Note to Eddie Lampert: It’s the management, stupid

Lampert, along with all of the other big players investing in Sears, is not worrying too much about the retailing side of SHLD. Why else would some investors, notorious for staying away from retail, invest in the company? Think Berkshire Hathaway. Once a textile company, Buffett realized that side of the company was far gone, and turned it into an investment vehicle… Enter Ed Lampert and Sears.

Sears has the potential to capture the appliance and tools market from LOWES and Circuit City because thier great sales personel and service reputation.
They need to exploit that fact

The new ceo needs to gut the “old school” management teams that for the most part reside two levels below the ceo. Many still hold decades old approaches to the business and are only concerned with their “bonus checks” the leaders I have refered to run critical components of the operation and are just hanging on. Its great to be a legacy Kmart Sears exec but “A level” talent flees when this group of “experienced” execs waffle. John Walden,CMO and many other Human Resources and Operations execs that have left are great examples.. Sell sell sell

It seems that generally SERVICE is a past hope. We hope for good service and mostly get more ads thrown at us touting good service.It seems that good service fails us when the Suits (managers)consider training versus their BoneUS.

Sooooo,training becomes more of the same old crap. No incentives for da working folks, behind the back skulldruggery , and if all else fails hell just fire em and get someone else.

But whatever you do don’t forget da BONEus. Hell lets do another marketing campaign—Yeah–maybe that will help—more of da same crap!

Man, it seems that you have some sort of magic touch - everything that you touch breaks. Chill.

I too sent a letter of complaint regarding customer service at my local Sears store. I purchased a vacuum cleaner that performed poorly after three uses. When I went back to return it, the sales associate told me I needed to take it to a service center to validate that something was wrong with it. I told them to take the vacuum back…I didn’t want it. They charged me a 15% restocking fee for a substandard appliance (Kenmore brand, I might add). When I wrote an electronic letter of complaint, I received a form email thanking me for making Sears my number one place to shop…can you imagine????? After stealing 15% of the cost of that vacuum from me, they will never get another penny.

I recently quit Sears in 01/2008, after nine years of service. It was just a part-time job, but I loved what I did (helping customers). In the past five years Sears have changed for the worst. They don’t care about the customer anymore. I have seen our store loose countless customers due to new policies and management lack of commen sense. (Give a man a 5 dollar part that has broke if he just spent 3000.00 with you a month ago). Other than work with a customer,I heard managers tell them just return it. They don’t relize not only did we lose that customer. We lost much more(son’s family, daughter’s family, his bother’s & sister’s family and so on). It is bad at Sears. The pay is terrible ($6.00 + commision). Commision was cut in half in 2007. I went from $14,000.00 a year part time to $8,500.00 a year. Thats, why the employees are unhappy. I called Sears headquarters to tell them about the problems in our store. They were not concern.

When I was growing up in the 50s and early 60s, the Sears brand always stood for quality.

They often marketed three versions of items, labeled Good, Better and Best. All three were of good quality, but you always knew that “Sears Best” was likely the best you could find anywhere for the money.

A few years later, some genius at Sears apparently decided that they should be trying to “out K-Mart” K-mart and the quality of their merchandise plummeted. Rude and uninformed clerks made it even worse.

It seems to me that Sears needs to get back to emphasizing quality products and backing it up with superior customer service.

I rarely shop there any more because they still charge premium prices for average quality merchandise. I can buy the same quality (often the same brands) for far less elsewhere. I’m not willing to pay extra for the thrill lugging my purchases home in a bag with the Sears logo.

I could not have said it better myself. Unfortunate from a guy who once worked for a major supplier to Sears and knows the inner workings of this sinking “Titanic”

Sears seems to concentrate way to much on Softlines, Lands End, and the stuff that is way to frilly for this kind of business. There is alot of money to be made in the Hardlines and these morons are not taking any advantage of it at all!! They wanna have Hardlines but not promote or back it at all with very little new product, and nothing to attract customers in the stores…All Sears need new marketing/ and a way new look….And they wonder why Best Buy is making hand over foot on Hardlines…cause it looks updated!!!

I purchased a refrigerator at Sears in 1999 with a promised $50 mail in rebate from the salesperson. I later received a reply that the model I purchased did not qualify for the rebate.

I have not been in a Sears since and no one will probably ever entice me back–EVER.

Maybe the title should read “It’s the Stupid Management”. Management in the U.S. is an oxymoron. These greedy pukes care more about lining their own pockets than providing quality goods and services. Without quality goods and services, it is us “little people” who pay for the sins of these pathetic, increasingly insulated from reality individuals.

I always said, if Sears Holdings Corporation would invest more into the stores, i.e. remodeling every store, not just some, or building new stores in better locations, and allowing the stores to have more payroll for more associates on the floor, the business would take off. And if they would have just let me do my job when I was a Lead and Key Carrier, things would have gotten done because I had a better understanding of the business then some of these executives ever will. Eddie Lampert is a billionaire, and he saved both Kmart and Sears from going under and made them, together, the number 3 retailer in the US. That is the highest either of those companies has been alone within the last decade or more. But he is a Wall Street investor, he doesn’t know how to run a store. Aylwin Lewis was not much of a CEO, although he visited stores, something a Kmart CEO hasn’t done in years. He visited the store in Indio, CA, when I was the manager on duty one day. He was really nothing more than someone who just kept up moral, as the article said. He made no big changes, he really didn’t do anything except be Lampert’s puppet. Now Sears Holdings Corporation is slipping in its spot on the retail market… it slipped to number 4. And I know why… the people at Corporate Office either 1. don’t know what they are doing, or 2. know how to run the business, but have too much red tape to get through. They are not remodeling stores fast enough and regenerating the business fast enough. Having worked for the company, I have seen the remodels and other innovations as well as new merchandise assortment really help the stores BIT TIME. But according to the last time I talked to my friend in Oxnard, they are scheduled to close another 150 Kmart stores nation wide. It would not surprise me if the H Street location in Chula Vista, CA was next… that store is a prime example of what “no payroll” can do to your business. Then again, its just not that great of a location to begin with, but it was always a “weekend business” store anyhow. That store is staying open for now… Target is opening up a brand new location at Plaza Bonita just right down the way, and so that will surely hurt the business, not as much as the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Eastlake did, but its surely not going to help.

I also like what this article said about making Sears the place to buy hard lines. Sears clothing has always sucked. Kmart’s clothing is actually really good now, and they do well as a company with clothing, especially with Route 66 jeans… best jeans you’ll ever buy. Sears has always had great Appliances, Tools and Lawn & Garden Equipment. Kmart has always had good housewares and kitchen furnishings, and lately home decor, and a few years back was known for its Sporting Goods assortment. If they would just run on their strengths, it would work…. more Craftsman, more Kenmore, more Martha Stewart, and the innovative stuff in between, and marry the ideas in every store, whether it be a Kmart or a Sears. Also, something I wrote them about years back, which was expanding the Pharmacy business… although it is losing its grip, Kmart actually has the largest Pharmacy business, bigger than Wal-Mart and bigger than Target. And Kmart has employed some of the best Pharmacists I have ever met, who truly care about their stores and their patients. Kmart has also been known for food service: Little Caesars, the Sandwich Delis of years past and the first Super Centers in the 1980’s and early 90’s. If they would focus on the exclusiveness of their product and service offerings, then the business would take off.

I should go back to work for Kmart, but at the Sears Holdings Corporate Office. I could turn the business around, because I know how to run a store. I’ve been there, I’ve done it… your stores have to look nice and you gotta have Sales Associates on the floor who can assist your customers, and you gotta have the store merchandised properly. That is 3 keys to regenerating the business at many ailing Kmart and Sears stores.

I’m a former Sales Associate for Sears. Specifically, the Home Electronics department. I started working there at age 17 and within a years time I was earning over $30k annually off my 100% commission based pay scale. So at age 17, a junior in High School, working part time after school hours (20 hrs a week) I was making as much as my my Mother made at her Full Time job.

Soon after the merger/acquisition with Eddie Lambert’s fat pig of a holding corporation our pay scale was restructured. Instead of 100& commision I was given a lousy hourly rate and a dwindled, flat commision percentage that made it nearly impossible to earn a decent income. Of course, with this resturcute in the payscale, myself and several other valuable sales people left the company and went elsewhere.

Now I go to Sears and find an abundance on low-tenured, young sales people who don’t know their head from there ass.

This is the problem with Sears, they’re losing the valuable sales people they’ve had for years because they’re not taking care of them. REPLACING THEM WITH KIDS WHO HAVE A BETTER FIT AT MCDONALDS WILL NEVER INCREASE THEIR REVENUES OR MARGINS!!

OMG what is the problem, what is going on. Please come to my local Sears and Kmart then go visit Walmart & Target. If you do not see the difference you are in the wrong business. Get out of your offices and go look in the stores to see what is happening. I will give you a hint, Kmart in Elmira NY looks like a store in a 3rd world county.

That’s some powerful thinkin’ there. Frankly, I am surprised Lampert has not reached out to you, Suzanne. Similarly, I am surprised the primary business schools, investment banks, and consulting boutiques have not reached out to you, Suzanne.

Growing up in the 60s and 70s, Sears was a staple for clothes, tools, and appliances. Now going to Sears is a terrible experience. Upon being offered a Sears credit card last year, I declined, not wanting to deal with the hassles of an apathetic (or even pathetic) staff, Craftsman tools that are now made in China, clothes that are ugly and made in China, and appliances that don’t even last through the ever-shrinking warranty period. For any/all of the above, I could just as easily go to Wal-Mart. But I am really TRYING to buy things that are, while maybe not made in the USA anymore, at least designed in the USA. Sears’ marketing has withered to the point of the company being the well-deserved butt of jokes, and their mismangement doesn’t help them either. So I don’t shop at the once-mighty Sears anymore. I try not to shop at Wal-Mart either, so as not to further enrich the Chinese economy. People in the USA are really looking for alternatives to buying Chinese goods, but there really aren’t any. We have outsourced ALMOST ALL of our manufacturing capabilities to our enemies. When will we learn? Perhaps when our government gets outsourced to China and we are all Chinese citizens- but then it will be too late! Wake up, America!

Hello,

My experience goes back to when I was a child. Sears once exemplified what you wanted in a dept store. When you bought your appliances there you felt they where backed up by a solid honest company. Through several experiences of my own and stories from others I believe Sears has left their principals behind. The poor sales people are like sharks they are so eager to get their commission. It is uncomfortable just going into the appliance section as they circle you. Then there is the hard sell for the service contract which is like cheap insurance so many loopholes it does not really cover your purchase. I had a hard sell and purchased a service contract for my washer and dryer. The sales man said at the end of the year someone would call me to arrange to have my dryer vacuumed out. This was the tipping point for me and I agreed to the service contract. Come the end of the year no one called. I called them and the said I was supposed to call and arrange it. They apologized but my contract had expired three days prior to my call. Now granted I should have read the contract throughly which I did do after the fact. I was raised with good ethics and ideals. America stood(certainly all- American Sears)honesty and a deal sealed with a handshake eye to eye man to man. I felt so duped. I thought to myself that man just wanted to make his sale. A used car salesman ok have some common sense. Sears I just did’nt see it coming. I only go now if they have a product and it is hard to find or extremely well priced. I rarely browse there except passing through from the parking lot to the mall. It used to be a destination i.e. back to school shopping, christmas outfits… Now I shun it. I must say I am sad about this.
When I was a kid visiting the Great State of Minnesota I maid sure to see Sears headquarters I thought it was so cool. All the good stuff the sent out to Americans through the years. They still have some pull with a real investment in their employees and truly standing behind there products perhaps their loyalty base could be rebuilt. I am sure many Americans would like this, I know I would.

Reatil stores all over are giving customer a bad time. I had a horrible experience with Home Depot one person told me they would give me my money back when I got there they gave me a gift card. When I complained the managers response was well aren’t you going to spend 500 dollars here someday

CS, maybe you should stop writing to CEOs who too busy trying to turn around the companies they work at. Are there any other companies you want to whine about? What about McDonalds? Did they forget to give you napkins at one point? Or perhaps you were dissatisfied that your Banks ATM didnt wish you a nice day after your transaction…

Sears does have a valued asset in their employees, but no one likes to be told that they don’t know how to sell by someone at the top who’s a financial manipulator.

When I bought a washer/dryer two years ago, the salesperson told me that I could get a rebate for the delivery charge if it was offered within 30 days. It was and so I went back to the store to claim it. Took less than 30 seconds for the salesperson to complete the transaction.

Eddie Lampert: Let your folks at the bottom help you figure out how to make Sears work. Stop meddling in the day-to-day stuff. Listen to Warren Buffett.

Having worked in both Sears and Kmart’s I can tell you the Sears people are running the Kmart operation at the District level. Kmart store turnover is incredibly high and the management is sub par. Their metrics are non existent. The stores are falling apart. Kmart’s are now a big Walgreens /Dollar store. Sears on the other hand has a poor softlines mix; Lands End is a stale brand (how much sea foam green can one wear?) and will never carry the day. Sears also stubbed their toes when a Boston TV station uncovered the Kenmore warranty denial scam that affected hundreds in the area. Again they weakened a great brand.

Yes they are turning out the lights. I was in one Kmart that was lowly lit I thought the store was closed. It is a metaphor of things to come. They cannot cut their way to profitability. I’ve seen it before. It does not work.

I was in the market for an HD television. I went to Sears. On my first visit I spoke to a knowledgeable person, but I wasn’t ready to buy so I left. I came back a couple days later prepared to buy. I was met by two sales people. My determination to buy from Sears was met by their determination to make it impossible for me to buy from Sears. First, they didn’t have a good knowledge of the product. From my discussion with the person the previous time I knew what I wanted, but when I said I wanted to buy them, I was told they were out of stock. Ok, then order them. “No, we cannot order them.” I knew that wasn’t true because the knowledgable person from the previous day said we could order them, but these two were adamant that they couldn’t order them. To make matters worse, when I said I wanted the wireless speakers, one of the salesmen asked, “Why do you want to buy that system? It is too expensive.” I was ready to walk away, but my wife managed to get a more senior person from another department to help us and we managed to order a television and purchase the wireless sound system through another Sears store. Long story short, if this is the quality of people Sears has working for them, then they have more problems than they know.

sears has been going down in customer care for years, you have a sale rep taking care of 3-4 depts,consequently, you cannot get straight answer about any products, and by the same token you have very long lines to pay, worse, than a supermarket. Also, get youself some youthful and hip buyers to
cater to the students and young adults, they practically do all the buying.

That is one of the funniest comments I’ve ever read (from C.S.) You are upset that Eddie Lampert or Michael Dell didn’t respond to your letter. What planet do you live on? Send a letter to ever store CEO you shop at and see how many responses you get…. you’re going to run out of places to shop.
Thanks for the laugh!

Buy Bosch appliances. I have Whirlpool and Bosch and am very disappointed with Whirlpool. Bosch performance has been flawless!!

JC

Sears has a huge marketing problem. It has incredible potential with many products under one roof, yet does little to market itself that way.

When I (and essentially everyone I know) think about buying tools and home improvement products, we shop at Home Depot or Lowes. When we think of consumer electronics, we shop at Best Buy, Circuit City or Staples. When its general home products its Target or Walmart.

Then I happened to see an add in its weekly circular for a bench grinder so I tried to buy this at a couple of their local stores. The product was out of stock. When I asked how could the product be out of stock in all these stores when the add was just in the circular, I was told that the circulars are printed months in advance. Seems like Sears is using operating technologies of the 70s/80s while their competitors are using the latest technologies. Unbelievable; I won’t waste my time again going to Sears.

The letters of complaint probably did not get to the CEOs. I have found it better to complain to the right person in Customer Service or Sales rather than write to the CEOs.

The article has a great point about Sears needing retail talent (not logistics talent) and a repositioning that makes it THE destination for something (be in tools, appliances or whatever). There is a place in the market for American made (tapping into patriotism) also that might be vacant for Sears to step into. Craftsman already has a similar position and could be a good flagship. So for example, Sears could position itself as the place for American Made products with Craftsman, LandsEnd..and so on and a new tag on each of them proudly displaying American origin.

Sears used to be the place that you bought your appliances from because they provided great customer service and the appliance lasted. In addition, you could purchace parts from any sears store to repair the appliance yourself if you wanted. All that has change…you can’t purchase parts at a Sears store. Service is bad and most importantly the appliances that used to last 20 years, last less than 10. These executives need to get out of their ivory towers and press the flesh with the common folk…the ones buying (or not buying) their products.

I’ve been trying for a year and a half to get a replacement “Lifetime Warranty” Craftsman implement. The stores never have it in stock and won’t call me if it does come in. What good is a lifetime warranty if one can’t get a replacement? No more Sears for me.

This article is right on, however no excellent retail executive would go to work for Lampert. Sears is too far gone and Eddie can’t keep his hands off. So they will hire some out-of-work executives from some chains that have a good name, but have no real experience with turnarounds of this magnitude. The end game is a breakup which lampert is setting the stage for with this reorganization.

After interacting with about 5 Sears’ managers/salespersons at the Mall of America location, I am convinced that not one had a degree higher than the 9th grade. One manager didn’t know what a Gift Receipt was, package never showed up, and I took my money and ran. Won’t return to a Sears store for a long time.

Anyone who’s shopped in Sears and K-Mart in recent years might have fortold that merging two of the countries worst-managed retailers would yield few positive results. I’ll never forget some of my Sears experiences…being mocked by an employee for not buying an eyeglass cleaning kit, having an autocenter employee try to sell me a new set of wheel rims by falsely claiming all four steel rims on my car were bent, having another autocenter worker misdiagnose a failing catalytic converter as a rattling heat shield. The list goes on. If the execs don’t rock this company from the bottom up (in a good way) Sears is a goner.

We reently needed repairs done to a Kenmore stove bought several years ago, with an extended warranty. It took over a month to get a simple circuit board installed. Sears cancelled the first repair visit with no explanation after we waited 2 weeks, and would not reschedule for another week. Then they didn’t have the parts on hand (that took another week to get. They make you wait all day for a call to let you know when they will come do the work - no appointments will be made. i won’t ever shop Sears again.

Sears is following Montegomery Wards. It is unfortunate that customers and employees pay the price of executive arrogance, which seems to be rampant everywhere nowdays.

Sears has a long way to go in the area of customer service. Due to past experience, I have vowed to never set foot in a Sears store again. It’s a shame since I had always purchased my appliances there.

In response to CS’s comment. In an ideal world you would get a letter back from each CEO that you write, but here in the real world you can not expect to get a hand-written response from every person you complain to. More often than not these complaints are read by un-paid interns who could honestly care less for your hurt feelings over their company’s customer service. If you have a real issue you should take it up with your local consumer advocacy group, i.e. the BBB, or your state Attorney General…

The one thing retailers have to address is the quality of the products they sell. Sears is really great at blaming the manufacturer. You sell the product through the store, you are responsible for carrying a quality product. Also, If you are going to sell maintenance agreements, you must have the ability to respond to these agreements within a reasonable time. I purchased a Kenmore front loader washer and dryer from Sears. The control boardon the washing machine malfunctioned and had to be replaced. I had purchased a maintenance agreement from Sears. I placed a call to the service department, they informed me that it would take 10 work days to get a technician out to my house. (There goes 2 weeks without a washing machine with 4 people in the house) the technician shows up and within minutes says “I cannot fix this machine, I must order a part and it will take at the least 10 days to get the part and another week to come out and replace it. This is a common problem with these washers. Several phone calls were were made to expedite this requirement, with the only result is let me send you $50.00, to help with the laundry expense or you can go to a furniture rental and rent a washer and we will reimburse you. I went without a washing machine for almost 1 month Sears is selling maintenance agreements and not able to fullfill that agreement in a timely matter. they sent a repair person to my house unprepared to perform the work, he did not know his product. This is an electronic washing machine, operation is controlled by the control board. What do you think is the most common problem? I was considered a premier customer by their standards and this is how they treat me. Needless to say I dropped Sears, and their credit card and brought my business elsewhere

I never had a problem with Sears in fact I had a great expierence with them when I brought a Livingroom set one of the cusions was damaged and I went back to the store the sales clerk was very helpful the set was no longer available and we couldn’t match the material so they offered to reupholster the furniture we were not happy with that idea and they were very helpful in getting our money back and waited to pickup the furniture until we got replacement furniture a couple of weeks later. Since then I have been a loyal Sears Customer my TV’s, Refrigerators,new appliances, etc have all been from Sears

Only thing I worry about is Sears Craftsmen no longer being around.

But, it sounds like Lampert wants them to go out of business, so be it.

What has happened to Sears is very disappointing. It seems to have found the troublesome niche of high prices and poor quality. I have a basement full of Sears tools, most of which were bought many years ago, when quality was high. Now I read the customer feedback on power tools and I’m afraid to buy any. They attest to bearings falling apart, high vibration, lack of spare parts, and poor service. And they are not any less expensive than high quality competing brands. If new management is serious about turning the company around, it should start by taking the customer feedback to heart and fixing the source of the complaints.

Sears used to be a pillar and as you note, their products tend to be above board in terms of appliances, tools, and apparel. I had a great respect for Sears until lately and your article only confirms why I and America is losing respect for them. They do need to bring in some serious talent before they go the way of their mortally lame co-hort, KMart

Sears was never that great a store. But it was willing to extend credit to baby boomers when few others would. Credit means an awful lot when you’re down to your last $50 and need a new washing machine, or tires, or a fridge. Where else could you buy these things on time, say, 40-50 years ago? Sears earned huge loyalty through that skinny little Sears card, but when credit started becoming more widely available, Sears had to find something else to stand for. And didn’t.

This sounds much like Bob Nardelli at Home Depot. He had no respect for merchants either…and now look where he is and look where Home Depot is.

If Sears wants to maintain their relevance in Appliances, they need to empower their salespeople to negotiate and beef-up their web support such that dealing with them in the competitive arena of retail is easier. Trying to get them to match prices from local or internet competitors is like pulling teeth. They make it easy to walk next door and buy from Best Buy, Costco, PC Richards, etc. They have not figured out that the large appliance sale is done on a personal level.

“The Customer is King!” period.

If any organisation can’t believe this, they are doomed, period.

All successful businesses have one thing in common, customer satisfaction… sadly most of the stores in US are missing this, hence… they are on a downward spiral.

It doesn’t take much to say a few polite words and do some speedy repair job and in return you get a happy customer and customer loyality. Its so simple that needn’t be taught in any Biz school.

Why would anyone respond to a letter of complaint from an idiot like you? You just bashed two of the most successful people of our time in one review. If you don’t like their products don’t buy them, easy as that. Also, what does whirlpool have to do with Sears? Everyone knows that Kenmore is Sears’s proprietary brand. Once you become a self-made billionaire maybe people will start listening to you more, but for know keep writing your letters…..

As someone that has worked for both Sears Holdings’ affiliates and competitors and has degrees in business, I can understand Mr. Lampert’s reluctance to bring on merchandisers, as they seem to be rather one-dimensional–buy whatever is hot, create a cutesy commercial or in-store display, and then move on, never taking the time to understand strategy or the cost structure of the business; Sears is where it is today largely because of Wal-Mart’s success with its “hub and spoke” strategy of distribution and focusing on its core customer. Unfortunately, Sears does need both good merchants and cost accountants to turn the company around, and merging with a Toys-R-Us or Restoration Hardware is a good way to accomplish this.

I’m 46 years old. When I was a kid, everything in my house came from Sears. Now I go there and look, but rarely buy anything. They have almost completely lost touch of their market. What a mess.

As an associate for Sears, I have seen this coming from a long time. At the rate our company is going, we probably wont be around for many more years. It seems that the investors are squeezing every penny they can out of the company by cutting costs and not investing into the companies worst areas such as customer service, or store environment. Our department in particular has gone through so many executives it’s ridiculous. they ignore the critical issues they see, and just tell the managers to make their numbers better. after a while of having good numbers they move up onto better positions, never addressing real issues; they just want their numbers to look good so they can move up. If we don’t do something drastic like close kmart and reinvent the sears store and product line, that’s it folks. The company is already beginning to test over the phone customer service in other countries. expect customer service to go way down.

CS - Given how much of your stuff is getting broken before the end of its useful life, have you considered that maybe, just maybe, that it’s the user who is causing the problem?

Sears used to SET the tool market. Quality and new innovations were their strong suit. I’ve almost quit shopping for Craftsman tools anymore as most are imported, knock offs of some other brand, and cheaply made. Staff used to know their trade and the tools they had. The current high school crop doesn’t know much more than what is showing at the movies…and don’t care about the business. Circuit City learned the hard way when they let go their professional staff. Sears either needs to get back to basics or get out of the business.

I said this two years ago, when I worked for Sears!

You know what they say: “You can’t make an omelet with chickens–t!”

Oh yeah! One more thing - My name is not Steve and I am not from AC. Everything else is accurate.
-Steve

I Currently work for Sears Holdings, and I have to agree with most of this article. Most of all, I believe in this company’s future!
There are solid, established brand names backing it (i.e. Kenmore and Craftsman) , but improvements need to be made, both in salesmanship and quality.
The hardlines side of sears is where this retailer lives and dies. Yet, the customer service channels offered right now can be frustrating, and often comical at times. Buying all new Kenmore Elite appliances for your newly remodeled kitchen, a new zero turn Craftsman tractor for the yard, an He5t steam washer and dryer for the wife (J/K), should be an enjoyable and exciting experience. Right now it seems as if the customer needs to keep their fingers crossed and pray that it gets delivered on time, installed properly, and sold according to the buyers needs. If “luck” is not on the customers side, the amount of phone numbers, numerous anonymous morons, transferred and disconnected calls - the customer, selling associate, and managers of the department will experience is ridiculous.
Moral is down, and hiring a multi-million dollar cheerleader fooled few. The cuts were made - pensions erased, management let-off, commissions lowered, store level payroll emaciated…. These things happen, I know. However, the outcome of this, which should have been evident - Disgruntled Associates. The very people that show up to work everyday, deal with the customer face to face, and are expected to handle thousands of dollars of transactions —- Slighted. Hiring new inexperienced kids is not they way to go. The customer will notice and they will not come back.
Merchandising has improved slightly in the past year, but it needs to be drastic. Walking into sears and seeing beige, tan, and off-white fixtures and walls is depressing.
The colorful cover-up signing is like putting make-up on an ugly girl.
“Now we won’t cringe when we look at her - But she’s still ugly.”
Renovation is a must!
Our vendors and buyers also need to be present. There are few manufactures who actually take pride in their products. The buyers are obsolete. Sitting behind a computer will tell you part of the story, but numbers can change. The people behind the counter can give great insight as to why those numbers appear the way they do, and maybe even how we can change them. The soldiers on the front line can tell you a lot more then the guy waiting to push the button.
As for the hiring of inexperienced, white collar, “Eddie clones”, that is information I am not privy to. However, I have witnessed numerous store-level management hires, from other retailers, that make me question what our district and regional managers are smoking. The companies they left are probably celebrating their own tiny Mardi Gras, because they don’t have to deal with these ignoramuses any more.
Eddie (this part of my rant is directed only towards you),
Please recognize the faults of OUR company. I do have money vested in OUR future. We have met a few times and you seem to be a down-to-earth guy. Customer service starts when the barrier is broken and the customer walks through OUR doors.
All the hoopla WE watch - will effect a few, but not for long. Give us something to be excited about! Please, Don’t make me beg!
-Steve

I work in the large appliance area.He has no respect for the people who can do the job. They wont even let us answer the phone on the floor anymore, they send it to a call center where someone is paid by the hour while stealing our commisions.Who would know better someone with multiple years of experience, or someone on the phone being paid by the hour. He has to quit flooding the floor with any fool that comes along the customer does not have a good chance of having someone wait on them that knows anything.Its as if he is trying to run the company into the ground for some reason. Talk to the associates,and listen to them they are the ones on the front lines and know what is going right and wrong.

I sent a letter of complaint to CEO Lewis and copied Eddie Lambert regarding having to drive to four different stores to buy some paint. Neither one had the courtesy to even respond to my letter. Such arrogance! A 41-cent stamp and they could have kept me as a customer. But, now I’ll never shop at Sears again, since they ignored me. Drive by a Sears and see how empty the parking lots are. Talk to the salemen in Sears and see how they hate their jobs. “They pay us a dinky little salary and expect us to live off of commissions, but nobody shops at Sears anymore.” That’s what their own salesmen told me. Whirlpool has become almost as bad. My refrigerator broke down after only seven years. I sent them a letter of complaint. They had some lackey call me who rudely said that “small parts sometimes break; it’s the customers’ liability, not ours.” No wonder Whirlpool’s stock is tanking, with such pathetic customer service as that. Even the repairman told me he has noticed a dramatic decline in the quality of Whirlpool products over the past few years. He said it looks like Whirlpool builds their appliances to purposely break down soon after their skimpy little warranty expires. Never again will I waste money at Sears or Whirlpool. Don’t even get me started on how bad Dell Computers have become. Michael Dell becomes a billionaire by selling garbage, and won’t even respond to a letter of complaint. Pretty pitiful.