Worst customer service, or worst CS ever?
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free skin care · Wed Aug 22, 2007 12:40 pm

Ladies and gentlemen, while we have a Best CS thread, I conducted a search for the Worst customer service thread and was unable to find it.

I wanted to share my recent experience with Sears. Because I'm spoiled by the excellent CS I receive from smaller companies more attuned to meeting the needs of their customers, this one really pissed me off Mad

grrr...

LONG RANT! Mad

Belt broke in my dryer. I go to Sears website to order a new one. Couldn't complete the order online because the field for street address didn't have enough spaces Mad

grrrrr...

I call the 800 number for parts and had to endure the scripted "may I have your phone number?", "may I have your zipcode?" blah blah blah. I have to spell everything TWICE, even had to tell her the 2 letter abbreviation for the state of California. Rolling Eyes

I'm NOT kidding. By this time I've spent 20 minutes on the phone. Finally, I was given my order number and told I would receive the belt within 6 days. [This was August 2nd] I requested they email me the tracking number when they ship and was told they couldn't. Why? Because they're not hooked up to the tracking system. Requested to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor also told me there was no way to provide me with a tracking number. Unbelievable, do you realize this is the year 2007? When will my belt arrive? August 8th. End of 30 minute phone call.

Next day, I check my bank account -
Sears has charged me TWICE! I call the parts number, they shunt me off to customer service who proceeds to tell me they haven't charged my card twice. I offer to fax them the portion of my bank statement that states otherwise. She says they don't need me to do that because she knows they've only charged me once. Again I explain to her that my online statement has TWO charges from Sears. She insists they've only charged me once, perhaps the bank is showing an authorization for the same amount they billed. Fine, I'm tired of arguing with this treestump and explain my dissatisfaction with being unable to place my order online and inability for a large company like Sears to provide me with a tracking number. Oh, she says - if I go to their online parts dept I can plug in my order number to find out what the shipping status is. Great, why didn't the supervisor in parts department tell me? She doesn't know, that's not her department Mad

grrrr...

I hop online and locate my order. Tracking number is absent. I have to send an email to to obtain the tracking number. I don't get my tracking number until 5 days after placing the order. Tracking number in hand, I see that the belt wasn't even SHIPPED until August 6, 4 days after I ordered it. And shipping will take 4-7 days to arrive, well beyond the original delivery date of August 8 that was promised to me.

Finally, on August 14 I see that according to the USPS tracking site, my belt has been delivered. Only I didn't get it Mad

grrrrr...

Another phone call to Sears customer service. They tell me that according to the USPS tracking site, my belt has been delivered. Yes, I know that's what it says [trying to keep my sense of humor ] Surprised

did you not hear me when I told you I still didn't get my belt? Please send me another belt. AIRMAIL.

The next day, I receive an email to the effect that they apologize for the inconvenience and another belt will be sent. USPS ground, not airmail as I requested. It didn't ship until August 17, over 2 weeks after the initial order.

Today is August 22 and I have yet to see my belt. I've been line-drying all my clothes and saving lots of energy, but the truth is that I would like to be able to throw my comforter, towels and sheets in the dryer. The only good news about this so far is that it turned out they DIDN'T charge my card twice. 3 days after the original order, one of the charges was removed from my online statement.

Remarkable contrast when I compare Sears with my most recent experience with Janson-Beckett! Dealing with them was just as bad as dealing with the federal and state governments, but that's not my department Very Happy

End of rant, now let's hear yours! Laughing

free skin care · Wed Aug 22, 2007 2:23 pm

Well that takes some beating Athena, but I'll give it a go.....its a long story and I'm cutting out lots of the frustrating details....

Rogers my ISP/Digital Phone/Cable TV supplier left me without Internet and Phone Service for 11 days Sad

During this time both services would be "up" from between 20 seconds to 30 minutes, then "down" for half a day. It took 4 servicemen (+ 2 "no shows"), not to mention hours and days of my time spent waiting on all of them to show up "before 5.00 p.m" to get it sorted. Their so called technicians all checked for squirrel damage to the cables and found none. One guy said the problem was at the main cable, but that was a "Maintenance" job and he was "Service", so he couldn't help me.
Finally after 11 days of ranting at them and pulling my hair out, they sent a poor guy out that must have thought I was barking mad the way I was goin' on. He quickly determined that there was squirrel damage and replaced the cable that went from the main cable to my house. That was on Sunday last and "touch wood", no problems since.
Soooo, I call their Head Office and have them check my service history and what do they offer me? $67.00 credit on my account for the # days I had interrupted service.
During this saga, I discovered they get paid "per call" - no wonder none of them took the time to really check the problem - they're on bloody piece work!!!
<rant over>

Hope you get your dryer belt soon Wink

free skin care · Wed Aug 22, 2007 2:36 pm

OMG! As I clicked on to EDS today I thought, I wonder if I should post my long rant and warning about how skeevy Sears has become... and lo and behold there is someone here already beating me to it! LOL! When I settle down I'll be back to vent - but in the meantime, be afraid... be very afraid. There's no 'softer side' to Sears anymore folks.

free skin care · Wed Aug 22, 2007 3:43 pm

anya wrote:

Well that takes some beating Athena, but I'll give it a go.....its a long story and I'm cutting out lots of the frustrating details....

Rogers my ISP/Digital Phone/Cable TV supplier left me without Internet and Phone Service for 11 days Sad

omigod anya! My ordeal pales in comparison with yours. While I can live with line-drying my panties, tshirts and shorts for this amount of time, I COULDN'T live without phone and internet for 11 days [unless I was on vacation]

I've never had really stellar experiences with cable companies either... Sad

Dahli, I'm eager to hear from you as well. Last time I got so steamed about a company was the first and last time I shopped in a Burlington Coat Factory. It just seemed like they deliberately set out to create a terrible customer experience from the time you enter the store until the time you leave.

I just may actually break down and write a snail mail letter to the President of Sears! Smile

Or, if I can find their blog I'll post there instead.

free skin care · Wed Aug 22, 2007 5:45 pm

Two recent events for your viewing pleasure:

American Airlines flight from SFO to Bermuda.
We have 30 minutes to change planes in JFK. We need to change terminals and for some reason we also need to go BACK through security! 4 couples go running for the plane. 3 couples make it but not our luggage.

American Airlines flight from Bermuda to SFO.
So this time we have 45 min to change planes in JFK - but, when we get to the Bermuda airport - the plane is delayed one hour.
We end up flying to Miami, then to St. Louis, then to SFO.

In St. Louis they tell the SFO passengers not to leave the plane. And 15 minutes later an older man with multiple schlerosis is brought on board and placed in the aisle seat of our row. No one warns us that we may WANT TO USE THE RESTROOM. Nice man, but we also had to wait for the entire plane to deplane in SF and for the staff to get the man into a wheelchair.

6 hours with no bathroom ...
Then of course my luggage isn't there and we file a claim only to find out that my luggage went on an earlier flight ...? We couldn't get on the earlier flight, but my luggage did!
19 hours of travel ... woohoo.

The best is my passport.
So, I couldn't find my passport and applied for a new one 3 months ago. Paid $80 to have it expedited. 3 weeks before the trip we were calling almost daily. The agency kept saying "oh, you don't need the actual passport to enter Bermuda. Just proof of application and your birth certificate".

Yes, well ... who has my birth certificate? The passport agency!

We also had another lame rep who told us "Expedited means about 2 weeks, it doesn't mean absolutely 2 weeks" (and this was almost 8 weeks later)

My parents had to race and expedite a new birth certificate for me 3 days before our trip.

I got my passport almost 2 weeks after our return.

free skin care · Thu Aug 23, 2007 3:02 am

There are 2 companies I hate with a vengeance.

DELL
Who persistently lied to me about when my computer was being returned after repair, meaning I waited in every day for a week - being promised each day that it would definitely arrive this time. And this was after they'd had the damn thing for a few weeks, instead of the week I was initially told. Eventually, after speaking to someone higher in authority, I discovered that a replacement part hadn't even arrived yet. It took about another week for that to happen. Then, they returned it with a hard drive that they said was mine, but it wasn't, followed by lots of ridiculous explanation attempts. So I lost my hard drive too.

I'd never ever use them again.

AIR CANADA
Sadly, I use this incompetent airline because there aren't any others which fly directly to my favourite country - Canada, obviously.

I require a seat with extra legroom because of medical conditions. Other airlines have accommodated this need with no problems whatsoever. Air Canada demanded a doctor's letter, which was costly, but a minor inconvenience, I thought. When I sent them this letter, they then demanded that my doctor complete a large form (which was extremely expensive). After I sent it in to them and complained about having to do this in addition to the doctor's letter, they apologised and told me that the form hadn't been necessary after all. At least they refunded my money in that instance.

However, despite all of this, the first few times I flew with them, they assured me that I had been booked a seat with extra legroom. Upon arrival at check-in (4 hours early, just to be sure), each time they've told me that I've only been allocated a normal seat. It's always a huge struggle to persuade them to give me more leg room. One time, they said that they couldn't and I ended up in bed for weeks after my flight, scarcely able to move and in great pain.

This time around, they've said that they can't allocate me an extra legroom seat beforehand. Once again, they've demanded a doctor's letter and to arrive extra early and present it to the check-in staff. That way, I may just be very lucky and get such a seat.

Air Canada make me so worked up before each flight, so I'm constantly worrying before I go on holiday, then all during the holiday about whether they'll give me extra legroom or not.

I suppose I should really just stop going to Canada (I don't trust BA as they lose your bags and are in such a bad state at the moment, and I need direct flights), but I love going there so much.

free skin care · Thu Aug 23, 2007 6:04 am

There is no CS in many of the large department stores near me. Trying to find a sales person to help you is like finding a needle in a haystack. Bad Grin

Examples are Sears, Macy's, Filenes. These big department stores apparently are not doing well and cutting the bottom line (employees). Perhaps they should evaluate why their sales are way down.

free skin care · Thu Aug 23, 2007 11:15 am

Ok, here goes.... Laughing

It is difficult for me to imagine Sears has become so short-sighted as to think these types of tactics will have a long term return. Showing a profit is a good thing, but if it's not sustainable is it truly a wise decision? Perhaps in its quest to keep viable in the current market place, the pendulum has swung much too far in the other direction. I'd be interested to know why a corporaton such as this one and its shareholders would be comfortable committing retail suicide, or perhaps this can be more aligned to cancer, slower growing but still fatal.

We were looking for a sofa sectional in June of this year, and decided to purchase the identical one some friends had recently bought, as it was very comfortable and quite lovely. It was at the Sears Home store and was a Sears Home brand. When we went to the store and found it there in red, we were told it was available in other colours and arranged for the cocoa coloured one to be delivered in July. The day after it came we realized it was not what we had purchased. This item was so hard and overstuffed it was virtually unusable, so uncomfortable it was dubbed Flintstone furniture. The bottom of the cushions were visible, not level with the base and the seams looked strained. The throw cushions were practically round and sitting in it gave the impression of being pushed off. There was no label and it did not apper to be the same sofa.

I phoned the store and expressed my dismay and was told to call the 'resolution experts' 800 line who then said they'd contact the store I just TALKED TO and then in turn I'd be called back by the original sales person. When he called two days later he told me I could put on socks and jump up and down on the cushions to soften it up but failing that perhaps the manufacturer has changed and they were sending inferior product and so a furniture medic would have to come out. This didn't make sense to me but thought perhaps this person can fix it or something. Two phone calls later and now into August the medic cames out and says he could not do anything about it but it would 'soften over time' and I could remove some stuffing from the throw cushions but as it was not defective and even though it was NOT what we had purchased, there was nothing he could do.

So long convoluted story short, after waiting two more weeks I finally called the manager in exasperation and asked why was this so complicated? Why was nobody calling me and following up with a very unappy customer? We were not satisfied, wanted to proceed with a return and see about finding an alternate piece, either through his catalogues or something. He says ok, but I'd have to pay the delivery fee, which I was willing to do and he says he'll get back to me.

This is where it starts getting ugly. He calls back to tell me it was a 'special order' and as such not refundable. (He's obviously checked his 'how to piss of customers and save the store commission' handbook) I had to ask, since when is buying a couch that is carried by the store and 'available in other colours' a special order? Then I'm told if I want to return it, there would be a 50% restocking fee. I'm quite amazed he was able to say that with a straight face. He then says I signed a contract stating this special order/non refundable business which is not true, the only thing I signed was a form when I took the colour swatches home, but next he tells me this is corporate policy and he can't over-ride it and I if I want I can call the president's line.

My husband then calls this 'president's line' and speaks to a very nasty woman who threatens to hang up on him when he questions why we're getting this ridiculous runaround when right on the bill of sale, which is the only document we were given, it states "IF FOR ANY REASON" you are not completely satisfied with your purchase simply return it within 90 days along with the receipt for a full refund. She says the 'restocking fee' is 25% even though this document states it is 20% (which is now the third amount being thrown out there), ON CUSTOM ORDERS which this is not, otherwise looking at this reasonably, anything that was not purchased as a floor model would qualify as a custom order. When we question this additional disparity she claims that the form we received was outdated and being 'phased out'. How that issue is relevant escaped us at the time and that is when she told us she 'was as high as we could go' and hung up. Perhaps I'm naive but I understood that when doing business with a company and they provide documentation, one would rightly assume the forms received outline the agreement into which both entered and as such said agreement is not changeable at the whim of either party.

We immediately called the store manger back, still incredulous that someone in CS would be so unbelievably rude and asked why we were not given a copy of this so-called special order waiver, nor told of this policy. He said that he couldn't put his hands on the contract but would call us on Thursday when the salesman returned to work.

When they called back my husband without my knowledge agreed to the 20% restocking fee since they could not find this bogus document, which when combined with delivery fees would be basically a $500 fee to rent this thing for 3 weeks. I decided to see how it looked in my living room, it looks good and is better for sitting in as it is so stiff, NOT what we wanted for curling up in front of the fire to watch movies in the family room... so we decide to keep it, and when my Sears bill comes which we had it charged to to defer payment till after receipt I've already got 13 days worth of interest!!! I call to say I'm paying for my couch in full the day I receive my bill but you have already charged me interest. Apparently they charge DAILY interest. That's borderline criminal and that's the end of my Sears love affair. Google it sometime, it's scary how bad they are getting - appliances? extended warranty? Forgetaboudit!

free skin care · Thu Aug 23, 2007 11:39 am

I need a new fridge. I was going to look at Sears first (don't we all?) I will now head in the other direction....fast!! Thanks for the warning...funny, they always had great CS. All my appliances were Kenmore at one point or another & never had a problem. Mind you, I never had to return furniture. Are you in Canada?

free skin care · Thu Aug 23, 2007 12:53 pm

I've got a good one for you guys. We have Time Warner cable, and every month on the same day our bill is automatically charged to our credit card. However, a few months back when I was looking at our statement, I saw our usual charge on our usual day, and then on a different day I saw an entirely different charge. I called TWC asap, and they said they had no record of the second charge, but they would look into it. A month passes, and again, the same thing happens--- my regular charge on my regular day, and then the same additional charge on the same different day. Again I call TWC. This time they ask me to fax them my credit card statement so they can look into it. I do so and wait. A month passes. Same thing happens AGAIN. I call TWC, and this time they tell me that I will need to go to one of their brick-and-mortar locations with my credit card statement. Of course, they nearest brick-and-mortar is four towns over, but I drive there anyway, and then I wait in line for half an hour before FINALLY getting a chance to speak to a customer service rep, and showing her how TWC has overcharged me for more than $200, and they have no record of it. I told her I wanted my $200 back, and I wanted it NOW. She took my documents and said I would be getting a call. (I've heard that before.) I told her as nicely as I could manage that I was at the end of my patience, and if I didn't get my money back I would be raising h*ll. Well, I got a call a few days later saying that for some strange reason my credit card was being used for the past 4 months to pay for someone ELSE'S account along with my own!!! Mad

Luckily they refunded the overcharges right away, but I'm still irate over having to work so hard just to get my own money back!

free skin care · Thu Aug 23, 2007 1:08 pm

ohmigod Dahli, at least my sears problems are costing me less than $50!!! Yep, never ever ever gonna do business with them again. It's truly like dealing with entrenched gov't workers who don't care about anything beyond the nose in front of them. They just don't get the big picture, then they wonder why their stock is falling.

free skin care · Thu Aug 23, 2007 1:34 pm

Dahli and Liz, just reading your posts makes my blood boil!! I worked most of my life for a company that kept getting bigger and bigger and kept changing management until the point where it was run by new grad MBA's. At one point when it was smaller it cared about the staff and their customers - but that's a thing of the past now. The bottom line is that management couldn't give a rat's ass about anything other than building their resumes, their contracts and severance packages Mad

Welcome to big business!!

free skin care · Thu Aug 23, 2007 2:08 pm

Hi marina, yes I"m in Canada, and honestly I never shopped anywhere but Sears most of my life, mom and sisters too, but something really ugly is going on with them andI suppose TPTB figure before enough people find out they can show good numbers for a given period and run...

Appliances seem to be the worst since you can't use them till they're in your home, where they promptly crap out, but then getting them fixed or replaced is the nightmare, I've even read where people are being billed twice for things that don't even work. Then try to talk to a real person - and even when you do they hang up on you...

After watching the movie "The Corporation" I no longer am surprised since thanks to specific changes to the law over time even tho corporations have all the same rights and priveledges under the law as you and me ... the only they need to do in return is show a profit, they can pollute the planet and even kill people (pharmaceuticals for example) but it's ok as long as they make money. It's scary as hell.

free skin care · Fri Aug 24, 2007 9:46 am

Can I chime in with my worst CS experience?

The winner (loser) is DISH Network Satellite TV. We used their service for 10 years, and during that time they had to relocate the satellite dish on our roof as the neighborhood trees had grown and were blocking the reception. Unfortunately, they didn't plug the holes, and we were later informed by our roofers that this was the reason our roof failed, as water got in through the holes and then caused the plywood underneath to buckle and warp. Fortunately, the roof wasn't new but it was 12 years old and was originally rated for 20 years. We replaced the roof, and called the DISH network people to come and reset the satellite dish again. I also mentioned as to how the roof had to be replaced because their installers hadn't sealed the holes. Well, the DISH network people didn't show up the day that they were supposed to come to my house, and I wasted a whole day waiting for them. I decided at that point to cancel and go with a competitor. When I called them, they offered little in the way of an apology and no incentives to stay with their service. They then charged my credit card a $100 service charge for the no-show visit! I complained and after several calls got that charge reversed.

Now, I get at least one "win-back" nuisance call from DISH network month. Each time I explain that I've signed a multi-year contract with their competitor, and to please not contact me again ... and yet, they do.

I try to learn something from every experience, and from this one I have learned that if you have a satellite dish on your roof it is a very prudent investment to hire a roofer to go up and check to make sure that everything is ok before you have damage and it is too late. (Of course, it is better not to have the dish located on the roof at all if you can avoid it!)

free skin care · Fri Aug 24, 2007 9:47 am

Dahli wrote:

After watching the movie "The Corporation" I no longer am surprised since thanks to specific changes to the law over time even tho corporations have all the same rights and priveledges under the law as you and me ... the only they need to do in return is show a profit, they can pollute the planet and even kill people (pharmaceuticals for example) but it's ok as long as they make money. It's scary as hell.

Yes, special interests have a very strong grip in the US. This form of corporate welfare makes my blood boil just as much as other "entitlement" programs do because it comes out of MY WALLET! When industry strongarms Congress into passing legislation that protects their interests, we're no longer a true free-market capitalist economy. The free-market is why the baby nationstate now known as the USA grew so strong so quickly. Now that we're trending toward a mixed back of socialism and "crony capitalism", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crony_capitalism, we'll find ourselves falling behind our former lofty goals and "American Dream" and wondering what happened.

free skin care · Fri Aug 24, 2007 12:49 pm

I had a problem with Time Warner Cable, too. I moved into my apartment a year ago and it didn't have any prior hookups, but they said it was okay and would send somebody out to take care of it. I was using them for phone, TV and internet. When all was said and done I didn't have any of these services for THREE MONTHS!! Most of the appointments (that I waited home for) were no shows, and the few who did show up (one was an entire day early) were contract workers who had no idea what was going on and either assumed I had a hookup already installed (and were unequipped to install it themselves) or were ready to add some modems to my upstairs neighbors account (the form had their name and everything - WTH??) It took a scathing letter to the president of TWC before I got a person who showed up, with the correct equipment, and the ability to set me up (which took a grand total of 20 minutes.) Even on that day I had to call the VP about 5 times to force this to happen. Needless to say, when I move again I'm getting all of these services through another company!!

Fri Aug 24, 2007 2:44 pm

Sears Customer Service Motto!

Sadly
Everyone
Anticipated
Real
Service

free skin care · Fri Aug 24, 2007 3:33 pm

jagged wrote:

Sears Customer Service Motto!

Sadly
Everyone
Anticipated
Real
Service

LOL, good one jagged! I'm emailing this to the good folks at SEARS!

free skin care · Fri Aug 24, 2007 3:36 pm

Whohoo, finally got my stupid belt today! Very Happy

chimera, anya, manslayer - I think there's an unwritten rule that no matter what the company is, all cable companies have very poor CS. I honestly think that during the hiring process, one of the questions each potential employee must answer is "What is your vision of great customer service? ".
Those that either say, "I don't know", or "I'm good with people" get hired.
Those that actually have a clue aren't.

free skin care · Fri Aug 24, 2007 7:59 pm

I'm happy for you athena! woo hoo is right Wink

free skin care · Sun Aug 26, 2007 8:48 pm

I've got another Sears story. We'd been Sears customers for a long time, with a Sears credit card, and had bought lots of pricey stuff--stove, frig, furniture, tires--as well as the usual assortment of clothing and tools. And we always sent in our full payment in time to avoid late charges.As I did early in September of 2001, mailing my payment in plenty of time to arrive in time. Except that, after the 9/11 terrorist incident, all flights (including postal flights) were suspended for days, so my payment ended up being 2 days late.

This was a pretty common problem due to the suspension of normal postal service, so banks and other creditors took that into account in determining whether late fees were due. But not Sears--the next bill had a late fee and interest charges.

So, I contacted the customer service center, certain that they would waive the fees, since my bill was mailed timely. Nope. Not a chance. I appealed to a supervisor--no luck there either. I couldn't believe it, so I sent in a complaint along with a cancellation of our credit card. I explained the situation, pointed out that we had been good customers for twenty years, spending thousands of dollars. Still nothing. So I sent in a followup, noting that disasters bring out the best in people and the worst, with some folks pulling together in the face of chaos and others deciding to profiteer instead. The only response was a "We're sorry to lose you as a customer."

The funny thing was, the next month we got a solitication asking if we wanted a new Sears credit card. Fat chance!! We've never set foot in a Sears since, and I doubt they'll ever get a dime from us.

Customer service? More like customer exploitation...

free skin care · Mon Aug 27, 2007 8:59 am

Wow flit, talk about short sighted! They were so insistant about getting their stupid late payments they were willing to lose a good customer? Unbelievable!

Yep, next time I need to buy an appliance, guess where I WON'T be shopping?

It's really like institutionalized apathy - no matter which way you turn and who you talk to at Sears, no one seems to "get it".

free skin care · Mon Aug 27, 2007 11:03 am

Yep, incredible is right,that story is unreal...but doesn't surprise me now.

This weekend we were out looking for our second sectional and new kitchen appliances as we are in the process of renovating the kitchen - we will go everywhere BUT Sears. Never ever again, what's weird to me is there's too much choice out there for them to do business as they are choosing to. I guess they're counting on people not knowing till it's too late. Haven't they heard about the internet!!?

What's funny is I'm practically inundated with flyers, catalogues and other items promoting Sears' appliances... they're all over TV too. Perhaps I'm just a bit 'sensitive' LOL

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