I just blew up over the phone at some dude from Sears. I'm so sick of corporate America

[loudsue]

The friggin' republicans are ALWAYS slamming the "gubmint" over "bureaucracy" and incompetence. Corporate America is a hundred times worse than anything a "public servant" could come up with.

Two years ago I bought a very expensive (for me) television from Sears. We keep our TV's forever (this replaced a 12-year old tube tv) so we spent a couple of thousand to buy the newest kind with all the high-tech capabilities. But, since I have had experience paying a great deal of money as a result of buying appliances made in China, appliances that break after about a year or so, I knew to buy the extended warranty with all the bells and whistles. THE 5-YEAR WARRANTY COST $789.99!!!

Ok. So my 2-year old tv quit. No lights come on, nothing. Hubby & I followed all the trouble-shooting pointers in the owner's manual, and nothing worked. So today I called Sears, and told them the problem. You're going to love this:

1) They have to order parts for all the things that could potentially go wrong. The parts might take a week to get here. So, once the parts get here, then I am supposed to call them back to schedule a technician to come out.

2) First CONCEIVABLE time for the technician to come out is May 8 (1 week and 1 day from now). But I have to call when the parts come in, and if that date is already filled up, the very next CONCEIVABLE date for them to schedule a technician is MAY 22!!! THREE WEEKS FROM TOMORROW!!! After I get the parts, I go back into the rotation for available technicians who might decide to mosey out into my direction!

It took me 1-1/2 hours on the phone, and I spoke with 4 people (2 were managers of different departments) before I got even as much as I got. My blood pressure was going through the roof. Their computer program would not LET THEM both order the parts AND schedule a technician - heaven forbid if the technician should be scheduled and somehow the parts didn't materialize in time. They told me they just don't have enough "qualified" technicians to get anything done any sooner. I told them I had paid a boat-load of money and I'm just one customer! Why couldn't they find and hire and train a BOAT-LOAD OF TECHNICIANS???? I said " is Sears so POOR and LACKING IN MONEY that they can't AFFORD to hire someone?"

The guy says: "You don't want us sending someone that isn't QUALIFIED out there to fix your TV"!

I said: "Why would you even think that? Are there no people with brains running around without jobs? There are MILLIONS of very bright, willing, unemployed people out there that are GREAT with computers and electronics, and kids coming out of school WANTING TO BE TRAINED! It's just your company's GREED that is keeping that from happening!"

GAWD!!! I'm so sick of corporations running rough-shod over consumers!!! It's not just once a week....it's all the friggin' time! And ANY legislation that is designed to reel in this abuse is VETOED by the republican party...they complain about GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRACY!!! But it is CORPORATE BUREAUCRACY that ties people's hands and DECREASES the productivity of people in this country....nobody can get anything else done because we're too busy cleaning up behind the corporations greed, incompetence and fraudulent business practices.

[jberryhill]

1. This will not stand!

[awoke_in_2003]

126. The tv really brought the room together. nt

[dionysus]

2. why would you pay that much for a warranty, it's half the cost of a new tv?

[hfojvt]

48. HALF the cost?

The warranty price listed is about TWICE as much as I would pay for a TV.

Of course, I have never bought a TV. At 52, my siblings keep buying them for me.

In August 1985 I gave my little sister $500 for a wedding present.

In November 1985 I got my first post-college job and little sister gave me a TV (using my money basically) and a bunch of other supplies. It must have been stored at my parents house or something. In 1988 one of my fellow graduate students gave me her old TV. I think I left that behind when I graduated in 1990, basically gave it to my roommate.

Then I was living without TV, even though I still had the one my sister gave to me. In 1995 or so, I lent it to a "friend" who said he was gonna buy it for $75, but he kept the TV and never paid me.

In 1999, my brother's hotel (he managed) was remodelling so I got a free TV from that. Just finally hauled that out to the trash a couple weeks ago. In 2003 or so, my sister bought me another TV and a TV cabinet which still sits across from me as I write this. A 24" Sanyo, but I don't think it cost more than $500.

And the cabinet might also be one of their "old" cabinets.

The internets tells me I can get a 29" RCA for $150. Why would I want to spend $2,500 on a TV?

[dionysus]

53. i'm not saying how much you should spend... the most expensive TV i bought was $1200, and it's a 50"

flat screen. got it for a real good deal when circuit city went under. But I have friends who have dropped $2500 on a TV, too much for my tastes but plenty of people do spend that much. I bought my dad a 42" for xmas this year, it is a good TV and was just under $400.

before the flatscreen I had a little 15" General Electric TV with a VHS deck built in that lasted me from 1993 till hmm, the early 2000s...

[hfojvt]

57. that's a shame, friends don't let friends

spend $2,500 on a TV.

But are these the people who then say "I am just living paycheck to paycheck"?

[dionysus]

61. in this particular case, my friends can afford the TV.

I dropped the dough for mine (anything over $1000 is a huge purchase for me) because I figured it'd last a long time and I watch a lot of movies... 5 years later it's still working great. I hope it lasts a very long time.

[oldhippie]

80. And they aren't capable of ....

... saving a dime towards retirement, or emergencies, or anything important. They're oppressed.

[DebJ]

101. This is a subjective discussion, you know. Some people ONLY have tv, and don't

spend money on concerts, or vacations, or dinners out, or anything else.

That kind of changes the 'picture', pun intended.

[tammywammy]

60. I purchased a tv a couple of months ago

Vizio 55" Smart (not 3D) for $721.

[dionysus]

63. thats the thing about TVs, the price is always going down. My "computer monitor" is a Vizio 37" i

inherited. work bought it in 2005 or 2006 for.. $700 I think it retailed for at the time. It still works great.

The 50" LG I bought for the living room in 2009 was $1200, I think it was originally $1500 or $1600 but it was when circuit city went out of business so it was marked down...

they always get way cheaper right after you buy them it seems.

[tammywammy]

67. I was going to buy a Vizio to use as my monitor

It's not a high priority right now. I was to replace my laptop with a desktop and a good sized monitor.

I'd never bought a tv before, but $800 was the top that I wanted to spend. I settled on the Vizio and then watched it for months to see if it would go on sale, but it didn't. I love the tv. A friend gave me a non-smart Vizio (a 36&quot a year or so ago and I really liked it, which is why I went with Vizio for my living room. I was getting rid of a 33" tube.

[dionysus]

70. they work great as monitors.. but be careful to turn them off when not in use. a couple times this

one failed to go into sleep mode\screens saver after I had left the house for the day, and DU was temporarily burned into the screen!

if you opened up a blank white page in notepad and made it full screen you could faintly read the thread I had been perusing!

luckily turning the TV off for a few hours fixed it, I would have been pissed at myself forever!

[tammywammy]

71. Ha! Thanks for the tip! n/t

[Sissyk]

82. We just bought a 50" HD etc etc.

Outside TV for $600 and they threw in the wall mount. Fairly new brand from HH Gregg, Seiki.

Companies that sell them are not going to keep tv repairmen on staff because nobody repairs their tv's any more. 15 years ago we bought a 50" fat back (projector tv) for over 3 grand. Had to replace the bulbs every 2 years at $125 a pop. Now, $600 for the same size, flat as can be, and mounted out of the way on a exterior wall. If it goes out in 4 to 5 years, we'll buy another. Not much telling what they'll be like then. lol!!

Oh, and we never get the extended warranty. That's always a hell no.

[tammywammy]

83. My mom's had some work done on a plasma before

But she called a tv repair shop in our city.

[Sissyk]

88. Exactly.

That's where we had to go to get the bulbs for the old tv.

[ballyhoo]

117. I think Visios are great tvs. I'm a Samsung

person myself, but Visio would be my second choice, as the factory is only a short distance from me. I like Samsung because of their Smart TV setup. I don't watch tv except for Netflix.

[tammywammy]

120. I looked at Samsungs

My dad has one and it looks good. The price point was just higher on the Samsung for a similarly sized with the same features.

I'm also an antenna & internet only tv watcher. I got a smart tv, but ended up using a Roku since there are other channels on there that I like (PBS, Smithsonian, Weather).

I've been very happy with my purchase. It's the first time I've bought a tv, so I did a lot of research before deciding.

[ballyhoo]

121. Well, you were smart. I'll look up

Roku. I wonder who is actually watching regular tv. No one I know.

[tammywammy]

122. I just really thought about what do I watch on tv

And is it necessary to pay for cable. It wasn't. The one show I can't catch on Hulu that I really like is Big Bang Theory, but that's not the end of the world.

I also like the Roku for renting movies. I have the Roku 3, and I'm very happy with it.

[JVS]

97. Because she correctly predicted that the TV was a POS that would need to be fixed.

[dionysus]

99. right, in this case, it was wise. i have had good luck with my electronics for the most part,

never did the extended warrantee, and I've got a house full of appliances I could have bought the extra protection for, for a lot of bread. the only thing I got burned by was my phone dying 7 months before I was eligible for a contract upgrade (basically = renew contract, you get the S4 for 100 bucks). in that case, I had to pay a $200 early termination fee for the contract so I could get the damn phone for 100 bucks, instead of the ridiculous 400+ list price.

but I bet in the long term, the cost of warrantying everything, which I didn't spend, would be more than enough money to replace whatever unit crapped the bed outright.

but that's just my experience, and totally anecdotal...

[Beearewhyain]

3. Yeah, Sears...

You might be interested in this article about the CEO.

http://www.salon.com/2013/12/10/ayn_rand_loving_ceo_destroys_his_empire_partner/

[Aristus]

18. First thing I thought of.

A formerly proud American retailer driven into the ground by an Ayn Rand worshipper who will bail out of the company with a golden parachute right before Sears bites the dust.

[mrsadm]

44. that Salon article is pretty amazing

Wow!

[upaloopa]

4. I buy a cheap tv don't watch much

Pay for no warranty
When it bites the dust I buy another cheap tv cost much less than your way

[RebelOne]

5. I sort of had a similiar problem with Comcast.

My cable, internet and land line phone are all connected to the cable box. Everything suddenly went out. Luckily, I have a cell phone, so I called Comcast and was told it would be a week before a technician could come out. I am paying monthly on a repair plan. So a week without cable or internet is hell. Fortunately, I have a DVD player, so I rented a lot of movies that week from Redbox.

[blueamy66]

41. I went off on Comcast yesterday.

They were scheduled to come out and hook up our new tv between 8 and 9. It's 10:30 and nobody has shown up.

I called. They stated that nobody answered the "pre-call" confirmation. Um, yeah, we did...last night. Get someone out here now.

Our tech was there at 8:30 and nobody answered at the front door. Um, I don't have a front door...I live in a secured apt. bldg. Get someone out here now.

"I will reschedule, but cannot guarantee that someone can be there today." I replied with "that is not acceptable." Get someone out here now, as scheduled.

Someone showed up at 3. My tv is hooked up. I don't react well to incompetence and BS.

And we're getting a $20 credit on our bill.

[DebJ]

103. Make sure you call and tell them you want a credit for down time.

My son has always done this...even when its been less than 48 hours, and he always gets a credit
out of the bastids.

[MineralMan]

6. Hmm...Sears is not where I'd shop for consumer electronics any longer.

I also wouldn't pay that much for an extended warranty, under any circumstances. These days, electronics equipment is just about a disposable thing. Now, I don't know how much your TV cost to purchase, and don't really want to. You've had it for two years. Divide the original cost by 2. That's what your TV cost per year. Now, yours didn't last as long as it should have, but once it's repaired, you'll add the cost of that extended warranty to its original purchase price. When it breaks the next time, you can divide the total by the number of years you had the TV.

Looking at the sale ads today, I see that there are a number of TVs I could buy for the price of your extended warranty. That includes a number of them in the 50" class. Personally, that's too big for me. I have a 37" class flat screen. Much cheaper than that, and it works fine in my living room.

Do the numbers before you buy. It's a rare consumer electronics device that is worth buying an extended warranty for, economically. Service for these things is spotty, too, at best.

It's not fun, but it's reality.

[GeorgeGist]

19. Reading is fundamental ...

so we spent a couple of thousand to buy the newest kind with all the high-tech capabilities.

[MineralMan]

25. Caveat Emptor.

Sears service has become very unreliable and slow. Searching for reviews will demonstrate that. The bottom line for all of this advanced entertainment technology is that it's very, very difficult to get the equipment serviced, no matter where you buy it. Typically, these days, it's cheaper for the companies just to ship you a new unit than to maintain the service facilities required.

Frankly, I consider all such equipment to be disposable, and buy accordingly. I do review research before buying, and then hope for the best. So far, I've not made any bad choices, and nothing has failed prematurely. I would not pay for any extended warranty on anything, though. It's a rip off from the beginning.

[dionysus]

66. i generally agree with you on that, but i got burned when my last phone died 7 months before i was

eligible to renew my contract and get a new phone at the reduced price.

I didn't get the extended warrantee and had to spend 200 to buy out my contract and not pay the ridiculous full price for the phone. up until then, I was lucky and the last 4 phones all lived long enough for me to hit the upgrade period.

now I bought the insurance, which I will probably never need again, if you go by the odds... these days all the electronic shit is practically disposable, as you said. cheaper to replace than repair. just happened with a printer, as a matter of fact... they shipped me a whole new one, I shipped the old one back for recycling.

[loudsue]

20. Hi MineralMan: part of the reason for all of this is that we have a bunch of other

equipment all designed around it together, and we are paying for the "convenience" (Huh!?) of not having to rewire all the different pieces. We get our set-up going, and then we just try to make sure it runs. We aren't technically competent, actually, and I have to pay to get a guy out here (Craig's list landed me my great techie-go-to-guy) to wire everything together. It has to be a big tv because we can't sit close enough to it to see it if it is a smaller tv -- because of the way the room was designed in the 1930's.

The COST was huge to us, but we wanted to have something stable. The warranty was supposed to get someone out to replace or repair it right away. They lied.

[shraby]

7. I can see a couple mistakes you made.

First you paid a humongous amount of money for a t.v. Then since they wouldn't guarantee it for very long, you paid another huge chunk for an extended warranty.
A t.v. that doesn't carry at least a 5 year warranty off the shelf, doesn't warrant paying any more for it than you have to. The company doesn't even think it will last. It's called built in failure.
We NEVER buy the extended warranties. What you paid for the one you bought for the t.v. is more than we would have spent for the t.v. itself.

[GeorgeGist]

21. Please enlighten me ...

where you find TVs with 5 year warranties?

[magical thyme]

68. the poster didn't say you'd find TVs with 5 year warranties.

He said if it doesn't have a 5 year warranty with it, then it's not worth more than what you want to pay for tv for one year.

The fact that no TVs come with 5 year warranties tells you that none of them are designed or built to last.

IOW, take however long the warranty is that comes with the tv, add 1 day to it. That is how long it is built to last. TV companies don't make money by selling you tvs that last. They make money by selling you a new tv every year or so.

[shraby]

86. You don't and that's the point. They are made to not last.

[Throd]

8. I'm currently in a pissing contest with Bosch over my washing machine.

I feel your pain.

[unblock]

11. omg the problems we had when we got our miele!

it was basically a lemon, but they came to fix it maybe 5 or 6 times, during which they damaged the baseboard, the wall adjacent to the dishwasher, and the cabinetry the dishwasher sits in.

finally the replaced it entirely. they botched that install and had to fix that as well, but ever since then it's been great. best dishwasher we've ever had, but ugh, what we went through to get it.

they did eventually pay for all the damage.

[dickthegrouch]

15. I think you'd enjoy this

Song from the 50's

[unblock]

16. haha, can't listen to it at work, but i googled the lyrics.

reminds me of this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I'm_My_Own_Grandpa

[redwitch]

32. Love it!

Thanks for sharing this one.

[loudsue]

22. I bought a Bosch dishwasher when we remodeled the house - it's a NC company

and I thought I'd support the American-made folks, AND the NC folks, since I live here. It's been a really good dishwasher for me. I'm sorry you had trouble with them!

[Jazzgirl]

45. I really like my Bosch dishwasher.

I've had it 4 years and its worked beautifully.

[flyingfysh]

131. My wife and I have a Bosch dishwasher

It is by far the best we've ever had.

[Godhumor]

31. Heh, me too. also for a washing machine

Was told by the technician that I manned to get one of the small % within the machine failure rate for new equipment. Bosch would give me 20%of the cost of the needed parts netbook the total cost of the repair down to 600. Since I can get a new washing machine for that amount, I am currently in a back and forth with Bosch about trying to lower the price to a reasonable level.

[Quantess]

9. Poor lowly customer service guy.

He gets to bear the brunt of all your frustration and anger, as though he had actually caused the problems. Meanwhile, proably getting 10 or 12 an hour to get yelled at.

[cherokeeprogressive]

17. Bingo

[loudsue]

24. Not really. I told him I knew it wasn't his fault, and I put it back to say

"think of how you'd feel if you had paid that much for this, and were told these things". He said, yeah, he could sure understand. And I told him I didn't mean to take it out on him, but I was really upset about it all. I had him laughing about a lot of it...I was saying funny stuff, too, besides being so pissed.

I know these folks are just the working stiffs. It's the republicans that are really to blame for all of this crap.

[unblock]

10. these companies make *hueueueuge* profits on extended warranties

the warranties are far more profitable than the products themselves.

that says a lot, namely, that they profit from customers vastly overvaluing the utility of an extended warranty.

people overvalue them for many reasons:
- overestimating the likelihood of damage that needs a repair specifically during the extended warranty lifetime
- underestimating the likelihood of being able to fix it yourself, work around the problem, or live with the damage
- underestimating the desire to replace a damaged good with a new model anyway, which may not be an option under the warranty
- and the situation you face, overestimating the value of a claim, given that the claims department makes it money primarily by delaying and avoiding house calls and/or replacements.

i could add that sears has a terrible reputation in this area, but i can't honestly say that many other company are much better. no one advertises how well they handle claims because they don't want to hint that their products ever break. so they make their money by cutting costs, and paying a claim is their biggest cost.

[loudsue]

26. Actually, I'm the one that has made profits on extended warranties.

I hear on these web sites all the time NOT to buy them. I do buy them. I've had 2 BIG refrigerators break....got brand new ones, and got to keep the old ones. Had a neighbor patch up a couple of things, and now we keep them in the pack-house for our garden produce during different planting seasons. I actually made about $1,200 on that $289 warranty.

Everyone has to do what they want to, but my experience has been that my warranties are worth every penny. Even if it does take Sears forever, they're still going to make it good, if I have to sue the assholes. I just hate that the service sucks so severely.

[wercal]

40. Some warranties make sense...some don't.

I think consumer electronics are mandated to have a 90 day warranty, and most stores offer a standard one year warranty.

So, when I buy a $50 dvd player and the cashier asks about the 2 year extended warranty, I think that's not worth it.

No with a major purchase..and a warranty extendeding several years, I may consider it. I will say that if I was looking at a $2,000 tv, and they wanted another $700 for a warranty....I would become a little suspect of the product's quality - they are planning to replace a lot of TV's!

Probably why I still watch a tube tv.

[DebJ]

105. Every extended warranty that I have ever been offered always costs

very close to 50 percent of the product price. So I always tell them thank you, I will be sure to put that much
money in the bank so I can buy a brand new improved item in a few years.

Sears washer and dryer was one of those things. I told them I've had them before and they always last
like 10 years or more, so the warranty was ridiculous. They don't just push them at the sale of the item,
they sent me many letters and called me on and on. Stupidity.

So far, I've now had the washer and dryer for 11 years. I've had three or four repairs, costing between
60 and 130 bucks. They aren't the fancy computer-driven things, so they are cheap to fix, and quick to
fix, and rarely have issues. Two of the repairs were belt replacements. One of them was actually just
a check on the machines because our basement was flooded...we got lucky, the dryer parts are extremely
low to the floor, but the water just missed hitting them. There was one other repair, but I don't recall what
that was.

I also prefer lower tech lots of things for the same reasons. I wanted a gas stove so I could use it if the
electric went out, and darn, the only ones they sold had electronic controls. Ticks me off. My last used
car had roll-down windows. I guess I won't be able to get those again with the next one.

[progressoid]

12. Sears doesn't have a customer service department.

It's a customer irritation department.

My mother-in-law had a similar problem with her vacuum and Sears recently.

No more Sears for us.

[RKP5637]

27. The days of Sears being a good company are long gone. Even the tools they used to

sell that were so good are now absolute junk. Sears is another company to avoid.

[AllyCat]

110. I have a Kenmore vacuum my husband bought in 2001

It's awesome. After years of use, the plug end pulled off the cord. I took it to Sears "service" department. Essentially, they had to send it to Chicago and it would take 3 Weeks and $85 to fix. Wouldn't I rather have a new one for less than $100. I persisted that they fix it. Still going strong 3 years later.

Last thing I wanted to do was pay $100 for a new one that would be long defunct by now.

[RandoLoodie]

13. 1. extended warranties are a ripoff

2. consumer electronics are disposable

3. television rots your brain

[Scuba]

14. My pat reply to warranty offers: "If you try to sell me the warranty again I'm not buying the TV."

[skypilot]

54. LOL

I'd love to have that on a t-shirt the next time I buy a TV.

[B Calm]

23. Piss Poor Management is pretty common.

[RKP5637]

28. Yep, American Exceptionalism at work! n/t

[Doremus]

29. I would pack up the TV and drive it to the store.

It's way too easy to brush someone off on the phone. I think you'll have quite a different response when you're standing with your broken tv in the middle of the department where they're trying to sell them.

[liberalhistorian]

30. People still buy shit

from Sears?????????

Haven't been there in decades, don't plan to ever be there again. I remember way back in the 70's, my parents bought a washer and dryer from them and had no end of trouble with it and no end of trouble with trying to get Sears to deal with it. And now with its Ayn Rand-worshipping idiot CEO driving it into the ground, it's twenty times worse. I'll bet the few bucks I have now that there will be no Sears within five or six years.

[erronis]

74. I believe that our erstwhile Pres. RMoney has a big interest in Sears/KMart

Surprise, much?

Hard to track all the links (surprise, once again?) but never-wrong wikipedia supplies the following:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bain_%26_Company

Or the famous Sears Craftsman tools:
http://www.ibtimes.com/bain-capital-buy-apex-tool-16b-danaher-cooper-843985

Of course, I can't understand anyone spending multi-100's on a T.V. since most of the U.S. is plugged into their tiny screens.
?1398442723

[DebJ]

106. I bought a Sears washer and dryer in 1980 and never had a lick of trouble

for six years. Year seven I was getting divorced and they were sold with the house.

Then I bought another set in the early 90s and they were fine for many years also.

[R B Garr]

33. We bought a new TV last July after 14 years with a tube TV, and the salesman said

that the lifespan of the new products is about 3 years. More if you're lucky. He seemed very pleased that his (Sony or Samsung?) had lasted 5 years so far.

We'll see. So far, so good with this one, but it's not even a year old. As others have noted, electronics anymore are disposable goods.

The tube TV that finally died last year was from Sears. I still remember with disgust the run-around I got just to have them deliver the thing. I rarely even go into a Sears anymore, so I'm feeling your pain now. Hope it works out better soon.

[1StrongBlackMan]

34. It's amazing what has happened to Sears ...

since it was bought by the ayn randian hedge fund operator.

Sears was the topic of positive case studies (when I was in grad school), meaning they got it right.

Sear was know from two things: Craftsman Tools and it customer service ... the first two things the hedge fund jettison were: the Craftsman Tools line and it's customer service orientation.

[alp227]

35. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

I can't believe how many people who are afraid "BIG GOVERNMENT" are so willing to suck it up to "BIG BUSINESS" instead. Sheesh. And I wonder how many so-called Christians break the First Commandment by worshiping that unspoken God known as Free Market Economics?

[moondust]

36. Somebody still has customer service?

And tech support?

I thought those were largely eliminated so the CEO could get a bigger bonus.

[TeamPooka]

37. Start slamming them repeatedly on Twitter about it, using their advertising hastags and slogans.

Then they will do anything to make you stop including give you good service.
Only the publicly squeaky wheel gets the grease.

[murielm99]

38. We had so much trouble getting a simple TV repair

from Sears that we stopped doing business with them. Something similar happened with the washing machine.

There is a nice local appliance store down the street from us. They service what they sell, as Sears used to advertise. They do it in a timely manner, too.

Drop Sears. They don't deserve your business.

[wercal]

39. I had a similar experience with Best Buy around 15 years ago

The computer monitor kept frying....Best Buy didn't even service the extended warranty....reading the fine print, we had actually bought it from a third party - something Best Buy was very quick to point out. And the warranty company hired a fourth party to do the service call (a local computer company).

Anyway, we had to go through the same dance with scheduling a technician. And keep in mind....the part he was installing was.....a computer monitor. They wouldn't allow me to pick it up and plug it in myself.

Computer experts may recognize the term, but our BIOS (Basic Input Output System) was somehow flawed and frying the monitors. We eventually took it back under the state's lemon law.

But it led to an entirely different problem with AOL. Back then you paid a flat rate each month for a certain amount of data use...debited automatically from your credit card. I cancelled AOL, since the computer was waiting for a technician, but they still billed me. Nobody I talked to at AOL would help in any way...because the phone number they give out is to the billing dept. And they're only purpose in life is collections. They had no mechanism for returning money.

It got so absurd that when I asked to speak to a supervisor, I was told they don't have a phone number. I asked :So you are saying they don't have phones on their desks?"...no was the reply. Ok, so I asked for their email address. I was told they didn't have an email account....at AOL!

It was only 30 bucks, but I wrote a letter, and carbon copied (snail mail style) my state attorney general. That worked.

[Locrian]

42. Crazy Eddie

You do know about the CEO of Sears running it into the ground?

http://www.salon.com/2013/12/10/ayn_rand_loving_ceo_destroys_his_empire_partner/

Undaunted by his lack of industry experience and hailed a genius, Lampert boldly pushed to merge Kmart and Sears with a layoff and cost-cutting strategy that would, he promised ....


Crazy Eddie has been one of America’s most vocal advocates of discredited free-market economics, so obsessed with Ayn Rand he could rattle off memorized passages of her novels. As Mina Kimes explained in a fascinating profile in Bloomberg Businessweek, Lampert took the myth that humans perform best when acting selfishly as gospel, pitting Sears company managers against each other in a kind of Lord of the Flies death match. This, he believed, would cause them to act rationally and boost performance.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

43. If it makes you feel any better....

the guy will probably be unemployed this time next year. I mean, how much longer can Sears hold on?

[DebJ]

107. Unemployed but rolling in the money is not a comforting thought. n/t

[JohnnyRingo]

46. This might not make you feel better....

but at least you can know you're not alone:

[nxylas]

59. But the person she's talking to isn't the one doing the monitoring

He or she is the one being monitored, so that he or she can be fired for falling below some arbitrary and unrealistic target set by the company. That's what "quality purposes" means.

[Ash_F]

47. Yep, there is need and demand to hire, but it is not 'optimal'.

Not optimal for management's profit margin. Meanwhile both the unemployed and consumers suffer.

Thanks for sharing. I will look elsewhere for products and encourage you to do so. Let them know why.

[Nye Bevan]

49. Sears was the largest US retailer until October 1989.

Not hard to see why this is not the case anymore.

[kmlisle]

50. AT & T Service horrors

We called for an appointment to get our land line fixed (we need a land line because it is what the relatives in china all call). They gave us a time to show up the following week as we were out of town for the weekend. The tech showed up on Friday (right after we left for the weekend) and left a door hanger to reschedule ignoring our appt. I rescheduled and again they ignored the appt and showed up at a different time when we were gone and left their door hanger to reschedule.

The next day I saw a repair truck across the road at the neighbors. So I ran over and got him to come and fix our phone (apparently they had done some thing in the yard not fixing our phone the day before that had broken the neighbors phone).

This tech who was not the one who was there there before came over and fixed our phone in just a few minutes even though we were not on his case load (nice guy). I asked if he got appointment times and he said no they just give out a list of job orders and he fixes them as they come in. So there is no connection between the appointment system and the actual orders for the technicians! This is what I now call surreal customer service. If you have to laugh or cry and I prefer to laugh.

[FarCenter]

51. You are lucky that Sears is still in business.

Eddie Lampert stops buying Sears IOUs as cash burns

(Bloomberg) — Sears Holdings Corp. has relied on controlling shareholder Edward Lampert for years to help fund its operations. Now the billionaire is cutting out a form of lending he's provided since 2010 to the owner of its namesake retail chain and Kmart.

Sears's outstanding commercial paper -- short-term debt used to fund day-to-day operations -- fell on Feb. 1 to $9 million, according to a March 18 regulatory filing, none of it held by Lampert's hedge fund ESL Partners LP. A year earlier, the company that has reported operating losses for the past 12 quarters, had $345 million of the IOUs outstanding, $285 million of it to ESL.

The pullback on lending may be a warning flag that Lampert wants to lessen his exposure or is under pressure to fund redemptions from ESL, Matt McGinley, managing director at securities researcher International Strategy & Investment Group in New York, said in a telephone interview.

“If he has billions of dollars of his own net worth tied up in Sears, and if he's reducing the exposure, that's not necessarily a good thing,” said McGinley, who has a “sell” rating on the retailer's stock.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20140324/NEWS01/140329910/eddie-lampert-stops-buying-sears-ious-as-cash-burns

I wouldn't buy anything at Sears that I might need to return or have fixed.

[LibDemAlways]

52. Bought a dishwasher from Best Buy. Paid

$100.00 for installation. Guy shows up and announces he can't do it because he needs a part that is going to cost me $50.00 extra. I happened to have a contractor here that day working a project in another room. He looks and tells me the part isn't needed, and, if it was, it would cost $2.00. I send the first guy packing and drive to Best Buy where the useless kid in the appliance dept. tells me I'm not eligible for a refund of the cost of the installation. A manager gets involved and my refund is eventually approved.

Buying just about anything these days is an exercise in incompetence and frustration - not to mention avoidance of being ripped off. I feel your pain.

[loudsue]

91. Good grief! Sounds like what happened to us with DirecTV. Installation guy

charged us an extra $100 to run the cable "the extra distance to the house"!!??? WTF? My husband paid it. If I'd been here, we would have had a supervisor on the line telling me that was how it had to go down. I think the guy was just making extra $$ on the side.

[LibDemAlways]

92. Yep. In my case the guy would have disappeared for

a few minutes and then magically returned with the part in exchange for $50.00. What a scam. When I complained to Best Buy, their excuse was that the guy worked for a third party and they weren't responsible. Good thing the other contractor was around. I paid him to install the dishwasher and he did a good job.

There are so many con artists out there I'm starting to wonder if any of these outfits can be trusted.

[Jim__]

55. A few years ago I called Sears Service for service on my AC.

Their first response over the phone was that they could get someone out in something like 30 days. When I made it clear that this AC was not waranteed by Sears, they told me they could schedule someone the next day. They also told me that they have a $100 charge for travel and that would be in addition to any other charges. I told them to get lost and got an independent AC technician the next day and the entire bill was something like $75.

I have not done business with Sears since.

[Xyzse]

56. Times like these, I contact the manufacturer next.

Figure out if I could still get an RMA(Return Material Authorization) for the damn thing.

Basically, to see if I can return the thing to them and them giving me a new one instead.

I was able to do that with my Samsung Bluray which I bought last year.
They gave me the postage printed out and everything.

Sorry to hear what you went through.

The only thing I do warranties for is musical instruments.

[ebbie15644]

58. been through it with Sears also!

With a sweeper we bought and a dishwasher. The dishwasher is brand new before Christmas and right before the holiday it wasn't getting our dishes clean. We called and yes 3 WEEKS for our dishwasher. It's ridiculous!

[Xithras]

62. Feel lucky. Sears is one of the few companies that still HAS in-house repair.

Most retailers don't even do their own warranty work. They farm it out to third party companies with spotty employee screening and no responsibility toward the consumer.

I had a Dell all-in-one (XPS18) break recently, and "they" sent a technician out to repair it. When the technician realized that she couldn't repair it at my home, she offered to take it back to their "repair facility" and have it back to me within a few hours.

During our conversation after she brought it back, I learned that her "repair facility" was her kitchen table in her home. She was a contractor who worked for a company that Dell subcontracted their support services to, and she'd never actually worked for Dell. She had to provide her own vehicle, her own workspace, and her own tools. I was shocked by this at first, but she explained that it's how support it done nowadays, and proceeded to rattle off a long list of OTHER manufacturers and retailers that her company is also under contract to and that she does work for. Sears wasn't on the list. To her, there was nothing surprising about it...as she said, "This is how it works now."

I don't normally deal with consumer level support options anymore, so I had no idea that the industry had changed so much.

[Anansi1171]

64. Right on! I too HATE corp-WHORE-ate america.

The elites or their children will regret they didn't temper Capitalism with democracy and a genuine motive to promote the general welfare. Sadly the US is a ship of fools, and I suspect its break-up within a decade.

Its a race to see if the conservative base will completely destroy the state before they die, and it feels like Reagan was what they needed to starve progress and ensure their end result.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

65. what you said!

glad I hardly ever turn on my tv, though. One less thing....

[emsimon33]

69. This is why I buy from Costco--a company with ethics

They are amazing! I highly recommend that you consider Costco next time.

[magical thyme]

72. your mistake was in thinking that Sears offered a 5 year warranty to provide you service

In fact, they offered a 5 year warranty to pocket your money. Now that they have pocketed your money, it is in their best interest to provide as little service (which costs them money) as possible. Not unlike the health insurance industry.

IOW, they have zero incentive to rush out and fix your tv. Keeping sufficient staff to rush out and repair your tv would cost money. Therefore, they have as little actual repair staff as possible. What staff they have is likely paid jack shit and treated worse, so won't care a whole lot either. Sears will drag it out as long as possible, in hopes you give up, go away, and throw a few more thousand dollars away on some other company's overpriced electronic toy.

Manufacturers know almost to the minute exactly how long their products will last. They have a specific formula they follow that enables them to profit when a few to fail short of that warranty deadline, while the rest die shortly after that minute. And they generally don't repair what fails within the warranty time because it is far cheaper for them to replace it.

So if you break down over time and decide to buy another tv to get that fix, do the math this way:

($/year I'm willing to spend on tv) X (N years of manufacturer's warranty)

[FarCenter]

90. The warranty is basically an insurance policy

The fundamental principle of the insurance business is to collect as much in premiums as possible and pay out as little on losses as possible.

[TxVietVet]

73. Don't feel bad. ALL the retailers do the same thing.

You purchased a "service warranty". That goes to the lowest bidder, Who probably hires the cheapest labor possible. Then, the tech that shows up may be pissed because he's getting less money than the guy he works with who is less qualified than himself.

On some items, like expensive electronics like BIG screen TV's, you basically should buy the service warranty THE FIRST TIME, after that, the TV is a POS. Get rid of it and buy another.

Check your service warranty and see if there is a clause in the contract or talk to customer *no* service person because some retailers ALLOW for you to have a TV as a replacement while you're waiting for someone to come service the one that's a POS.

That happened with me at Circuit City.

Or else, go to the electronics department and start raising hell on a busy day and tell people don't buy Sears' f*ckin' junk. That may get you the attention of someone who may care enough to take care of your problem.

"American" companies get all the government they purchase. Most don't pay much in taxes and have a politician in each pocket. This is a consumer economy. We don't manufacture much like TVs so we end up with junk from COMMUNIST CHINA, the great friend of American business and the love of the US Chamber of Commerce.

If I were you, I'd be pissed and I'd light a fire under someone each time I'd walk in that store.

[LittleGirl]

75. Yup

could have written that one myself. Same thing for our treadmill. Same exact process and it took 3 weeks to get it fixed one time. 3 weeks because they didn't have enough techs to do the job. Last time I called (January), the guy had to fly in from another state to fix it.

K&R

[Ilsa]

76. We used our Sears warranty on our tv years ago, too.

The warranties are expensive. Alternatively, next time you could skip the warranty and pay a repairman to fix it. That may not save you money, though. But I know Sears makes a butt OAS on warranties, especially being understaffed for techs.

I had a built-in Kenmore that broke. It took five weeks for tech to come over. He ordered a part, and told me to call for another appointment AFTER it came in. The part arrived, hubby and I installed it, never heard a peep from Sears.

I won't buy anything else from them because they won't hire and train enough techs. I use appliance repair companies, now.

[indepat]

77. Probably haven't spent a penny at Sears in this millennium

[flyingfysh]

78. My wife and I once tried to get Sears to honor a service contract.

We had a glass-top stove, which cracked. We had a service contract, so we called Sears. We were told that the service department policy was not to fix those stoves, warranty or no warranty. There was no reason given, they decided their policy was not to fix those. And yet they continued to send us mail suggesting we pay to extend our service contracts, even though the stove contract was pure profit for Sears. Evidently the service manager made his numbers look good by keeping his expenses for actually fixing things very low. I'm sure he didn't care that this discouraged people from buying from Sears in the future.

I could also tell horror stories about the dishwasher we got from Sears. But we no longer have those problems, we buy major appliances from Lowes's, and have had no problems since. The one dishwasher problem was fixed within a day, under warranty; we didn't have to wait two weeks for a repairman.

[KansDem]

79. "...as a result of buying appliances made in China, appliances that break after about a year or so"

Several years ago I bought a can opener made in China. I got it home and it broke the very first time I used it!!!

It was very inexpensive and looked like this one:


...but it still should have lasted beyond the first use!

[IronLionZion]

98. That's a crappy design

I was given one for free since the person didn't want it. I don't think I ever successfully opened a can with it ever.

I'm seeing more things made in America though. I just bought a Lodge cast iron skillet made in Tennessee. It was $16 and feels like much better quality than the $30 chinese-made one its replacing. I've read that the vegetable oil seasoning they use at the Lodge factory is safer than the mystery chemicals the chinese use.

People have posted links to American made clothing. It exists.

[cspanlovr]

81. I'm a 60 yr old widow, and I just fixed my big tv myself!

When nothing turned on, I figured it was the lamp that had blown out. 4 screws on the back held the door to the lamp. Called a local guy, he ordered the part, and two days later I picked it up and put it in - and it worked! I've never done anything like that in my life, and I saved a $50 service fee. I'm so proud of myself.

On Sears, my washer broke down last week. I called Sears and they wanted me to wait till May 5 for someone to come out. That was on April 22. That's insane. Called a local guy, it was fixed the next day.

[JNelson6563]

109. Wow! Well done!

Nice job on the TV repair! You should be proud.

Julie

[customerserviceguy]

84. You must have been a tough day for him

He's got to deal with the bullshit policies of his employer, like scheduling repair appointments that there are simply not enough of. And he's not responsible for the hiring (or non-hiring) practices of his company, so discussing the unemployed was a waste of both of your time.

And I'll agree with others here, extended warranties are crap. They're overpriced, and they're pretty difficult to get any relief out of. About the best thing you can do is to use a credit card that doubles the manufacturer's warranty, I don't know how tough they are to deal with, but at least you didn't cough up any cash for them.

Did you use Consumer Reports to figure out a reliable brand of TV to buy? That's probably the best protection you really have in the end. Most electronics are either going to go bad fairly quickly, or they will last for many years. It's just how they're manufactured, the customer is usually the ultimate quality control person.

Here's another tip: Buy refurbished products from the manufacturer's own website, then you have something that was gone over doubly by a US technician, and not just a quickie look from a Chinese sweatshop tech.

[louis-t]

85. I had a recent incident with Sears that left me frustrated.

Bought something online and Sears sent it to package pick up. It was normally $20 on sale for $14. I went to pick it up. Took me a while to find the pick up area. Tried unsuccessfully to operate the computer screen at the window. It didn't seem to be operating. A guy came along and took my receipt. Waited 10 minutes for the package to come. As I was walking back to the exit, I saw the same thing I had just bought for $7.50. I had to wait at the register to return the first box so I could buy the second box at marked down price.

There was only one cashier at each register. There was only one person ahead of me. She was buying two sports caps. She was filling out some form, I imagine because she could save another $2 by applying for a Sears credit card. SOP for Sears. The cashier asked her for her phone number 3 times. She kept putting the phone number in the computer. "Fill out this. Fill out that. Sign here. Can I see your ID? What was your phone number again?" Tapping on the computer keys, tapping, tapping. 15 minutes I stood there before going to the next kiosk.

The first thing the cashier asked me was "What's your phone number?" I told her she doesn't need my phone number, that I usually don't shop at Sears. She asked if I want to donate to...something. I said no. She asked if I want to apply for... I said no. Now all I have to do is get the Sears underwear ads off my computer.

[Laelth]

87. Blame Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart pushes down both the cost and quality of goods across the retail spectrum it dominates. Sears had to lower its prices. It cut labor to do so (fewer technicians on the payroll and they're constantly busy). That's increased productivity, btw, but it sux for labor and for the economy as a whole.

-Laelth

[stage left]

89. Had a similar round about with a computer from Office Depot.

But my extended warranty got me a new computer in the end.

[brooklynite]

93. With the exception of Apple Care, warranty extensions are almost always not worth it...

[Crepuscular]

94. It's kind of amazing

how disposable modern electronics have become.

I just came across a vacuum tube Stereo tuner that was made by an American company, that my Dad purchased in 1962, that he used up until about 10 years ago and which has been sitting in storage since then. Just for the hell of it, I hooked it up to an amp and some speakers and fired it up, believe it or not, it powered up just fine, the lights came on and it works like a charm. 52 years old, going strong and still sounds great. You'll be lucky if any of the modern Chinese crap that you buy today is working 52 months from now, let alone 52 years. Such a shame that our American industrial base that manufactured such well designed, quality goods has all but disappeared.

[DebJ]

108. We bought our home in 2006 from an estate. It came with a washer and dryer.

And the gentleman had kept all his receipts for original purchases and repairs.

The dryer was from 1969, and in 2002 or so he had just purchased a new motor for it.
That was quite a kick for me to see!

I had my own washer and dryer and I donated the house ones to the local homeless shelter.
The dryer was such an old version, it didn't even have a plug; dryers used to be hard-wired
into the electrical system and that's how this one had been done.

The refrigerator was from 1982 and it kicked the bucket 3 years ago.

The electric stove was from the mid-60's, and was designed to look like the
dashboard of a 1963 Ford. It caught fire in 2008 so we replaced it.

The dishwasher was from the early 80s and we are still using it.

[Liberal_in_LA]

95. that's sears. recently purchased appliance from them

[IronLionZion]

96. On an unrelated note, what sort of jobs can you afford that much for a tv?

and how can I get a job like that? I don't need the TV, but....


Yeah, hope it works out for you. The extended warranties on lots of electronics are often a scam. Its only worthwhile for very expensive items that are likely to break, like your TV. And then they don't really have much of a profit motive to repair it quickly or provide decent service because they already got your money for it. Its a flawed business model. Often times a local electronics repair shop may provide better service at a lower cost than the warranty, since its usually a matter of replacing a part or 2.

These corporations are such "job creators". We should give them more tax cuts and subsidies and continue paying out food stamps to their minimum wage employees. That's real "efficient" for someone.

[LeftyMom]

100. FWIW, my dad's TV broke shortly out of warranty. The manufacturer sent out service people,

there was a delay getting the part in. Dad called and complained about the service people's poor service and the wait. The manufacturer apologized, said they were dropping that service contractor, and sent a different service crew out to deliver him a new TV (slightly better model than he'd had) the next day.

That was Samsung, FWIW. My Toshiba TV looms eternal, but when it finally gives up I'll be getting a Samsung, because they back up their stuff even when they don't technically have to.

[flvegan]

102. On the other side of that phone is another human just like you.

When that person can change the world, let us all know okay?

So anyway, you sound angry. Let us see: at Sears, China, whoever backs the warranty, oh yeah the phone guy, probably Obama and Clinton for the countless folks yearning to be yelled at in the customer service industry to assist hapless and spoiled Americans with their (HOLY SHIT, I CAN'T WATCH AMERICA'S NEXT TOP DANCING ICE SKATING IDOL RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!!!!) three week wait. Wow.

Did you read the warranty details? What did they say? I don't know, but if they guarantee anything different, then lawyer up and file a lawsuit. It's the American way.

You are right, it shouldn't be this way. But, it is. And you bought a warranty expecting it. I mean, really. You stated it yourself. More or less, you expect shit, then get shit, then get pissed because it's shit, and let outrage run. And here you are, three weeks out from any form of potential communication with that magic box.

Yet, you have the internet, so...

Some folks, lots of folks, are right now wondering where they'll get drinking water tomorrow.

My hypocrisy knows no bounds, I am aware of that.

[glinda]

104. Had a very similar experience with Sears.

Bought a new fridge. It broke in a couple of days. took weeks to replace it. Had multiple hours on phone calls with incompetent people at multiple locations until I reached the Headquarters. Lost over $150 in groceries. I will never ever buy from them again.

[defacto7]

111. DIY

The only answer for the future of a declining US. You would be surprised how simple some of these things are to fix if you learn some basics. Really, I'm not kidding. I don't let anybody touch my electronic or mechanical stuff, with the exception of my car which I keep closely watched when needed,

Sears stuff like Kenmore which is Whirlpool is simple cheep shit, all modules. TV are dangerous but if you know the basics, the parts are extremely cheep in most cases and you just do what you learn to do.

Life just isn't the same. We have seen the high quality marks replaced with planned obsolescence. I bought a refrigerator, a microwave, a stove, washer dryer combo and a dishwasher exactly 10 years ago. All 6 of them died in the last 6 months. I fixed every one of them for the cost of some parts... except the microwave which I dismantled and am turning part into a bug zapper for summer and the other parts into a microwave high-frequency radio disruptor. (joking about the disruptor but not about the bug zapper)

Forget the add-on warranties, we have to be our own warranties and it nice when you can make it happen yourself.

[Recursion]

112. JIT fulfillment is great... until it isn't

I feel your pain...

[Zorra]

113. The first strike at the heart of Corporate America is: KILL YOUR TELEVISION!

Drive a stake through its heart.

[Demeter]

114. Sears is going under

Their CEO is an Ayn Rand freak, and he has driven the company into the ground. I hope your warranty lasts. Or can be transferred to somebody more likely to stay in business. Or is independent of Sears.

[L0oniX]

115. Corporations and our government are one in the same.

[gtar100]

116. It's a bunch of miserable leeches who are executives of corporations that want to treat companies

like their own piggy bank and golden ticket to über wealth. Workers generally want the business to actually function well because that is the real measure of success. But it's a huge... *huge* drain on resources to support the number of multi million dollar salaries for only a dozen or so employees. It's ridiculous and wasteful. Add to that the obsessive focus on stock price and investors over just basic business (i.e., providing a service to paying customers) and it's no wonder we have problems with these companies. Wall Street bankers and investors do not have the creative vision to truly run a successful business. But the rules have been skewed in the favor of those who are leeches on our economic system and their presence is evident in its anemic performance. The wealth is there to fuel a vibrant economy but its life blood is being sucked out of it by a bunch of worthless, uncreative scumbags willing to let billions of people suffer for their own selfish gain.

[Number9Dream]

118. Try contacting your nearest Better Business Bureau

I've had very positive results when I contacted my BBB regarding problems with RCN cable TV. In less than a week, the BBB got RCN to correct the problems, and even refunded money.

[TBF]

119. I understand your frustration and you are 100% correct -

but next time go to Costco and get something a lot cheaper. We have a flat screen TV around 46" I think - it was no more than $800 from Comp USA ... look for sales and just buy it. Don't buy extended warranty - all the big names cover for a year (lemon protection) and after that it's cheaper to hire a technician locally who will come to your house at a time convenient for you.

I'm more into computers & I do not buy warranties for my laptops after the first fiasco (another lesson - don't buy Sony). The guy in the strip mall a few miles away can diagnose/fix almost anything for $150 and that's a heck of a lot less than any extended warranty package.

Just giving advice for the future - I don't know what you can do w/Sears right now except work with them. I know it sucks but you paid all that money and are sort of screwed anyway you look at it.

[Tommymac]

123. Sometimes 3rd Party Warrenties are a good option.

Used to do a considerable amount of buying of electronics online using WOOT - a site that sold neat 'crap' for cheap -(until Amazon bought it and ruined it). Because the stuff was usually closeout models or obtained from companies going under you took a chance on anything you bought actually working. I would buy cheap 3rd party warranties to cover the items for a year or two from an online company called 'Square Trade' and actually had to use them a couple of times - for example got fairly decent replacement service on a flat screen that had bad sound out of the box that was an discontinued model of an off brand company - considering I paid about a quarter of the cost including the 3rd party warranty of comparable items bought at places like Sears etc. this was not a bad deal. Still use the warranty service today on some stuff I buy brand new or on eBay - usually about a third the cost of the extended warranties offered by the big box stores. Not a representative of any company - just sayin'.

[DesertDiamond]

124. I have had a very similar experience with Sears! Had no choice but to order a new garage door opener

from Sears because they have exclusive rights to the brand I needed for my garage door. I had to drive an hour and a half to the Sears store that had them because they couldn't just send it up to the store in my area. I got specific information from the clerk on duty that what I was buying was the correct item. Then when it turned out to be the wrong one, of course they wouldn't let me mail it back to them, I had to drive an hour and a half back to the store. THEN they charged me a 20% restocking fee for the item that their poorly trained clerk had told me was the right one!

I should have known I was in for trouble dealing with them at all. In the rural town I grew up in, we ordered from Sears or Montgomery Ward because so many things couldn't be purchased locally. And so many of those things we bought from Sears had things wrong with them, and we never got them fixed or got our money back because they wanted us to bring it in to the nearest Sears store, which was, back then, six hours away.

And, THANK YOU loudsue for pointing out how many unemployed technicians we have in this country! I have several extremely bright and capable friends who have graduated from technical schools and, years later, STILL can't find a job in their field! This is ridiculous! I swear never to shop at Sears again EVER.

[americannightmare]

125. The only power we have left

in an oligarchy/plutocracy is to stop giving the corporations our money. Pure and simple. Yeah, that might mean giving up your cable for a while. But then, I think TV is utter crap. What I do know is that the corporations are positively counting on the fact that the vast majority of Americans who have cable would never give it up to force change - in fact, many of them would choose TV and the internet over feeding themselves properly.

[Cleita]

127. Sorry, but I used to work at Sears and the extended warranties are a racket to make

extra money. Usually, they don't have to honor them because people seldom use them as they often replace the appliance before the extended warranty comes into effect. If you do use it the repairs are farmed to outside contractor, some good and some not so good. Yelling at an employee gets you nowhere. Write a snail mail letter to the manager of the store and the general manager of the district if you can get his/her name and address out of an employee. It might get you some action, but I'm not making any promises.

[geretogo]

128. The only power we have over them is to just stop buying period . Buy only what is necessary to stay

alive . Food, clothing ,shelter and that's it . Let the whole damn system die and form a new system .

[JEB]

129. It is a blessing in disquise.

Keep the dead TV as a reminder and avoid any corporate contact forever more.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

130. I never buy extended warranties because most places don't really honor them....

It's better to just take it to a shop. Especially these days when a TV is so light. Having someone come out made sense when a TV looked like this:



Support your local small business. I bet he will charge less than that extended warranty already cost.