I recently gave Sears ' online ordering system a try. As a result of this experience, I was flabergasted to find out how disfunctional and actually unethtical the Sears organization is.
In comparison, I order lots of things from Amazon.com. Amazon does online ordering right. I love them. On the other hand, I found the Sears online experience to be a nightmare. As I don’t like nightmares, I’ll stay away from Sears online.
Here’s the story (very summarized). I hate shopping for clothes in a store because I always have trouble finding my size. I thought it would be better online because I wouldn't have to find it, just specify what size I wanted. Around father’s day Sears had an online promotion where if you ordered $50 of men’s apparel online, you would get a 15% discount and a $25 coupon good towards a future purchase. There was lots of fine print regarding how the coupon could be used and its expiration date.
I created an online order for $64. During the ordering process, there was no mention of the $25 coupon.in other words, nothing in the order confirmed that I would get a $25 coupon. This bothered me. So before placing the order I called customer service and asked how the $25 coupon worked. I was told it could be included in my order email confirmation. So, based on the word of this Sears customer service rep, I placed the order. When I got the email confirmation there was no $25 coupon on any information at all about a $25 coupon.
Now this really bothered me, so I sent an email to Sears asking about the $25 coupon I was supposed to get.
The full text of my email and the Sears reply is shown below. As you can see, the Sears email rep’s response is that I will not get a $25 coupon. Now I made the ordering decision and placed the order based on assurance from another Sears' rep that I would get the coupon and it would be delivered via the order confirmation. Already we can see the conflicts and disorganization within the Sears organization and the online advertisements and the online ordering system. It gets much, much worse!
I responded to Sears’ email that there was no explanation of why I wouldn’t get the promised coupon. I included several pages from the Sears website promoting the coupon. I got back a response that the original email was wrong and that the coupons would be sent via email to those eligible on the week of 6/19. This email did not specifically state that I would receive the coupon, only that “those eligible” would receive it. So once again I queried their answer. I still have not gotten a response. But I did get a $25 coupon via email! Yippee. Like the Wizard of Oz, not so fast; not so fast!
I went online to use the $25 coupon immediately. I ordered two pairs of pants for $12.99 each. I entered the coupon code. And low and behold, it credited me with $12.99 for the coupon with a note that there were restrictions. When I looked at the restrictions in detail, I found that they had changed the terms from what they had originally promoted. The new terms said that to get full credit for the $25 coupon, you had to have something in your card worth at least $25. At this pont Sears’ reputation was fading fast. This was the old “bait and switch”. Promise one thing but give something else quite different. I did some tests by putting various items in my cart and seeing how the coupon was applied or not. I started an online chat with Sears’s rep known only as Ross. Ross eventually just abrubtly terminated the session.
So I was on my own. I had already decided to ditch Sears online ordering, but I wanted as much from the coupon as I could get. So I added item “David Taylor Flexslax” at $21.98 thinking that $21.98 out of the $25 coupon would be applied. The system did NOTHING. It didn’t say there was an error. It didn’t say why it didn’t apply the coupon. It didn’t do anything. I tried another David Taylor item. It applied the coupon to that one. But that’s not what I wanted. I called customer service hoping that they could enter the order for me. The very nice customer service rep told me that she would be using the same system I was using and that if I had trouble, so would she. There was no effort to actually address the problem and help me. At that point, I decided I would take the $12.99 that is would apply to one pair of shorts. I changed the order to the one pair of shorts, applied the coupon and the order said $0 due. Once again – YIPPEE. At least I would get about ½ what Sears had promised. So I click the button to place the order and it says “NO SO FAST”. It really didn’t say that. It said to enter the expiration date of my credit card. But I owed nothing! And there wasn’t anywhere for me to enter the expiration date. Needless to say by this time I was exhausted. Customer service was of no help. Since I really wanted two pairs of pants and the application of the full $25 coupon, I was advised to place the order and pay for it in full. Then request Sears to give me a credit for the $25.
So I bite the bullet and decide to place the order for two pairs of pants with the ordering system giving me credit for $12.99 rather than the $25. It indicates that the order is fine and I place the order. Whew! Problem handled. Now all I have to do is request the other $12.01 Sears owes me for the coupon.
I go back to work. Then an email comes from Sears saying urgent attention is needed for the order. I find that regardless of the fact that their online ordering system said that the pants were in stock, that they really were not and Sears has cancelled the order. No problem they say. Just go back to your account and you will see your items there. You can alter the order to pick them up from another store, have them shipped, etc. Well, the first thing I notice is that the $12.99 credit for the coupon is GONE! I enter the coupon number and get the message that the coupon code is invalid because it has already been used!!!
At this point I feel totally abused by Sears. Obviously they have gone out of their way to first advertise a promotion and then slyly, perhaps even fraudulently, change the rules. They then display a Keystone Cops sort of dysfunctional organization and computer system where the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing and customer service reps are useless. And at the end they totally steal my $25 coupon, not just degrade it to $12.99.
My conclusion? Sears does not deserve me as a customer. They have been given many chances but have shown they don’t want me as a customer. They have demonstrated ineptness at the least in their online ordering system’s inability to handle application of the coupon. They have shown that phone, chat and email customer service reps are useless. They are apathetic about helping customers and they don’t help. And finally, the entire episode with the coupon borders on a systemic, intentional sly and misleading marketing scheme where Sears changed the terms after the promotion and made it practically impossible to use the coupon. We’re in class action suit water here. Any class action lawyers out there?
Reply message
From: "Imran"
Date: Fri, Jun 17 12:41 am
Subject: $25 gift card offer (KMM17641293I15977L0KM)
To: "ed…..
Good Evening,
Thank you for contacting Sears.com for your purchases. I am glad to help you.
We appreciate you doing business with Sears.com.
I understand that you wish to know whether the 15% off and $25 Gift card for the purchases is valid or not.
Let me inform you that you will be eligible for 15% off on your purchases. Offer valid till June 19th. However, $25 Gift Card is not applicable. Only the 15% discount is valid for the purchases.
I hope your concern will be resolved without any hassles.
We hope that you will continue to make Sears your choice for future purchases.
You can reach us through telephone at our toll free # at: 1-800-349-4358 and also you can chat with us online. We are available round the clock.
We thank you for your patience and cooperation. We are here for you! We value your business and look forward to serving you in the future. Have a wonderful day!
We're here to make everything easier. Take our http://sales. Liveperson.net/hc/37457093/? Cmd=file&file=visitorWantsToChat&site=37457093&byhref=1&SESSIONVAR! Skill=sears-email-offline&SESSIONVAR! StaticButton=chat-sears-email-offline"survey to tell us how we're doing.
Look for Great Ideas throughout the store and find Sears exclusive innovations from great brands like Sony, Kenmore, NordicTrack, Craftsman and Reebok.
Make sure you're registered at Sears.com for emails, so we can stay in touch!
Shop http://www.sears.com/"www.sears.com now to pick up great products for the season.
Sincerely,
Nikita S. (psham)
Sears Customer Care
Webcenter@customerservice. Sears.com
1-800-349-4358
Original Message Follows: &
I recently responded to an ad on the Sears website for a 15% discount and a $25 gift card good on future purchases for an order of $50 or more in men's attire. The online ordering system provided the 15% discount, but there is no mention in the order about the $25 gift card.
I spoke with a Sears representative on the phone before placing the order and she told me that details about the gift card would be in the email. But the email doesn't mention the card.
Could you explain how the card will be delivered.
Thanks
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