Sears to close more stores as holiday sales slump

[PrettySquareGal]

A big problem for me is that when they screwed up my order for a major appliance and I wanted to cancel the order which I had placed online, it took me dozens of phone calls to call centers I don't even know where. I kept getting bounced around and transferred...it was maddening. Finally after a few days I was able to get a confirmation of a refund and cancellation. But a month later I got a letter from my local Sears stating that unless I picked my oven up it would be sent back?!?!?! Never again!

 

[sheeplady]

Unbelieveable! Most people in that situation wouldn't have bothered to call the Company, and that's how they responded? That's yet another reason why I wouldn't shop at Sears.

The mattress was bought from Kaufmann's but she thinks it was during the transition to Macy's. So it's hard to tell where the rep was from or what was going on. Either way, she did her due dilligence and the rep acted like she was a waste of time (and a mattress isn't a cheap thing). I still can't believe the customer service rep actually *hung up on her.*

Her response was like "Looks like I got a free mattress." It's been several years, so...

PrettySquareGal- When we bought our TV from Sears- a very nice TV at a great price- they kept telling us it had come in. And it hadn't, which we didn't know until we got to the store, which is across the city. It took us a month to get our TV, and we went to the store at least 5 or 6 times. Now, we've also bought a dishwasher and stove from Sears, and that was a wonderful experience. But the TV was a nightmare.

 

[Tango Yankee]

The Reuters article did not include this quote from the Credit Suisse analyst that was in the BBC news article:

"The extent of the weakness may be larger than expected, but the reasons behind it are not. It begins, and some would argue ends, with Sears' reluctance to invest in stores and service."

Rather says it all, I think. Well that and the bit that Reuters did include about Sears being controlled by a hedge fund manager. Can you think of anyone who would be less likely to make the investments needed when someone in that position is all about milking money out of everything?

Another article I read a while back postulated that one of the problems Sears/K-mart has is that they have too many locations where a K-Mart is just down the street from a Sears. There isn't enough of a difference between them so they are competing with themselves for customers. The author of that article considered that the best move would be to kill off Sears to keep K-Mart going.

I really hate it when a legendary company is killed through neglect and a los of focus on what made it legendary in the first place. It's such a waste.

Regards,
Tom

 

[Solid Citizen]

SEARS has Reached "Land's End" (Sic)

No service + NO customers = Goodbye SEARS & it won't be the softer side! [huh] Solid Citizen

 

[Tango Yankee]

Oh, yeah... Lands' End. Another company that used to be a great one to do business with. I can't remember when I last bought something from them. I was disappointed when they were sold out to Sears.

Bleah.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Carl Miller]

I worked for Sears as a mobile tech. I can say first hand that they are concerned with the almighty dollar. It was all about selling protection agreements, dishwasher cleaner and new appliances. The district office in Sacramento where the service call routing department is would always stack between 10-18 service calls per day spread throughout 5 counties. I would spend a good 3 to 4 hours a day just driving to calls and then get reprimanded about working to late. I was royally reamed because my service truck was $40,000 short in parts. I later learned from a friend that worked in Sacramento that other techs would cherry pick parts out of the service trucks that were sitting in the storage yard at the district office. I didnt need that kind of stress, so I left and I promised myself to never buy from Sears again.

 

[IsaacRN]

Oh, yeah... Lands' End. Another company that used to be a great one to do business with. I can't remember when I last bought something from them. I was disappointed when they were sold out to Sears.

Bleah.

Cheers,
Tom

I had no idea they were bought by Sears. I absolutely love Land's End. Great company to deal with and I have only had positive experiences with their customer service.

 

[Tomasso]

I really hate it when a legendary company is killed through neglect and a loss of focus on what made it legendary in the first place. It's such a waste.

To be fair, the loss of focus began decades ago when Sears branched off into financial services and real estate brokerage /development among other things. The hedge fund guy made a real estate play that may have worked but for the RE market crash which left him short of the necessary funds needed to refurbish the stores. In reality, Sears was a dead man walking twenty years ago.

 

[Tango Yankee]

I had no idea they were bought by Sears. I absolutely love Land's End. Great company to deal with and I have only had positive experiences with their customer service.

Well, the same group that owns Sears and K-Mart, anyway. Look down at the bottom of their website's home page. It says "Visit our other websites" with links to Sears, K-Mart, and the great outdoors. I quit buying from them years ago, when it seemed to me that their offerings had been pared way down and I didn't see much distinction between them and anyone else. I may revisit that later.

To be fair, the loss of focus began decades ago when Sears branched off into financial services and real estate brokerage /development among other things. The hedge fund guy made a real estate play that may have worked but for the RE market crash which left him short of the necessary funds needed to refurbish the stores. In reality, Sears was a dead man walking twenty years ago.

Agreed, it started way back then but I think that a company can get by with putting off renovations and such for a while if their customer service style isn't one designed to drive the customers away and the staff is motivated enough to take care of their store. People forget that brand and employee loyalty only goes so far.

Customer service is horrible. They are not competitive and I have an easier time shopping on line with them. Sears started out as a mail order company and perhaps they should return to their beginnings.[huh]

Did you know that Montgomery Ward started out as mail order and has returned to their roots? Most people think that Ward's is long dead and gone; I used to think so as well until I stumbled across a reference to the company years ago. I've not made any purchases from their website so I cannot comment further as to their customer service.

Regards,
Tom

 

[Connery]

Agreed, it started way back then but I think that a company can get by with putting off renovations and such for a while if their customer service style isn't one designed to drive the customers away and the staff is motivated enough to take care of their store. People forget that brand and employee loyalty only goes so far.



Did you know that Montgomery Ward started out as mail order and has returned to their roots? Most people think that Ward's is long dead and gone; I used to think so as well until I stumbled across a reference to the company years ago. I've not made any purchases from their website so I cannot comment further as to their customer service.

Regards,
Tom

Customer loyalty is a two way street. I recently had an experience where I followed the company(not SEARS) guidelines with returning an item. It apparently was lost and the "returns" crew emailed me with a tough luck note. I called customer service and stated that I was a loyal customer and I expected to have that loyalty respected in the form of a replacement. The company at first balked, then realized that it simply made more sense to absorb the cost of the item rather than lose a repeat customer with a long track record of purchases. As far as I am concerned it was a win/win situation.

 

[Lily Powers]

Sears has no one to blame but their corporate selves for letting the business become rundown, stocked with dowdy goods and hiring people who need a course in remedial common sense just to provide basic, human courtesies. The exceptions are their appliances and TVs. Unfortunately, Sears stocks the largest selection in our area, and have better inventory on that stuff than the larger chains (Best Buy or CostCo). To find a better selection, we'd have to drive 45-miles to San Jose.

 

[anyexcuse]

Only when you're just looking. If you have a question or, God forbid, you want to buy something, then they're all on their break. At Walmart they're always putting everything where you can't find it. You spend at least 15-20 minutes just to buy one item (and that's not even counting standing in line at the check stand). And you can't ask anybody because there's hardly anybody on the floor to ask (and that's assuming that they actually know where anything is!) so you have to go all the way to the front to ask somebody.

You speak the truth! I avoid Walmart whenever possible. It always takes what seems ike forever to find what I am looking for, and I have rarely found anyone to help me while shopping. Of course we could talk about standing in long lines at the checkouts with most of them closed........

I liked Walmart when I first encountered them in the 80"s when their motto was "buy American" and "you are always at least next in line" at the checkout.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I read today that our Baraboo Sears is one of those slated to close. It's a lovely store and I've always had good experiences there. I've heard nothing of our local K-Mart. Hopefully it stays.

 

[Tomasso]

In all likelihood this is their swan song.

 

[bil_maxx]

Sears has no one to blame but their corporate selves for letting the business become rundown, stocked with dowdy goods and hiring people who need a course in remedial common sense just to provide basic, human courtesies. The exceptions are their appliances and TVs. Unfortunately, Sears stocks the largest selection in our area, and have better inventory on that stuff than the larger chains (Best Buy or CostCo). To find a better selection, we'd have to drive 45-miles to San Jose.

So true. Hate to be rude but their staff are atrocious. The only reason appliances and TV sales reps are good is because they are on commission. Clearly upper management do not care at all. I have actually been in the store when a group of managers does a walk around and they are completely oblivious to how badly they are doing. Here in Canada, Eaton's was the Sears of their time, and they did exactly the same stupid things and they are now closed. Sad.

 

[C-dot]

Here in Canada, Eaton's was the Sears of their time, and they did exactly the same stupid things and they are now closed. Sad.

You forgot to mention the most interesting aspect of their closure - Sears bought them. Eaton's was always a little more upscale than Sears, though - I think the last generations of the family just didn't care enough to keep the stores updated and fresh, which is why their clientele plummeted. It makes it all the more ironic that Sears is going down the tubes themselves now.

 

[bil_maxx]

You forgot to mention the most interesting aspect of their closure - Sears bought them. Eaton's was always a little more upscale than Sears, though - I think the last generations of the family just didn't care enough to keep the stores updated and fresh, which is why their clientele plummeted. It makes it all the more ironic that Sears is going down the tubes themselves now.

As usual your posts are spot on in accuracy and timeliness. The irony won't be lost on any Canadians who shopped in Eaton's stores. It was unfortunate as Eaton's was a higher end store for sure. My grandmother would roll over in her grave. O well.

 

[ButteMT61]

As usual your posts are spot on in accuracy and timeliness. The irony won't be lost on any Canadians who shopped in Eaton's stores. It was unfortunate as Eaton's was a higher end store for sure. My grandmother would roll over in her grave. O well.

My grandparents would roll over in their graves if they saw what happened to Sears. It may not have been "upscale" but it was a big part of their (as many) lives. Heck, even my childhood contains fond memories of the visits to the stores and getting the catalogs. Like other American institutions, we've lost them, and it's sad.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

So far three stores in California are slated to be closed. The one in El Monte and two in San Diego.

 

[plain old dave]

Our Sears in Oak Ridge is on the list, too. The wife and I have bought tires from Sears as long as we have been married; we both travel a LOT and Sears are everywhere.

Simple solution to complex problem:

Dump K Mart before it makes Packardbaker the controlling precedent; Packard died in large part because Packard ups gained the perception that a Packard was a Studebaker with tons of options and went to the Cadillac, Chrysler or Lincoln agency for their new car.