Seeking Suckers for Sears Sales Scams

 The image above was borrowed from
http://www.brandautopsy.com/2007/03/would_you_miss__2.html

Mr. Eddie Lambert

3333 Beverly Road, Mail Stop RR

Hoffman Estates , Illinois 60179

Case Number 3053753

Dear Mr. Lambert

I am writing to you because Sears sold me something that they did not have to sell (a fraudulent activity), and then lied about it.

Dec 5, 2014 I used your online interface to purchase a water heater along with an extended warrantee and installation. Six days later, December 11 - 7PM, I called Sears to find out why I had received neither call nor email about my "delivery and installation window" - only to be told they there were no installers in NYC, and that someone had called me earlier in the afternoon to let me know that my installation (though not the purchase of the Water Heater) order had been canceled. My phone shows no incoming calls, and certainly no messages. Needless to say I was not happy. What followed was the worst customer service I have ever encountered, and believe me when I say that I've run up against some real stand-outs. What follows here are the Sears Employee ID numbers of the people I spoke with (over a two hour period) trying to get this resolved 065272-Raul, 260928-Susie, 252609-Jonathan, and 251705-Emilio. There was another Sears rep who I first spoke with whose name and number I did not get - she put me on hold and never returned. After 15 minutes I hung up, called back and began to collect ID's. I was ultimately informed by Emilio, who represented himself as the installation manager for the entire region, that he had no one to whom he reported, that he was the final word on the matter. After an endless looping conversation he finally told me that Sears now only wanted to cancel the entire order and refund my money (in 3 to 5 business days) and that Sears was "no longer interested in my business." I know that all of my conversations with your employees were recorded. While I certainly do not come off sounding like the perfect customer, I do think you should listen to all of them.

Dec. 12 - NOON - My order still shows as "active" on the Sears site. At this point no money has been refunded. Ten minutes after my hellish time with Sears last night I called a local guy who has agreed to come out with a Water Heater and install it in basically the time window that Sears never provided (though it's costing me extra for the fast service and a water heater considerably more expensive than the one I was purchasing from Sears). My tenants have been impatiently doing without hot water for a week based on my agreement with Sears, and I had already arranged to take day off from work to assure that I would be available for the installation.

Same Day - 12:15 PM While I await the local installer, I've called a Sears customer service number 847-286-2500 to file an "Executive Complaint," (as suggested by an online source: Consumeriest.com). I'm at this moment - on hold again with a woman named Michelle-410417, who is actually making an effort to understand what I went through last night. She also found that the order had not been yet been canceled - they still intended to deliver a Water Heater to my door! She assures me that she is taking care of that even as we speak. I'm on hold again. She just came back on the call to let me know that her manager is, at this moment, pulling the phone records of my conversation with Emilio.

Sears needs new hold music!

1:08 PM I am now speaking with James-400533, the manager of Customer Solutions. He is making sure that the money I paid to Sears is indeed being refunded. At this time it is not yet showing on PayPal. James has offered me a $100 compensation gift card, and I have expressed to him that that amount is simply not enough. He let me know that $100 was the limit of compensation that he could offer, however he also informed me that I could escalate this to the corporate division, which I am doing with this correspondence. I figure at this point I am out a minimum of $500 because of what has gone on over the last week. I have stated all of my reasons above. James is arranging for the $100 gift card to be sent to me via email, and has expressed that that gift card is being given only as acknowledgement for my taking the time to let the corporate division know about what has happened - not as part of the direct compensation I am seeking.

2:00 PM - My local installer is here and has informed me that the work is going to cost an extra $75 because he has to solder something! It used to be that Sears was the company that protected me from unscrupulous plumbers and such. It's becoming increasingly difficult to see the difference. I am now requesting that Sears compensate my losses in the amount of $575.00.

Sincerely,

Letter Ends Here

Additional Info:

Dec 15 - 6:30 Called the number that James gave me. 1 800 479 6351 hit option #6 and asked for him because I still do not have the money that Sears owes me from the canceled order. I spoke with Maria (didn't get here company ID) who, when I asked to be transferred to a supervisor since Jim was nowhere to be found, just palmed me off onto another rep, Chris-410635 who in the fine example set by those who came before him - was as ineffectual as the rest of those set with the task of telling people why they should be loyal Sears shoppers even in the face of customer service that is out of touch with today's internet connected, blog savvy, world.

Jan 8 2015 - I received a call from Megan, in response to the letter above, who works in a division of the Sears Monstrosity ironically called "Sears Blue Ribbon Service" - basically she stonewalled me in the same way that those before her did. She informed me that that Sears does not and would not pay for the expenses I incurred through their inept and fraudulent sales techniques.

Jan 10 2015 - I let them know that I would be posting all of this online and anywhere else I deemed appropriate. They let me know that they didn't give a damn. Ah well, another giant corporation that has forgotten the reality that we the consumers are not fond of being taken advantage of.

The current Sears marketing taglines are  "Life. Well spent." and "Work hard, shop smarter." I'm suggesting that they make use of this new one "Thought You Were Getting a Good Deal, Right?"

To this date I still do not have that $100 gift card.  And on and on...

Same Day 4:43 PM - to clarify my last statement (written this morning) - I take that last line back - though I will not remove it:) coincidentally I  received that illusive gift card via email. According to my mail it was sent by Sears yesterday - two days short of a month after they offered it to me. Gosh thanks Sears! 

My advice - shop locally. Maybe pay a little more to the guy who will look you in the eye.) 

Peace!

Evaluation: 
You need to ask? Really?

Plaza Auto Mall - You May Have Already Won!

Sure, I know what you mean; auto dealers in general have a reputation of being notoriously unethical, so why should I have expected this one to be any different? I wanted to believe them. What got me was the flyer I received in the mail informing me that this particular dealer (about an hour-and-a-half round-trip drive from my home) was willing to offer me 100% OF THE ORIGINAL MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price). I know it seems crazy, but it certainly got my attention just as they intended. As you can see on the flyer (below) - it makes that very compelling statement 3 different times in three different places; each time in large, red, bold, and ALL CAPS lettering.

Click to Enlarge

Georgina and I talked about the distinct possibility that this was some sort of a scam, but I called the dealership and asked some very direct questions (just not the most important question, but I'll get to that in a minute:). Really looking the fine print, I even asked, "is this the MSRP for my car, fully loaded as it is, or are you offering the base price (which would be a significant difference of thousands)?" I was informed that the offer would be based on my car with all of it's enhancements being considered, and after taking my name and indicating that they were very interested in talking with me about my car.

There is a sentence on the flyer, as you can see for yourself, that clearly states, "The only adjustments will be made for mileage, 35¢ to 55¢ depending on models and reconditioning." Yes, I placed those words in bold and in red so that they would stand out. (The dealership did just the opposite of that, for obvious reasons.) Typically, when dealing with car dealers, a statement like that typically refers to mileage in excess of 12,000 miles per year. My car has 27,400 miles on it, and the car is five years old. I figured that I was well within the safe zone. If they wanted to offer me $23,000 for a five year old car, minus a thousand or so for for minor scratches - I'd be really happy. Wouldn't you? 

Without even looking at it, the dealer offered us $10,000 for our car. He gave us that price based primarily on our mileage of 27,400 miles multiplied by .35¢ which, of course, equaled $9590.00 taken off their so called "offer!" 

This was a deliberate, built-in, intentional loophole allowing them to tell an outright lie, while making it appear that they were being as truthful as possible! OMG!

I just captured this quote from the website of the owner of Plaza Auto Mall 

"Always work hard, always keep your word, and always be good to people."

Uh, we really didn't have that experience.

We were more than annoyed, and we left the building. A few minutes later, after having examined the flyer which we were told explained it all very clearly, we walked back in and asked to speak to Marcello Scarrino. This is the same Marcello whose name appears on the flyer, which informed us that their research had indicated:

"Recently we have seen an increased demand for certain vehicles, and our research indicates you could be driving one of these vehicles. If so I have an incredible offer for you. I am willing to purchase your vehicle for 100% OF THE ORIGINAL MSRP base price when your vehicle was new! You read that correctly , we will buy back your current 2003-2011 vehicle for 100% of the original base price as listed in the current National Automobile Dealers Association™ Guide."

The general value of my car in today's market.

As you might imagine, Marcello and I had quite a discussion. He informed me with a blank, though seemingly sincere look on his face, that they were, after all, a car dealership and that the reason they sent out ads was to bring people into the dealership to sell them cars, and wondered aloud how I could have even thought for a moment that they would offer as much money for a used car as for a new one. I wondered aloud the same thing, but then there was all their research to be considered, indicating that there was, "an increased demand for my type of vehicle." With a straight face he said, "well, millions of people sign up for the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes every year." Further, he said, "we're here to sell cars and that's why you got that flyer. It was just to get you in here." He's right I suppose, I should be reading all advertisements as if they were contracts, right?

Interestingly, there is nothing on that flyer that is overtly offering to sell me a car. 

There are however 

2 NO-RISK OPTIONS

• TAKE THE CASH OFFER FOR YOUR VEHICLE
• TRADE FOR A NEW OR PRE-OWNED VEHICLE

There it is then, when dealing with this Honda dealer (or any of the other car sellers all owned by Mr. John Rosatti under the catchall name  Plaza Auto Mall) realize, based on the helpful and well considered information provided by the General Manager, Mr. Marcello Scarrino, that it's really very much the same as receiving an important looking envelope that indicates that, "You May Have Already Won!" 

I didn't want, nor was I looking for something for nothing. The flyer got me to believe that for whatever reason my car had an intrinsic value beyond what one might realistically expect. Okay, I admit it it - they got me. 

What if we lived in a world where "always be good to people" was not just a collection of words? What would the world be like if automobile dealers became the people known for being honest, dependable, and trustworthy? Impossible you say? 

Such an impossibility could be changed by any automobile dealership if they wanted it to happen. What are they afraid they might become if they were to make such a change?

Here's a possibility: an automobile dealership known for its integrity. 

Would I write about such a thing? In a heartbeat:-)

But in this case unfortunately our evaluation is:  You need to ask? Really?


PLAZA AUTO MALL
2740 Nostrand Ave 
Brooklyn, NY 11210
800-553-4645