So I have to say upfront that my family has shopped at Sears for home appliances for years. They have also gotten their cars serviced at Sears as long as I can remember. That being said, I took my car in to get the air conditioning looked at, because it was not blowing cold air. My husband figured it just needed some freon. Sears tried to tell me that it needed a new everything, and it would cost me $350.00. I decided to get a second opinion, and took it to a local mechanic. Turns out it needed...a can of freon. Total bill? $40.00. Long story short, this calls into question every other thing I have ever had fixed at Sears in my opinion. The thing that really chaps my hide? They didn't even apologize.
It sucks that Sears almost ripped you off for $300. When I read the title of the thread, I thought you were going to say that Sears can't survive because it's a mediocre store and other stores have similar merchandise and Sears doesn't really have a unique brand. There is nothing about Sears that stands out to me. I can't remember any of their commercials. I can find a lot of the same products in Kmart. I don't know how they're still in business.
I can't believe Sears is still in busy, I have family and friends that work and worked there. They have almost gone of of business a few times. They treat their employees SO BAD, I can't believe anyone works there. I guess when you treat your employees so bad, that might rub off on to the customers. We stopped shopping at sears a few years ago. Plus Sears was about the worse at trying to sell your extended warranties. That is because if you do not met a set quota Sears will FIRE you. You can find anything at Sears cheaper someplace else. For tools go to Harbor Freight.
This seems like common practice and especially when it comes to cars, you was probably charged a lot more in the past for work you did not need, some companies have no shame.
With the experience I had last week with Sear's customer support last week I can tell you a myriad of other reasons why Sears is not going to survive. I have never dealt with so many people who had no idea what they were doing and were so incompetent.
I've dealt with people like that at AT&T. One time I called AT&T and ended up on the phone for 90 minutes and got transferred to 10 different people who couldn't help me. It wasn't until I broke down crying that they transferred me to the right people. I was so frustrated that I got emotional and burst into tears and that's when they finally found the right department. I feel bad for those poor employees who get fired if they don't sell warranties. How on Earth do they still have employees? There's no reason ,really, to choose Sears to shop at. Target has a better brand and image, Kmart has a lot of the same merchandise as Sears, Walmart is cheaper. Why do people still go to Sears when there is nothing unique about them?
I don't anticipate Sears surviving much longer. They don't specialize in anything. They are a jack of all trades and a master of none. I stopped going there a few years ago when they botched my tire installation. They haven't opened up any new stores in my area in years. I think they try to do too much and spread themselves too thin. You aren't walmart. You don't have to try to sell everything but for groceries. I wish they would just focus on home appliances.
I highly doubt they're trying to be like walmart.. they were here first and haven't changed much my entire life (which I guess may be a problem lol). They're good for Christmas commercials though! lol.. and I used to love going through the wishbook. I'd still rather see a place like Sears make it over Walmart, but not if they're not going to bother trying to appeal to everyone. Their competition is cheaper (quality and price).. you can't survive if you aren't going to swim with the other mutts. And if they're being shady and treating employees bad to boot, then they're definitely not going to claw their way out of failure.
We also bought an appliances in sears. It stopped working, we called them and told about what happened. They say they will charged us $200 by just checking what is wrong, then additional charges for the parts we need to buy. Good thing one of my coworker knows someone who can do it. We end up paying $150 for the labor fee and the parts needed.
It has been years since I've shopped at Sears. Sears used to be my go to place for new tires and car repair. I'm sorry that you nearly got ripped off. This seems more characteristic of car mechanic shops that anything specific to Sears. It's very tragic that they try to take advantage of women and those who don't know much about cars. A trusted mechanic is worth double his (or her) weight in gold. Sears bought out Kmart years ago. I really don't think either one will be around in ten years.
Sears is trying to do everything and you can't do everything well. They should stick with tools and appliances. That is what they are good at. Most department stores don't service cars. That takes a whole different level of specialty. Then there is the fashion market that they only do an average job with. If they are going to survive they need to get past their identity crisis. Figure out what they do well and be the best at it. That's the only way to survive in today's marketplace. We have too many stores with mediocre products and mediocre service.
We simply do not need Sears anymore in today's world. What do they offer that I can not get CHEAPER at any place else. Tires I go to Les Swaab, Clothes JCPenney, Electronics Amazon or Newegg. Applicances there's Lowes/Home Depot. For EVERYTHING else we have Target and Walmart. I'm fine never stepping a foot into Sears ever again.. Did I mention how BAD they treat their employees? I know for a FACT!
They have gone down hill big time from what I remember them being like as a kid in the late 70's and early 80's. They never sold upscale brand name stuff, but they were at least somewhat clean and organized and looked more lively than they do these days. Now they look like a shell of a store, with no colors, no displays or decorations - the shelves are sparse with just a few items thrown out on them. The products are sometimes years old models. Most of the departments in the store look like they were half way under construction but just stopped and said screw it.
Sears has been around for years and years. I remember my mother getting the Sears and Roebucks catalog Spring and Fall, and a special holiday one for Christmas. There was a little catalog store, and she would go there and order the things she wanted, and they would call her to come and pick it up when the items came in. When we went to Spokane, there was a real Sears store there, and they always had good items at reasonable prices, but not cheap. Now, they really have not changed much from the old Fifties way of doing business, and they are not competitive with the newer places. The people that have used Sears for years are almost gone, and the younger ones now shop elsewhere. Unless they make the transition to online business, and better prices, they will eventually have to close shop. The store that was charging you so much for the AC in the car does not represent the whole Sears company , just the management of the garage in that particular Sears store. They will probably run their business off of they keep on using such deceptive practices. Telling the main Sears offices what happened might bring in some better management, but doing business elsewhere is a more reliable way to be sure that you are not being overcharged again.
Unfortunately that doesn't seem uncommon at all among those "fixing" cars but it is disappointing when you've been a customer for years and that's their attitude on top of it. Sears doesn't really even try to keep up with their competition anymore. I'm surprised they're still alive at all.
