Dave Henderson Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 (First I'd like to ask the moderator why my message on "General Discussion" forum requires me to choose either a "for sale" or "wanted" tag??) Getting on to the topic, it is sad that Sears direction is in a downhill direction. They no longer have the Dean Witter brokerage, Allstate insurance, the Craftsman brand, and now there is talk of letting the Kenmore brand go, along with numerous store closings. What is more, this has impacted on how "guaranteed for Life" Craftsman tools are dealt with when one breaks and it is presented to them for an exchange. My personal experience hasn't been good, and I am wondering how others of us have been treated. Here's the responses I have received in several instances; I took a 1/4 " ratchet in because it wouldn't catch. This time I got a new one, but it was of a lesser quality. Then it too broke. I was then told they didn't exchange for new ones, but rather "refurbished" ones. I waited while the clerk went off to install a"kit" in it. After a loooong wait he came back and told me he couldn't fix it right then because the tool he needed was at his home. Translation; you'll have to come back again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 the ceo stripped the company and is selling everything off to his hedge funds gain. Sears has been outta the loop for years. You cant chg 500-700. more for a lawn tractor made in china, then Lowes and HD does......... people arent that stupid. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Too much emphasis placed on price and not enough on quality these days. The Sears K-Mart merger killed both companies. Sears is killing itself from within by selling off the only things that make money for them. Retail today is a tough market with so much on line competition. I like brick and mortar places that still care for their customers and offer service after the sale. Sadly they are getting fewer in number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 The Sears near our house used to be a two-story 'anchor' store at one end of a large shopping mall. A few years ago, the upper floor was turned into a Primark clothing store. The remaining single-story Sears has 'loosely packed' inventory spread over a large area to give the illusion of a well-stocked selling floor. It's really a shame that the chain is going under slowly but surely. They already had the infrastructure to succeed as an internet retailer (catalogs, shipping, etc) but they fumbled it. Sears used to be a powerhouse retailer. Those days are gone. Back in the 1970's, JC Penney came out with a car battery that had a lifetime warranty. When they got out of the automotive business, Penney's had to pay other retailers to honor whatever battery warranties were left. Going forward, I suspect that retailers of Sears-derived brands like Craftsman will be required to honor the warranty of products bought at Sears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Henderson Posted June 4, 2018 Author Share Posted June 4, 2018 This is a continuation of my above topic,my computer froze for an unknown reason. Here's how another exchange attempt was (mis)handled. I bought a Craftsman multi meter last November, and by April it was kaput. I took it back with the receipt, but no dice. The clerk said it just had a 1 month guarantee. Being no good, I tossed it. Yesterday while looking through my desk I found the owners manual that came with it, and lo and behold it said "One year full warranty on Craftsman manual ranging multimeter". I went back and presented the receipt and manual to the clerk, and without looking she again said the guarantee was 1 month. Then when I read her the 1 year guarantee from the manual, her next reaction was to say I would have to deal with the manufacturer. WRONG AGAIN! The manual said to return it to the nearest store and Sears would replace it. Not to quit then, the clerk said I would have to bring it in, which of course I couldn't do because I'd chucked it since it was no good and they wouldn't exchange it. Yes, it was my word, but under the circumstances I think my request for a new one should have been honored. How have you been treated? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 I get a lot of my Craftsman stuff at my local ACE hardware store. The family owners of the store have been in business for over 130 years. Needless to say customer service there is excellent. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 If you have a problem with a company, don't work your way up from clerk to senior clerk to local manager. Instead, write directly to the head of the organization-- the President or Chief Executive Officer. Even if he himself doesn't see your letter, any directives will then come down directly from his office and carry great weight within the company. I've done this twice when things weren't being solved otherwise, and they were quickly resolved. In the case of Craftsman tools, the C.E.O. to address would probably be the one whose company is now responsible for the warranty. I've heard it said that a letter carries more weight than an e-mail. A good C.E.O. will truly want to know what's happening, because he wants to satisfy the customer, and because it might give him a chance to correct a wider problem. Don't let poor service go uncorrected! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 32 minutes ago, Dave Henderson said: (First I'd like to ask the moderator why my message on "General Discussion" forum requires me to choose either a "for sale" or "wanted" tag??) Getting on to the topic, it is sad that Sears direction is in a downhill direction. They no longer have the Dean Witter brokerage, Allstate insurance, the Craftsman brand, and now there is talk of letting the Kenmore brand go, along with numerous store closings. What is more, this has impacted on how "guaranteed for Life" Craftsman tools are dealt with when one breaks and it is presented to them for an exchange. My personal experience hasn't been good, and I am wondering how others of us have been treated. Here's the responses I have received in several instances; I took a 1/4 " ratchet in because it wouldn't catch. This time I got a new one, but it was of a lesser quality. Then it too broke. I was then told they didn't exchange for new ones, but rather "refurbished" ones. I waited while the clerk went off to install a"kit" in it. After a loooong wait he came back and told me he couldn't fix it right then because the tool he needed was at his home. Translation; you'll have to come back again! There is no requirement to use a tag on a post. There are no pre-formatted tags set up other than those desired to assist in for sale or want to buy posts. There is no need to add a tag to any other type of post since the search function will easily search the text of a post. I edited your post to remove the unneeded tag for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 How have you been treated? Went to Sears here in Syracuse the other day. Took in 4 sockets that I had "hammered" on to remove the locks from the wife's 2005 Honda. Pep boys forgot to give her back her lock key last fall..... walked out with 4 new sockets. Will say the place looks horrible. nothing on the shelves and empty as can be of customers. Went into Lowes the next day and see they are now carrying Sears rachet sets as the same price or less then Sears........................... Kmart was in bankruptcy 20 years ago and came back........but it is inevitable, when someone else out there is better then you. Is there an unfair trade advantage with Amazon? (another topic to ponder..................) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 I am hesitant to chime in since the entire discussion is really close to the line of violating the forum rules. I have very seldom done business with Sears in the past 3 decades due to several bad experiences. My own personal experience with Sears in the past year to attempt to exchange a defective craftsman tool (which was part of a set that I received as a gift at my AACA Chapter Christmas party), was not productive. After I was not successful at the local store, I contacted Sears customer service via the Sears website to complain multiple times. I never got any response from their customer service center in any manner. I still need to take that item back to my local Ace hardware store to get it exchanged. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Matt, what forum rules are being violated? Please explain................... tools are a BIG part of auto restoration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 I did not say that rules were being violated. I said that discussion is "really close to the line of violating the forum rules". The AACA discussion forum have always prohibited negative comments about vendors. You have no idea how many times the AACA has been threatened with civil suits or how many times that suits have actually been filed aginste the club for negative comments about companies on the discussion forum. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 (edited) Sears has been going down hill for years. I'm surprised they are still in business, it seems like they almost aren't. The local Sears mall store was replaced by a Hart clothing store last year, I don't know if they are somehow related. They had a golden opportunity to be the big online retailer, they already had the mail order warehouses set up, all they needed was an online catalog but they missed their chance. I don't expect them to be around in 2 or 3 years. I doubt anyone under 50 will notice they are gone. Their stock was $195 a share in 2007, now it is $2.15. Edited June 5, 2018 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 I have some Penny's Penncraft "guaranteed for life" tools. Last time one broke they told me to take it to Sears... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 We don't have any problem with Sears anymore up here in Canada.. They are gone like the Dodo bird. I suspect the next casualty will be Hudson's Bay. No one trains clerks anymore and won't pay a living wage to those who were trained. We (you and I) deserve what we are getting because we did not complain (as post #7 suggested) properly and we (you and I) did not support our long time department stores. We, many of us, bought cheap and now that is what we have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 20 years ago I had the worst consumer experience of my entire life with Sears and an air-conditioning system for my house. I have not bought a single item from them since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike6024 Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 4 hours ago, mercer09 said: How have you been treated? Went to Sears here in Syracuse the other day. Took in 4 sockets that I had "hammered" on to remove the locks from the wife's 2005 Honda. Pep boys forgot to give her back her lock key last fall..... walked out with 4 new sockets. Will say the place looks horrible. nothing on the shelves and empty as can be of customers. So you helped them out by defrauding them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plymouthcranbrook Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 (edited) I read that the big Sears Grand Store in Gurnee, Il is to be closed this year. Built to reboot Sears along with several others the only times that i was in there you could have bowled a cannonball done the aisles and never hit anyone. Sad but I have to say not unexpected. I haven't had any troubles with Sears but as with many I no longer really buy anything from them. Although I will say I inherited several Craftsman tools from my wife's late Uncle and when I took them to the Kenosha, Wi. store I had no issues getting new replacements. Over $200.00 by the time retail prices were added up. This was in 2014 and the quality seemed up to the level of the ones turned in. Edited July 11, 2018 by plymouthcranbrook (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike6024 Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Sears was bought by Kmart in 2004. Kmart chose to let the Sears name continue in use. They could just as easily been all renamed Kmart. I have bought lots, most of my clothes at Kmart. Sears has the same things, like Dickies pants, only at a higher price. I have continued to buy tools at Sears. Like a 17mm Allen wrench. Also sockets like 22mm and 36mm. A broader selection and you can buy individual pieces, not just sets. They also have 3/4 inch ratches and sockets not just 3/8 and 1/2 inch. You don't find that everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkV Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Sears bought Kmart big mistake. Sears is old and stogy and never kept with the times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c49er Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Good riddance Sears... they wouldn't exchange a mis- packaged band saw blade a few months ago. I was a customer for over 50 years. I threw the blade package at the sales counter as I walked out the door in frustration... this after after trying/asking begging to get the correct size blade... no dice ... it landed on the counter...the clerk didn't flinch. I've never been back. The huge store is now gone after being there for over 50 years. It's being chopped up into little outlet stores that will come and go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
$um Fun Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Sears problems started long before the merger with Kmart. When the sold off Discover card, Allstate insurance, their mortgage division (now PNC mortgage) and Dean Witter (now part of Morgan Stanley) was the beginning of the end. The management thought it would be great to sell the money makers and concentrate on the loosing side of business. What not to do will be part of business school text books for years to come. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black9fourfour Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Online shopping killed retail. The answer to the reason most retailers are going out of business and quality is less important than price. SHAUN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFranklin Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 I have a 1920s catalog of sears kit homes, all precut with every fastener and parts to complete. Just think you could have ordered your home online, well maybe with a stamp, 3cents. Bean counters know what they know but without much imagination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Henderson Posted June 5, 2018 Author Share Posted June 5, 2018 3 hours ago, JFranklin said: I have a 1920s catalog of sears kit homes, all precut with every fastener and parts to complete. Just think you could have ordered your home online, well maybe with a stamp, 3cents. Bean counters know what they know but without much imagination. I too have old catalogs from Sears. I still delight in looking at a 1943 fall/winter one, loaded with Model A parts, such as rebuilt short blocks @ $35 and trannys $15 or so. The '20's house catalog is a hoot too, as are the Christmas Wish Books. That is all the enjoyment Sears affords me now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John348 Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 5 hours ago, $um Fun said: Sears problems started long before the merger with Kmart. When the sold off Discover card, Allstate insurance, their mortgage division (now PNC mortgage) and Dean Witter (now part of Morgan Stanley) was the beginning of the end. The management thought it would be great to sell the money makers and concentrate on the loosing side of business. What not to do will be part of business school text books for years to come. I agree 100% this has been going on for many years now, I think the only reason they are still around is that they own the property most of the stores are located on. There was a huge store in Hicksville NY on Long Island that closed that is going to be the new home of a massive condo development, in an area that is overly crowded now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 so you helped them out by defrauding them not sure where the fraud occurred, the lug nuts were stuck in the sockets and unusable and they found it fine to give me a new set. wasnt my call............ nothing like a pissed off persons opinion! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Now where am I going to go for spare parts for this? http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?46927-Orphan-of-the-Day-12-13-1909-Sears-Model-K Or this? http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?46900-Orphan-of-the-Day-12-12-1952-Allstate Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Restorer32 Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 My Mother was a Sears. Unfortunately we were the branch of the family that kept our Sears catalog in the outhouse. My Aunt married a Rohrbach so in the family we had a Sears and Rohrbach. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stude Light Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 8 hours ago, JFranklin said: I have a 1920s catalog of sears kit homes, all precut with every fastener and parts to complete. Just think you could have ordered your home online, well maybe with a stamp, 3cents. Bean counters know what they know but without much imagination. I think this is the key along with a few other comments around not keeping up with the changes in how customers shop. Sears was THE mail order company of the day. That is what made them highly successful from the late 1800s into the 20th Century. Eventually they moved from mail order to mostly department store sales. As the buying public started to move back to "mail order", now called online, no one at the company had the foresight (or hindsight) to go back to their roots. They stayed with their department store sales model and you see the results. Scott 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlier Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 4 hours ago, John348 said: I agree 100% this has been going on for many years now, I think the only reason they are still around is that they own the property most of the stores are located on. There was a huge store in Hicksville NY on Long Island that closed that is going to be the new home of a massive condo development, in an area that is overly crowded now Published reports indicate that Sears has been selling their real estate assets for years now when those assets were not pledged as collateral for loans, etc. In the last two years those sales gave Sears 1.9 Billion dollars. When it comes to selling the remaining real estate Sears faces two main problems. One, the amount of real estate left to sell is not all that much anymore. Two, what is left that can be sold is not high dollar locations. FYI, Sears has been selling their Real Estate for cash and then renting/leasing back that same location if it was a store they wanted to keep operating. Bottom line is just because one sees a Sears store does not mean that Sears still owns the real estate it sits on. Since 2010, Sears has lost 10.8 Billion dollars. Reports in April indicate that the Sears CEO is pushing to sell the Kenmore Brand to the Hedge Fund that he also owns, to raise cash. After that takes place there is not much in the way of assets left Sears can sell. Coincidentally, not much left for creditors in the event of a bankruptcy or just shutting down the business. Hmmmmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Gregory Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 (edited) This TIME article I think describes what has happened to America . I feel for your country and Canada . How my Generation broke America . ITEM 4 http://time.com/magazine/us/5280431/may-28th-2018-vol-191-no-20-u-s/ Edited June 5, 2018 by Mark Gregory (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 17 hours ago, MCHinson said: You have no idea how many times the AACA has been threatened with civil suits or how many times that suits have actually been filed aginste the club for negative comments about companies on the discussion forum. This one has me cracking up. Next time just offer them a courtesy Forum account. What did Woody Guthrie call that?- we'll give him a case of the blind stutters. Filing a suit for negative comments reminds me of a call from my Daughter a while back. She said a friend had moved because the landlord intimidated her friend. I told her to call me if anything like that happened to her. She replied "Oh God, I would pity anyone who tried to intimidate you. You'd make their life a living hell." PM me a list of those companies. Well, lunchtime here. I'm heading for the China Buffet and then maybe walk around the Harbor Freight next door. Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Mark Gregory said: This TIME article I think describes what has happened to America . I feel for your country and Canada . That article sees most everything with a "cup half empty" view. It has little credibility. In every decade--probably the 1510's, the 1690's, the 1840's, the 1950's, there have been wonderful aspects of life as well as the opposite which would try to assert itself. Some people undoubtedly had negative views in every era. A single article from a failing news-magazine is not a way to learn accurately about a country, or continent, or society. We're doing fine, Mark, though there's always room for improvement, better ethics and morality, and as a result even better achievements! Edited June 5, 2018 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 When I was young a long time ago my grandfather gave me some tools that came from Montgomery Wards. I remembering him telling me that if I didn't loose them I wouldn't ever have to buy another. About fifteen years later my ratchet went bad and I got a new one. Then I was working on more stuff and the replacement ratchet failed about five years later. MW replaced it with some Taiwan brand. I complained but was told the warrantee was the same. That was a lie. I don't have any PowerCraft tools anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 3 hours ago, Restorer32 said: My Mother was a Sears. Unfortunately we were the branch of the family that kept our Sears catalog in the outhouse. My Aunt married a Rohrbach so in the family we had a Sears and Rohrbach. Here in Canada, it was known as "Pimpson-Queers". Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63RedBrier Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 When I was almost 16 (just turned 52 last week!) my dad, Donald (RIP) took me to the local Sears in Hazleton, PA to buy me a toolbox and socket set (it may have been a 100 or 150 piece set) of a variety of tools to work on my first Corvair, a '62 Monza Coupe with a 3 speed manual that I bought in West Hazleton for $100 from a very old man who made me promise not to "hot rod" it! Anyway, after I graduated from Penn State and started to earn my own money, I started to go to Sears on a regular basis in Paramus, NJ, to build up my collection of made in USA Craftsman tools! Two or three years ago, I bought a set of 20 or so adapters for my rachet set. I already had about 1/2 of them, but my tweenager wrapped it up for me for a Christmas present. Not until after I opened it, did I realize all the adapters were made overseas and were no longer marked "Made in the USA!" This past weekend, I go into my local Lowe's (one stoplight from my home) and there is a huge banner and at least a half dozen of the 42" and 52" roll away tool chests and Lowe's is now carrying Craftsman tools! I've had my eye on a 52" for a few years, but my current two roll-aways with top cabinets are working fine, and as an acquaintance pointed out, are much easier to move! I have to see where these tool chests/cabinets are made. It seems to me if Sears wanted to streamline and become more competitive, it should have downsized to smaller brick and mortar stores and sold off everything except for the Craftsman and Kenmore lines. About 10 years ago in Alexandria VA there was a small Sears Hardware store that seemed to have just those items! I loved it! It lasted a year or three, then closed. The last thing I bought in Sears was a new bed for my son and that was 2-3 years ago. I can't remember the last time I saw a circular for Sears in the Sunday newspaper... The closest Sears to me is a 20 minute drive to the other side of Alexandria at the old Landmark Mall. I'm not too sure if it is even open... Sad... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akstraw Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Quote When I was almost 16 (just turned 52 last week!) my dad, Donald (RIP) took me to the local Sears in Hazleton, PA to buy me a toolbox and socket set (it may have been a 100 or 150 piece set) of a variety of tools to work on my first Corvair Nice to hear your story, 63RedBrier! My Dad bought my first Craftsman tool set for me at the very same Sears store in Hazleton, PA. I got it for Christmas in 1971; to work on the Model A I had purchased earlier that year. I still have those tools, as well as the metal toolbox. Most are still in service. I have had to replace a few of the 3/8" 12-point sockets in particular, because the 'teeth' were about worn off of them. Just goes to show how much Sears is a part of the American experience. Sad to see their decline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JV Puleo Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 My late father was one of those people a friend described as "shouldn't be allowed to own a screwdriver". Nevertheless, when he got married (in 1950) one of his brothers, who was no more mechanical than he was, told him he should buy some tools for odd jobs around the house. So...he went to Sears a bought a set of open end wrenches. I don't think he ever used them. I adopted them 40 years ago when I started playing with old cars and they are still in my tool box today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cahartley Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 22 hours ago, JFranklin said: I have a 1920s catalog of sears kit homes, all precut with every fastener and parts to complete. Just think you could have ordered your home online, well maybe with a stamp, 3cents. Bean counters know what they know but without much imagination. Here is a fine example of a Sears House. This magnificent house stands in our village. It was purchased by the man for whom the village is named in the early 1900's. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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