Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
Steven Friis (WM5Z)
on
March 22, 2006
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On February 1st, 2006 my truck needed a new battery. Wanting to have the best available, I went to Sears to buy a DieHard. I had always had good luck with that brand of battery, having bought several in my years of automotive ownership.
After 6 weeks, this battery failed to start the vehicle, so on March 14th I went back to Sears to have them look at the battery and exchange it as needed. Imagine my surprise when I was told by the manager that Sears would refund my money, but would not honor the warranty because in the opinion of Sears I was violating the Warranty by having too much radio equipent in the vehicle for the battery.
In the truck is a 100 watt HF radio, a VHF radio and a TNC for APRS.
Now I wonder what they would have said if I had had a 500 watt boom box, which I do not. I just have the Yaesu FT-840 HF, and a FT-2800 VHF radio and an MFJ-1270C TNC.
It seems to me that Sears is taking the road to self destruction by turning against Hams who want to run radio equipment in their cars and trucks. What is next? Will they say that I can no longer expect them to honor the warranty on the washer and dryer because I soil my clothes more than most?
Just for information, I went to AutoZone where there were not only glad to service my needs, but told me that I was the third person to come into their store with a complaint like this.
Steve WM5Z
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by WIRELESS on March 22, 2006
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At this point, I wouldn't buy anything from Sears. Even though you won't hear a peep from Kmart (who really owns Sears now), Sears is so close to going under, most retail industry analysts are just waiting for Sears to close down. Sears is not even close to what they used to be in sales. The only stuff I ever bought from them were batteries and power tools which now are all made in China. To get one tool to work I usually have to buy 2 or three. Sears is just another sad example of how American business lost its brain to run successful sales and service operations. Sears used to be the kind of store hams used to find handy stuff for general ham use.
GM is going to be next. Anybody that thinks a GM can't go out of business will learn the new American economy. I have bought 7 new GM cars but at this point, my next car will be Jap. Maybe I will see some quality. No more American junk cars.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KE3HO on March 22, 2006
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I think it is unfortunate that Sears (probably not at the national level, but at the local manager level) has that attitude. However, I would not go so far as to say that they refused to honor the battery warrantee. After all, they refunded your money. They exercised their option under the warrantee to refund your money rather than replace the battery. If they honestly felt that your radio equipment was the cause of the battery failure, they could have refused to replace the battery AND refused to give you a refund.
They probably should have simply replaced the battery, but refunding your money was their option.
73 - Jim
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by K0BG on March 22, 2006
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I have purchased my last item from Sears. This was a result of them refusing to sell me a new Plasma TV for the on-sale price unless I had them install it. Which, by the way, cost $199!
Alan, KØBG
www.k0bg.com
PS: I thought I posted this once before, but I must have hit cancel instead. If it does double post, I apologize.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KZ1A on March 22, 2006
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Figures....
What was the local Sears manager's "opinion" based on?
For one, his lack of experience and understanding of your system.
Suffice it to say that his "opinion" was only based on his store's P&L.
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by AD5TD on March 22, 2006
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I will NEVER darken the door of a Sears store again! I called to set up a bank draft payment so I wouldn't have to worry about missing a payment. They set me up with a regular draft and all was well until I get a call a YEAR later. They DOUBLED my minimum payment and NEVER told me. So I was behind and never knew it. So what did good ol' Sears do. Raised my Rate to 29%!!!!! FOR THEIR SCREW UP! The only thing they said was "you should read your statements sir".
Paid that off and will never go back.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by WA8MEA on March 22, 2006
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The following letter went out this morning....
---------------------------------------------------
March 22nd, 2006
Sears National Customer Relations
3333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179
Dear Sears:
Attached is a recent posting to a very popular ham radio website. I was shocked to have learned this! The ham operator makes a very good point that todays kids with their boom-boxes, amps, DVD players and other accessories draw FAR more amperage off of a vehicle battery than todays amateur radio equipment.
If this policy has become national policy for Sears, I have no other alternative than to drop Sears and our promotion of Diehard batteries at our own website, and other affiliated websites, as well as inside our free informational material. I am afraid Sears fails to understand that amateur radio operators give Sears a tremendous amount of business. Not only do many of us rely on the Diehard for our vehicles, BUT also to use in our amateur radio repeater back-up systems, our own personal ham station battery back-up systems and for national Field Day use. (See attached Field Day promo from the ARRL.)
I use Diehards as my PRIMARY POWER SOURCE for my amateur radio operations. But if this is your new policy, I am afraid I will join Steve and take my business, along with my business recommendations, to Auto Zone.
Sincerely;
William (Bill) E. Lauterbach, Jr.
Amateur Radio Operator - WA8MEA
Owner, HamRadioFun.com
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by WA8MEA on March 22, 2006
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BTW, there are two distinct legal differences between a money-back/satisfaction guarantee....and a warranty.
In this case, the option of the guarantee was used. But they did, in fact, deny the warranty.
On a couple of my products, I offer a lifetime repair or replace warranty. About once a year I get someone who thinks its a lifetime money-back guarantee, and they will attempt to return a five year old antenna for a complete refund.
Now you know why businesses have stupid disclaimers. (A la: -Remove baby before folding up stroller.-)
73, Bill - WA8MEA - wa8mea@hotmail.com
http://HamRadioFun.com
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by W7WV on March 22, 2006
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Sears is not what it was even 20 years ago.
I bought a returned lawnmower there. There was no manual. The salesman eluded that all I had to do was call a toll free number and the manual would be here within 5 days with no cost to me.
The number was for the parts center. The manual costs $3.99 but the shipping was nearly $7.
They have charged my CC, and I have called 3 times time in over a month.
They say it's in the mail. Some customer service.
They have had the last of my business.
Just another K-Mart.
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by AA4PB on March 22, 2006
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I'd call Sears corporate (I think they still have a toll free number). I did that with a hot water heater that the local store manager refused to handle under warrenty unless I had their contract plumber replace it (which would have involved a week with no hot water). One simple phone call and I was back at the store to pick up my new water heater within the hour. It all took place on a Saturday too. I didn't even have to return the defective one - corporate took my word for it. The manager wasn't happy about my call but I was.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KB8ASO on March 22, 2006
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You took the battery back to Sears #1, delt with an idiot manager. Got your money back. Go to Sears #2 get another battery and go home hopefully with a good battery. Not that hard. You get the battery you wanted. Even if in a year or so if the battery fails you will either get a new one or even IF this is a new company policy, as has been demostrated @ Sears #1 you will get your money back! You get your battery, we do not have to endure the bitchfest here. Hey Mr. forum manager can we have a forum just for bitching!
I hope that their hand tool (sockets screwdrivers etc) line endures in some fashion even if Sears fails. They are the only tools that are of better quality left besides paying BIG $$$ for Snap-on or MAC and for the most part Sears is open on the weekends when you WILL need that odd wrench! The only time I have ever broke them was when I abused them trying to remove a hopelessly rusted fastener. Took the tool back got a new one no questions ever asked.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by W3JJH on March 22, 2006
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I've found that asking for a contact phone number for customer service at a company's corporate office and then dialing it on my cell phone while standing in front of the store manager can be an excellent way to gain the manager's prompt cooperation.
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by N6AYJ on March 22, 2006
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I don't understand why you are complaining. They gave you your money back! So just buy another battery! You got 6 weeks of free battery use, and you are complaining? Sounds like more ham sniveling to me. Jesus, hams are the biggest group of snivelers, whiners and complainers that ever existed. Hey, while you're at it, how about telling us how those CC&R's of your homeowners' association that you voluntarily signed are so unfair.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by AA8X on March 22, 2006
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I stopped purchasing anything from Sears’s years ago after Sears screwed their automotive customers and the state attorneys had to go after them. Now that Kmart owns them, what do you expect?
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K8FLY on March 22, 2006
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A business that had it made in the 60s , their service & products were of impecable quality & then they felt the need to compete with larger retail stores. It is to bad they chose that path, i think they would have faired rather well even with the higher prices .
i remember as a young man going with my dad into sears to purchase a product & haveing a knowlegeable employee there to assist you. sears used to be a name assoiciated with trust. i own many craftsman tool & have been very happy with them . but like others here , there service leaves much to be desired. always hidden costs ect , just to name a few short commings. choose wisely .
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by W2KRP on March 22, 2006
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Steve,
I'm confused (Which seems to be a trend on my part!)
They won't give you a new battery but will give you your money back? WHAT?
SSP: "Sorry Steve, too many radios. No replacement battery for you BUT we will refund your money"
Steve: "OK"
SSP: "Here is your money back ($99). Thanks for shopping at Sears"
Steve: "Thanks..... By the way, I'd like to purchase a battery"
SSP: "OK. Which one would you like?"
Steve: "The one you just refunded my money on"
SSP: "OK. That will be $99"
:)
WHAT AM I MISSING?
Mark / W2KRP
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by N2HBZ on March 22, 2006
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Hey N6AYJ,
Would you stop whining about whining already?
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by AD5TD on March 22, 2006
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"WHAT AM I MISSING?
Mark / W2KRP "
The Sears guy was a "Battery Nazi":
"NO BATTERY FOR YOU!"
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by N6AYJ on March 22, 2006
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N2HBZ wrote: Hey N6AYJ,
Would you stop whining about whining already?
I'm sorry, man. It's just that:
I'm a ham operator
Ham radio sure is fun
Yeah I'm an A-1 operator
And I'm a big man in more ways than one
I'm a ham operator
And I've got radio fame
Though I weigh 450
I'm not fat, I just have a big frame
I'm a hard-core ham
I don't believe in exercise
Why the hell should I?
I'd rather just eat french fries
Yeah I'm a ham operator
Always talking 'bout my maladies
Yeah I'm a well-known operator
But diabetes wrecked my femoral arteries
Yeah my ham operation
Is really going great guns
My legs be cyanotic but my brain is not psychotic
Cerebral arteries are different from femoral ones
You know my cerebral arteries are really in fantastic shape
No, my thinking's not screwed up
Cuz my head's blood supply is really great
Those damned doctors have simply left me to my fate
Those damned sawbones say I'm not a surgical candidate
So I can't walk, but I can still talk
And from a sitting position I can operate
Yep I'm a ham operator and I just can't get any wood
I'm really flaccid; even kiddie porn won't do any good
But everyone's just like me in my ham radio neighborhood
I'm an A-1 operator
I drive 4 blocks to the store
Yeah I'm a hard-core operator but I can't have sex anymore
I'm a real rag chewer
And I smoke a lot of cigarettes
My radios are brown inside, but when they die, what the heck?
I'll just buy a new one with my disability check
Thank god I've got Medicare so I can see the doctor every day
But what really pisses me off is that god damned $5 co-pay
How unfair can the government be?
For an A-1 op like me everything should be free
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by N3JBH on March 22, 2006
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yo tom that took some thought dude. your to darnded funny god bless ya brother.
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by KD6NEM on March 22, 2006
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Why would anyone want to do business with such an incompetent corporation in the first place? Not for their lack of service, not for their prices, nor for their merchandise quality or selection being anything above average.
Their auto service centers a few years back got into some serious legal trouble for its service dealings with customers. Their batteries were decent but have never been anything exceptional, though their marketing campaigns were effective in making us think so. Slick advertising is not what starts my car, a good battery does. Equal or superior batteries can be had cheaper in many places. Tools are a little harder to find equal quality without costing more, but there too it is possible to find equal or better tools for the same or better price, just takes a little more effort to find. I'm not necessarily talking imported stuff either, at least no more than Sears sells imported goods. Appliances? They wanted $150 more for a dishwasher than a locally owned store last summer! How competitive was that? Sears used to be a convenient place to get good merchandise. It has been more than 25 years since I have seen a sales rep who actually had a clue what they were talking about in any even remotely technical sense. I have seen defective & broken merchandise be sold there on a number of occasions, and satisfaction was seldom granted aside from a refund and additional waiting on the larger more expensive items. Label me a whiner if you wish, but Sears has given me zero reason to remain a customer. Sears is just another lazy customer unfriendly corporation trying hard to do itelf in. They will likely succeed much as Wards did a decade or so ago.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by W8WLC on March 22, 2006
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Used to use all sears industrial grade tools in my electrical contracting business. About 12 years ago I noticed that a large amount of tools were failing for simple repairs triggers chucks etc. You send them in as you can't get the replacement parts and pay a flat rate of $80 and they repair them. No thanks sears saw the last of my money. I went in there a few months ago to get the wife a vacuum cleaner to use while her Kirby was in the shop and the idiot salesman really wore me down. So long sears its been nice
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by K1YPB on March 22, 2006
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I don't do business with Sears and Rubbish anymore. I have had it with their appliances. Used to be an American staple... not any more.
As for the car... I like my Toyota. Nice and reliable!
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by AD5TD on March 22, 2006
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<<by W8WLC on March 22, 2006 About 12 years ago I noticed that a large amount of tools were failing for simple repairs triggers chucks etc. You send them in as you can't get the replacement parts and pay a flat rate of $80 and they repair them. No thanks sears saw the last of my money.>>
I had a Sears 18V cordless drill with charger and two batteries. LOVED it, worked like a mule, charge lasted for months. Six years later the batteries are running dead too fast. I go to the Sears parts warehouse to get a battery. $59.99!!!!! I paid &99.00 for the whole set!!!
Went to Home Depot and bought a RYOBE 18V set for $90, Drill, Light, Circular Saw, Sander, Charger, and TWO batteries, WITH a Soft Side Bag!! I swear it's the same as the Sears stuff.
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by K8KS on March 22, 2006
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N6AYJ Bill. Hey, I usually don't write messages, but I had to respond to your verse. I was on the floor laughing my guts out, with coffee dribbling out my nose after I read your great poem. Man, you are man of wit and humor. I loved it!
Da Kazman
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by K3UD on March 22, 2006
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I am old enough to remember the awesome reputation that Sears once had. Before I got my Novice license I was using and Old Hammarlund Comet Pro to listen on the ham and shortwave radio bands. When I started to study for my ham license my father decided to purchase a more up to date receiver. Yes, we went to the fabled Sears store and ordered a Hallicrafters SX-110. Sears called us when it arrived and we went to pick it up. I don't think I have ever been as excited as I was when we were going to Sears to get it.
When I got older I shopped a lot at Sears. My first acoustic guitar came from Sears as did my first guitar amplifier. All of my music and records came from Sears and when I started to drive almost everything I needed for my car came from them. I never had a problem with any purchase and the salespeople really knew their stuff. Almost all of our families appliances were Kenmore and our electronics were Silvertone. Our clothing was the Sears brand and at the time Sears WAS the mecca for middle class families. Christmas at Sears was magical and the train displays were awesome to us kids. Free Spirit bicycles and Ted Williams tested sporting goods were a way of life.
Everything you purchased at Sears was of good quality and would last a long time. My father still uses a Kenmore refrigerator that we purchased in 1968 as well as a pair of Kenmore washer/dryer that was purchased in 1965. All still going strong as are his set of craftsman tools.
All of this has now been ceded to Wal-Mart and the big box stores.
It is sad that the once mighty retail giant has fallen so low as to be on the verge of extinction.
73
George
K3UD
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KE5EOT on March 22, 2006
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I quit Sears last year after trying to use the extended warranty on my central AC/heating unit. I purchased it through Sears, had their contractor install it, and paid for the extended warranty. Last winter, the heat quit and I called for service. The repairman arrived, looked at the unit, stated "I can't fix it, that parts not covered", and left. Several phone calls to customer service only confirmed that parts of the unit are covered and parts aren't. I then tried cancelling all of the service policies I had. After getting bounced around for over an hour and hung up on once because I wasn't polite enough, I finally found a supervisor that could cancel them all. When I told him my name his first words were "Yes, I've heard about you." I can only imagine the tales of horror that were told about the customer that had the nerve to cancel all of his maintenance contracts just because he was lied to. Sears lost a loyal customer. I wonder if they care?
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by WA8MEA on March 22, 2006
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I disagree that this is a case of ham whining. You've got a manager who isn't competent in his knowledge of DC electronics. Or...it's another case that's almost epidemic all over the retail world: the customer is ALWAYS WRONG.
As we see more and more people who stick severed fingers in fast-food chili, the retailer is becoming more and more wary of the average customer.
Recently, my wife noticed burn marks on the back of her winter coat. It almost looked as if I had placed one of my soldering irons on the thing. We just didn't know what happened. That was until I was cleaning out the Ford Focus wagon, and found burn marks in the seat in the same location as her coat. The electric seat warmers had become too hot and burned her coat.
I sent a very polite, signature confirmation letter to Ford informing them of this potential hazard, and what did Ford plan on doing about it. In response, we get some two sentence letter stating "our claim has been denied." We never even made a claim! It was an old coat! Nobody was hurt! Nobody was burned! But we were afraid somebody else was going to get their a** burned and maybe cross the center line and hit someone head on!
So I turned the matter over to the NTSB. I doubt anything will happen there. But even if it does, I can almost guarantee you that Ford will come back at me and the xyl and claim WE did something to cause the problem. So much for my Ford loyalty since 1976....
73, Bill - WA8MEA - wa8mea@hotmail.com
http://HamRadioFun.com
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by KY202 on March 22, 2006
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Let me just say this...
Until 3 years ago, I worked for the local Sears Auto Center. We used to honor the 3yr full replacement for the GOLD battery up to 3 times per customer. After 3 batteries of Different date codes going dead in the same vehichle, we would just give them their money back and send them on the way. I know the managers very well that run the place now. He used to work for me when I was there. He said the policy hasn't changed to an instant refund. It's the managers choice, but they usually just still prefer to exchange it.
When we would have a person come back with a bad battery, we would always check the charging system out if the car was there. If all checked well & there was ANY add on electronic wired in, we would trace every wire and check every switch and connection for any problems. This was a very effective solution for most, as most people (I refer to the audiophile) were not that intellegant when it came to running wires and switches. And this was done free as a curtousy to the customer, to prevent it from happening again.
And the last thing I want to add is this. The Diehard brand is manufactured by Johnson Controls. Johnson Controls also make the AutoZone batteries.And the Wal-Mart brand. They came off the same delivery trucks. The only difference used to be the warranty, the thickness of the plates, and the electrolyte was a little lighter. I believe at the end of my tour with Sears, JC upgraded their AutoZone batteries to match that of the Diehard. The only difference was the warranty. If I'm not mistaken, now the warranties are basically the same. So if you arent happy with your local Sears, then go to AutoZone and get the same darn thing.
Just thought I'd say that.
Jason
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by K1CJS on March 22, 2006
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I stopped shopping Sears years ago as well. Craftsman tools used to be the best, but now tools sold at Auto Zone and at a major hardware chain have the same guarantee as craftsman tools used to have--and the quality is just as good or better as the craftsman tools of years past.
I have a craftsman quarter inch ratchet set that's older than I am. A few years ago, the ratchet let go and the store no longer had the rebuild kit for it. I was told I had to take the lowest price craftsman ratchet as a replacement, the better one (which equalled the old one I had--rebuildable) I would have to pay full price for.
That ended Sears and craftsman for me. I now own and use mostly Master Mechanic tools, which also have a lifetime warantee and no hassles from the store if replacement is needed. Sears is indeed going down the drain, and K-Mart is helping--all the way.
Sears used to keep and hold customers with their service, now they are driving them away with it. Like almost every other chain store, the almighty dollar dictates their actions, not their customer base. The bottom line is......the bottom line.
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by N2HBZ on March 22, 2006
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Hey N6AYJ,
Damn funny.
Sung to the tune of... what?
I know it's not Sade's Smooth Operator.
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by KG6WLS on March 22, 2006
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Sears and Radio Shack kind of go hand in hand.
Bummer!
73
Mike
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by RobertKoernerExAE7G on March 22, 2006
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<Sears would refund my money, but would not honor the warranty..>
Full refund is better than a warranty.
Relationship to ham radio?
Bob
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by KV8Z on March 22, 2006
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Sounds like Sears needs to bring back Roebuck!
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by K0BG on March 22, 2006
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Some of you guys mentioned what Sears used to be. Well, I'll date myself.
Way back when, Sears' power tools were made by Kelsey Hays. My dad's table saw, band saw, planer, and drill press were all Craftmens and purchased in the late 40s. All are still working, and not one repair has been needed except for saw blades, and a belt for the table saw.
Nowadays, those same items are made in China (Formosa, Taiwan, what have you), and have a life measured in months. And if I can be so bold, the same can be said of the Diehard batteries. They once were the best money could buy, but now they are also-rans.
Alan, KØBG
www.k0bg.com
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by W4EPA on March 22, 2006
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Since K/Mart bought Serars all service has gone to the pits. Had a refrigerator compressor get butchered here and lost 300.00 in food which wasn't covered. I don't know what took place in that merger but it wasn't in the interest of the customer.
Batteries, appliances ? Not anymore for Sears.
Jim W4EPA
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by K1OU on March 22, 2006
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I'm surprised that W9WHE hasn't blamed this on the ARRL or angry liberals.
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by USCG_RMC on March 22, 2006
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When the wife and I bought our condo, we wanted to upgrade the kitchen appliances and w/d combo. We went to Sears and were turned down (a manager thing after I thunk about it (my wife and I have different last names)... So no more Sears.
We went to Lowes for all the appliances and to Ultimate Electronics for the big screen TV. All in all about $5K-$6K that I KNOW Sears needs deparately.
And by the way, the tools are now for shit too!
My last DieHard exploded and ruined the paint job on my truck.
The Astro Van (I love it), will hve to last me, with GM going under, the wife may just get her way, and I will have to trade it in on one of the Japanese Hybrid SUVs... the dogs will just have to cram in there a littel tighter I guess.
73's
Herb K0HEA
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KE4DRN on March 22, 2006
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hi,
the manager is a fool to have lost a customer.
I always buy the batteries carry in, don't need
anyone messing with my cars !
the diehard gold series offers 3 year full replacement and then 100 month prorated warranty.
in 1994 johnson controls lost the contract to be
the sole supplier for diehard batteries because of
quality control problems, 3 plants closed 1,100 jobs.
Sears uses Exide and Delphi to produce the diehards.
Kmart also carries Diehard batteries now.
73 james
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by N6AYJ on March 22, 2006
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N2HBZ asked: "Hey N6AYJ, Damn funny. Sung to the tune of... what?"
It's a Dr. John style piano tune (I'm a big Dr. John fan). You can download it at: http://users.innercite.com/bcrowell4/im a ham operator.mp3
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by WILLY on March 22, 2006
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Sears is not in business to sell you a battery, shirt, lawn mower, or television. They are in business to loan you money. In other words, they need you to finance your purchases with their credit cards.
I had business with a Sears executive, and he quite clearly stated it. That was over 20 years ago.
They make their money by loaning you money.
Perhaps this focus, instead of customer service and product quality has finally caught up to them.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KY202 on March 22, 2006
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KD4RN,
You ae wrong... They used to be exide. Then in 94 They went Johnson Controls. Exide got crappy and when the contract was up they signed JC. They Still produce the Diehards to this day, that I am aware of.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by W0DKM on March 22, 2006
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MY Story.
I buy a cordless drill, with 3 yr extended warranty. Within 1 year one of the two batteries dies. I take the battery in, told battery is not covered under factory or extended warranty. ???
But if I want to return the drill, batteries, charger, case as a kit.
THEY WOULD REPLACE all of it UNDER WARRANTY.
THATS JUST STUPID!!
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KY202 on March 22, 2006
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>>THEY WOULD REPLACE all of it UNDER WARRANTY.
I wouldn't complain! Heck of a deal.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K8MHZ on March 22, 2006
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Die Hards are way over-rated.
Exides are the best bang for the buck. Champions are NOT Exides. GM and Chrysler factory batteries are Exides, but not Chrysler's replacement batteries for some reason. (Look for the little plastic window)
If K-Mart warranties their batteries like they used to, you can get a new one each year.
Now that you have your money back and got a new battery, did you do an I.O.D. test on your vehicle? That measures how much draw there is on the battery when the ignition is off. If there is too much you will have problems with just about any battery you put in your vehicle.
73,
Mark K8MHZ
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by WD0M on March 22, 2006
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What do you mean, they aren't honoring warranties?? You got your money back - stop whining!
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by W6PMR on March 22, 2006
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Well here's the other side of this whining coin. I have had nothing but good results with Sears for most of my life.
I just moved and bought my dishwasher, fridge, stove/oven and my new Sony tv from them and not any probs!!! When I went down to buy a new lawn mower they did'nt have the one I wanted in stock and gave me a free upgrade to a model that cost over $50 more, AND the same happened when I went to buy a new air compressor, same deal, the one I asked for was not in stock so I got another one that was MUCH nicer for the same price.
Now as much as I love Ham radio I love my muscle cars
WAY more, I own thousands of $$$ in hand tools and dear fellow Hams there IS a difference in hand tools and the "Craftsman" brand is still the BEST for the money.
As far as the power tools go I knew a long time ago that Sears was using the same Chinese crud as everyone else.
I own a Millwalkee drill, it costs $129:00. A drill can also be bought at Wall Mart for $19:95. I'll own the Millwalkee for the rest of my life, just like my saws-all, expensive yep but I NEVER look at price when it comes to tools, just quality.
As far as the auto service stores at Sears, well thats another story,.. I've ALWAYS had a problem with them. Like the other poster said, walk in, buy the Die-Hard, walk out. I don't let ANYONE touch ANY service problems on ANY of my cars. I know thats not practical for most people but not me.....Now I wish I could say that about my HT!
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K8IZ on March 22, 2006
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Johnson Controls makes the DieHard battery. Go to autobatteries.com to see the listing of the batteries made by Johnson Controls, its quite a list.
Gary
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KE4DRN on March 22, 2006
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ky202
here is a link that confirms sears did not
renew the battery contract with jc in 1994.
At that point Exide and Delco (now Delphi)
were given contracts to produce the diehard.
JC may have received a new contract since then.
There are also articles in the trade magazines.
I agree JC is a very large corporation and they
fixed what needed to be fixed in the battery division.
They are working on future power systems.
73 james
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KE4DRN on March 22, 2006
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http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/1997/06/09/tidbits.html
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by W5AU on March 22, 2006
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Sears is now only Kmart in disguise. Kmart bought it out a couple of years ago. Im afraid we have seen best of Sears.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KE4DRN on March 22, 2006
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sears also sold off their credit operations in 2003.
http://consumeraffairs.com/news03/sears_credit.html
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KB3KYO on March 22, 2006
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JC - Yeah. another almost-extinct company. No die-hards for me either.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KY202 on March 22, 2006
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KE4DRN (hope I got that right that time... Sorry!)
I am not sure of the 94 thing. I should have been more clear. I know the time I worked there (7/97-2/04) that JC had the contract. We replaced a many of the Exide ones with JC's and never had much problem out of them. I mean things do happen and you do get a dud every once in a while.
I wasn't looking to start anything. I just wanted to voice that JC made them and the Autozone ones and the Walmart ones. I usually had to move them off the truck to get to our pallets in the front of the trailer. That's how I know. And I wanted to voice that not every store is going to have the same type of non caring idiot manager and staff as that one guy ran into.
Again, I apologize for not getting your call right in the earlier post. I looked for a edit button, but didtn't see any. And I wasn't trying to make you mad or anybody else. I just was trying to say something.
Jason
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by AB6ND on March 22, 2006
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I must be extremely lucky with Sears as I've recently bought a dishwasher, water heater, tv, tires and they have all performed flawlessly. The dishwasher was not installed by Sears but when it gave a little trouble drying dishes, Sears repairman made a service call and found trouble with the manner it was installed. He pointed out it was still under warranty and there was no charge.
Is it my imagination or is our hobby becoming populated by whiners and "I'll never step inside their door again" types?
AB6ND
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by W2JLW on March 22, 2006
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I know this post has nothing to do with sears but I ran across a situation yesterday and thought I share this with you.
I'm in the market for a generator to use for emergency radio power at home and for radio use out in the field along with recreational use.
PepBoy's is having a big RED TAG sale on a bunch of generators so I figured I'd go check them out. I'm not really sure which generator to get power wattage wise at this point.
I'm checking out the generators and one say's with a BIG RED tag Saying Great deal $249.00.
Hmm, Not bad price I'm thinking. I flip up the red tag that's taped to the generator and there is a bar coded price tag on it for $199.00. What the??
The same deal with three other generators ranging from $20.00 to $50.00 less then the BIG RED TAG SALE.
I get the attention of the manager and ask what's up with this? He tells me he'll sell me a generator with the lower marked price but I'd have to do it right now as he's pealing the lower orignal priced tag's off the generators.
I looked at him and told him that's messed up what he's doing. He shrugs his shoulders.
I should have taken advantage of the lower price offer but I wasn't sure what wattage generator to get or how noisy they were.
Any advice on a generator for portable radio use without breaking the bank?
I guess the point of this post also is what's going on in this country with retail stores??
Web op. If you feel this post is not in proper place please feel free to move it.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KE4XJ on March 22, 2006
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My story:
Kenmore dishwasher began leaking. Called Sears to get a repair person out to look at it. Sears said that the initial charge for the visit was $150. I thought, "That's a little steep." So I asked, "If a repair is needed and the repair person does it, the $150.00 would then be for the first $150.00 of repairs." Sears replied, "No. Since you don't have a service contract, it will cost $150.00 to make the visit. Any repairs will be on top of that." Excuse me???
I bought the house with the appliance in place. It is obvious that Sears wants to punish me for not buying a service contract with them, only I could not, since I didn't buy the appliance when it was installed and the appliance is too old for a contract now.
Well no more Kenmore for me now. What els will I not buy? It is a litany of good companies selling out their bread and butter business for short term gain. I am lost to them as a customer for life:
General motors cars.
Ford cars and trucks.
All Chrysler products.
Kenmore and most of the rest of Sears (at my last visit to Sears, the store was in terrible shape and the sales people were obviously not eager to make a sale.)
Maytag (I used to buy nothing else.)
Best Buy
Circuit City
Any service contract (they find ways to weasel out of honoring the contract).
I buy:
Hotpoint
Toyota
Yamaha
Nissan
Honda
Suizuki
Makita
Ryobi
Bosch
Hyundai
Mazda
Do you see a trend here?
Most of my consumer items are now bought on line since I finally got ged up with waiting in line at Best Buy, Lowes, etc. for the privilege of giving them my hard-earned money for a product. If I were a retailer, I would make it VERY EASY to separate my customer from his/her cash. I wouldn't make the customer wait in line for 20-30 minutes for the privilege of paying me!!!
My time is precious to me.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by WA9SVD on March 22, 2006
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I wouldn't exactly call it whining. If I buy a starting battery for my vehicle, I expect a lot more than 6 weeks service from that battery! Just a refund in that short period of time doesn't make up for the inconvenience of not being able to start the vehicle, returning the battery to Sears, and then having to waste time buying a battery at another store.
One thing to have done would have been to try another Sears store. (If that is possible.) Just because one salesman/manager was being unhelpful for whatever reason, doesn't mean another store's personnel might not be a bit more customer-minded.
And I could certainly see why Sears might have a "three strikes and you're out" policy about replacing batteries under warrantee. If you have to replace three batteries for a customer, there IS something wrong with the vehicle, or the owner left the lights on overnight too many times. That amount of discharge CAN kill an automotive starting battery in short order, and that isn't the fault of the battery!
But even Sears can have an occasional bad battery. (Last year, I bought a deep cycle battery, and it leaked. (BAD news for a new battery; fortunately I had it in a plastic case.) The replacement has the same date code, and also leaked. I bought another at a different Sears, different production lot, and no problem.
The store manager should have at least replaced the battery once, on the chance it really WAS defective, as a matter of Customer satisfaction. As it is, he lost a customer permanently.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KR6ER on March 22, 2006
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Gentleman I have never had a problem with a worn out battery. You see I simply go to my local HAMfest and look for the guy with the most antennas on his car and take his. I figure if the thing will start his car it'll work fine for me. LOL
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K8XF on March 22, 2006
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It makes me wonder why the Manager decided to give your money back vs a replacement battery? Looks like another fool that has no understanding of electronics.
About ten years ago I had to replace my roof on my house. I had various estimates and decided to give Sears a call. After measuring the roof and then going into a sales pitch/spiel which I tried to stop twice I finally received the quote. I almost fell out of my chair. Sears wanted 9K to roof the house. I told this jerk that I had received other quotes from roofing companies that were 3-4K. He then went into his BS speech abt how Sears will supervise the subtractor and guarantee this and that. I told him that I will never pay 9K to have a roof done when others quoted
3-4K. And Sears wonders why its going down the toilet?
When will big busines learn their lessons? BTW, I bought the shingles myself and then hired a local small outfit to do the labor and saved a lot.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KC8VWM on March 22, 2006
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March 23, 2006
Sears National Customer Relations
3333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179
Dear Sears:
Attached is a recent posting to a very popular ham radio website that is recognized world wide. The site represents a very large segment of your consumer base. I am shocked to have learned of your recent actions!
I concur that the ham radio operator in this case makes a very good point that today's kids with their boom-boxes, amps, DVD players and many other accessories draw FAR more amperage off of a vehicle battery than today's modern and more energy efficient high tech amateur radio equipment.
I would expect better customer service than this from an American based company like Sears.
It's starting to look obvious that Sears doesn't back up their products nor do they need the Amateur Radio community to purchase their battery products anytime in the near future.
Many amateur radio operators are experts in the field of electronics, especially in the area of various applied battery technologies. It appears that Sears is clearly nitpicking and dodging the customer warranty request in this case and in my opinion.
Sears used to have a "no questions asked" return policy. It appears that Sears wants to unload this responsibility to their loyal customers and make customers unhappy and uncomfortable with their purchasing decisions. They accomplish this by implementing unusually complex & confusing legal documentation / policies for the batteries they sell.
Quite frankly, I don't have the time to hire such expensive legal counsel to review such complex legal warranty documentation every time I have the good intention of investing my money into your store when making such everyday consumer purchases.
I sincerely feel that there are many other stores to choose from that are more than willing to accept my money and in addition they gladly offer a "no hassle" return policy if I should ever encounter any problem within the warranty period. This is only fair to expect and is always done within the scope of normal reasoning. I feel that installing after market electronics in a vehicle is a way of life in America today and it is therefore considered "resonable."
It is not a requirement for the customer to indicate that they installed amateur radio equipment in thier vehicle when returning a battery during the covered warranty period, however the ham operator simply disclosed these facts in good faith.
I feel the customer in this case was not adequately informed by your battery department staff of the limitations of your battery equipment he was installing PRIOR to making this purchase.
Sears is clearly not acting out of good faith and seems to be suggesting that their batteries are not capable of operating any electronics beyond what is installed by the vehicle manufacturer. Yet Sears sells consumer electronics and in many cases offers in house installation.
This seems to contradict good electrical engineering practices as far as your battery limitations are concerned.
If an individual should be placed into the position of purchasing a Sears battery and then decides to purchase and install after maket car electronics sold at Sears, then they are put into the position of unknowingly voiding the battery warranty by default for doing so?
Basically, I view this sort of action as "sticking it to your customers" because your staff's does not offer any other battery alternatives or do they properly assist your customers with making such correct battery installation decisions.
Sears basically leaves the customer to unknowingly void thier battery warranty when installing such after market consumer electronics in thier vehicles.
It seems Sears is imposing these policies on the customer after the fact, and many months after the initial purchase was made.
This in my opinion is a poor practice and consumers DO in fact remember and take note of these actions.
Be advised that Sears has made a poor decision and many battery consumers are going to be monitoring your response to this matter.
I will be happy to post your response or lack of any response at your request.
Thank you for your consideration on this matter. I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Charles Bushell,
Columbus, Ohio
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by NS6Y_ on March 22, 2006
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When I was growing up Sears was the ne plus ultra. Look that up. From my beloved Sears guitar to bikes bought at Sears to my brother's Toughskins jeans to our play equipment, Dad's stereo I suspect, etc you name it, we were a Sears family. Everyone was - it was like scouting and building models of the Lunar Lander and all that stuff, just as American as can be.
I still love to look around at my local OSH (Orchard Supply Hardware, owned by Sears) tool dept and buy stuff there all the time, but there are times I really wonder.......
I just got the rollaway, lower, part for my Craftsman tool box, they had the floor demo one marked down to $139 from $239 which was too good to pass up, but I had to go there 2X, got given "a new one in the box" which turned out to be that awful "project center" thing, the 2nd time, this morning, I had to get the manager and show him the depth of the evil bait'n'switch I was given, and he saw the light of reason and I got the thing I paid for.
This stuff is across the board. not just Sears, it's Amurrika in general. From our team getting deservedly pasted in baseball by the Cubans and Japanese, to the US team getting their azz handed to 'em in soccer as I watched on TV today, to GM continuing to manufacture quap and wondering why they're going out of biz, to the fact that no one with any respect for their health eats at Micky-D's any more, the traditional institutions are going down the tubes and all I can say is Sayonara. My Toyota runs like a top, my Panasonic vaccuum cleaner does a wonderful job and will last a lifetime (my last US made vaccy was a Kirby that didn't work out of the box and I swore off 'em) and if it takes the US economy falling to the level of Albania's to get ppl here to show some glimmer of interest in doing anything well, then so be it.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KX8N on March 22, 2006
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"This stuff is across the board. not just Sears, it's Amurrika in general. "
Generally speaking, nobody gives a crap anymore about service, quality, or anything else for that matter. Wal-mart: If it doesn't work, exchange it. Exchange TOO many things that don't work, and you aren't allowed to exchange ANYTHING for 6 months. Radio Shack: No comment required. I go through McDonald's: more than half the time my order's wrong, and it's given to me by some snotty 20 year old who would rather be anywhere on earth instead of handing me my food. One girl at the window got mad because she dropped my napkins on the floor, and as she started to put them in my bag anyway, I told her I wanted some clean ones. Got mad at ME over it. The list goes on and on.
It's the state of America now. Me, me, me. Screw YOU, let's worry about ME. You see it in the stores, in restaurants, and inevitably you hear it on the air, too. That's something I've been saying for a long time - the idiots you hear on the air aren't a reflection of license requirements, they are a reflection of the way our society has become. The guy who asks if the frequency is clear, get's a "no" in response, then tunes up anyway is the same type of guy who cut you off in traffic, or told you that it was your fault that your battery went dead (on account of your radio equipment) because he was too lazy to do the paperwork associated with an exchange.
No, that's not everybody. There's some good, honest, hard-working people in America who care about what they do and how they do it. But their numbers are declining. I see it every day.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KC8VWM on March 22, 2006
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After 6 weeks, this battery failed to start the vehicle, so on March 14th I went back to Sears to have them look at the battery and exchange it as needed. Imagine my surprise when I was told by the manager that Sears would refund my money, but would not honor the warranty.
--------------
...Ok, Hold the presses.
That letter will not be sent after all...
...You seemed to have got your money back!
I only advocate for people if an "injustice" has been served to one of my ham radio brothers.
Otherwise, I am a normally an easy going kinda guy.
We all make mistakes sometimes I suppose.
73 Charles - KC8VWM
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by N6AYJ on March 22, 2006
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KE4XJ writes: "Most of my consumer items are now bought on line since I finally got ged up with waiting in line at Best Buy, Lowes, etc. for the privilege of giving them my hard-earned money for a product."
Yeah, did you ever notice how all the salespeople at stores like that are always too busy talking to someone on the phone to sell you the product you want to buy, or to answer any questions about it? I got to wondering why that was, so I started listening to what the salespeople were saying in those phone conversations, and to whom they were talking. It turned out that they were telling customers how to install the products they'd purchased. These stores make their entire sales pitch based on "you can do it yourself; we'll help you, and hold your hand while you do it." The problem is, a lot of people really don't know how to do it themselves, and they have to keep the salespeople on the phone for hours on end asking for extremely detailed information about how to do the job in question. The reason so many people who don't know how to "do it themselves" try to do it anyway is that contractors have become such ripoff artists that homeowners get major sticker shock when they receive the contractor's estimate. I refuse to shop at stores like that anymore. I just got tired of standing around for a half hour to get waited upon every time I wanted to buy something.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by W0NFU on March 23, 2006
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It appears the service manager knows very little about automotive electrical systems.
After a battery does its work starting a vehicle, the electrical burden is assumed by the alternator - which also recharges the battery.
The only condition under which ham gear could impact a battery is when the equipment is operated with the vehicle shut off and that would have to be something like a 500 watt amplifier. The current draw from typical ham setups is way below the rating of modern day batteries.
It would appear that the service manager did you a favor by getting you to take your battery needs elsewhere.
Larry W0NFU
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by NS6Y_ on March 23, 2006
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"
by KR6ER on March 22, 2006
Gentleman I have never had a problem with a worn out battery. You see I simply go to my local HAMfest and look for the guy with the most antennas on his car and take his. I figure if the thing will start his car it'll work fine for me. LOL
"
LOLLOLLOLLOL LOL LOL LOLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by WB9YCJ on March 23, 2006
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OM, why not take the refund money to A DIFFERANT Sears, and buy another Diehard since you really want one?
Also, anyone been in a Johnson Controls plant to see if batteries are manufactured to differant standards according to walmart/Sears specs? Does a JC truck taking a battery to WalMart necessarily mean the same specification/build battery is also taken to Sears?
73.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by N4JBK on March 23, 2006
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KB8ASO, Exactly what did you do with that Dale Carnegy course money....you obviously did'nt take the course....sheesh what a grouch.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by N0MUD on March 23, 2006
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I buy my batteries at Batteries Plus. When I pull in they check my system, check my battery, if the battery is dead they replace it. They install it, I get a good warrenty and I am treated as a customer and a human being. They never and I mean never ask me about Ham Radio, if they would ask I would explain Ham Radio to them. I buy my tools at Harbor Freight. I've never had a bad tool there, none have ever broken and if one did I would just go back and buy a new one. Who cares about tool warrenties.
I don't shop at Sears anymore, haven't for years, last time I bought something at Sears I wrote a check and they wanted my Social Security number and I said NO, almost walked out without my product but the store manager stepped in and made a decision, no SSN, only buy clothes at K-Mart and I don't wait for the Blue Light Specials anymore. Surprising enought there are times I have to stand in line and wait, sounds like K-Mart has something going when the lines are long and the sales are good but hey that's not Ham Radio. Sears is NOT Ham Radio. HRO, R&L is, Giga Parts etc just look in the issue of QST and you will see where to buy for Ham Radios, not Sears or K-mart, sorry jumping off my soap box that I bought at SAMS.
73's have a fun HAM Radio day, a bad day on the radio is better than a good day at work.
NØmud
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by WA4DOU on March 23, 2006
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You can get just as good a warranty on a battery at AutoZone as at Sears, these days. They won't charge you for installation like Sears will. The whole world today is money mad, but Sears and some other places seem to be extraordinarily bad about it.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KE4DRN on March 23, 2006
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hi jason,
I've got more info, I stand corrected !
JC was awarded new contract in 1999 to be
sole supplier for the sears batteries !
found it in the news release section on jc site.
Too bad that sears manager will never see all
these posts. In retail we say one good decision
nobody will know about it, if we make a bad
decision, everyone will know about it.
73 james
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by AD5TD on March 23, 2006
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<<KC8VWM...Ok, Hold the presses.
That letter will not be sent after all...
...You seemed to have got your money back!
I only advocate for people if an "injustice" has been served to one of my ham radio brothers.
Otherwise, I am a normally an easy going kinda guy.
We all make mistakes sometimes I suppose.>>
The "injustice", sir, was his inconvenience. You get in your truck and it won't start. You get a jump, go to work, get a jump after work, drive to Sears and the man says, sorry I won't replace it, but here's your money, go pester somebody else. So you bum a jump at Sears and go find a battery at the "Great Wall of China Mart".
That is an injustice. Not to mention that you have alienated a LOT of people. There is no worse advertising that a mad customer.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K0RGR on March 23, 2006
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I've had lots of fun with batteries recently, and was considering going back to DieHards. I guess now, I won't. Of course I probably wasn't going to anyway, because doing that would require me to go to a Sears Auto department, and the only reason I would go to my local one would be to urinate in the corner, after they took advantage of my wife a few years ago, to chisel us out of a very large amount of money on car repairs we didn't need or request. I probably should have sued them at the time.
I still shop at Sears, but I walk by that department very quickly. I always wave too - but just one finger.
Car ignition batteries these days simply will not survive a deep discharge. If you are going to discharge the battery, you'd better get a deep cycle battery. I learned this lesson first with Batteries Plus' finest, and they refused to honor the warranty, too! Plus, you have to produce an original receipt for the battery - they don't mark them to show when they were installed anymore. I've since had this bad experience with other people's batteries too. I'm currently using Wal Mart batteries, which were very cheap, and have held up well so far.
Oh, speaking of things that have been over-engineered to operate in one specific way - if you want to waste about $800, do a 'panic stop' in any recent-vintage Japanese car. The brake rotors on these cars have been shaved to the point that they will not survive the heat from just one 'panic stop', and they cannot be turned on a lathe because they are already too thin. After doing one good panic stop, you can tell everybody that your car has anti-lock brakes when they feel the vibration every time you stop.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by WA4DOU on March 23, 2006
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Mad customers are a dime per dozen. Some are justified, others are not. Mad customers cause a problem known as churn. Eventually they get over it because eventually they run out of options. Its just life. No one organization has a monopoly on good or bad service. All of them deliver both kinds. Its just life. And if organizations come along and deliver really good service and low prices, they don't survive in the next economic downturn because they didn't earn enough profit to squirrel away. Its just life.
Good and fast service isn't cheap. Cheap and fast service isn't good and cheap and good service isn't fast. Its just life.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by WA4DOU on March 23, 2006
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Panic stops usually ruin anyone's brakes, domestic or import. The same phenomonon was also applicable to muscle cars from yesteryear.
So called, deep cycle batteries really aren't either although they are better than automotive batteries.
Auto batteries really are only meant to be fully charged and deliver starting current before being charged back up.
When you've decided you're not going back, you have one less place to go next time the others slight you.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by WIRELESS on March 23, 2006
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I can't believe all this rapping about a car battery. For the record, I have bought about 10 DieHard batteries over the years and I think I had 3 or 4 die early. So, DieHards were never that good years ago either. But in Sears defense, Sears looks up your warranty when you come in. You don't have to find proof or the long gone receipt no matter which store you go into.
Sears always replaced or prorated a defective battery without me having to do anything but drive in.
I wouldn't buy one now since I don't think they may be around when I need warranty service.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K8LEA on March 23, 2006
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I gave up on Sears a couple months ago.
Dark & rainy night sort of thing - a tire problem. My Michelin dealer poofed a while back, and Sears handles them, so I bought a couple from them a couple of years ago. One decided to be unable to keep it's air in, so I headed out about 1700 to see if I could get a quick fix.
Stood at the counter while the guy talked to another customer. As he was heading out to check that car in, I asked him if I could just follow 'cause he'd be doing the same with me. He suggested that I wait at the counter....
Ten minutes later he came back and told me that he probably couldn't get to the tire before 1930....
He suggested I drive around and find another dealer....
The tire was low enough that I really didn't want to drive on it, so I asked if he could recommend somebody. Nada.... He didn't know....
"Can you come back tomorrow?" as I left....
(I've got a bad back, and didn't want to change the tire myself. My road service setup is goofy enough that if I can still drive on the tire it was better to do that.)
I remembered a competitor nearby that handled Michelin. Home by 1830....
Same Sears store lost my business for a few years when I watched a service person stick my car's paperwork in the "in" basket (i.e., "the car's ready") as the counterkid stood there and handled other business for ten minute or so.... That was just after the visit when I stood at the counter for ten minutes while another counterkid walked out into the shop area to check on something for somebody on the phone....
Sheesh....
Stu K8LEA
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K4RAF on March 23, 2006
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My question is: How did they determine what radios were in your truck to begin with?
Seems to me that if you carried in the old battery, they'd replace it without question. You obviously were looking to have them install the new one? I'd love to know just how...
Ths kind of reminds me of several hams I have known through the years. When they moved into new homes, they went around to the neighborhood introducing themselves as hams. Then they are dumbfounded when people come knocking about everything from TVI to their toilet backing up! Some never even had a wire outside yet.
I bet they'd bite their tongues if that battery were in a police cruiser. Untold current draw...
None of their business!!!
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by AD5TD on March 23, 2006
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by WA4DOU on March 23, 2006
<<Mad customers are a dime per dozen. Some are justified, others are not. Mad customers cause a problem known as churn. Eventually they get over it because eventually they run out of options. Its just life. No one organization has a monopoly on good or bad service. All of them deliver both kinds. Its just life. And if organizations come along and deliver really good service and low prices, they don't survive in the next economic downturn because they didn't earn enough profit to squirrel away. Its just life.
Good and fast service isn't cheap. Cheap and fast service isn't good and cheap and good service isn't fast. Its just life.>>
I say that's BS! For anyone to last you MUST have good customer service. Your attitude will have you out of business in no time..
8 Rules For Good Customer Service
From Susan Ward,
Good Customer Service Made Simple
Good customer service is the lifeblood of any business. You can offer promotions and slash prices to bring in as many new customers as you want, but unless you can get some of those customers to come back, your business won’t be profitable for long.
Good customer service is all about bringing customers back. And about sending them away happy – happy enough to pass positive feedback about your business along to others, who may then try the product or service you offer for themselves and in their turn become repeat customers.
If you’re a good salesperson, you can sell anything to anyone once. But it will be your approach to customer service that determines whether or not you’ll ever be able to sell that person anything else. The essence of good customer service is forming a relationship with customers – a relationship that that individual customer feels that he would like to pursue.
How do you go about forming such a relationship? By remembering the one true secret of good customer service and acting accordingly; “You will be judged by what you do, not what you say.”
I know this verges on the kind of statement that’s often seen on a sampler, but providing good customer service IS a simple thing. If you truly want to have good customer service, all you have to do is ensure that your business consistently does these things:
1) Answer your phone.
Get call forwarding. Or an answering service. Hire staff if you need to. But make sure that someone is picking up the phone when someone calls your business. (Notice I say “someone”. People who call want to talk to a live person, not a “fake recorded robot”.) For more on answering the phone, see Phone Answering Tips to Win Business.
2) Don’t make promises unless you WILL keep them.
Not plan to keep them. Will keep them. Reliability is one of the keys to any good relationship, and good customer service is no exception. If you say, “Your new bedroom furniture will be delivered on Tuesday”, make sure it is delivered on Tuesday. Otherwise, don’t say it. The same rule applies to client appointments, deadlines, etc.. Think before you give any promise – because nothing annoys customers more than a broken one.
3) Listen to your customers.
Is there anything more exasperating than telling someone what you want or what your problem is and then discovering that that person hasn’t been paying attention and needs to have it explained again? From a customer’s point of view, I doubt it. Can the sales pitches and the product babble. Let your customer talk and show him that you are listening by making the appropriate responses, such as suggesting how to solve the problem.
4) Deal with complaints.
No one likes hearing complaints, and many of us have developed a reflex shrug, saying, “You can’t please all the people all the time”. Maybe not, but if you give the complaint your attention, you may be able to please this one person this one time - and position your business to reap the benefits of good customer service.
5) Be helpful - even if there’s no immediate profit in it.
The other day I popped into a local watch shop because I had lost the small piece that clips the pieces of my watch band together. When I explained the problem, the proprietor said that he thought he might have one lying around. He found it, attached it to my watch band – and charged me nothing! Where do you think I’ll go when I need a new watch band or even a new watch? And how many people do you think I’ve told this story to?
6) Train your staff (if you have any) to be ALWAYS helpful, courteous, and knowledgeable.
Do it yourself or hire someone to train them. Talk to them about good customer service and what it is (and isn’t) regularly. Most importantly, give every member of your staff enough information and power to make those small customer-pleasing decisions, so he never has to say, “I don’t know, but so-and-so will be back at...”
7) Take the extra step.
For instance, if someone walks into your store and asks you to help them find something, don’t just say, “It’s in Aisle 3.” Lead the customer to the item. Better yet, wait and see if he has questions about it, or further needs. Whatever the extra step may be, if you want to provide good customer service, take it. They may not say so to you, but people notice when people make an extra effort and will tell other people.
8) Throw in something extra.
Whether it’s a coupon for a future discount, additional information on how to use the product, or a genuine smile, people love to get more than they thought they were getting. And don’t think that a gesture has to be large to be effective. The local art framer that we use attaches a package of picture hangers to every picture he frames. A small thing, but so appreciated.
If you apply these eight simple rules consistently, your business will become known for its good customer service. And the best part? The irony of good customer service is that over time it will bring in more new customers than promotions and price slashing ever did!
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by W4SK on March 23, 2006
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FWIW, Consumer Reports says that the DieHard is no longer the battery of choice. They pick the Duralast (AutoZone) as being much superior to the DieHard.
-W4SK
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KC8VWM on March 23, 2006
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They really need to separate the counter person job from the telephone inquiries position. I once knew a person who was waiting in line who ended up using his cellphone to call the guy while waiting in line... How pathetic is that?!
I once had an oil change and lube job done. They didn't do the "lube" I paid for. This is especially important to perform on 4x4 vehicles as I lost a few ball joints because of this very issue in the past so I always check to make sure it's done EVERYTIME..
Guess what? It wasn't done, AGAIN!.. So I left the jeep sitting outside the service bay door and went inside.
Guess what? The counter person was busy jacking his jaws on the phone with a line of people waiting at the counter so I just stood there and waited patiently in line.
Then out of nowhere a service bay mechanic burst through the door and asked, "Who owns a Jeep that is blocking our service bay door - can you move it?"
I replied, "Sure, it is mine, I will be happy to mov e it right into your shop so you can correct the service ommision you made, just as soon as your counter person gets off the phone."
He looked a little puzzled and perplexed at me, and he repeated, "Sir..., I need you to move your car."
I replied, "Sir..., you really need to take that matter up with your counterperson who is presenting busy on the telephone at this time. He is the individual responsible for holding you up. I am just waiting here as I am required to do.
He didn't know what to say after that and he quitely left.
Morale of the story? Don't kick your customers to the curb when they demand customer service because you may be the one who will end up inconvenienced at the end of the day.
73 Charles - KC8VWM
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K5AT on March 23, 2006
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I worked with a mechanical Engineer several years back that had worked for Sears in a "Re-Engineering" group. What they would do is take a product (in my instance a GAF 35mm Projector) and "Re-engineer" it so that it would fail just after the warranty ran out.
Exactly what happend in my case. The guy that I was working with worked on that very project. He told me exactly how it failed before I had a chance to tell what happend. He said go get a GAF instead of Sear and it will last forever, I did and I still have the projector after 30 years of use.
I lost interest in doing business with Sears after hearing his stories.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by W8WLC on March 23, 2006
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KX8N hit the nail on the head. Its not just sears its everybody here. They all seem to gather a bunch of idiots for management. The injustice is having to screw around running all over the country to return something, plus spending a small fortune on gasoline to do it! Here is my case in point. I went to the Menards early last December to get a snowblower, Since I had badly injuried my leg and my wife volunteered to do snow removal duties, I wanted something she could handle easily. They load up a 5 HP blower in my van. I get it home and lo and behold no cables anywhere for the auger or wheel drive. I can't just go get the cables I gotta load and return the whole damn thing again. Anyway after wasting an afternoon with this I try it out to make sure it starts ok and it does. Winter goes by and early this week my wife gets the first chance to use the blower guess what it don't start. I call the store oh yeah you gotta bring it in and should have it ready by next week. Bull to that I end up fixing it myself by removing whatever the heck the gunk is thats pluging the fuel line. So you see customer service and good products don't really exist at the big discount stores. The real killer is I could have driven to Peoria picked up a real snowblower from a mom and pop store but no I didn't want to waste the afternoon on the road. From now on I stick with the slightly more costly small businesses that care, no more getting screwed by the big corporations who don't.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KC2MMI on March 23, 2006
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<<Went to Home Depot and bought a RYOBE 18V set for $90, Drill, Light, Circular Saw, Sander, Charger, and TWO batteries, WITH a Soft Side Bag!! I swear it's the same as the Sears stuff.>>
Ryobi IS making tools for Sears. The bad news? Is that a replacement battery for a Ryobi drill will usually cost you MORE than a whole new drill kit, and Ryobi does not sell repair parts. Been through this twice with them, they're great as long as you know they are "disposable tools".
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KG6WLV on March 23, 2006
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I know a lot of you older guys have a dedication to buying American, but my money comes too dearly for that. In 35 years behind the wheel, I've never owned an American car, and it's made good sense. Of course, my wife owned a VEGA, and that put me off on American cars forever.
The "global economy" that exports US jobs to Asian sweatshops cuts both ways. I'm spending my money on reliable products, and I don't much care anymore where they come from.
BTW, my Toyota is built in Fremont California, from a drive train assembled and designed in Japan. Good deal.
Wonder why all those good Republicans in Texas at Radio Shack don't care about human rights in China, and fund their dictatorship? It's the bottom line. But of course, we need to starve out that evil dictatorship in Cuba. Maybe it's because Nixon didn't visit there in 1973...
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by VA3EAM on March 23, 2006
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Did you ask the manager who his crack dealer was? Sounds like he is getting some pretty good stuff.
That is one of the lamest excuses I have heard. Maybe this particular battery was bad due to a manufacturing defect....dah!!!
Eric.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KC0RDG on March 23, 2006
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You got your money back.
Some people will complain about anything.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K4JF on March 23, 2006
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"only buy clothes at K-Mart "
Same company.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K4JF on March 23, 2006
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"Of course, my wife owned a VEGA, and that put me off on American cars forever."
You take the worst piece of crap US makers ever built, and it puts you off ALL American cars? I've got news for you. Toyota and Datsun were making some junk as bad or worse about that time. BOTH US and Japanese cars are better now.
I drive North American cars because I can't afford Asian imports. Too expensive to start with and the maintenance is even worse. (Plus I like the more solid feel of US and German cars, but that's just personal preference.)
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K4YHQ on March 23, 2006
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It's so sad; Sears used to be strong in everything. Their brand was the best in whatever it was: J.C. Higgins for bicycles, Tower for cameras and photo supplies, Hillary and Ted Williams for sporting goods and rifles. I can't remember all of the house brands, but they were all good. Now, the only thing Sears has left is their Craftsman brand. BTW, don't buy batteries at Sears anyway, get a Optima.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by N4VOX on March 23, 2006
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KE4XJ, i sure see a trend, you hate American workers.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KE4XJ on March 23, 2006
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N4VOX,
I don't hate American workers at Marysville, Ohio who made both of my Hondas or any of the other American workers who made all the other good products I buy. I just don't like the lousy quality of stuff sold by most, if not all, American automaotive companies. I deplore the lousy quality service I receive from American workers who think I owe it to them to buy a lousy, undependable product just because they are Americans.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KB7XU on March 23, 2006
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Warning: This post is NOT about ham radio anymore than the previous ones. If that offends you, stop reading right now and do something else. You have been warned.
For the rest of you, I submit that it's not just battery or tool or car manufacturers that offer unacceptable qualtity and service. Try taking a whirl with "Big Medicine" for a real education. My wife developed cancer. Without being too specific, it was one of those cancers that are now supposedly rarely ever fatal. We were referred to a reputedly, "top-notch" oncologist who had double diplomates (a supposedly high benchmark of competence) in the practice of internal medicine and oncology.
After burning through a little over $100,000 worth of ineffectual treatment over the course of a year and a half, the expert sent her home to die under hospice care. "No reason to come back," he said, just work with the hospice nurse (top notch). NO REASON TO COME BACK??? After six weeks, she died-of the "no-reason-anyone-should-ever-die-of-this-kind-of-cancer-anymore" type. I wondered if the oncologist was as good as his resume and recommendations. In retrospect, I think oncology is one of those fields where no one really expects the practioner to be successful. Apathy rules. Is anyone really surprised when a cancer victim dies? How does one determine if the practioner is good at the job or just mediocre? Doctors and researchers alike bugle the trite "we don't know what causes cancer" excuse--but they sure as hell charge like they do. And we swallow that nonsense. Hook, line, and sinker.
I have concluded that one really doesn't have to be very good at oncology because failure is tolerated and even expected. That's really scary. Five hundred and fifty thousand deaths annually and it doesn't even make the news. (but just let some fool actor die of AIDS and watch what happens.) In reality, no one is really surprised when a cancer patient dies.
Apathy rules.
Like those of you who will never trade at Sears or whichever store, I'll never allow that quack to touch me or any other member if my family. I do sometimes wonder how many dead (but successfully treated)patients it takes to pay for that annual membership at the country club or the Mercedes he parks at the hospital?
If anyone is wondering, I didn't get the $100,000 back either. Oh, and sorry to hear about that battery hassle.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by WA9WVX on March 23, 2006
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Haven't we all seen this coming since the early 20th century? I think it has been dubbed as Planned Obsolescence although Corporate America is driving the products, warranty pollocies, the ordinary America workers out of skilled employment positions and the door at a faster pace. Corporate management has dictated to do more with less help and don't complain to your upper management or you'll be out the door too!
The SEARS manager was trying to please the customer by refunding the money on the Diehard Auto Battery rather than facing consequences with his upper management. I don't think this was a correct decision by a long shot but it's better than losing his employment. I can tell you it's NOT a pretty picture being on the outside looking in, having NO employment for 2 years and NO future employment either.
Oh, I've been down on SEARS too and especially these so-called Service Contracts which turn out to line the Corporate Management's pockets at Bonus Time. Okay, who started this BS Service Attitude? None other than our own U.S. Colleges and Universities teaching the student bodies in Business courses to reduce the cost of the products! This has been happening for at least 25 to 30 years now and about the last 10 years there's a new Buzz word called "Outsource" by eliminating our American employment, shipping our work and products anywhere in the world but NOT here in the Good Old U.S.A.!! So much for Baseball, Apple Pie and Chevy!
Now I'm going to date myself to a degree ... but back in 1934 there were many U.S. Government Laws and mandates passed to curb Corporate American GREED! One was to break up the huge Petroleum Corporations to drive competition and lower the price of OIL. Speed up to the mid 1990s when President William Clinton was in office, the Big Oil Companies appeared to have fallen on hard times (I doubt they ever fell ... it was just a Ploy on their part). They came to President "Willy" with the help of their Lobbyist and asked if certain OIL companies could MERGE together to stay Financially afloat through the future troubled times ahead. Ol' Willy and the U.S. Department Of Justice must NOT have ever read the "U.S. Anti-Trust Laws" written back in 1934 because they gave the same Corporate Petroleum Companies a bright GREEN Flag of APPROVAL! The one that comes to mind is: Exxon-Mobile, they were one company in 1933 and after the "1996 Willy/DOJ Deal" they're one company again! Several weeks ago on PBS, I watched an interview with the Retiring President of Exxon-Mobile Oil and one question was asked about all of these Oil shortages since the early 1970s. His response was, "We've never had an Oil shortage since we first conceived the company!"
Hmmmm ... I think we have many more problems to face with Corporate America's Attitude towards the American Consumers than just a SEARS DieHard Battery.
Dan
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by W2RDD on March 24, 2006
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Glad to see some, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any longer" comments. Long overdue. But, now what? 73.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by WK9L on March 24, 2006
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Well I own a auto parts bussiness and sell new batteries, And found years ago while touring the Interstate Battery warehouse that they make the battery for Sears (and others) it comes off the same line as many much more reasonable priced batties-So there is nothing special about die-hard just alot higher priced. Call one of the Battery wharehouses in your area and they will sell direct to you or call me and I will charge you 10 times what it cost me and give you 5 year warranty! That is what Sears does and people love it. And there is nothing that will kill the battery anyway if the charging system is working right and has a high enough current ouput.
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by K4JF on March 24, 2006
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To all these people buying nothing but import and your unwarranted dislike of American workers: just how do you expect America to survive when all our workers are out of work because of everybody buying import? We're sending all our jobs outside the borders, where is the money going to come from?
Wake up!!
(And the studies of American car quality shows US cars right up there with the best. Lexus and Cadillac were #1 and #2 recently, and the difference was only 0.03! Don't tell me the cars that outlast the others are "junk". It just ain't so!!)
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by N6AYJ on March 24, 2006
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IMHO, this has been one of the more interesting ham radio threads I've read in a long time. (Maybe that's not saying much?)
I know everyone seems to think that Chrysler products are junk, but I just don't understand that attitude. I have several, and have had very good luck with them. My main driver is presently a 1992 Dodge Dynasty with the 3.3-litre V6. It has 155,000 miles on it now with the original engine, and runs like a top. (Of course, I have maintained it carefully.) At 70,000 miles the A904 electronic automatic transaxle died because a repair shop refilled it with Dexron rather than with ATF+3. Chrysler rebuilt it for me with all the newest retrofits and gave me a 7-year, 70,000-mile warranty, and my co-pay was only $300.00. I would certainly buy another Chrysler product because I think the quality is at least as good as the Japanese brands, and the price is lower. However, considering how well my Dynasty is running, I don't think I'll have to be buying a new car anytime soon.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by AB8JC on March 24, 2006
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Odyssey batteries > *.other.batteries. Fuhgeddabootit!
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K3GIL on March 24, 2006
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All interesting comments . . . I used to spend lots of money at Sears. Tools, paint, auto stuff, etc. Now I literally buy nothing from them. Lack of product, poor quality, etc. The "Craftsman" name has gone into the toilet.
They are putting themselves out of business .
Gil
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K4JF on March 24, 2006
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"I would certainly buy another Chrysler product because I think the quality is at least as good as the Japanese brands, and the price is lower."
Uh, yes, but we were talking about American cars vs. Japanese. Daimler-Chrysler is a German company. And they do make good vehicles, IMO.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KC2MMI on March 24, 2006
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A Chrysler is not quite a Daimler-Chrysler. DC may own C, but Daimler was also quoted earlier this year as saying that buying C was a mistake, they have not been able to do what they wanted with the company and the quality is not--and will not--be the same as certain other Daimler marques, like MB. Part of this is because many of the existing products predate the takeover. Part of because the engineering teams and the production lines are different.
While any one Chrysler may be a great car, and any ten of them may be trouble-free, the bottom line is that when you survey millions of Chrysler owners and ask them "What problems have you had in the past xxx,xxx miles? How many days has your car been in the shop?" the cars come out WAY BELOW the Japanese makers in pretty much every aspect.
No, Japan doesn't build anything to compete with a Lincoln or the classic old US luxury cars, not that they sell here. But everyone, including the chairmen of GM, Ford, and Daimler, know that Japanese quality control continues to score better. Time and time again. Not on every car one to one, but in lemons-per-million.
Anyone who can't or won't appreciate that as a FACT...is part of the reason why US car makers are going bankrupt and the US is becoming a third-world economy. Detroit could have easily competed for quality--they chose not to.
And, if you haven't been reading business articles, you may be surprised to find that almost every car maker is in bed with almost every other carmaker today, sharing plants, licensing technologies, and making all kinds of deals. Mitsubishi is in almost as bad shape as GM. Renault actually owns Nissan. And everyone wants a piece of co-ownership to get into the Chinese market.
Quality? Is just one of many ways to make money--or lose it.
GM? Isn't a car maker either. Their profit has been from GMAC leasing, they're a finance company which co-incidentally has been making cars for their customers to finance. Ford?<G> Ford Motor Credit.<G>
Can't tell the players without a scorecard.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by W7LV on March 24, 2006
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Coming from a small town in the South, if you wanted a specific tool, you either paid the local hardware store or lumber yard (usually requiring a Special Order) or bought it at Sears.
Sears didn't give anything away, but they had what you needed (after a fashion, sometimes) for about 60-75% of the Local Yokel price. AND, you didn't have to wait for it to "Come On The Bus from Myammuh (or Tamps or Atlanta)."
Now we have Northern Tool and Harbor Freight Tools. Is everything they sell as good as Craftsman brand used to be?
Well, no. But when I buy a set of 1/2" drive Metric sockets on sale at Harbor Freight for LESS than Sears wanted for a single 22MM socket, which I will use exactly 4 times per year, I have to go with the Low Price Guys.
And, Surprise! Buy a little Warranty policy and they Replace just as fast as Sears ever did. Had a leaking gasket on a small shop compressor and only took it in so that they could order me a gasket and I could repair it. Walked out with a new one! No threat, no hondle, no Slap and Tickle with a department manager who just moved up from Shoes.
(Due to their line of "OK, nothing special" air tools, at our house we refer to Harbor Freight Tools as "Ingersoll Chan's.")
Lowe's beats Contractor Price on most kitchen appliance, and carries the old one away. WalMart can sell you tires, batteries and accessories and will even change your oil and balance and mount your new tires cheaper than carrying them over to Bubba's or your neighborhood Llanteria.
Sears had made themselves obsolete and irrelevant by failing to adapt to changing conditions.
I have to adapt to keep the shekels coming in the door: I have every expectation that those desiring my custom either do the same, or see my behind rather than my open wallet.
Further affiant sayeth not.
-30-
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by N6AYJ on March 24, 2006
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"While any one Chrysler may be a great car, and any ten of them may be trouble-free, the bottom line is that when you survey millions of Chrysler owners and ask them "What problems have you had in the past xxx,xxx miles? How many days has your car been in the shop?" the cars come out WAY BELOW the Japanese makers in pretty much every aspect."
I don't really understand how this can be true. All Chrysler products of a given model are all built on the same assembly line by the same people, using the same tools, the same parts, etc, but people will call one car "high-quality" and another "low-quality", even though they were built on the same day! I just don't understand how there can be such a so-called quality variance between individual cars under these circumstances. I think it has more to do with they way they are used and maintained by the purchaser. Once a brand of car gets a reputation for being "junk", people tend to consider it "disposable" and treat it like shit and don't maintain it.
Also, I am aware that magazines like Consumers' Reports always rank Chrysler products as low in quality but, for example, they would say that a Chrysler model was of better quality than a Dodge model, when they were both exactly the same car, built on the same assembly lines by the same people, but merely "badge engineered" (different nameplate installed). It has been clearly shown that this disparity occurred because Consumers' Reports failed to account for customer expectations: customers who bought the Chrysler expected it to be a better car than a Dodge because it cost more, and therefore reported it as higher-quality, with the converse being true for the Dodge.
I stand by my opinion that I have obtained much better service from my Dodge than most people receive from their Japanese cars, and I just don't believe that my experience can be that atypical.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KE4ZHN on March 24, 2006
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Ive had me share of Sears batteries. They should change the name to Dieeasy. They suck.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KC2MMI on March 24, 2006
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"they would say that a Chrysler model was of better quality than a Dodge model, when they were both exactly the same car, built on the same assembly lines by the same people,"
Substantially similar--but rarely "the same". I know people who said Buick and Olds were ripping them off because they knew "the same car was built on the same line" by Chevy. What they didn't know was that Buick and Olds might specify a front end tolerance of 1/2 degree while Chevy ran the same line at 1 degree, so the front end was "the same" but different. And the springs and shocks used in "the same" car were often selected with different rates for each division. And then, one division custom-cut springs to match the option list and exact parts weight in their cars, while another just used stock springs for the "same" car built on the same line.
Sure, Consumer Reports has been known to get sloppy. Sure, expectations count. But CR is only one of many groups that collect data like "defects found in first 30 days" and "days left in shop for repair" and the bottom line is, consistantly, that the Japanese products got better numbers. You need a reason? How about, every part (nut, bolt, etc.) in a Toyota had a coating to lock it in place--when Detroit still did't use any.
There's no magic in what Japan did. When they wanted to enter the US market, they got told again and again by the US consumers "We're afraid to buy it, because it breaks down there is no place to get it fixed". And the answer was..."If it doesn't break down, that just won't be a problem." The Koreans, on the other hand, have taken a difference approach to the problem. Buy a Korean car, get a 10-year warranty. Sure, you KNOW it will break down, but you don't care, because it will be fixed. And that also means it can be SO much cheaper than a car built to higher quality standards.
Either Kia or Hyundai got two awards in the same year: Most improved product, and most unreliable. The buyers are still happy, because that solution (will break, but will be fixed) gets them a cheaper car.
Detroit? They don't care if it breaks at 50,000 miles, they are selling new cars to new car buyers who'll only keep the car for 40,000 anyway. Horses for courses...except, the mass market is voting for long-term reliability, and that's not what Detroit has chosen to build. Detroit can out-build Japan, they simply have chosen not to.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by W7LV on March 24, 2006
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Owned a 2002 RAM 1500 2WD. It was the best Gringo iron I have owned since my 1964 Pontiac GTO (an indestructible War Wagon of epic dimensions), and that includes several Cadillacs and Oldsmobiles. In 4 years it was in the shop exactly 3 times (all on the same A/C issue). Not a squeak, rattle or rust spot after 1 year in Florida salt air and 3 years of desert wind scouring it. Next owner paid me $2000 MORE than KBB Retail book for it, and was happy with the deal.
The boys and girls in St. Louis did a fine job on that sled...
The only reason it's gone is that I needed a back seat and a shorter climb to the cab (Or, My Requirements Have Changed Before the End of the Useful Life of the Unit). I bought a Candian-built, US-designed Honda. Just slightly finer in finish than the Dodge, but about what one would expect for $9,000 higher MSRP.
On any given day, ANY production line in the industrialized world can crank out a lemon or two. I've seen Cadillacs, Evinrudes, Maytags, Freightliners and F-4 Phantom II's that seemed to have evaded some quality control step, and experienced, in new home construction (over 18 years) about a 1.5 - 2.0% Infant Mortality rate on garage door openers, kitchen appliances, air handlers and A/C compressors.
Even Baldwin Locomotive Works suffered from "hoodoo's" back in the days of steam, the grandfathers and grandmothers of Gremlins and the progenitors of Gltches. Probably more Swan 350's came out of the box with intermittents and cold solder joints than KWM-2's, but look at the price difference.
That said, Perception IS Reality...
So, although I value CR's opinion, in its place, I buy what looks and feels like it will get the job done at a price consistent with what I feel is appropriate to pay for the unit. If someone else has aproblem with what I drive/fly/float/pedal, well, this is America. Everyone has a right to his opinion. Opinions are like Belly Buttons: everybody has one, but not all are interesting to behold (or hear).
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by N6AYJ on March 24, 2006
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"Substantially similar--but rarely "the same"."
Nope. A '92 Chrysler Lebaron is EXACTLY the same car as a '92 Dodge Dynasty. As I said, built on the same assembly line, by the same people, with the same parts, using the same tools, on the same day, with a different nameplate affixed at the end of the line. They are both so-called "AC" bodies. Even the factory service manual applies to them both, without distinction.
Also, have you ever noticed the HUGE difference in maintenance procedures required by the Japanese vs. the "American" carmakers in order to keep their warranties in effect? The bottom line is, it would have cost me approximately $2,000 more in service charges to have kept the warranty on a '92 Honda Accord in effect for 60,000 miles vs. the amount I had to pay to keep my Dodge's warranty valid for 70,000 miles. The Japanese car dealers do this in order to have a large additional source of income besides car sales. Considering the additional (and, in my opinion, unnecessary) maintenance required by the Japanese carmakers, it is not at all surprising that their cars rate as being somewhat more reliable. When you take your Honda to the dealer for an oil change, they tell you the rubber cog timing belt has to be changed, to the tune of $600, in order to keep the warranty in effect. Not so for the Chrysler.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K4JF on March 24, 2006
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"And that also means it can be SO much cheaper than a car built to higher quality standards."
Not the case. That is a very common fallacy. But as a former (now retired) certified Quality Engineer, I can tell you for fact that high quality costs LESS, not more.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KE7AKS on March 24, 2006
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My experience with DIE HARD (should be DIE EASY) was a few years back. The 2 year old Buick that I bought had a DIE HARD already in it. It developed a bad cell, it was obvious, hydrogen gas flow out of one of the caps while on the charger. Sears honored a free replacement...two months later another free replacement...then in about 1 month they decided to check my alternator for full output. I heard the drive belt squeal and they reved the engine to around 3,000 RPM. Again another new DIE HARD was installed.
Two weeks later a diode went out in the alternator. I relpaced it and the Battery Factory said that my NEW DIE HARD was SULFATED. Their guess was that the high price for the lifetime battery was such that they had sat too long on the shelf and they had relpaced several"NEW DIE HARD" batteries in that area.
I sold the car several years later, the cheap BATTERY FACTORY battery still was going strong!
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KB8ASO on March 24, 2006
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In this thread I heard the name "Consumer Reports" used. Here is a shining reason I will never believe them on anything. There once was a company called Honda that didn't make an SUV and a company named Isuzu that did. Honda contracted Isuzu to make their SUV for a time while Honda engineered their own. It was a Isuzu with a Honda badge on it and different trim and interior. Consumer Reports ran a report on SUV's and guess what? They loved the Honda. Wonder of wonders! Consumer Reports also reviewed the Isuzu. Gave it a slightly better than a POS rating. Same SUV engineered and built by Isuzu. Consumer Reports bought and paid for by Honda Motor Corp.
Randy
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K1CJS on March 24, 2006
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I would just like to make this comment. Someone said something to the effect that Detroit doesn't care if the car breakdown after 50,000 miles, they're busy selling cars to people who don't keep them past 40,000 miles.
If you keep up with maintenance of just about any car it will last longer than if you do not. I have a 1991 Mercury that has over 150,000 miles on it, it starts every day, runs very well and hasn't seen the shop since I got it, which was at 62,000 miles. Oil changes at not more than 5,000 miles and fixing the little things (thats called 'maintenance') that let go are the secret.
You may say its a fluke, but my last car, a 1982 Buick was still going strong in 1997 when I bought the Mercury--same thing, kept up the maintenance on it.
I think a lot of these people who are complaining about American cars are the type that only think about jumping in, turning the key, and driving. Oil?
Thats what they cook their french fries in!
Anyway, you can call cars American or Japanese, but it really doesn't make much difference anymore--there are just as many japanese parts in an American car as there are American parts in the Japanese cars in this country.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KG6WLV on March 24, 2006
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"You take the worst piece of crap US makers ever built, and it puts you off ALL American cars? I've got news for you. Toyota and Datsun were making some junk as bad or worse about that time."
Yes, that's true (the Datsun 510 sedan comes to mind), but I was driving a Volkswagon Beetle at that time. HiHi.
AFTER the period you mention (say '75 or '76), NO American manufacturer has had a product line as good as Toyota or Honda. And they LIE about it... "Quality is Job One." This from a company that produced the Ford Tempo.
Many American cars are just plain crap, and everyone knows it -- or should. If you like a "solid" car, buy a top of the line Japanese import. It will get better mileage, and last MUCH longer.
I buy ham gear just like I buy cars -- I look at product reviews, such as the ones here. For cars I check out Consumer Reports.
My wife and I have used the services of a tow truck on two or three occasions in a combined 70 years of driving. I expect a car to run every time I turn the key, no ifs ands or buts. I also like to buy things new, take reasonably good care of them, and then USE THEM UP. You can't do that with shoddy merchandise.
All my cars have been traded in with 100-150 K miles on them, and ten plus years of usable life. And that's city miles, not freeway miles.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KC8VWM on March 24, 2006
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Their guess was that the high price for the lifetime battery was such that they had sat too long on the shelf.
-------------
Excellent point!!
Always check the date code on the battery you are buying. If the battery already has the electrolyte in it, and it sat on the shelf longer than 3 months, then forget about buying it. The plates have probably corroded already.
73 Charles - KC8VWM
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KE7AKS on March 24, 2006
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After re-reading the comments about this article, I think I missed a real inportant fact.. It maters not who makes the batteries (Johnson Controles in Canby Oregon used to make them). Take a battery charge twice the money for it, gauantee it forever! You should be able to have most of them never come back, since most folks don't keep the car forever, and when the battery dies they might not use a warranty.
Secondly, take any battery and over price it, so it sits too long on a shelf with a trickle charger on it and you can end up with all but the reasonably priced batteries sulfated! (look inside, see fuzzy looking,or white chalk looking stuff) A new Battery
(never yet installed) but was there lots of dust on it before they brought it out? Did the tech have you go to a waiting room while he installed it?
The guy at the Battery Factory showed me the evidence of the new DIE HARD battery! I could have went back to SEARS and they probably have given me yet another NEW - OLD DIE HARD. Obviously the end came to another LIFE TIME WARRANTY.....
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KG6WLV on March 24, 2006
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BTW, forgot to mention that my last general coverage receiver prior to getting my ticket was a Drake R8A. Built in America, and a good rig. It got way better reviews here and elsewhere than other receivers in its price range and even some Japanese receivers that cost more. It's not perfect (see my review here), but it's pretty darned good.
It did give me a nice feeling of pride to buy something American made, especially with an "historic" nameplate. I was glad to do it, and knew I got a good deal.
I'd consider Ten-Tec, but it's a bit too pricey and I went with a TS-2000. Good value for money, small footprint and a lot of features. If there were an American equivalent, I would've bought that.
Most American businesses suffer from a severe case of imperial "top-down" management. The skilled laborers who build things and the sales and service forces are irrelevant to management decision making. The principle preoccupation with management now is to manipulate stock values and profits, not build market share or plan for the future.
This country is being crucified by the stock market, which is nothing more than a gilt whorehouse of money manipulators. Speculators push market prices higher, and profits need to track with unrealistic stock values to prop up return on investment. Hired-gun CEO's suck all the juice from the orange, cast it aside, and move on. And THAT's what's wrong, in the final analysis.
That said, I think I'll turn on my rig, and have some FUN with ham radio, still the coolest hobby around.
;-)
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KE6PID on March 24, 2006
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Your case sounds like a manager doing a bad job of assuring customer satisfaction. I'm certain that Sears wouldn't condone such customer service- they want you to come back.
Depending on what part of the country you purchased your battery seems to dictate how good a battery you get. Sears sources their batteries from a variety of suppliers; lately I have noticed a great deal more variation from battery to battery.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by W8WLC on March 24, 2006
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I agree if you take care of your vehicle it will last. There are some exceptions to the rule. All of my vehicles have been American made, routine maint is done by the book and oil is changed every 3K no if ands or buts. My last Astro service vans had 140,000 on them and still running strong when I sold them off. The garage where I take my vehicles for servicing tells me you won't believe the number of people who let simple lube and oil changes go over 25000 miles then bitch because they have problems. Chrysler kind of gave me a screwing on my Caravan but I took it too a transmission shop for overhaul and the mechanic there told me even though Chrysler denies a problem (does this sound familar radio guys?), they were well aware of it and were installing mod kits in the transmission overhauls to prevent re-occurance. Rigs and Automobiles last longer if you take care of them
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by N6AYJ on March 24, 2006
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So-called automobile quality runs in fads. If you'll remember, in the early '60's Consumer Reports said the Volkswagen was a very high-quality car because it had a tight body, but rated the Plymouth Valiant very poor on quality because it had some rain leaks that had to be corrected by the dealer. Well, with the benefit of 40 years of 20:20 hindsight, we now know that the VW, although assembled to a high degree of precision, was basically an unsafe death trap and would burn a valve if you looked at it crosseyed, but the Valiant turned out to be a veritable Energizer Bunny of a car that would run forever. IMHO, the same thing is now happening with respect to Japanese vs. "American" cars. People have such an insecure need to believe what they are driving is "high quality" that they won't consider the issue objectively.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by AD5TD on March 24, 2006
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I bought a Japanese car not because of the quality of build or fit and finish, reputation, or exclusivity.
I bought it because it was WAY fun to drive and had the looks that stirred my soul.
When we went looking to trade off our 4 door pickup (gas guzzler), the first place we looked was Chevy. God! What a wasteland of cookie cutter econoboxes. Dull design and poor handling. The only car that was worth having was the SV2000 and the C5 Corvette! I couldn't afford that. We went to Ford and got more of the same. I could afford a Mustang GT, but as with the C5, no back seat (grand kids). Chrysler had the goods, Magnum, 300C, and now Charger. Exciting looks, goes like stink, but 12 mpg. My wife said no. (it was her car)
That left the Imports. We took off to San Antonio to look at Lexus, Acura, and Infiniti. The first place we stopped was Gunn Infiniti. We never left. We drove the new G35 sedan with a 6 speed manual. OH MAN! Fast (0-60 in 6.1sec, 145 mph top end), quiet, stunning looks, room for four adults (my 6'7" son can sit in the RECLINING rear seats with no trouble), sticks like glue to the road, sounds like an old Jag, and gets 21 to 25 mpg. A first class warranty that picks you up if you break down and gives you a loaner car. There is NOTHING made in America that even comes close. We really WANTED to buy American, but there was nothing we could find that had it all for the same price.
BTW, we have had two small problem that were handled promptly with a loaner car (even to change your oil!).
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KI6LO on March 24, 2006
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Not to extend the 'noise' of this thread but at least most of the country gets to use a battery until it reaches somewhat of a mature life. I live out here in the Mojave Desert where summers feel like someone left the door to hell open. Most normal auto batteries will give good service for about 2 years out here and then they start dropping out. Some last longer, some shorter but it usually averages about 2 summers and thats it. I have got to where I replace the battery in each car on an alternating schedule and buy cheaper ones as the expensive ones don't last much longer for the price.
Walmart batteries are just fine and work good in my mobile setups. They don't seem to have any problem standing behind the warranty either.
Gene KI6LO
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KA8OCN on March 24, 2006
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Sears did 2 things to blow me off years ago.
First I had purchased a DOS printer years ago and it worked great, but I really used it and finally the print head quit working. That was no problem it was made by Epson so I called and found the part for 35$ plus a little shipping. A day later Epson calls me back and says they cant sell me the part because its a printer that was made for Sears and I would have to order the part from them.
I call Sears and the guy tells me the part is not available so I give him the Epson part number, he tells me he will need me to pay 109$ for the part and if its not the correct part I can not send it back. He also is quite upset because I did not want to get a Sears charge card, I told him I had a Visa and that was enough. So I was going to have to drive to Sears (15 miles) and pay the 109$ (remember the part was going to cost me 35$) and then drive back again when it came in. I told him I would never darken their doorstep again and he did not seem to care. I threw the printer in the dumpster and purchased a Epson.
A few years later my XYL and I finally purchased the house in the country we always wanted, we needed a lawn tractor / snow plow. Because it was such a big purchase she wanted a Sears, ok we went there and looked and found what we wanted for 1700.00 (over 20 years ago) and wew had just purchased the house so we did not have any spart money. I looked at Sears intrest rate and I checked at our local bank and the bank was less. No problem I went in got the loan and took the check to Sears. They were less than thrilled because I did not choose to use one of their charge accounts. SO we paid for the Tractor and the Snow blade and was told it would be 3 weeks and we would have to be home when they delivered it. Ok we wait and after 4 weeks I call and they said it just came in and they would deliver it the next day. They could not give us a time (Wife works 2nd shift) so she had to take a day off work to be there all day (Must be related to the cable company) It never shows, no call nothing. I call the next day and they say well we dont know who told us that because the unit has not came in yet. So another week goes by and I am now getting a little pissed, I call again and they give me the same run around, then I ask how late are they open because I will just stop by and get my refund. They freek and tell me I cant have a refund, I said yes I can I have never received the unit so how could they declare it used (Counld not refund my money on a used tractor) anyway there was a miracle and they got it in the very next day, they even decided they could deliver it after 6pm when I got out of work instead of paying my Wife for a lost day of work.
When they did bring it out they did not have the snow blade and the lady delivering it was saying how lucky I was to get this tractor because they took it front a man in Saginaw (30 miles north) who had been waiting over a month.
I went and picked up the snow blade, (we had all summer to wait for it to come in)
I always felt guilty for screwing that poor man in Saginaw, he had been waiting longer than I. I must say it has been a hell of a tractor, its still running, its been retired to our cabin, Sears tried to do the part thing again but I found a dealer than has parts that are compatible. I do think it was build by Harley Davison, everything on it has fell off at least once! I even had the engine mount come loose but the tractor still went! I replaced the stock bolts with the ones with nylon in them and so far the engine is where it belongs!
I dont hate Sears I just choose not to deal with all the crap anymore. I hope they and Kmart will make a wonderful comeback.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by NS6Y_ on March 24, 2006
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Hey speaking of HORRIBLE service, I'm trying to order something from Universal Radio, and apparently they're actually Uncommunicative Radio, not shipping the item, not telling me dick unless I call them on the fone and I'm starting to disbelieve what they're telling me on the fone, this is a horrible way to do business, anyone else have any experiences good or bad, with UNIVERSAL RADIO?
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by AB2MH on March 25, 2006
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I don't buy anything from Sears anymore.
The last battery I bought was from Costco. Their return policy is the best.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KG6NJW on March 25, 2006
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I worked at Sears for a few months in 1969. Even then I couldn't understand why anyone would shop there. We sold mostly the same items that you could buy a mile or two down the road for quite a bit less. The only advantage to Sears was that Sears would let you buy on credit (in those days, most stores didn't accept credit cards). My manager flat told me "we don't want anyone paying cash - we make our money on credit, not selling products." One time I came into work and was given the job of ripping price tags off some items - it seems that a truck had accidentally delivered some items meant for White Front (remember them?) to us (White Front had a deal with the manufacturer that required the manufacturer to put the price stickers on). It was the exact same item that we sold, from the same manufacturer and off the same delivery truck, marked at about 20% less than the Sears price. In the 1990's I worked with a man who's wife sold appliances at Sears. Even though the store she worked at was one of the top sellers of appliances for Sears on the West Coast, Sears closed the store. Why? Because they were one of the lowest when it came to selling warranty plans - again, she was told "we make our money on warranties, not on selling products." I just heard on NPR recently that the credit industry in the US is now larger than the manufacturing industry, and I believe it. The US is now good at only two things: advertising, and creating phantom profits by manipulating stock prices.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by WB4TGT on March 25, 2006
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I USED TO WORK FOR SEARS, YES IT WAS THE GOOD DAYS WHEN SEARS HAD GOOD PRODUCTS MADE IN USA AND tools MADE OUT WEST.
TV WAS MADE BY RCA AND SWITCHED TO OTHER COMPANYS EVERY 3 YEARS , AS WELL AS OTHER PRODUCTS , WHO EVER GAVE THEM BEST DEAL ON THE AMOUNT SEARS WANTED OF EACH ITEM. AS FAR AS BATTERIES, THERES ONLY NOW 4 OR 5 COMPANYS THAT MAKE BATTERYS. HAVE YOU HEARD OF INTERSTATE FORD GM ALL USED SAME COMPANY BATTERYS,
SOME OF YOU TALKED ABOUT AUTO ZONE , I HEARD SAY BY THEY MR THEY SAYS A LOT WITH OUT MUCH PROOF. BUT THEN HERES MR THEY SAYING AUTO ZONE OR ADVANCE STore WAS OWNED BY SEARS. MAYBE LIKE THEIR ALL STATE WAS.
im wondering what would have happened if you took the battery in your hands and had them to check it. i used to sell batterys for sears and we had all kinds of problems with batterys.
most people buy a 16.00 battery to run a lincol or cad. weak weak
going to trade it , i heard so much going to trade my car so just give me this cheapie. i wanted to start a dealership. 10 months later same man same battery back for warranty.
so theres good and bad on both ends. too bad sears is making the dive,
AND ONE OTHER THING GETTING A JAP CAR????? GERMAN CAR. CHECK WHERE ALL YOPUR PARTS ARE MADE THAT GO INTO YOUR CAR. 65 PERCENT ARE FROM CANADA AND THEY GET THEM FROM GERMANY OR JAPAN
. CHECK IT OUT. OUR CARS ARE NOT AMERICAN ANYMORE.
TEXAS ISNT ALL TEXANS ANY MORE
HAHA
OHHH WELL NOT WATCH THE THREADS. NOW SOME BODY WRITE A THREAD ABOUT OUR RADIOS WE USE .
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by WB4TGT on March 25, 2006
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I USED TO WORK FOR SEARS, YES IT WAS THE GOOD DAYS WHEN SEARS HAD GOOD PRODUCTS MADE IN USA AND tools MADE OUT WEST.
TV WAS MADE BY RCA AND SWITCHED TO OTHER COMPANYS EVERY 3 YEARS , AS WELL AS OTHER PRODUCTS , WHO EVER GAVE THEM BEST DEAL ON THE AMOUNT SEARS WANTED OF EACH ITEM. AS FAR AS BATTERIES, THERES ONLY NOW 4 OR 5 COMPANYS THAT MAKE BATTERYS. HAVE YOU HEARD OF INTERSTATE FORD GM ALL USED SAME COMPANY BATTERYS,
SOME OF YOU TALKED ABOUT AUTO ZONE , I HEARD SAY BY THEY MR THEY SAYS A LOT WITH OUT MUCH PROOF. BUT THEN HERES MR THEY SAYING AUTO ZONE OR ADVANCE STore WAS OWNED BY SEARS. MAYBE LIKE THEIR ALL STATE WAS.
im wondering what would have happened if you took the battery in your hands and had them to check it. i used to sell batterys for sears and we had all kinds of problems with batterys.
most people buy a 16.00 battery to run a lincol or cad. weak weak
going to trade it , i heard so much going to trade my car so just give me this cheapie. i wanted to start a dealership. 10 months later same man same battery back for warranty.
so theres good and bad on both ends. too bad sears is making the dive,
AND ONE OTHER THING GETTING A JAP CAR????? GERMAN CAR. CHECK WHERE ALL YOPUR PARTS ARE MADE THAT GO INTO YOUR CAR. 65 PERCENT ARE FROM CANADA AND THEY GET THEM FROM GERMANY OR JAPAN
. CHECK IT OUT. OUR CARS ARE NOT AMERICAN ANYMORE.
TEXAS ISNT ALL TEXANS ANY MORE
HAHA
OHHH WELL NOT WATCH THE THREADS. NOW SOME BODY WRITE A THREAD ABOUT OUR RADIOS WE USE .
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KA3DRO on March 25, 2006
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I found that INTERSTATE makes asuperior product and costs less as well....... Sears is putting themselves out of business by acting this way. I stopped using them when I bought a 12 V screwdriver unit from them for $69 w/ 2 batteries and a charger..... a year later, the batteries failed to accept a charge and I returned the unit to see about the possibility of an exchange ( not satisfied with CRAFTSMAN PRODUCT) and/or get new batteries..... they denied the exchange because "with new batteries the unit would still operate".... so it had not failed..... and offered me a set of new batteries....... at $39.95 EACH........ almost $80 to fix a problem with a $69 item........ I left it at Customer Service along with my shredded Sears card.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by WB9YCJ on March 25, 2006
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"I worked with a mechanical Engineer several years back that had worked for Sears in a "Re-Engineering" group. What they would do is take a product (in my instance a GAF 35mm Projector) and "Re-engineer" it so that it would fail just after the warranty ran out."
Has this been done with commercially manufactured Ham gear ?
Ken
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by NS6Y_ on March 25, 2006
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YOU I'm with you there, this country needs to go through a Weimar collapse before there's any hope of some kind of regeneration of a real cultur, er, kultur, and country. Oop I mean und country.
It's coming like it or not.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K4JF on March 25, 2006
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"All my cars have been traded in with 100-150 K miles on them, and ten plus years of usable life. And that's city miles, not freeway miles. "
I buy American cars, routinely put 200-250K miles on them with no serious problems, and sell them with plenty of "go" left. The 2 I have now have 178k and 140k, respectively.
And, again, I like the more solid feel and "stick-to-the-road" handling. Don't care for front drive and flimsy feel.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KD5DFM on March 26, 2006
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face it soon we will have only walmart "the company store " to buy from and we have only ourselves to thank for that ;-) .
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K8CKW on March 26, 2006
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Autozone has the best battery. Sears has been known and taken to task in the past for selling used diehard's as new. Good luck and 73
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K8CKW on March 26, 2006
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That's to bad. A few years back Sears was in trouble for selling used Diehard batteries as new. Your proba bly better off with autozone.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K8CKW on March 26, 2006
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GM makes good cars. It is the health care cost of their employees that is killing them. And jump in fuel costs. Everybody loved the GM SUV's and other GM cars until the petro went up. Now everyone wants a teeny weeny gas sipper. Well, it won't last long. People are not getting any smaller. Just don't put my American flag on your Jap car.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KC2MMI on March 26, 2006
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Chris-
<<... a good car at a good price and PERFECT support, buy a Saturn. I hope that GM will not blow the one good thing ...>>
Sorry to say, Saturn is scheduled to shut down in 2008 already. No firm date but GM has stated the line never has made a profit and never has met sales expectations. The famous plastic body parts are already not on some models, "they cost too much". Bottom line is, GM is a business and Saturn hasn't been profitable. But back circa 1980 when they were discussing profit, they were going to SHUT DOWN one redundant division and UPDATE another. Instead they added Saturn, no shutdown. And then finally shut down Olds two decades later, for the same reason (redundant).
May the Gods bless America, where any amoral incompetent can rise to direct a megacorporation. But, corporations are after all "profit entities" and that is the inherent flaw in capitalism, that the folks who succeed at it will be concerned only with their own profits. (Kudos to the few that do more.)
Stockpile your Saturns, old model Saturns, while you can.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KB7YOU on March 26, 2006
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KC2MMI Wrote: Sorry to say, Saturn is scheduled to shut down in 2008 already.
Wow - I had not heard that. I'm trying to find more info now. Can you point to a reliable source for this information. I have to say I'm sorry to hear that.
How could they have kept Saturn running for so long if it never made a profit? They are not exactly the sexiest cars in the world but with the reliability and near-perfect service I figured they would do well. Guess my next car will come from Japan. Bummer.
73
Chris
KB7YOU
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by K4JF on March 26, 2006
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"KC2MMI Wrote: Sorry to say, Saturn is scheduled to shut down in 2008 already. "
Part of the problem is that they were overpriced (with their no-markdown foolishness). When my daughter finished college I helped her buy a car. She looked at Saturn, but a more solid, better performing, much better looking, more versatile Firebird was actually less street price. Sticker was higher, but Pontiac would negotiate while Saturn was take-it-or-leave it. She is still driving that '96 and it is doing great! (Yes, I know it's imported, but it's still GM.)
(Her husband got rid of his POS Saturn after numerous repair trips.)
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KC8VWM on March 26, 2006
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"Saturns never consistently beat their Japanese rivals in surveys performed by J.D. Power or Consumer Reports."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/01/business/saturn.php
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by K4JF on March 26, 2006
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"Saturns never consistently beat their Japanese rivals in surveys performed by J.D. Power or Consumer Reports."
But they DID cost a lot less.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by N6YVY on March 26, 2006
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Lets get one-thing straight guys in 1957 sears sold their first service agreement on a T.V. That’s when they found out they make more money on their service policies. If the salesperson does not sell the policy they cut his hours or give him the worst hours to work. So now do you think they care as long as you buy the policy. Now you your going to say I never buy them maybe you don’t. But the next 15 people in line will.
Lets say the sell 50 washer’s and the policy to go with it and one breaks down do you think it hurts them. They repair it or replace it. It's just good advertising.
Yes all they care about is money and service polices = money!!!
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by WPE9JRL on March 27, 2006
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Why would anyone be so concerned about an old-line, outdated retailer such as Sears. Sears doesn't need to be spanked by a bunch of vigalante hams, it just needs to be avoided.
Remember, Sears is the fine retailing establishent that bought K-Mart. They're both on the verge of bankruptcy for good reason....you're situation included.
The only people I see shopping in my Sears are folks over 50 years of age, the "true beleivers" that think Sears is still the friendly giant it was four decades ago and Mexicans who are familiar with the Sears branding.
Take the refund and go somewhere else.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by N1XHF on March 27, 2006
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Actually AD5TD it was your fault. The OCC in the begining of the year required all credit card companies to raise the min payments to at least 1% plus finance charges. And I agree even though you had automatic payments you should look at your statments. As for me I hate Sears with a passion. I bought an extended warranty on my fridge and low and behold it started having problems. It took the repair man 2 months to come fix it. Never again!
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by WB4TJH on March 27, 2006
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Searsucker and Krapmart...those are two entities whose finanacial demise I will celebrate. I used to love to shop at Sears, but now with their deceptive advertising, and ridiculous credit card interest rates,I no longer darken their doors. Last year, I bought a frozen turkey from Krapmart, and when we got it home and defrosted it, we found it was not only spoiled, but putrified. I called the manager of the store and he told me to bring it back, but I told him the thing was so rotten, I could not get near it...they would not refund my money without taking the rotten bird back...I sure was not going to drive back to the store with that thing in the car. You could not tell it was spoiled at the store, because of the way it was wrapped and frozen. Hell will freeze over 20 times in a row before I will EVER spend another cent at either store. Good Riddance.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by N1HLE on March 27, 2006
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sears need to close.i havent shopped at sears since 1990. i went in a store to buy some tools. when i asked the sales clerk about a price the response was "i dont have time" so i left and havent been back since
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by W4PC on March 27, 2006
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Of course, the info about Saturn is wrong
Here's the link to what the real deal is.
http://nashville.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2005/11/21/daily1.html
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by NS6Y_ on March 27, 2006
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I wanted to check out that "I'm A Ham Operator" song and share it around with a few people who'd probably get a real laugh out of it, but the link doesn't work, the home page doesn't work, nothing works.
Anyone have a good link (as in working) to it?
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by NS6Y_ on March 27, 2006
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Oh, and my most recent run-in with Sears, I went to Orchard Supply Hardware, owned by Sears, and it took 2 tries to get the right roll-away section for my toolbox.
The hairy hippie-in-training thought it was pretty funny! He's supposedly joining the Navy and will be a Navy SEAL, wait until he finds out that doesn't involve breakfast in bed and toast with the crusts trimmed off.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by AC7DX on March 27, 2006
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"Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties? Reply
by WIRELESS on March 22, 2006 Mail this to a friend!
At this point, I wouldn't buy anything from Sears. Even though you won't hear a peep from Kmart (who really owns Sears now), Sears is so close to going under, most retail industry analysts are just waiting for Sears to close down. Sears is not even close to what they used to be in sales. The only stuff I ever bought from them were batteries and power tools which now are all made in China. To get one tool to work I usually have to buy 2 or three. Sears is just another sad example of how American business lost its brain to run successful sales and service operations. Sears used to be the kind of store hams used to find handy stuff for general ham use.
GM is going to be next. Anybody that thinks a GM can't go out of business will learn the new American economy. I have bought 7 new GM cars but at this point, my next car will be Jap."
How about a Wop car, a chink car, a pollockmobile...
I thought that kinda crap (Jap) left a long time ago
:-((
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by AD5TD on March 27, 2006
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<<How about a Wop car, a chink car, a pollockmobile...
I thought that kinda crap (Jap) left a long time ago
:-((>>
There's a BIG difference between a Racial slur (Jap) and an abbreviation (Jap.)
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K9HDT on March 27, 2006
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Sears their not to blame. You got your money back and thats what matters. Go someplace else, give them your money. I'll bet they will take it.
Remember your an A-1 Operator, thats all that matters.
Bitch, Bitch , Bitch. Whine ,whine Whine, but i got me a radio!! YaHoo!!!
Just my take
Bye-Bye
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by W5TZ on March 28, 2006
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Maybe you should try the "Interstate" brand. I use a pair of "SIX PACK" batteries and they have yet to fail me. I am running an inverter 2KW 4kwpeak and a ham station with a 200W homebrew amp. Interstate never refused a trade out but quit needing to do this since the sixpack came out.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K2WH on March 28, 2006
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"March 22nd, 2006
Sears National Customer Relations
3333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179
Dear Sears:
Attached is a recent posting to a very popular ham radio website. I was shocked to have learned this! The ham operator makes a very good point that todays kids with their boom-boxes, amps, DVD players and other accessories draw FAR more amperage off of a vehicle battery than todays amateur radio equipment.
If this policy has become national policy for Sears, I have no other alternative than to drop Sears and our promotion of Diehard batteries at our own website, and other affiliated websites, as well as inside our free informational material. I am afraid Sears fails to understand that amateur radio operators give Sears a tremendous amount of business. Not only do many of us rely on the Diehard for our vehicles, BUT also to use in our amateur radio repeater back-up systems, our own personal ham station battery back-up systems and for national Field Day use. (See attached Field Day promo from the ARRL.)
I use Diehards as my PRIMARY POWER SOURCE for my amateur radio operations. But if this is your new policy, I am afraid I will join Steve and take my business, along with my business recommendations, to Auto Zone.
Sincerely;
William (Bill) E. Lauterbach, Jr.
Amateur Radio Operator - WA8MEA"
This is so dumb. Batteries are batteries and I'll bet when they receive your letter, they will shake in their boots. You make it sound like Hams are the majority buyers of Die Hard Batteries _ NOT.
Then someone at Sears will say: "Whats a ham radio"?
K2WH
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by AD5TD on March 28, 2006
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<<This is so dumb. Batteries are batteries and I'll bet when they receive your letter, they will shake in their boots. You make it sound like Hams are the majority buyers of Die Hard Batteries _ NOT.
Then someone at Sears will say: "Whats a ham radio"?
K2WH >>
So we just do nothing and let it keep on like it is? It's attitudes like yours that keep the crap coming. If I get a bad meal at a resturant, my wife says "don't say anything, it's rude". WELL HOW THE HELL ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO CORRECT IT IF THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WRONG!
"I'm tired as HELL and I'm not going to take it anymore!"
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KB8PMD on March 28, 2006
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There was a time when (I'm 54 years-old) you could walk into a Western Auto or Sears and find a salesperson who was knowlegeble about the products they sold and serviced as well return policies - that does not exist anymore. There are very few product seminars to instruct salespersons on a product or features, you are pretty much on your own - and given the quality of clerks nowadays, much better for it. WalMart is a good example - when products are returned defective, a teenager in the Electronics or some other department looks it over for scratches or dents - may turn the device on, but then repacks it, and puts it back on the shelf - very few are taken to the backroom for repair. If you are an employee, its much worse, there was an hourly worker who said he bought a 26" Philips Color Tv, brought it home and found it DOA. So he asked the best way to get service or return for replacement. Seems the manager told the worker they won't take the set back for employees. So the individual called Philips service and they talked to the store manager to take the set back and give him another one - no dice. Philips threw its hands up in disgust, and delivered it to the employees' home and set it up. Understand the fellows' anger, but an employee usually gets no satisfaction in the big box stores. By the way, Consumer Reports did a recent test on auto batteries - NAPA and Duralast at AutoZone came up first for heavy duty service. EverStart at WalMark got good marks - but beware, they don't "trickle-charge" their batteries (at least in stores that don't have an auto center) so they get a lot of returns!
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by K2WH on March 28, 2006
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<<This is so dumb. Batteries are batteries and I'll bet when they receive your letter, they will shake in their boots. You make it sound like Hams are the majority buyers of Die Hard Batteries _ NOT.
Then someone at Sears will say: "Whats a ham radio"?
K2WH >>
So we just do nothing and let it keep on like it is? It's attitudes like yours that keep the crap coming. If I get a bad meal at a resturant, my wife says "don't say anything, it's rude". WELL HOW THE HELL ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO CORRECT IT IF THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WRONG!
"I'm tired as HELL and I'm not going to take it anymore!"
Why does the health of Sears make you into a raving maniac? Your comment "do nothing and let it keep on like it is?" left me scratching my head. The people at Sears don't care, they are no longer in power and selling batteries is not important. K-Mart will make the decisions from now on. Let Sears die.
K2WH
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by K4JF on March 28, 2006
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"Remember, Sears is the fine retailing establishent that bought K-Mart."
Nope, other way around. K-Mart (actually Kresge Corp.) bought Sears.
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by W0SCB on March 28, 2006
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Wow, what a thread, over Sears. Ok, K-mart and sears merged, Kmart was bankrupt and Sears bought some of their locations trying to get away from being Mall centric and copy the Walmart standalone model. Kmarts stock went up like crazy with thte lowered debt, new CEo and rumor's of Sears purchasing them, and the market cap's reversed so it appears that Kmart bought Sears, but in a pure stock swap, it's more of a merger than a purchase.
Your problem was the manager, which unfortunately represents general retail, we all have horror stories and wonderful ones from all of the large chains. It gets down to the individuals you deal with AND how you deal with them.
JC lost the contract and now has some of it back.
Their craftsman tools aren't Sanp-on or MAC, but for the money and guarantee they are hard to beat and much more available.
Their appliances were Kenmore, all Whirlpools, have been GE, Amana, White Consolidated and whirlpool, by whoever is cheaper for about 13 years now. They're no better or worse than anyone else's But they still are the only nationwide all brand service, which if you get a bad tech can stink or if you get a good one can be great.
They are not in the credit business and haven't been for a while now. Citi bought the portfolio almost 2 years ago.
C'mon guys less opinions and anecdotes, more facts. Nothing is black and white, your vantage point needs to be clear for a complete picture. That rarely occurs when our vision is blinded by emotional responses. That and you usually get screwed when your are in that state.
73's
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KD6NIG on March 29, 2006
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Not a shock to read anything I'm reading here.
Incident 1: My dad takes his Ford Bronco II to Sears to get the tires rotated. I was 15 at the time, was a rainy day-they told him it would take about an hour and a half. We killed the time in the mall. After checking in, we went to the truck, where I proceeded to mark each of the filthy (we lived in the hills and had driven through some famous California sand on the way) front wheels. My dad laughed at me.
We returned a hour and 45 mins later and were told that it would be another 10 mins. We waited. After that, my dad signed the form and we headed out to the truck. Which was parked in the exact same space we left it in, with the marks on the bottom of each rim in the same position. In fact, it had never been moved as the wipers were in the exact same position also!
My dad went in and complained. The manager claimed they had done the service. My dad led them outside and asked the manager to explain how 1) the marks were in the same place and 2) How dirty rims could not have a single fingermark on them from being moved about (ie, off the truck and swapped to the rear and front as would have had to occur). The manager stood there, speechless.
My Dad said "forget it" (was a free rotation since he had got the tires from Sears) and tossed the reciept at them, and drove down the street to a new tire place, Les Schwab. They rotated his tires for free (though they wern't his) after hearing the story.
He has bought every set of tires from them ever since.
Incident 2: My Dad bought a generator from them. Upon delivery he had a double pole switch installed (to disconnect from mains to connect to generator). Electrician installed it, he hooked up the generator, nothing.
They sent out no less than FIVE different people. They replaced everything in the genset except for one little electronic circuit board. The 5th technician threw in the towel and told sears to send another. Took my dad 3 months (plus about 5 irate phone calls) to finally have the new one delivered. When they delievered it, he asked them if they were taking the old one, and was told "no, it doesn't work, just haul it off to the dump."
The second one worked fine and works fine to this day.
The first one? He took it to a local shop and had them look at it. Control board was identified as the problem and was fixed the SAME DAY (they happened to have it in stock, though they were a small shop in a rural area). He turned around and sold it (and the extra parts that had been removed from it and 'replaced' before) for $300 less than he paid for it.
With that, he paid off the sears card and shredded it. I don't think he's set foot in one since. The local "catalog store" closed about a month after he went there to place the order for the generator, so he would have to go 2+ hours to get to one now anyway.
I haven't set foot in one since the first incident. I stick with Les Schwab like my dad for tires (and they now have a local outlet in Stockton finally!) and I have yet to purchase a generator or really have a need for one, but when I do, I know where I'm NOT going.....
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by AD5TD on March 29, 2006
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The Story of Lexus
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interesting read that I "borrowed" from k3vo over at my.is:
An interesting excerpt from an upcoming book:
Automotive News / March 27, 2006 - 6:00 am
In this excerpt from their new book, Satisfaction: How Every Great Company Listens to the Voice of the Customer, Chris Denove and James D. Power IV, son of the founder of J.D. Power and Associates, detail how Lexus established itself as a leader in customer satisfaction among car buyers.
Sending a message from the top
The year was 1987 and the domestic automakers had finally resigned themselves to the fact that the Japanese were here to stay. What began as a trend in California and was perceived as consumers' knee-jerk response to the gasoline shortages of the '70s had taken root across the country. To the domestic automakers' dismay, even after gas prices stabilized, cars such as the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla continued to gain share not only on the West Coast, but also in small Midwestern towns that traditionally bought American.
Although the loss of share was daunting, the domestic automakers believed their problem was self-limiting. "Okay," they thought, "Americans may have fallen in love with small economy cars from Japan, but the Japanese will never be able to sell a large car in this country." And this was a comforting thought, because small cars were a loss leader for domestic automakers. Their real profits came from the larger, option-laden vehicles, which they felt were immune from Japanese attack. And so the executives from the Big Three went to bed at night content that although they may be losing the battle for small cars, they would still win the war for corporate profits and market dominance in the end.
Halfway across the globe, executives at the European automakers were even less concerned about America's growing acceptance of Japanese vehicles. After all, with the exception of Volkswagen, the Europeans didn't even sell small cars in America. They didn't even sell large cars, for that matter. They sold luxury vehicles. And a luxury vehicle isn't just defined by its size; it exists because of its brand cachet -- something that no Japanese automaker could deliver, or so they thought.
So you can only imagine the reaction on both sides of the pond when, on August 24, 1987, Toyota announced the unthinkable. It would create Lexus, an entirely new division dedicated to building and selling what they said would be the best luxury vehicles in the world. You could almost hear the laughter filtering down from corporate towers in Detroit and Stuttgart, "An office worker may pay $10,000 for a Toyota to get back and forth to work, but there is no way a doctor or a lawyer is going to plunk down $40,000 for a Toyota, even if you give it a fancy name like Lexus."
Toyota was undaunted. It set out to redefine luxury beyond the traditional attributes of leather trim and a powerful engine. To Lexus, luxury would be defined by the total ownership experience, including a defect-free vehicle coupled with great dealer service.
Development progressed quickly, and in September 1989 Lexus delivered its first vehicles into the waiting hands of customers. Its flagship vehicle, the LS 400, carried a list price of just under $40,000. By comparison, a fully loaded Mercedes S-Type sold for nearly twice that amount. That's okay, Mercedes thought; Lexus needs that price advantage to make up for the stigma of driving a glorified Toyota.
Small glitch
The cars sold well initially, but a few months into the program the one thing happened that Lexus feared most, and that executives at competing car companies secretly dreamed: the cars began to experience a problem. We're not talking about a stuck-on-the-freeway type of problem, but just a little crack in the armor that Lexus knew could snowball into a deluge of bad press for a company trying to establish itself under the eye of a microscope. It seems that two customers in different parts of the country complained about a glitch in their cruise control.
Lexus faced a decision. After all, it was only two cars, and thankfully this particular cruise control glitch didn't pose a safety issue. It could quietly fix those two cars and wait to see whether others surfaced with similar problems. Or it could issue a recall and let the world know that Lexus engineers were human after all. To those we interviewed for this book, the decision was simple. Since Lexus was counting on its dealers to deliver a level of service head and shoulders above that of any other automotive brand, Lexus needed to take the high road and set an example, one that is still talked about among automotive insiders today.
Big fix
So, just a few months out of the gate, Lexus recalled every LS 400 it had sold. They made this decision knowing full well that competitors like Mercedes, BMW, and GM were just waiting for the company to stumble, ready to pounce on every miscue. They could almost hear the cheering from Stuttgart and Detroit at the misfortune of this early recall. They knew competitors would use the recall to proclaim that Japanese automakers need to learn their place, stick to selling small economy cars, and let the more established manufacturers cater to the world's automotive elite.
But remember, Lexus set out from the beginning to redefine the meaning of luxury. They realized that this recall provided them with an opportunity to really show the world that they were dealing with an entirely new kind of car company, a company that didn't just talk customer satisfaction, it lived it. So, when Lexus owners received their recall notices, they were in for a surprise. The notices not only included a detailed apology letter, but owners were advised that their dealer would come to their homes, pick up the car, and leave them a loaner car free of charge while the repair was made. Every car was returned to the owner washed, detailed, and with a full tank of gas.
There was even a gift sitting on the driver's seat as thanks for their patience.
And when a customer lived beyond the normal range of a Lexus dealership, the company's field personnel took it upon themselves to drive to the home, break out their tools, and fix the problem right there in the customer's own garage. In at least one case this meant getting on a plane and flying a technician to Alaska to fix a customer's car, because Lexus didn't yet have any dealers outside the continental United States.
For all practical purposes, we believe this recall marked the day that Lexus was truly born, and not the day it sold its first car. This is because the recall was the day that Lexus showed the world what it really meant to be customer-focused.
Putting teeth in the platitudes
Lexus's story is important because it provides one of those rare examples in which a company eschews an inexpensive short-term solution to a problem in favor of a more costly but permanent fix. When Lexus recalled every LS 400 it had sold, it told the world it wasn't just saying it planned to be the best; it lived it, and backed up the claim from the top all the way down to the technicians who drove out to customers' homes. Remember, Lexus was in no way legally, or even morally, obligated to issue this recall. They did it simply because they felt it was in the best interest of their customers.
Let's face it. Every company says that customer satisfaction is a paramount goal. Countless CEOs begin their speeches or their annual report letters by declaring: "We've built our company around the philosophy that we will do absolutely everything possible to satisfy our customers." If you feel as if you've heard all of this before, you have. Corporate America has embraced the verbiage as a mantra over the past decade.
In truth, talk is cheap, particularly when it comes to customer satisfaction, a concept that companies and their advertising agencies increasingly believe is on sale to the highest bidder. Claims of love affairs with customers have become such common chatter in business that most employees, managers, and customers themselves don't even hear it anymore. We intend to be more than a bit exclusionary in our discussion. We want to talk about the companies that really mean it!
Reprinted from Satisfaction by Chris Denove and James D. Power IV by arrangement with Portfolio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., Copyright © J.D. Power and Associates, 2006.
Link: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.d...27/SUB/60322012
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by W7YDA on March 29, 2006
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I think you're off base. Seems to me Sears offered the honorable thing considering their view of all your equipment. Couldn't they have just said "no refund", etc? since you violated the warranty?
Personally after my last Diehard failed prematurely on the Cummins Diesel, I switched to Interstate Batteries and have been completely happy. I plan to stay with them.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by AD7DB on March 31, 2006
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The rule about tools at Sears is: buy it, use it, take it back to exchange it for a new one after you've used it so it'll be ready for the next time you need it.
SEARS: Shady Ethics Auto Repair Service. They used to try to hawk car repairs that you didn't need.
Thank God for their competition.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K4JF on April 1, 2006
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"Why would anyone be so concerned about an old-line, outdated retailer such as Sears."
And in what way are they any different from any other retailer? Answer: no way. Same thing different package. Old-line? Only because the name is not new. No retailer is any different from today's Sears. None of them have a clue about customer service, and none of them teach their help what the products are, or how to serve customers. Wal-Mart? Same thing, just more junky stuff.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KC8RJS on April 1, 2006
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Really Sounds like a snobbish Store Manager, but for the money you'll spend for a DieHard you would be better off to go to a Car Audio Shop, or if you feel a little funny going there try Parts Express or Advance Auto Parts they sell the Optima Spiralcell Batteries that are extremly versatil and handle exteme current discharges I dont run very powerful Car Audio Equipment in my car or 100 HF mobile either but if you're the kind that has alot of accesories and draws a lot of power especaily rovers sitting stationary with the engine off this is the Battery for you.
And GM I doubt it will go totally belly up but this should really get Americans to stop thinking our lifestyles cant be affected by downsizing and closures, and that everyone needs to give a little. Heck Id love to be getting paid 25 35 or 60 dollars and hour who wouldn't, just need to make sure youre not living outside of realistic means.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by N6AYJ on April 2, 2006
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The URL for my website containing the musical ham radio parodies is: www.hamjamming.com. Click on the ugly guy's picture that says "audio files" N6AYJ
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K7BAB on April 4, 2006
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Historically, I have always had good experiences with Sears. I have found their hand and power tools to be good and I have never had any problems with warranty service. I recently bought a Die Hard, as I felt (based on positive reviews) it was a superior battery: I immediately noted faster engine cranking at start up. The battery that I replaced was an Auto Zone that was a little over two years old.
The point is to read the warranty, first. I believe that a deep discharge constitutes abuse. The function of the battery is to start the vehicle and to briefly supply current at engine idle.
The 20 amps that the rig draws on xmit is about 1/3 to ¼ of the capacity of the alternator. In days of old, the generator would have three relays in the “regulator,” voltage regulation, current regulation, and low voltage (reverse current flow) cutout. Alternators only has a voltage regulator, hence the alternator will put out as many amps (until it overheats or a diode blows) to maintain a constant voltage. We now have two instances of abuse: battery and alternator.
I recall mobile hams having two batteries, the second being in the trunk. They would replace the stock alternator with a 100 amp Leeche Neville unit. I imagine that one could purchase a police/taxi alternator to supply more current.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by AD5TD on April 4, 2006
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If your car has electric windows, power seats and locks, plus AC, you have a high amp alternator my Exploder had a 140 amp unit.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KD5BFE on April 5, 2006
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So, basically, you abused your battery, went back to the store expecting a free replacement, and were offended when the manager gave you your money back and said you were abusing the battery. Hmmm. Seems to me you're ahead the price of one battery.
Maybe you should think about a proper battery and charging setup for your truck and radio equipment instead of bashing a company that gave you your money back without a fight. Try an Optima deep-cycle for powering your rig--they sell them at Sears too!
BTW, I am a part-time Sears employee, and quite honestly some of the discussion on this page makes me want to vomit. I work at Sears because I worked my way through law school there and now it's my credit-card-payoff job. I come around this forum about once a month and this is why I don't come around every day. People bashing, bitching, and moaning about everything under the sun. Most of the complainers I've seen are from the same kind of people I deal with every damn day at work--people who want something for nothing:
"Oh, you should have TOLD me I couldn't stuff 40 towels in my washer? I still expect you to fix it or I'm calling 'Call for Action'"
"I need to call out service? Weeelll, who's going to pay for the time I'M taking off work to get my 10-year-old refrigerator fixed?"
"Extended warranty? Pshaw. Those are f--ing ripoffs!"
"You will call me ma'am. I am not your peer."
"What do you mean you don't have it in stock for another couple of days? Didn't you say it's the most popular washer in the country?"
"Here's my Sears card statement. As you can see, I've purchased around $100,000 worth of stuff from YOU over the last 40 years. How about giving me that water heater for half off and free installation?"
"You're supposed to put oil in the lawn mower before using it? YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THAT! I would never have mowed my lawn 5 times if I'd known that!"
"Um, yeah, it broke when I was PLASMA CUTTING a screw off of my firewall" *drops a burned screwdriver on the counter* "Give me a new one."
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by AD5TD on April 5, 2006
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by KD5BFE on April 5, 2006 Mail this to a friend!
So, basically, you abused your battery,
NO YOU SAID THAT, HE DID'NT.
I HAVE THE SAME SETUP WITH A SMALLER BATT AND I HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS IN 6 MONTHS.
Maybe you should think about a proper battery and charging setup for your truck and radio equipment instead of bashing a company that gave you your money back without a fight. Try an Optima deep-cycle for powering your rig--they sell them at Sears too!
YOU DON'T NEED AN EXTRA BATTERY IN YOUR CAR FOR A STANDARD 100 WATT RIG UNLESS YOU DO A LOT OF QSO'S WITH THE MOTOR OFF.
BTW, I am a part-time Sears employee, and quite honestly some of the discussion on this page makes me want to vomit.
IF SHOULD, I WANT TO VOMIT EVERY TIME I LOOK AT A SEARS STORE.
I work at Sears because I worked my way through law school there and now it's my credit-card-payoff job.
HAVEN'T PASSED THE BAR YET?
I come around this forum about once a month and this is why I don't come around every day. People bashing, bitching, and moaning about everything under the sun. Most of the complainers I've seen are from the same kind of people I deal with every damn day at work--people who want something for nothing:
"Oh, you should have TOLD me I couldn't stuff 40 towels in my washer? I still expect you to fix it or I'm calling 'Call for Action'"
I FILL MINE TO THE RIM EVERY DAY, NO PROBLEMS IN 5 YEARS.
"I need to call out service? Weeelll, who's going to pay for the time I'M taking off work to get my 10-year-old refrigerator fixed?"
WE'LL HAVE SOMEONE OVER BETWEEN 8:00AM AND 6:00PM. I REST MY CASE.
"Extended warranty? Pshaw. Those are f--ing ripoffs!"
SO TRUE, THE LAST TIME SOMEONE TRIED TO SELL ME ONE, MY WIFE TOLD THEM:"IF MY WASHER BREAKS DOWN WITHIN 3 YEARS, I'LL NEVER BUY ANOTHER FROM YOU". 30 YEARS AGO, MAJOR APPLIANCES WERE DESIGNED TO LAST AT LEAST 10 TO 15 YEARS. NOT TODAY!
"You will call me ma'am. I am not your peer."
YOUR NOT, PERIOD. YOU ARE IN SALES, SHE PAYS YOUR SALARY.
"What do you mean you don't have it in stock for another couple of days? Didn't you say it's the most popular washer in the country?"
NO COMMENT NEEDED.
"Here's my Sears card statement. As you can see, I've purchased around $100,000 worth of stuff from YOU over the last 40 years. How about giving me that water heater for half off and free installation?"
I'LL GIVE YOU THIS ONE, LOL!
"You're supposed to put oil in the lawn mower before using it? YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THAT! I would never have mowed my lawn 5 times if I'd known that!"
THIS ONE TOO, HOWEVER, I HAVE NEVER BOUGHT A MOWER THAT DIDN'T HAVE OIL IN IT ALREADY.
"Um, yeah, it broke when I was PLASMA CUTTING a screw off of my firewall" *drops a burned screwdriver on the counter* "Give me a new one."
THIS IS A NEW ONE ON ME! ROFL!
ALL THE MAN WANTED WAS TO LEAVE WITH A GOOD BATTERY IN HIS TRUCK, THEY BASICALY TOLD HIM TO GO ELSEWHERE, WE DON'T WANT YOUR BUISINESS.
PS: Sorry about the caps, they don't have bold type here.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KD5BFE on April 6, 2006
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"So, basically, you abused your battery,
NO YOU SAID THAT, HE DID'NT.
I HAVE THE SAME SETUP WITH A SMALLER BATT AND I HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS IN 6 MONTHS.
Maybe you should think about a proper battery and charging setup for your truck and radio equipment instead of bashing a company that gave you your money back without a fight. Try an Optima deep-cycle for powering your rig--they sell them at Sears too!
YOU DON'T NEED AN EXTRA BATTERY IN YOUR CAR FOR A STANDARD 100 WATT RIG UNLESS YOU DO A LOT OF QSO'S WITH THE MOTOR OFF.
BTW, I am a part-time Sears employee, and quite honestly some of the discussion on this page makes me want to vomit.
IF SHOULD, I WANT TO VOMIT EVERY TIME I LOOK AT A SEARS STORE.
I work at Sears because I worked my way through law school there and now it's my credit-card-payoff job.
HAVEN'T PASSED THE BAR YET?
I come around this forum about once a month and this is why I don't come around every day. People bashing, bitching, and moaning about everything under the sun. Most of the complainers I've seen are from the same kind of people I deal with every damn day at work--people who want something for nothing:
"Oh, you should have TOLD me I couldn't stuff 40 towels in my washer? I still expect you to fix it or I'm calling 'Call for Action'"
I FILL MINE TO THE RIM EVERY DAY, NO PROBLEMS IN 5 YEARS.
"I need to call out service? Weeelll, who's going to pay for the time I'M taking off work to get my 10-year-old refrigerator fixed?"
WE'LL HAVE SOMEONE OVER BETWEEN 8:00AM AND 6:00PM. I REST MY CASE.
"Extended warranty? Pshaw. Those are f--ing ripoffs!"
SO TRUE, THE LAST TIME SOMEONE TRIED TO SELL ME ONE, MY WIFE TOLD THEM:"IF MY WASHER BREAKS DOWN WITHIN 3 YEARS, I'LL NEVER BUY ANOTHER FROM YOU". 30 YEARS AGO, MAJOR APPLIANCES WERE DESIGNED TO LAST AT LEAST 10 TO 15 YEARS. NOT TODAY!
"You will call me ma'am. I am not your peer."
YOUR NOT, PERIOD. YOU ARE IN SALES, SHE PAYS YOUR SALARY.
"What do you mean you don't have it in stock for another couple of days? Didn't you say it's the most popular washer in the country?"
NO COMMENT NEEDED.
"Here's my Sears card statement. As you can see, I've purchased around $100,000 worth of stuff from YOU over the last 40 years. How about giving me that water heater for half off and free installation?"
I'LL GIVE YOU THIS ONE, LOL!
"You're supposed to put oil in the lawn mower before using it? YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THAT! I would never have mowed my lawn 5 times if I'd known that!"
THIS ONE TOO, HOWEVER, I HAVE NEVER BOUGHT A MOWER THAT DIDN'T HAVE OIL IN IT ALREADY.
"Um, yeah, it broke when I was PLASMA CUTTING a screw off of my firewall" *drops a burned screwdriver on the counter* "Give me a new one."
THIS IS A NEW ONE ON ME! ROFL!
ALL THE MAN WANTED WAS TO LEAVE WITH A GOOD BATTERY IN HIS TRUCK, THEY BASICALY TOLD HIM TO GO ELSEWHERE, WE DON'T WANT YOUR BUISINESS.
PS: Sorry about the caps, they don't have bold type here."
They certainly don't have a spell checker either.
I forgot to mention that the other great thing about this place is the fact that if you actually stand up for something, there's always another classless lid who's going to attack you personally over it. Your cracks about passing the bar exam and being a salesperson aren't even worthy of a response. All I have to say to you is thank you for proving my point.
FYI--the starting salary for most first-year lawyers is around $35,000. I get a little less than that. Figure in a car payment, rent, food, and the payment on $137,000 in student loans, and you'll see pretty quickly that it's not all the caviar and Cadillacs everyone thinks it is.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by AD5TD on April 7, 2006
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"They certainly don't have a spell checker either."
Interesting, the only misspelled words according to MS Word AND Google spell check were yours...
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KB7XU on April 8, 2006
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This is the thread that never ends,
Yes, it goes on and on my freinds.
Some people started writing it, not knowing what it was-
And they'll continue writing it forever just because....
This is the thread that never ends,
Yes, it goes on and on my freinds.
Some people started writing it, not knowing what it was-
And they'll continue writing it forever just because....
This is the thread that never ends,
Yes, it goes on and on my freinds.
Some people started writing it, not knowing what it was-
And they'll continue writing it forever just because....
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by K1CJS on April 9, 2006
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"If your car has electric windows, power seats and locks, plus AC, you have a high amp alternator my Exploder had a 140 amp unit."
It depends on the package that was bought with the vehicle--the Merc I have has all those things and yet still has a standard 65 amp alternator in it. Your 'Exploder' probably has other items in it such as a courtesy light package and provisions for extra non standard accessories--which would be as expected on an SUV.
When you order a vehicle new from a dealer, the upgrade to a higher amperage alternator either automatically happens when you order power consuming accessories or happens because you specify you require the higher amperage unit. Otherwise you get the standard for the vehicle you are ordering. Just recently have the automakers started providing a standard 90 or 100 amp alternator with new autos--because of all the added 'now standard' accessories we have become accustomed to having. SUVs have the higher amperage unit already because of the nature of the vehicle--Sport UTILITY vehicle.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by NV8A on April 9, 2006
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I think our 2nd car still has a Sears battery in it, but I've never had to claim from them on a battery warranty.
The marine deep-cycle battery I bought from Sam's Club died a week or so short of the 100% warranty, so I took it back. They didn't check it in any way, but gave me a new battery with a whole new warranty (i.e., not with the start date backdated to when I bought the original one).
The gripes I do have with Sears concern
(1) our Kenmore clothes drier. When they delivered it, they unpacked it at the back of the truck out on the street and took away the shipping braces (which the manual tells the owner to put away carefully in case the drier needs to be moved. When moving time came, I called Sears, who told me that they never leave the shipping braces with the customer, so I had to buy a set and pay s&h for them.
(2) the only "official" way to get replacement filters for our Kenmore microwave is to order them (for an outrageous price) and have them shipped. The stores don't sell them, and even our nearest Parts and Service Center (which is at least a half-hour drive away anyway) doesn't sell them. I found them on line at the Best Buy site for less than half Sears' price, and I can get four shipped for the same price as one.
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Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KD5PCK on April 10, 2006
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Wouldn't it just be a hoot if one day this manager was stranded on the side of the road, in the rain. Possibly due to a dead battery.
A ham arrives on the scene and immediately notices the Sears name tag on the manage. After all, he was on his way home from a hard day of selling useless batteries and extended warranties. He was all excited to be starting his two week vacation.
The ham says that he would normally offer to jump start the manager's vehicle or bring him to the nearest service station. It's in the ham radio operators' nature to help in times of need. Do service stations still exist??
I digress...
But the ham's response is instead," I would like to help you out, but with all this radio gear in my car, I don't think it can handle the extra load of jumping your battery or hauling your butt anywhere."
As the ham drives away, he yells out the window," Hope that battery is still in warranty!".
Poetic justice?
Could happen?
Or... how about this...
Manager is on the side of the road with a dead battery. Let's call him Fred. The road is here in southeast Louisiana, it's August, and about 3pm. Humidity is 100% and the heat index is past hot- it's now to the point of being Sahara hot!
Fred thinks to himself,"No problem. I am only about a mile from the nearest Sears. I'll just carry the battery there and swap it out since it's only a month old."
So Fred begins his walk in the sweltering heat with his 50 lb. battery. Arrives at the Sears Automotive Center looking like he just stepped out of a pool because he is so soaked with sweat.
He explains his situation to the local Sears manager, let's call him Frank. Frank, having read about Fred on this website, states to him that he will treat him the same as Fred treats his customers. Having said that, Frank reaches in the register and returns Fred's money for the purchase of the battery. Leaving Fred with a broken down car, no battery to place back in the car, and no ride back to where he left his car.
"Don't fret", says Frank, "AutoZone is only about two miles up the street. They have the exact same batteries alot cheaper, and with a better warranty".
Could happen...
Time for me to jump back to reality...
'73
Scott
KD5PCK
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OT - The Truth About Saturn
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by WB8NUT on April 11, 2006
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Saturn is not shutting down. GM is shutting down the Spring Hill Plant. Read the entire article. Four new models coming to Saturn line-up.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/02/business/02saturn.html?ei=5088&en=dc12f586fa9f532f&ex=1291179600&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=all
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RE: OT - The Truth About Saturn
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by KC2MMI on April 11, 2006
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Guys. "GM is shutting down the Spring Hill Plant. Read the entire article." Actually, they are not shutting down that plant. They are shutting down 1 of the 2 lines in that plant. Those are the only "Saturn only" lines in any plant, so they are shutting down 50% of Saturn's exclusive production capacity. Yes, there are other rebaged products in other lines--but they aren't "Saturn" as it was intended. "Four new models coming to Saturn line-up" Yes, and they are shared or rebadged. Like the Australian Holden sold under a Pontiac name.
I said GM was talking about (planning to) shutting down Saturn and someone distorted that. I never said there was a shut-down date, just that GM was planning to shut it down very likely in 2008. GM execs have continued to discuss this OPTION. It is not graven in stone. But Saturn, as they planned and intended it, has never made a profit. And if they can't figure out a way to make it into a profitable part of GM during the "bankruptcy prevention" that is going on now, they have and are considering shutting it down.
No, there is no formal shut-down date or plan (at least not disclosed) but the option is on the table. They're selling off GMAC (their only positive cashflow) in order to raise cash to bail out GM itself. Don't be surprised if they dump the losers along the way. Instead of shutting Saturn, who knows, they could just as well sell it to the Koreans or Chinese--who are coming online and selling cars into the US market via Puerto Rico next year.
But for the ultimate profit of GM? The simplest thing will be to shut it down and sell it, unless they can find a way to make it profitable. They killed Olds for less.
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RE: OT - The Truth About Saturn
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by KD5BFE on April 11, 2006
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I doubt they'll actually shut down the Saturn division for a while. You'll see Pontiac and Buick go before Saturn. The thing Saturn has going for it is the fact that it's one of the GM divisions that has any kind of customer loyalty and actually does well selling CARS. None of the car-only divisions at GM have made a profit in years, but only Saturn, Saab, and Cadillac have any kind of respectable brand loyalty from their customers. Pontiac is dying a slow, painful, Olds-style death and Buick is in serious trouble because the "Buick generation" is trading their LeSabres for Avalons instead of Lucernes. Chevrolet cars are now pretty much known as the rental-cars du jour, with the exception of the NASCAR-wannabe's dream, the Monte Carlo, and my personal ride, the new HHR.
Saturn's problem has been the fact that they haven't had an appealing vehicle for consumers to upgrade into out of the ION/S line. They had the L series, which was actually somehow more bland than a Camry and didn't sell well. The VUE has always sold very well and will continue production in Spring Hill. The new AURA sedan, which is being built at my Dad's plant in Kansas City, is apparently a Passat-killer. Basically an American-built version of the Saab 9-3 with a more up-to-date exterior and more ergonomic interior. The SKY roadster could dominate the Miata if they can ever get production increased.
I'd be willing to bet that RELAY will go away when the rest of the GM-Doraville minivans die in '08 and the new VUE comes out. Minivans are dead, at least for another 10 years.
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RE: Sears No Longer Honoring Battery Warranties?
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by KB7XU on June 10, 2006
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For whatever it's worth, I just replaced an Interstate battery that finally died after 5 years, 4 months of service. That's pretty good considering the Arizona summers it survived.
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