During the first week of January of this year, I purchased a Pro-Form treadmill, model 495pi, from Sears.com. The treadmill was advertised as being able to hold 250 lbs (I weigh 220 lbs), and was in my price range ($500), so I decided to make the purchase. I picked up my new treadmill the very next day from the Roseville, CA store. We (my wife and I) were very pleased with our new purchase— for about 2 months.
In beginning of March—about 60 days, the treadmill stopped working properly. I was exercising when the running board started to sink in the top left corner of the treadmill. This caused the running mat to rub against the running board, making a screeching sound when turned on. I immediately stopped using the equipment and called the Sears location where I'd picked it up. I was instructed by the store to contact Sears Parts and Repair Service. I called and they came out to look and my treadmill a few days later.
The technician who came out showed me exactly what went wrong. He showed me the "L" brackets that hold up the running board (6 total, 3 on each side—front, middle, and back). He showed me that the bracket supporting the front left of the running board was cracked (almost split in two) and that this shouldn't have happened. I called the Sears store, and was instructed to return my current treadmill to the store and exchange it for a brand new replacement (same model). I did, and was very pleased with my new treadmill—again, for about 2 months.
During the first week of this month (May) my new treadmill, which was only in use for about 60 days, broke again. The problem was the same. The leftside, middle position "L" bracket had not only cracked, but was completely broken and detatched. I called the Sears store in Roseville which I'd been dealing with. I talked with a girl named Mary Polson and she indicated to me that this was a "manufacturer's mistake" and that "this model cannot hold 250 pounds." She said that she wouldn't have recommended this model to me because she knew of this problem, and instead would've recommended purchasing a NordicTrack treadmill. I made arrangements with her to return my current treadmill, and come in to the store to look at better (ie. More expensive) models. I called Sears National Customer Relations the next day to report the dangers of the Pro-Form 495Pi (not being able to support the listed weight).
I returned the treadmill on 05/07/05, and must say that the first gentleman we spoke with, Simon, and the first woman I spoke with, Mary, were both superior employees. They both took the time to listen to the problem and had good feedback regarding what went wrong. I commend them both. My problem with Sears was with the CSM (Customer Service Manager).
Upon finding out that the most inexpensive treadmill upgrade that they could recommend was about $550 more than we'd originally spent on the Pro-Form treadmill, I asked to speak with the General Manager to explain my situation. My purpose was two-fold: first was that I wanted to inquire about getting a discount on the upgraded treadmill, and second, I wanted him to hear from me personally of the dangers of the Pro-Form model treadmill that I'd been having trouble with. I figured that Sears wouldn't want to continue selling a product that could injure their customers upon being notified (twice) of a particular defect. Enter into the picture Roger Siner.
Roger, the manager on call, came over to my wife and I and the first thing out of his mouth was a joke about how he thought I'd be "at least as fat as me" but that that wasn't the case (this man was not in shape and definitely outweighed me). Stop right there. As self-deprecating as this joke was, I was still offended as being referred to as fat. I'm 6'3", 220lbs—not fat. I took this joke as him expressing to us that he thought we were out to defraud him on this treadmill, like I had to be fatter than him for this treadmill to even have a chance at breaking. Ok, so that was about the first 15 seconds with him.
After that, I tried two times to tell him about the Pro-Form problem, only to have him cut me off midsentence to talk to another employee. He was also constantly leaning back and forth on his heels and toes and looking away, like he had somewhere more important to be. He told Simon to issue a credit for the returned treadmill, and then walked off. Both Simon and I remarked afterwards how innapropriate it was for him to crack a fat joke at us, not listen to anything we had to say, and then walk away.
I was pretty irratated by the experience, but I wanted a treadmill. We continued to look at new models. Upon finding a treadmill that could hold at least 300 lbs, I asked Simon to call Roger (the manager) over to again try to talk to him. Simon paged Roger for 10 minutes and he never showed up.
Next, Mary came over to help process our refund, and I again asked to speak with the manager. I wanted the chance to tell him all of this and to ask for a discount on this newer model—the cheapest upgrade they'd recommend which was $500 more. I'd already put time, effort, and money into my Pro-Form treadmill with no satisfaction, and wanted to at least talk to this manager to get my story out in the open.
Mary paged Roger once, and he immediately called her back. Mary told my wife and I that Roger would only offer us a $50 discount on any new treadmill, despite the problems we'd been having with the first treadmill (which was did not live up to its stated specifications). Mary said that he told her that if he offered us any more of a discount that it would make him "look bad." He never responded in person to us.
A few minutes later, when we were almost done completing our refund, up walks Roger. I'm thinking that finally he's going to come over in person and take a moment to talk to us (longer than the previous 30 seconds with him). I was wrong. He looked up at us, made eye contact, and then right before he reached the cash register, he turned right and went into a little office around the corner. As we were leaving, Mary wanted us to show her the exact problem on the Pro-Form treadmill. We did, and while doing this, I could see the manager, Roger, sitting in his little office. Doing nothing. Just looking out onto the floor. I looked at him again and scowled. Such a weak man to be a manager. He never got up to talk to us and we left after the refund was complete.
My beef is this:
1. Even if the store couldn't do anything more for us, the customer service manager was rude, disrespectful, and in doing his job, provided the worst customer service I've been priviledged to.
2. Sears continues to sell the Pro-Form 495 Pi (it's in this week's national ad) now knowing full well that this model does not meet its own stated specifications and was in fact, dangerous to the public. There is now documented proof. This product should be recalled, and at the very least, a new owner's manual should be included stating the true weight that it will hold. The "L" brackets being used on this model are junk in comparison to the demands that Pro-Form states this unit will hold.
I ended up taking the advice of Mary (thanks!) and purchased a NordicTrack directly from NordicTrack, for almost $100 less than the same model Sears showed me to upgrade into. Roger Siner, customer service manager, in my opinion, needs a class in basic human interaction and has no business talking to customers before then. He makes a reputable store look inept and greed-driven with no hint of customer service. Very disappointing, considering this could have been avoided with a five minute conversation. Even if you can't do anything for me, have the decency to look me in the eye and tell me that you can't. Don't hide, you're the manager.
In addition to this report, I have told my story to everyone I know (friends and family). To this date, I have successfully steered at least $6000 of business away from Sears. My brother just bought a house that needs work, and this total is growing. It's not much, but it's something. Word of mouth can be very powerful. I also talked to an attorney regarding false advertising. Since Sears has documented this problem twice and continues to make the same claims about this product, they are on the hook if someone gets hurt on this model. I'm glad I dind't get hurt, but maybe I needed to in order to get something done or changed. There is no accountability here. I also asked the attorney about the legal definition of bait and switch. Although he informed me that this situation does not meet the legal standard, he understands why someone would feel that way (ie. They sell a product they know doesn't work and then try to upgrade you into a more expensive model when the first one breaks). And again, Sears is selling this treadmill in its national ad this week (Pro-Form 495Pi, week of 05/15/05).
I did receive a form letter yesterday from Sears National Customer Relations with a canned apology (case ID#1055259—the manager issue, and case ID#1054649—the treadmill issue). It meant very little. The person did more damage than the paper can fix. We never received any sort of apology from the store manager himself. We probably never will. This is what I want ultimately, for this manager to personally apologize for his actions and inactions. I never thought I was asking too much. Especially from Sears. I guess I mean Kmart now. They're no better at customer service, either way.
Do not shop at sears.
Aaron
Antelope, California
U.S.A.
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