Sears Home Repair Doesn't Show Up Doesn't Keep Promises Oakland California

We called about getting a commercial dryer repaired in a small 3-unit building. They gave us an appointment three days out, with a 4-hour window. I gave them my tenant's phone number so the technician could call when he got close. She took time off from work and sat in her picture window so he could see her when he arrived.

1-5 pm. At 5:15 a technician called MY number and left a message saying "I'm at the property but no one is here. I'm leaving-- you'll have to call to reschedule."

My perception is that the technician just wanted to go home. It was cold, wet, dark and easier for him to skip our call and shorten his day.

Since my tenant can't afford to take time off from work again, I called to see if a specific appointment could be set. A supervisor named Harris at the call center in East Texas assured us that we could, in fact, make an appointment at a specified time. but that we would need to call back in the morning when we would reach the local call center. He made a note in our call records and promised us that whoever we spoke with in the morning would be able to help us.

The next morning when we called Veronica answered the phone (after a 10-minute hold). She said her supervisor wasn't available. She couldn't give a specific appointment and that the best they could offer us was another 4-hour window four days out. We asked for a discount on services-- it would help us pay for laundry service until the repair is completed. They said they couldn't do that either.

I called the "Customer Relations' number on the website and got a nice guy (wish I could remember his name-- he really was trying)-- he understood my problem but also said Sears can't guarantee to come by at a set time.

I told him that Sears had set my expectations differently and that they could still make it right by offering me a discount on services. He agreed that I was making a reasonable request-- he didn't know what Sears would charge for a repair but I could check.

He then patched me through to Bee-A-Tris (probably spelled "Beatrice", but she very clearly pronounces it with three syllables-- accent on the second syllable) at "customer service for parts and repair." Beatrice said that Sears was unwilling to give me a discount for repair.

They could still make me happy by offering a discount on the repair. If they do so in time, I will file a rebuttal and sing Sears' praises to everyone.

For now, it's hard working with Sears when one employee guarantees something that another employee refuses to deliver. Sears associates need to get in sync on making people happy. There are lessons to be learned from Southwest, here.

Celia
Alameda, California
U.S.A.