase our new washer and dryer at Sears. But this will be the LAST time I ever buy anything from Sears or K-Mart or any of its subsidiaries.

After a total bill that came to well over $2300, we took the appliances home and hooked them up. I put in the first load of laundry and everything seemed to be working, but at the end of the cycle, the message 'F29' kept blinking in the display. This message apparently means that the door lock on the washer has failed and the door cannot be locked or unlocked. Which was unfortunate for me because all of my sons' clothing (ages 2 1/2 years and 10 months) was stuck inside the washer and was not retrievable.

Immediately, I consulted the owner's manual, which instructed me to call for service. So I called the store where I purchased the unit (FYI - it's the Sears appliance store in Schererville, Indiana) and no one there was interested in helping. They just wanted to refer me to the Sears repair 800 number.

The 800 number was enough to drive anyone crazy. The menus made little sense and getting a live person was very difficult, but I guess that's the way everything in these days. Anyhoo, I'm rambling, so here's what happened next:

3 days after initial call: repairman visits my home and informs me the door lock was incorrectly installed at the factory and he will have the part overnighted directly to me and then he will return and finish the repair. He is able to remove the trapped clothes, fortunately.

6 days after initial call: No part arrives. I call Sears and ask what the deal is. They tell me the part is on backorder and will not arrive for at least ten days. I asked if they ever intended to share that with me. They have no answer. We attempt to get in touch with the store and the store manager puts us in touch with someone else, who states they will probably replace the machine. Someone will be in touch in 24-48 hours.

9 days after initial call: No one has gotten back to us. We call again, start making threats, nothing happens. We call the store again, and they transfer us yet again. We speak to someone who says we are scheduled to have a new machine delivered the following Friday, which will end up being 17 days after my initial call. And 19 days that I've had a brand new washer that won't work. We'll see if they can get it right this time. But I'll probably end up loading the thing into my truck and taking it back.

Fiascos like this happen, I understand, but when someone like me calls Customer Service, I expect the person to care, or at least pretend to care. When my wife, who is in an extremely high-stress customer service job (She runs a nursing home, where if the customer ain't taken care of, it probably means they're dead.), explained her dissatisfaction with the level of service we had received and then slowly and deliberately explained we would never shop at Sears again, and would tell all of our friends and neighbors not to shop at Sears, this was their response: "That's your right, Ma'am."

Not even a glimmer of "What can we do to make this right?" or even "I'm sorry, let me see if there's anything I can do." I will never shop at Sears again, and I encourage you to do the same.

BEDFORD, TEXAS -- In August of 2006, we were in the market for a new refrigerator. Our Amana was over 20 years old and we wanted to place it in the garage as a 2nd refrigerator and purchase a larger, stainless steel look for the kitchen. As we keep our appliances for a long time and wanted to make the right decision, we took our time shopping and referred to Consumer Reports magazine.

We finally decided on a Kenmore Model 56666, as it was rated # 1 in side-by-side refrigerators and the #1 Best Buy in the August 2006' issue of Consumer Reports. We had so much luck with our Amana refrigerator; we decided the extended warranty would not be necessary. Our total price was $1585.73. The refrigerator was delivered on August 29, 2006 and initially we were very pleased with our purchase.

Then, on February 12, 2007, I noticed a number of cracks on the interior backside of the wall had appeared. These cracks are puffed and obviously cracking from the backside of the panel into the inside. As I investigated further, I found a few other cracks beginning to appear. Realizing this was a manufacture's defect and the refrigerator was still under warranty, I called the Sear's Service Center and an appointment was scheduled for Monday, February 19, 2007.

During the service call, I learned that ours is not the first of this model of refrigerator that has had this same problem. The service man said he didn't know what was causing it, but he suspected it was from too much insulation in the lining. He said the only think they've come up with was to cut out a panel and glue it in. I was shocked and he seemed to expect my reaction. I can only assume that everyone whom has had this problem has found this to be a poor solution. He was apologetic and told me he knew how I felt because these refrigerators are really expensive and I'd only had it a few months.

He seemed genuinely sorry that this was the only solution they had come up with. I asked who else I could talk with and he suggested I call the manager of the store where the refrigerator was purchased, as well as Customer Service in Sears' corporate offices. He added that he was going to go ahead and order the part; however I could cancel the repair, depending on any other solution I came up with. He indicated that he knew it wasn't much of a solution and suggested that I could leave it as is. He felt it wouldn't hurt anything other than the appearance.

After discussing this with my husband, we decided this is an unacceptable solution. Besides the fact that we are now unhappy with our own purchase, we had recommended Kenmore to two other people who both purchased Kenmore refrigerators. Now, we wonder if they will face the same problem and partially blame us. Thus, I contacted Sears at Northeast Mall in Hurst, Texas, where we purchased the refrigerator and asked for a store manager.

The manager I was referred to was named ** and he told me he would check on it and call back. At the store manager's request, a woman named ** contacted us later in the day concerning our complaint. She told us nothing would be cut out of or removed from our refrigerator; instead a 3' X 5' panel would be glued into the inside back panel to cover the cracks. We expressed our discontent in this inferior solution and the only concession ** would offer is extending the warranty on the back end. The inside of the refrigerator appears to be one solid molded piece.

The panel would not be flush and would not solve the problem, only temporarily cover it up. Since areas would have to be cut out for the light bulb and possibly hoses, there would be a number of edges that would not be flush; rather, they would harbor soil and bacteria. As the plastic repair panel would be made of a different material would it yellow or discolor like so many plastics. In addition, we would not be able to tell if there are any leaks or other problems. The Kenmore solution is not much better than using duct tape.

Because this is not an acceptable solution for a manufacturers defect in an expensive refrigerator that is still under warranty, we asked ** who was higher in the chain of command that we might further discuss this matter with. ** rather abruptly informed us that “she was it!” She said we could not go any higher because she is the “National Level One Source Customer Relations Manager.”

We then informed ** that she left us with no recourse other than to contact the President of Sears, Consumer Reports, the Better Business Bureau, and any complaint websites we might find. ** simply gave us our case number: ** for any references to our problem and offered no other solutions to our complaint.

Interestingly, the replacement part was shipped to us and we received it on February 26, 2007. As the box, itself, only measures 25” X 35,” I knew it could not hold a 3' by 5' panel as described by **, so I decided to look inside. I found a flimsy plastic panel measuring 22” by 35.” As this would not come close to covering the back panel, I wondered if they planned to glue it on the back in pieces.

We are so very disappointed in Sears. Our home is filled with Kenmore appliances and we are planning to completely remodel our kitchen and utility room in the near future. Kenmore would have been at the top of our list; however, unless this is resolved in an acceptable manner, we will never recommend Kenmore appliances to anyone, nor will we ever purchase one again. Please let me know if you have any suggestions regarding finding a solution to this problem.