Sears Automotive Handywork!!

#1 05-02-2002, 11:48 PM

I had to get a new battery a few weeks after purchasing my car. My mechanic said to go to sears because they have a good warranty on their batteries. I bought a battery at sears, and got their warranty. I took it back yesterday morning because the electrical system is being wierd. I wait at sears for 45 minutes while they check out the battery and run their tests on my alternator. They say the alternator is bad which doesn't suprise me because its a re-manufactured one. So I drive to work and then back home. My brother comes over and we watch some tv. Then my brother leaves and I decide to go look under my hood to see if they screwed anything up. Much to my suprise there is only one connector plugged into the alternator, with the rubber boot ripped off and laying in a hole next to my alternator. And the other connector just laying across the alternator, not plugged into anything, and not only that but its crushed so bad that it will no longer fit into the alternator where it is supposed to go. I am very pissed off obviously and I am going to be even more pissed off if I have to pay for any damages done to my electrical system.
What are any of your guy's suggestions, what should I do. I have no idea what to do about this, I could go back to the manager and show him his employees handywork but I don't know if he will believe me. Has anyone had anything like this happen before? what was the final outcome? If it werent 11pm I would drive over there and start ripping someones head off. AHHH!

Landshark · #2 05-03-2002, 04:24 AM

your first mistake was going to Sears. i'll buy stuff there, but they won't touch my car! i worked there for about a month unloading trucks on the loading dock. during my brief employment, i heard that one of the knuckleheads in the autmotive dept. had hooked up a battery up in a customers car with the terminals reversed. how stupid do you have to be to do that?
Alan

#3 05-03-2002, 06:57 AM

there are many laws in regards to your protection as the consumer.

I'd just go in, talk to the manager, tell him hey, this was connected when i came in, and now it's so badly dammaged that it cant be reconnected. he should know that if he doesn't fix it, they can be reported for the insident and face a ton of fines. It is in his best interest to make it right.

Aredubjay · #4 05-03-2002, 10:31 AM

I agree with everclear. Go in and explain (calmly but confidently) that their crew "made a mistake." You and they both have documentation that it was the electrical system on which they worked. That's your first line of defense. Yes, it would be in their best interest to make it right. Hope that they do.

I've also had some difficulty with Sears. I don't allow them to do mechanical work, but, I buy the tires for my wife's van there. It's convenient. She has something to do while they're mounting the tires (it's at the Mall -- YIKES!), and, by and large, how can you screw up mounting tires. right? Well, try twisting off lug studs! They did this on the first set of tires we bought there. They made good on THAT problem. When it came time to replace these tires, they sent my wife home with an estimate. I marked out the "add-ons" that I didn't want, on the estimate. Then I wrote, "Tell them if they twist off another lug stud, I'll twist off their head." Instead of telling them, she just handed them the sheet. They were offended. However, I had her take the car in last week for a rotatation. The service writer said, "did you know you had a lug stud twisted off?" She explained how, since they're the only ones who've ever had the wheels off the car, that they would have been the ones who had done it, and that it had happened once before, and "my husband said . . ." Well, needless to say, they replaced the stud.

SHISVX · #5 05-03-2002, 11:07 AM

i once had a problem with a company like sears... i agree go in calmly and tell the manager the problem. if he then gives you a problem you can come back at him in many ways:

you can tell him that you will report him to the Better Bussiness Burea

you can tell him that you will write an editorial to every newspaper in the area and let them know how this sears does business

you can stand outside (my mother did this) and warn incoming customers about the problems you have had

the are many ways you can stick them in a corner. if the nice approach doesn't work, threaten them...ask to speak to the store manager..not just the manager in charge of the department you should get your way no problem, especially if you paid with your sears credit card..i once worked retail, the head manager is the person you wanna talk to.

good luck
Kelli

Aredubjay · #6 05-03-2002, 11:56 AM

I was thinking about this after DavieGravy's story. It's sad that it may come to this, but, we should probably take digital pictures of the area of our car that will be worked on. Then, take digital pictures after the work is completed. Then, if we have to take it in for multiple things, you'll have pics of how it looked afterwards, before, the next "hack" starts on it.

#7 05-03-2002, 12:36 PM

I did take pictures, but it was only of the damages, and it was with a one time use camera, at night, so i don't know how good they will turn out. I'll post them when i develop the film. Shoul be a few weeks.

WestCoastSVX · #8 05-03-2002, 01:15 PM

Tim - DEFINITELY go in there and complain. It's been a few years, but when I worked for Sears, the company-wide policy was basically the customer is always right. It wasn't just some saying for the public to see, this policy was drilled into our heads again and again to do WHATEVER it took to make the customer leave happy. If it was too much for us to handle, we were instructed to get the manager, etc, etc. So if they are still going by those rules, you shouldn't have to go too far up the ladder to get justice. Just stick to your guns and be persistent, you know you are right.

Man, you wouldn't believe how much $$$ we gave away back in my hardware selling days. The sad thing was, most of the time it was the guys that came in shouting and were abusing the system that walked away with the most outrageous settlements.

True story:

Guy pulls his van up to the loading dock with a $500 full size table saw that looks like it's been run over by a dump truck. "My @#$% Craftsman table #%@$ saw @$%# broke. I want a new one!"

"Well sir, this saw has a one year warranty for repair. I'll be happy to take it to the service department for you though." (I'm politely ignoring the fact that the damage is well beyond a manufacturer's defect)

"@#^%!!! I need my $#^% saw today! I'm make my @&*% living with this saw! It's a Craftsman @#$% it! Lifetime replacement warranty!" (the most often heard myth in my 6 years at Sears hardware, that is only on hand tools, Duh! Can you imagine complex mechanical devices with a lifetime replacement warranty against any abuse?)

This line of conversation goes back and forth a few minutes until I can get my manager to come out. The same conversation continues with him.

30 minutes later the guy leaves with a brand new table saw worth $50 more than the one he got in because we didn't have that one in stock. He didn't have to pay the difference.

So if a happy customer tells 1 friend their good experience and a angry customer tells 10 their bad experience, what happens with this guy? He tells 11 of his friends that they can come rip us off if they b@#ch enough!

Anyway, a week later the guy came back again, with his now well-used replacement saw. He decided he didn't like it and wanted a refund. Eventually, he got it.

So we have a wrecked $500 saw. A well-used $550 saw that we'll probably get $100 for at the annual "garage sale", and zero profit. The guy got free use of 2 new table saws for the duration of his project, whatever it was.

Well at least we kept a customer, right? That kind of customer I could live without...

Now back to your regularly scheduled thread...

#9 05-03-2002, 01:42 PM

I got 2 new tires for free from Sears when I was in high school. And let me say they shouldn't have given them to me.

-Mike (<burnout noises>)

Aredubjay · #10 05-03-2002, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Green1995SVX
I got 2 new tires for free from Sears when I was in high school. And let me say they shouldn't have given them to me.

-Mike (<burnout noises>)

That does remind me of one GOOD thing that happened with Sears. Shortly after I'd bought the current new tires for my wife's car, she backed over our "mobile toter" trash can, and the door sprung up and put a cut in the sidewall of her left rear tire. After calling the auto club to change the tire to the "donut," she went back to Sears to get another tire. The guy remembered her and said, "Didn't I just sell you these." She replied in the affirmative. "Didn't you get the "road hazard" warrantee?" "No," she replied (that was one of the line items I'd marked off). "Tell ya what," he said "we'll just add the "road hazard" which is cheaper than a new tire. That way, you'll get your tire and "road hazard" coverage on all four." So, Sears ain't ALL bad.

#11 05-03-2002, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Aredubjay

That way, you'll get your tire and "road hazard" coverage on all four."

I always get the road hazard on my front 2 tires from discount, and not on the back 2. that way if a back tire blows out, put the good front of the back and the bad back on the front, and oh my, my front tire blew out.....again.....

#12 05-03-2002, 05:54 PM

I went in and talked to them. The manager was very nice about everything and said they would pay for replacing the plug. The bad things was my mechanic had nowhere to get just the plug from. I drove up to Small Car and got a replacement from Brian(Thank you so much!), instead of having to buy an entire wiring harness. I got lucky this time, but I don't think im ever going to take my car into Sears again. If my battery needs replacing I'll take it out and bring it in. Bad part is I lose my car for a day while my mechanic replaces the alternator and the plug.

#13 05-06-2002, 06:16 AM

at least you got it all taken care of with out much of a problem.

I'd be pretty happy with that.

Here's another horror story just to add to the list, but it's thanks to the wonderious people at jiffy lube. One of my friends dad's also has a 914, and he was feeling lazy and took it to jiffy lube for it's 1st oil change of the year. Got it out of storage that same day. Took it there, had it done in no time. On the way home heard this horrible squeel and a big bang, then nothing. The fools forgot to tighten the bolt that holds in the oil, it dropped out about 10 min after he left, seized his whole engine up. The manager was a dick and said that his people didn't do this and that it was his fault. He didn't like it, took them to court, and they had to buy him a "new" engine. Keep in mind his is the one w/ the 6, like in the 911, ran them 7 grand, the judge even gave him compensation for his time and emotional distress

Are you feeling emotionally distressed for being away from your subbie for a day?

#14 05-06-2002, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by EverclearAtMSU
at least you got it all taken care of with out much of a problem.

I'd be pretty happy with that.

Here's another horror story just to add to the list, but it's thanks to the wonderious people at jiffy lube. One of my friends dad's also has a 914, and he was feeling lazy and took it to jiffy lube for it's 1st oil change of the year. Got it out of storage that same day. Took it there, had it done in no time. On the way home heard this horrible squeel and a big bang, then nothing. The fools forgot to tighten the bolt that holds in the oil, it dropped out about 10 min after he left, seized his whole engine up. The manager was a dick and said that his people didn't do this and that it was his fault. He didn't like it, took them to court, and they had to buy him a "new" engine. Keep in mind his is the one w/ the 6, like in the 911, ran them 7 grand, the judge even gave him compensation for his time and emotional distress

Are you feeling emotionally distressed for being away from your subbie for a day?

Similar thing happened to randy, I think... But he realized it and turned the car off.

-Mike

Aredubjay · #15 05-06-2002, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Green1995SVX

Similar thing happened to randy, I think... But he realized it and turned the car off.

-Mike

Actually, in my case, the IDIOT who didn't tighten the drain plug completely was my wife's husband.

A friend of mine, however, had the same thing happen to his car at a local "Grease Monkey" franchise.