SEARS HOME IMPROVEMENT

Horrible, unit had trouble first year.

It went horribly wrong. First the wrong medicine cabinet came with a chip in the mirror. Installer placed the mirror up. Because the medicine cabinet we ordered came with light, we barely have light in our bathroom /with the incorrect medicine cabinet. If it weren't for a vent with a small light we would be showering in the dark. When the floor came they unrolled it out on the front lawn and the installer stated it was damaged. The final straw was when my husband went downstairs on Thursday evening to the basement and noticed flooding in the basement. We called Sears and they sent a plumber at about 3:00 p.m. on Friday. At that time my husbands winter clothes and his medical/service records were flooded. The plumber stated that the brass nut that holds the shower pipe to the water line was broken. He went on to say that the only way the contractor could get the shower arm to line up with the hole was by using force to jam the pipe over far enough for the shower arm to line up with the hole. Also, that the shower wrap was measured incorrectly. Sears knows about the water damage and has not contacted us. Not only that, we only want to be charged for the work that was done. After three mishaps we do not want Sears in our home. However, if we don't get the flooring we are going to be charged a $600.00 restocking fee, Per Production Manager, Pete Raddi. Who restocks damaged floor. The only thing we want is not to be charged the 600.00 restocking fee our correct mirror and we won't go after the damages in our basement. We don't want Sears back in our home. They've caused enough damage.

unknown

Our home had two central AC units which needed to be replaced. We chose to buy from Sears because we thought Sears had a reputation for quality and good service. Our experience has been the complete opposite. I've had numerous problems with Sears: - technicians show up late; call centers not having accurate information about when the technician will arrive; appointments being canceled without my knowledge; being called to say I'm the first appointment of the day, yet the technician showing up over an hour late. - My warranty (provided by Sears with my purchase) was not input into Sears' system correctly. I couldn't have my A/C service because Sears had my warranty listed as a furnace. This error took weeks, with numerous hours spent on the phone bouncing from department to department. I was told it was corrected, only to have a technician come and tell me it was still incorrect (the technician wouldn't fix my A/C). To correct my warranty information, I was asked to fax my contract. This fax number was permanently busy...day and night. I called a manager back multiple times to ask if I could email it, and my phone calls were never returned. - The Sears organization has too many departments which are located all over the country. Transferring customers from one department to another is very common, and results in the customer spending hours on the phone to get anything done. The phone reps will not transfer you to a manager/supervisor, even when I requested. Instead, they would give me yet another phone number to call and lodge a customer complaint (which meant I had to tell my situation yet again, and not have any resolution). - On my second A/C unit, one day I had water pouring into my ceiling. This was coming from the A/C's plastic drain pan. I was so frustrated (it had been one month that I had been trying to get A/C #1 fixed) that I decided to call in a local service repair company. The drain pan was cracked, and the crack was not made by water. The crack was made by a person, most likely cracked during installation. The repairman also told me that the drain pan filled with water because the drain pipe had been placed to go over a beam in my attic...meaning the water had to travel upwards at one point. The water backed up and went to the cracked drain pan. This proves that the installation wasn't done correctly. My experience with getting my A/C repaired has been beyond frustrating. The amount of time I've spent on the phone and waiting in my home for repairs is beyond belief. Only one manager has followed up, she was the manager at the call center who schedules appointments for repairs. Nobody at the Sears Home Improvement office in Melville has ever contacted me, despite my having scheduled 4 appointments in the past month. I only wish I would have known about all this before purchasing Sears A/C's. I would have definitely used a local vendor instead.

The installers were fine, other than a problem with the quality of the gutters, which is still unresolved. (After barely three months there's a leak, and my phone calls requesting a repair have not been returned.) The problem lies with the sales office. I had asked the salesman to be sure that the top of the decorative window on the front door clear the bottom of the top trim on the storm door so the view of the window would not be blocked. When the doors arrived, the installer told me that he had not gotten that instruction, and nonetheless there's no way to alter the height of the window at the factory. (I would have had to order a different storm door with narrower trim, and delay the job.) He did his best with the installation to raise the storm door and lower the inner door so that the trim would not block the window. It barely clears. I was disappointed that this essential instruction was ignored. Also, the salesman estimated in error a larger gutter than could be installed on my house, so when the project coordinator later came by to preview the job and told me the gutter size would have to be downgraded, I was told to expect an adjustment in the price. Several calls to the Melville office and two letters to the credit department later, I still have not been given the price adjustment the salesman promised. After calling and writing a detailed letter to the Sioux Falls address, as they requested, Sears sent me a silly form asking me to repeat the information I had already explained. And now the gutter is leaking. Maybe they're understaffed, or maybe they just don't care. Either way, I'm done with this company. According to the newspapers, there's trouble at the top. In summary: siding guy, good; gutter guy, fine (except for leak--bad material quality?); door installer, great; sales department, bad; credit department, worse.

It was a difficult decision but I chose some one else. Their price and presentation was very good.

I hired Sears to remodel my kitchen. I was told by the salesman they would do everything from demolition and removal of the old kitchen to installation of new products to final painting. I was lied to from the start. Sears hires different contractors for each fase of the job, none of them work together. All of the contractors who showed up were unprepaired to do what they were hired to do. There were even a couple who seemed upset that they had to actually do work. The first contractor took out the old cabinets on day one, then installed the new ones on day two. When I questioned the worker why he was installing new cabinets before doing the electric and plumbing, he said this is how Sears does it. On day three the electrician shows up and tells me he can't do what he is supposed to do, because the new cabinets are in the way. The contractor and electrician left huge holes in the wall. When I called Sears to tell them, their project manager was surprised there were holes in the walls. The flooring and countertops were installed next without any problems. For the next 11 days the project sat idol, no work was done. The new microwave, dishwasher, stove and other boxes, sat in my living room for 11 days. During this time I had no working kitchen. Finally the plumber shows up to install the sink, dishwasher and stove. He is unprepared and tells me he was told to install only the sink. He installs the sink which leaks and the stove which he doesn't balance. Doesn't touch the dishwasher. The next week, two plumbers show up to install the dishwasher and have the nerve to tell me they will install the plumbing for the dishwasher but don't touch electricity. I am flabergasted. After calling Sears, they agree to do it, but do not balance the dishwasher. This was the last straw. Finally after I complain about their work on Facbook, Sears starts to take me seriously. The send a guy to balance the appliances, install the microwave and fix whatever else is wrong. They also send a fourth plumber to fix the leaky sink and dishwasher. When I think the project is finally complete I ask Sears when the painting would be done to complete the job, they tell me they don't paint, I should read my contract. Now I am on Angie's list to find a painter. Do not use Sears to remodel anything in your home.

I received several quotes to replace the 28 windows in my home with vynal windows. The Sears salesman was by far the most unprofessional person I ever dealt with. He did not bring any samples. He told me that the price for each "hole" would be $1600 and that price was for slider windows not double hung. I can get Anderson wood windows for that price. I asked him who manufactured the windows for Sears and he told me he had no idea. I asked for a price on the entire job since some of my windows are single width and some are double width. He never gave me an answer. He would not give me anything in writing.He did not seen to care if I chose Sears or somebody else. I had also asked Sears for a price on redoing my kitchen. When we were finished with the windows he told me that he would be coming back with the kitchen estimater. we set up a date for the estimate but no one showed up. The salesman kept asking us to give him a good rating if Sears did a following up opinion questionaire. Lucky for him no one called.