Facts:
1. I was having a new home constructed in Westminster Maryland, expected completion date was originally January 7th, but because of delays we did not settle until Wednesday, March 9th.
2. I wanted to purchase a Kenmore Refrigerator and a High Efficiency Washer/Dryer pair, because of Kenmore's reputation and consumer research on these particular appliances.
3. I purchased a Kenmore Elite counter depth Refrigerator at your store in December. Delivery was scheduled for January 07. That was changed to a later date twice with a final delivery date of Friday, March 4.
4. I purchased a Kenmore HE4 Washer/Dryer Pair in Pacific Blue from Judy B on February 16th. Delivery was added to my pending Refrigerator delivery date.
5. A few days later I was on SEARS.com where I discovered that the delivery charges for the Washer and Dryer had been inflated; the sales should have taken into consideration that I was already having a refrigerator delivered that day and reduced the costs. I completed an online form and complained about the charges.
6. A few days later I received a call from Sears Westminster and they told me they would be adjusting the delivery charges and crediting my account by $25.00. I thanked them.
7. My builder called me and wanted to know where to put the outside dryer vent. I went to the Sears Westminster store and explained what was needed to Judy B. She looked for material on the web and in the machine's manuals, but it was not present. I asked to examine one of the floor models and Judy went out of her way and helped me take measurements. I gave them to my builder to do the outside vent.
8. On March 3rd, I received an automated call from Sears Delivery Service that my appliances would be delivered the next day in the afternoon hours.
9. On Friday morning, March 4th, I traveled from Owings Mills (my home at the time) to my Doctor's office in Westminster, then I left there for the new homesite to take delivery of the washer/dryer and refrigerator.
10. Friday afternoon, March 4th, a Sears Deliveryman telephoned my Owings Mills home phone number to ask for directions to the home. Luckily my partner was at that home and gave them directions to the new homesite.
11. Friday afternoon, March 4th, the delivery truck pulled up outside the homesite. The two-man crew brought the refrigerator into the home. I asked them where were my Washer and Dryer. One replied that only the refrigerator was scheduled for delivery. I said no - that there should be a washer and dryer on the truck. The deliveryman showed me his delivery slip and only the refrigerator was listed. He then called his headquarters and I was put on the phone with a delivery representative. I was informed that the Washer had been damaged and that they would deliver the pair the following Monday, March 7th. I asked why I was not told of this, that I would have cancelled the refrigerator delivery so I would not have to travel out to the homesite from Owings Mills twice. The delivery rep said I should have been called. I told her I was not. She was not apologetic and I told her I would take care of this later since I did not want to hold up her crew.
12. The two-man crew brought the refrigerator into my kitchen. They waited while my plumber hooked up the water line. They asked me to sign their sheet and immediately left.
13. I opened the refrigerator and took out all the packing and the plastic shelves that were boxed up. I spent the next 45 minutes trying to determine how the plastic shelves were installed and installing the bottom toe plate. I also had to install the air filter and found out how to do that by reading the manuals. At the time I was upset that I had to do this work; I felt it should have been part of the deliverymen's job. I finally finished setting up the refrigerator.
14. On my way home to Owings Mills I stopped at the Sears Westminster store. I stopped the first appliance salesman I came across and asked him about Sears Delivery and what they were supposed to do when delivering a refrigerator. He said that all they did not was drop off the refrigerator, that it was the buyer's responsibility to set up the appliance. I told him I disagreed with that, but he said that was their policy.
15. When I arrived home in Owings Mills there was a message left on my telephone answering machine. Sears Delivery had called in the afternoon and advised that they would not be delivering the washer and dryer that day - that they would arrive the following Monday.
16. On Saturday, March 5th, I received an automated call from Sears Delivery Service; they would be delivering my Washer and Dryer on Monday morning, March 7th. That night I was on Gardenweb.com, their Home section where I read a warning about the Kenmore HE4 Washer and Dryers. A person had posted a message to warn that the Transit Bolts in both the Washer and Dryer should not be removed until they were on their pedestals and ready for the move into their final location. They said to run out to the delivery truck to make sure the deliverymen did not remove those bolts until the proper time.
17. I also came across the Sears form advising about Delivery (form POWS #10442 called Delivery Guidelines). On the reverse it states for specific product delivery guidelines for refrigerators "The product will be uncartoned, positioned in place, leveled and plugged in. Crispers, racks, ice trays and thermostats are set to manufacturer's recommended position." The refrigerator delivery team should have leveled the refrigerator; they did not. The delivery team should have put in the crispers, racks and set the thermostat; they did not.
18. Monday morning, March 7th, I drove from my Owings Mills home to my future Westminster home to await delivery of the Washer and Dryer.
19. I received a call on my cell phone from my partner (who was at our Owings Mills home). He told me that Sears delivery had called asking for directions and that they would be arriving shortly. About 15 minutes later my partner called me again. He said that Sears delivery called him again asking for directions, but this time it was a woman from their Columbia location.
20. The delivery truck pulled up outside my home. I immediately went out to warn them about the transit bolts. They were taking the dryer off the truck - it was already unpacked and I did not see any transit bolts in place. They placed the dryer in my garage and then got the washer and the two pedestals. They unpacked the pedestals and moved one of them and the dryer into my laundry room. I showed them where they were going. He placed the Dryer on its back and began hooking it up to the pedestal.
21. The other deliveryman did not speak English. I watched as he unpacked the HE4 Washer. I saw he was about to remove the Transit bolts, when I said NO. He did not understand. I pointed to the bolts and shook my head indicating NO so he would not remove them. He finally understood me.
22. He went into the laundry room and helped the other man. The connected a corrugated dryer vent pipe to the back of the dryer. It was then that I discovered that the builder did not follow my plans for the outside vent placement; he put it two inches higher then it should have been placed. The deliverymen moved the dryer back into place. However since the vent pipe they connected was too long, they could not move it into it's final position - they were blocking one of my floor heat registers. I asked the one to shorten the vent pipe by cutting it. He did. They tried to connect it properly for about 15 minutes but admitted defeat. It ended up being half on/half off the outlet vent. I told the man I would try to get someone else to connect it properly.
23. They began to work on the washer. They were about to remove the transit bolts again, but I told them no, they were not to be removed until it was to be placed in its final position. They said okay, and then tilted the washer on its side to attach it to the pedestal. They did so, tilted it back up and proceeded to get out the electric cord and drain hose. Then they took out the transit bolts.
24.in Carroll County, there is a new building code that all first floor (and above) washing machines must rest in a drain pan. My builder had the plumber install a plastic one where the washing machine would rest. The edge of the drain pan is 1.5 inches in height and it's composition is a somewhat flexible plastic. However too much pressure on an edge would cause it to crack.
25. The deliverymen plugged it in and connected the water hoses and the drain hose. When one couldn't get the drain hose into its place, he pushed it, forcing it to go into position. Then they both lifted up the washer and placed it inside the drain pan.
26. One then went to open the pedestal drawer, but the drain pan was blocking it from being pulled out. I suggested that they try to make the legs on the machine long enough; that it may be able to go high enough so we could pull out the drawer. They tried, but it didn't work; we still could not open the pedestal door. I told them never mind.
27. The one who spoke English (somewhat) proceeded to show me that the Dryer worked. "Spin, Yes?" he asked. I said "yes". He went over to the Washing machine and turned it on. "On, Yes?" he asked. I said "yes". He put it on a wash cycle and water began filling the tub. "Water, Yes?" he asked. I said "yes". He pointed to the hose connections, "Leak, No?" he said, I replied "yes". He stopped the water and the machine began agitating. "Work, Yes?" he said. I said "yes". He stopped the machine and put it on Rinse. It began to spin and water would spray inside the drum. "Rinse, Yes?" he asked. I replied "Rinse, yes." He put the washer on SPIN and drain. The tub began spinning, I could hear water beginning to drain. Immediately a spray of water shot up out of the drain hose elbow. When he had forced it into place he damaged the hose causing a hole, from which water was now spraying upwards. He immediately shut off the machine and looked surprised. He called the Columbia headquarters and spoke in Spanish to the other person. Then he put me on the line. I told her that their deliveryman had damaged the drain hose. She said that they would order one, which would take 7 business days. I said that was not acceptable; I wanted a new drain hose immediately. She said no. I asked to speak with a manager, then I realized that the deliverymen were standing there. I told her I would call back later.
28. I saw that there was still water in the tub and I wanted it drained out. I asked the man to take the drain hose and put it in the laundry sink. He understood after a few attempts of communication. I put the washer on spin and watched the water drain out. The men were getting ready to leave. I knew they had tried their best, but were not given adequate training - which was not their fault. I tipped them $20, they said Thank you and departed.
29. I looked at my $3000 HE4 Washer/Dryer pair that was unusable. I thought of my $2000 Kenmore Elite refrigerator that was not properly installed. Almost $5000 worth of Sears' products botched by their Delivery Agents. Where was the Sears that I knew and trusted for its excellent products and service? I decided to stop at the Sears store on my drive back to Owings Mills.
30. When I arrived in the Appliance department Judy was not there so I told the Sales rep about my problems with the pedestal and new county code regulations. I asked to speak with a Manager. Carol came down and I spoke with her. I explained everything to her and she was quite apologetic. She said that with the damaged hose, they were supposed to have someone replace it the next day. I told her that they told me 7 business days. At that point I wanted to return the pedestals because I could not use them. Carol said that once the transit bolts were removed they could not remove the pedestals; they would have to exchange the appliances that were delivered with two brand new ones. I said okay. Carol got on the telephone with the Sears Delivery people. She spoke with a representative, then asked to speak with a Delivery Specialist. Carol was placed on hold. After ten minutes the call was cut off. Carol called them back and immediately requested to speak with a Delivery Specialist. She was again placed on hold. After ten minutes the call was cut off.
I commented that I was glad it was happening to her because when it happened to customers, we were never believed.
Carol called the Delivery people a third time. This time she spoke with a specialist and arranged for a pick up and delivery that Friday, March 11th. Carol had told me that only the Delivery people could compensate me for their errors and wasting my time, so after she spoke with them she let me have the phone. I began by explaining about their improper delivery of the refrigerator and the problems with the washer and dryer. I asked for compensation. She said Sears would send me a $25.00 Gift Card. I said that would compensate the problems with the refrigerator, but what about the inept handling of the washer and dryer. She said they could only give me one gift card. I said these were two different events and I should be compensated for both of them. She refused to do more than send the one gift card. I asked to speak with her Manager. I was placed on hold. After a five-minute wait, I was so frustrated at waiting again, I hung up the telephone.
31. Upon arriving home in Owings Mills, I thought back on everything. It would be a waste if Sears had to scrap the washer and dryer they delivered because the pedestals could not be removed. I spoke with my partner and he said to keep the items as long as the drain hose was replaced. I called Sears Delivery service and explained that I was canceling the exchange and wanted them to get me the drain hose. Again I was told 7 business days, but I repeated what Carol had told me, that it should only be the next day. The agent said they would expedite the order and I should get it in two days.
32. On March 9th I settled on my new home. On the 10th we moved our belongings Westminster. We were busy with moving and everytime I passed my laundry room I thought of Sears' inept delivery people.
33. The next week I called the delivery folks again. At first I was asked my telephone number. I gave them my new one. They could not find the transaction, so I gave them my old number. They said they would merge the accounts. I asked about the drain hose. I said I had been waiting and have not heard a thing. They said they it was never ordered and that they would order it again and expedite it. They said I should receive it in two business days. The woman said they would send me a $25 Sears Gift card for my inconvenience. I thanked her.
34. I called back earlier this week. I had to go through the phone number routine again. They promised to merge the accounts under my new phone number. I asked about the drain hose. They said it was on its way and I should have it the next day - Tuesday.
35. I stopped in the Sears store and spoke with Judy and Carol. Carol had remembered me from before. I explained the continuing problems I was having with the delivery people. Carol said they would give me a drain hose from one of the floor models. Judy called the Delivery folks so they would come again to my home and balance the washer and dryer, install the drain hose and correct the dryer vent problem. I said fine, that this was the last chance. They were due to come out to my home on Wednesday, March 23rd.
36. March 23rd. I get a call from the Delivery truck. They asked for directions. I gave them clear directions and they said they would be at my house in a few minutes.
37. An hour later I receive another call from the Delivery truck. They again asked for directions. I asked the driver his location so I could give him specific directions. He ignored my request. I again gave him specific instructions - Take State Road XX North from Westminster. Make a left onto XX Road. Two miles in is my street. I told them to make a left turn onto my street - go up the hill and my home was the first one on the right. I thought the man understood me.
38. Twenty five minutes later I receive a third call from the Delivery truck. They again asked for directions - a THIRD TIME. I was very patient with the man. It was obvious that English was not his first language. After explaining to him how to get to my home over and over for 15 minutes, I gave up. I asked him if he knew why he was coming to my home. He said to balance my refrigerator. I said, "What?", he replied to "work on my refrigerator".
I told him to cancel his call; that I would call his delivery headquarters and tell them I cancelled the call.
39. I called the Delivery number. I went through the what's your phone number routine again. The rep promised to merge accounts. I said it was the third time I was promised that they would be merged. I told her what had happened. I said that I wanted to have a Service person - one who knew what they were doing to correct their botched installation. She connected me with Sears Service Department. I waited about 15 minutes on the phone before I got connected to an agent. I explained the problems to them. The man was sympathetic but said that they do not do installations. He referred me back to the store.
40. I called the store and spoke with Judy. Judy could not believe the problems I was continuing to have with Sears Delivery and Sears Service. I again asked for a Service person - and I listed out three things that they needed to do -
A) to know how to get to my home without asking for directions.
B) to know that they needed to replace the drain hose, balance the washer and dryer and try to fix the dryer vent hose.
C) to be able to perform the work.
Judy said she would call a few people to get it arranged. She called back later on and said it was set up for March 30th, but that a Manager would be calling me within the hour to try to set up an earlier service date.
After I hung up I saw that I had a message. It was Sears Delivery Service. They said that their deliverymen were in my area and were trying to contact me by phone but could not. She asked me to call back to set up another appointment to work on my refrigerator. I saved the message.
I waited for the Manager to call me as promised by Judy. Two hours went by and no calls.
41. I went out grocery shopping and came back later on. I had a message from Sears saying they wanted to talk to me about my appointment and to set up an earlier date. It was late so I did not call that day.
42. March 24th - I called Sears Service. I asked about getting an earlier date. They said the earliest was March 30th. I said that was not good enough. The agent could not help.
Thursday afternoon I went to Lowes in Westminster. There I saw the new Whirlpool HT model. They promised me delivery the next day. I went home and spoke to my partner. We agreed that we gave Sears enough chances to rectify the problem, but their Delivery Division was run by inept idiots with communication problems, they also seemed to have no concern for their customers.
43. March 25th. I called Sears Delivery and told them I wanted to return the washer and dryer. They asked for my phone number. I gave it to them. They could not find my records. They said that after so much time after delivery they are dropped from their system. I explained that I had a $3000 Washer/Dryer set since March 7th and that they were unusable and that I should be in their system. I gave her my old number. My records came up. She said she would merge them under my new phone number. I said that had been done FOUR TIMES before without success. She got them to merge. And I asked her to have the washer and dryer picked up as soon as possible because I was getting a new pair. She said I would have to wait until Monday, March 28th. I said okay.
I called Judy B. At the Westminster Sears store. I told her the latest. I asked for the store manager's name. I said I gave them enough chances to fix the problem but it was impossible dealing with their other departments. I said they failed their last chance to get a knowledgeable service person to fix the installation earlier than March 30th.
Judy asked me to call the store manager. I said I was done calling people, but if she had the manger call me, I would gladly speak with him.
A short while later I received a call from Sears Service department. They said they could get a person out to my home the next morning, Saturday, March 26. I asked if they knew what they had to do - to balance the machines, replace the drain hose and fix their dryer vent connection. The person indicated yes, they knew what to do and would be able to do it. I asked her to hold. You see I had already given your company their last chance, but Judy tried one more time to save her sale. I asked my partner what he thought. He agreed to give them one more chance if they could fix everything the next day. I told the rep that it was fine.
A few hours later I received another call from Sears Service to confirm the Service Visit the next day. I again asked if they knew what they had to do - to balance the machines, replace the drain hose and fix their dryer vent connection. The person indicated yes, they knew what to do and would be able to do it.
After dinner I received another call from Sears Service. This person said their service man might be a little late the next day. I asked again - if they knew what they had to do - to balance the machines, replace the drain hose and fix their dryer vent connection. The person indicated yes, they knew what to do and would be able to do it. I asked if they would know how to get to my home; she replied yes, but they would be calling ahead to let me know they would be there soon. I then asked if she knew if the service men's native language was English. She though yes. All was fine, or so I thought.
44. March 26 - approximately 10 AM. I received a phone call from a Sears Serviceman. He said he would be at my home shortly and asked what road my street was near. I said I was off of XX Road. He said was that off of State road YY. I said no, it was off of State Road XX. I told him to go north on State Road XX from Westminster. That a couple of miles north he would see a sign for XX Road. To make a LEFT turn onto XX Road - go 2 miles in and make a LEFT turn onto my street. That I was the first house on the right.
45. About 45 minutes later I received another call from the Serviceman. He said he was on XX Road but couldn't find my street. He said he was near this other road. I asked if he made a left turn onto XX Road from State Road XX. He said he turned right. I said he had to go back, that we were on the left side of XX Road.
46. About 15 minutes later he arrived. I escorted him into my Laundry Room and I asked him if he was told what this call was about. He said "no", that we "were listed as a BAD INSTALL". I asked him if he could balance the Washer alone because it weighed a lot. He said he could do the dryer vent and the drain hose, but not balance the machine because he was not strong enough to lift that much weight. I said I knew the machine weighed a lot, and that's why I thought they would send out a team of two men to handle the job.
Since he could not perform all tasks that I requested, I asked him to go. I said that Sears would pick up the machines Monday, that I would be returning them - that this was the last chance, no, one past the last chance, that I had given Sears to fix all the problems. I said the only way I would keep them is if they could get out two men today. He said they probably could not.
47. After he left I called Judy at the Sears Westminster. I thanked he for trying to fix the problem, but that they sent only one man and he could not perform all the necessary tasks. She asked if I wanted a new Washer. I said I would only take a new washer if it was not delivered nor set up by the Sears Delivery contractor in Columbia Maryland. Judy said they could not do that.
I asked if they could send out two men today. She said no. I asked her to call the people she called the day before, the one's who expedited the service call. She said that they were not working. I again thanked her for all her work on trying to fix the problems. Judy then tried to set up the return in the system. She keyed in my new phone number, but had to ask for my old phone number. She tried to set up the return but had problems. So she promised to work on it and call me back. She sounded a little aggravated at me. But, I cannot really blame her - she would be losing her commission on two expensive appliances - through no fault of her own, but through the fault of your Delivery Contractor.
48. After hanging up I saw that someone left a message when I was speaking with Judy. I called it up. It was Sears Delivery Service calling to confirm delivery of an item on Monday, March 28th. After listening to it I called Judy up to let her know that Sears was picking them up on Monday.
49. A few hours later, Sears automated delivery service called again. This time they told me they would be here between 2 and 4 PM on Monday to deliver my item. To be sure I called their number. I gave them my current phone number and yes the right records came up! I asked her about Monday and she said it was to pick up, not deliver. I said their message spoke of a Delivery. She laughed; I guess it's a known joke. I was not happy, as Sears should have a separate phone message for pick-ups. Their thank you for shopping at Sears and Sears will make your day were not messages I particularly wanted to hear.
That's my story of my purchasing an HE4 Washer/Dryer pair from Sears Westminster. It's a story of incompetent bungling Delivery people who cannot communicate appropriately with their English speaking customers. It's a story of misguided Delivery people who cannot understand directions, again because of their failure to communicate appropriately with their English speaking customers. One must wonder why they are not given specific directions before they even leave their warehouse. Mapquest, Yahoo Maps - all online maps could have given them step by step directions to my home.
Their misunderstanding on how to handle State of the Art expensive HE Washer and Dryers mystifies me. I wonder how many installs they did where they removed the transit bolts before they began their installation. How many Washers and Dryers are spinning unbalanced because they did not do their jobs correctly, machines waiting to spin out of control causing hundreds of dollars of repairs. I would also like to state that even though a Drain hose was set up to be delivered to me THREE different times, I never received one from Sears Delivery. Only through the intervention of Carol did I get one from the store. Also, though I was promised two $25 gift cards, I only received one card a few days ago.
I gave more than enough chances to Sears to correct this problem. Judy and Carol went out of their way to help me get the service I expected from Sears. Through no fault of their own, or their store, my beloved Sears failed me.
I sincerely suggest Sears have their people review this delivery contractor's work. That they are ripping off their customers. I cannot be the first customer who has been soured on Sears because of their actions (or should I say inactions). I regret having to return these items, but they have left me no other choice. I have been without a Washer and Dryer since early this month. I am disabled and going to the Laundromat to do my laundry is out of the question because I am unable to lift baskets of clothes. I cannot take any more stress with dealing with inept delivery people, be it deliverymen, delivery agents or delivery specialists.
Know that I will never, ever buy another appliance from Sears if they are still dealing with that Delivery Contractor. I will also be canceling my newly reopened Sears Credit Card account. My payment for this Washer and Dryer is due on March 30th. I expect a FULL Credit for the returned Washer and Dryer and Delivery Charges (I do not believe I should have to pay delivery charges for their failures). If I am hassled for payment, I will visiting the store manager's office to discuss this in person.
Ken
Westminster, Maryland
U.S.A.
0 comments