Craftsmen, Sears, and Customer Service, a betrayal.

When we bought our house twenty two years ago we started stocking up on tools. Hammers, shovels, saws, trimmers, mowers.  Craftsmen from Sears had a good name, so we went with that brand, and had good luck. All our tools are Craftsmen.

Recently my mower old stopped working. It was time to buy a new one.  We headed over to Sears, and bought a beauty. Electric Start, self propelled, mulching bagging it was a machine. But, after a month and a half it stopped working. It just wouldn't run.

We took it back to "Item Pickup window" in strict adherence to Sears' instructions. And waited, and
waited after a half hour they counter guys (I won't call them customer service) came out and said "it isn't covered."

"A four hundred dollar mower (frightfully more had it not been on sale) less than two months old and it isn't covered." I was shocked, and angry.

"We would like to see the store manager." My wife said.

They said OK, disappeared behind their swinging doors for ten more minutes and said, "Oh, we were looking at your chain saw."  They are both black and say Craftsmen so it would be easy to make the mistake. Had the chain saw not been purchased more than 5 years ago. But, they agreed that my mower was covered. And I would be able to mow my lawn when it was done in three weeks. Thank God grass grows so slowly, or I would be screwed.

Forty minutes later, we never got to see the store manager, but our mower was getting fixed.

Today, I got a call from the service center, rather, my wife got a call. Oddly it came to the business where I work, she works someplace else, and it is not a number tied to our Sears account at all, saying it would cost me $99.00 to fix my new mower. Wonderful.

I called the store manager who did not answer and did not call back. I tried Sears "Customer Service" and they said they couldn't do anything.

So I will pay my $99.00 dollars, get my mower, and cut up my Craftsmen Club card, burn the pieces, and bury the ashes in my back yard.

If anyone tells you customer service is dying tell them they are too late, Sears strangled that poor idea.

Here is my next mower. And when I need a new one it won't come from Sears.