Stood up by Sears

[Icc5]

Tell me how you think I should handle this?
My in-laws had a Sears Vacume System put in years ago and have since passed away. The system is not working so we schedule Sears to come out and inspect it. They charge either $69 or $79 to do this and if you have it worked on this charge goes towards paying for the work.
The appt. was scheduled for between 1 and 5 on Tuesday. We work but my son (18) was off and said he'd go there and wait. Well, at 4:45 we received a phone call from the person coming out saying he doesn't fix vacumes or vacume systems and doesn't know why this was sent to his mailbox. He said are we sure it isn't a washer or dryer because he fixes those.
We called Sears and asked how they were going to compensate my son for his waste of time. They just ignored it and rescheduled an appt. for next Monday from 1-5.
I e-mailed Sears customer service and told them I expect some sort of compensation for my son's time. We live in Calif. and I believe there is a law having to do with this but I don't remember what it is. I know if we miss a Dental or Dr. appt. we are charged $75. I am giving Sears until Saturday and then I plan to contact both Action Line in our local newspaper and some of the local TV stations that fight for consumers. I'm trying to avoid small claims court but I will not let Sears take advantage of my son.
Bart

 

[pjrose]

Was your son significantly or monetarily inconvenienced? You said he was off so it doesn't sound like he missed work.

Maybe this should just be chalked up to the scheduler making an honest mistake.

If you insist on compensation, perhaps you can talk someone into a % off discount or a coupon.

 

[charford]

I've had this happen sooo many times. No one has ever compensated me for my time. I just don't do business with them again, if possible.

 

[pjrose]

I've had this happen sooo many times. No one has ever compensated me for my time. I just don't do business with them again, if possible.

Charford - with Sears specifically, or with a variety of businesses?

 

[charford]

I don't remember being stood up by Sears. And I use them quite a bit. I've been stood up by the gas company, an air conditioning company, a plumber, floor installers, to name a few. Just in the past week, I've been stood up by my handyman and the sprinkler guy. Both had very good excuses. I don't count on anyone showing up until they actually show. So, I don't rearrange my schedule for them. I make appointments when it's convenient for me.

 

[pjrose]

I don't count on anyone showing up until they actually show. So, I don't rearrange my schedule for them. I make appointments when it's convenient for me.

Me too - but it's so annoying when all they'll tell you is morning or afternoon. I don't necessarily need an exact time, but I would like to know late morning or early afternoon, or at least "we'll call when we're on the way over."

Oh well, usually it works out.

 

[Hophop4]

Last Friday we purchased a new refrigerator from Sears. The delevery was on Sunday. They called me Saturday evening to say when they would deliver it, between 9 AM and 11 AM Sunday Morning. They were here just before 10 AM.

 

[Icc5]

Not even the correct service

Was your son significantly or monetarily inconvenienced? You said he was off so it doesn't sound like he missed work.

Maybe this should just be chalked up to the scheduler making an honest mistake.

If you insist on compensation, perhaps you can talk someone into a % off discount or a coupon.

I think the part that bothers me the most is even if the person had come out it wasn't even the right type of service person. Sears is the only one that works on this system to our knowledge. If the person doesn't even deal with this type of service why wait almost a week and then 3 hours and 45 minutes into the appt. is when they called.
We are charged $75 by our dentist if we miss an appt., how is this any different?

 

[dougp26364]

Sears gave us cruddy service 4 or 5 years ago. I think I've more than evened the score over time by no longer shopping with them or purchasing merchandise from them. We use to spend between $500 and $2,000/year with Sears. In that time I've purchased a replacement clicker for my garage door opener and part for a weed trimmer and even that was thrown away last year.

In the past I had purchased tires, lawn mowers, car batteries, washer/dryer sets, a garage door opener, fitness equipement, clothing and suitecases.

How much money was involved over the loss of my business? It was over a digital camera worth $249 at the time. I get the feeling Sears/Kmart maybe made a bad deal on that one.

 

[caribbean]

I very distinctly remember sitting out in our partially completed, under construction home, waiting ALL DAY for Sears. This was before the days of cell phones. I had taken off work to be there and they could not do better than sometime between 8am-7pm. I sat out there till after it turned dark, no bathroom facilities, need I say more. Never did get an apology or an explanation. Haven't bought large appliance from them since then, not that I think they care. Really pissed off.