Customer Feedback Discussion Board

Get Rid of Kmart

SearsisGr8 — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:26:01 GMT

Don't know what the laws are now in your area, but you can sue the crap out of people down here for not having a handicapped entrance within x feet of a store entrance.

Get Rid of Kmart

rstinnett — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:02:38 GMT

Amazing what investing in customer service can do. Kmart is slowly (and hopefully surely) putting customer service back in the picture. Wal-Mart is so out of touch with consumers nowadays that it is almost impossible to find someone to help you. Our local Wal-Mart doesn't even have a handicapped entrance for my dad in his wheelchair. When we ask about it they just say "We'll make a suggestion". What a bunch of BS. At least when we go to Kmart they have automatic doors and people who will TAKE US to the product; not just grunt and point.

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jwill-oh — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 07:23:06 GMT

I have recently started shopping Kmart again. Double coupons brought me in, and the very helpful customer assistance keeps me going back. Keep up the good work!

Get Rid of Kmart

jamesd1 — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:08:43 GMT

I LIKE KMART FOR SOME OF MY SHOPPING NEEDS . K MART STAYS. JAMESD1

Get Rid of Kmart

bt1blueeye — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:19:04 GMT

I agree with not wanting to give Wal-Mart a nickel. I do work at the kmart Dist. center but I have never liked Wal-Mart. People always talks about cheaper prices at Wal-Mart.Well the products are made cheaper. One example is the camping chairs. Kmart chairs shows it holds more weight than the same chair at Wal-Mart. But Wal-Mart is about $3.00 cheaper. I would hate to see Kmart leave. There is only one store left in my city and we have about 4 or 5 Wal-Mart's. We do have one Sears. Our store use to be Super K but they changed to a Big K. Still can't find out what they are putting in the place of the food. Rumor has it Sears appliances. Hope so. The main thing I hate is the store closing at 8pm

Get Rid of Kmart

rstinnett — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:48:03 GMT

Actually, Kmart has a few brands that I can think of. American Fare is their "store label" brands, and most of that is Made in the USA.

Funny you should mention Chinese garbage and Kmart since Wal-Mart is now over 80% Chinese imports -- the highest of any retailer. And we wonder why America is dieing.

At least with Kmart I feel confident I can still find a few American brands there; and the quality of the goods seems a bit higher to me.

Get Rid of Kmart

wdcarper — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:07:20 GMT

In a more rural setting, Kmart's humble, friendly and customer satisfaction oriented staff are more at home. The rest rooms are convenient, also. Seems to me.

Get Rid of Kmart

Dr511scj — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:59:01 GMT

KMart is gone from my area (closed in the last round of bankruptcy reorganization). I don't miss them. When they were here, they had too much cheap imported junk and not enough American-made products.

KMart has also failed to compete with Wal-Mart in the suburban areas and small towns.

The Sears brand is stronger than KMart.

Sears should develop a Sears-branded model that sells a better assortment than Wal-Mart (with more American-made choices -- give us a choice between the cheap Chinese garbage that some bargain hunters crave and U.S. products that many of us will STILL pay extra for) Also the new Sears model should fold in Sears hard lines with Super KMart's groceries and variety-store lines -- a truly one-stop shopping experience.

Craftsman, Kenmore and Diehard prove that Americans will still buy high quality, fairly-priced American products when they have the opportunity.

What brand that's unique to KMart has the same loyalty? I can't think of one.

Sears should also improve the quality and selection of their clothes. And locate more stores in high growth areas and outside of urban markets. Wal-Mart needs the competition because it has forgotten much of what Sam Walton stood for.

KMart should be retired as a brand.

Get Rid of Kmart

ronpb1969 — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:46:28 GMT

I enjoy shopping at Kmart. I was glad when it opened in Queensbury. We used to drive to Saratoga to shop your store. There is always great buys here. Keep up the good work.

Rom Queensbury NY

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michelina — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 22:14:57 GMT

Great to hear rstinnett! Sounds like you found some good deals, too!

Get Rid of Kmart

rstinnett — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 05:04:35 GMT

I'm the original poster, who started this thread, and wanted to pipe in here and let you know of an experience I had today at the Kmart store in Sedalia, Missouri. This was on "Black Friday" but we were not there until 1:30PM just doing some regular shopping.

First, you should know we drove 30 miles to get to this store. I wanted to shop there because it is where my mom (who passed away two years ago) and I used to shop as a kid for Christmas. Second, I wanted to shop there because I do not want to give a red nickel to Wal-Mart.

I was impressed at the friendliness of the staff, and how many shoppers were there. Even later in the afternoon and the parking lot was full. The registers were all open and we checked out $120 poorer in less than 5 minutes. Good job!

Now I will say the Sedalia store is in need of some facelifting. Even just re-doing the lighting in the store would do wonders. This store dates back many, many years.

So I take back my original statements. Perhaps Kmart is finally getting things right -- only time will tell. My only advice: Don't try and compete with Wal-Mart. Wal-mart is for cheap, Chinese made junk. Kmart at least still has an air of "uniqueness" about it. Different products, unique selections and almost a "quasi-cool" factor to it (I just loved the Xmas decoration we picked up!)

Get Rid of Kmart

LaTigre — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 08:40:29 GMT

king4852 said…
Amen! Employee morale is internally driven. Most people who are successful in life have become this way because they have learned how to motivate themselves. They are positive, self-confident people who enjoy working because of the satisfaction the work itself gives them. If an employee has a need to be recognized just for showing up for work, he or she will certainly have a difficult time ever getting promotions or raises. So how about if we quit blaming managers for everything?

Wow, I'm willing to bet that you never worked retail. You can have the best job in the world with free cake and ice cream served to you every day and it can be ruined by a horrible manager.

When I worked in retail, I wasn't asking for recognition for showing up, but a "thank you" for taking over a task that my manager hated doing would have been nice. A "good job" for doing the work of three people (because the other three were too lazy to do anything in the store) would have given me a bit more motivation. How about letting me leave early to watch my brother's high school graduation, instead of making me move my lunch break to the end of the day so I could make it to the ceremony in time? Or not conveniently forgetting that we had other employees in the store that could do inventory each month, instead demanding I do it every time while she sat in her office chatting on her phone? (Only to make me do it ALL OVER AGAIN because she screwed up the paperwork.)

I have a Bachelor's degree and own a semi-lucrative business, so I have no problems with motivating myself. But it's really hard to stay motivated when your efforts are constantly ignored by management, but you are constantly reminded of every small mistake you make.

Get Rid of Kmart

michelina — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:09:08 GMT

Thanks for your comments!!

Get Rid of Kmart

ConcernedRE-sk — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:42:02 GMT

I like shopping at Kmart (and Sears) as it brings back memories as a kid, shopping with my parents. This was before Walmart spread throughout the country like a virus, closing down small town stores and before Target was trendy. My disappointment is that Mr. Eddie Lampbert isn't interested in revitalizing either Kmart or Sears and sees them as cash cows, sucking the life out of these two, once strong chains. Store leases are allowed to run out, locations are sold, etc. Where is all of that cash going to? What happened to the long term plan? When will a Kmart be remodeled? Why were self-checkouts removed? Dot com business is important, but how could you have a dot com business without strong stores? I agree with fixkmart in that there is a shining light for Kmart and that is the return of the layway option. Kudos for at least that!

Get Rid of Kmart

fixkmart — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:54:47 GMT

I agree that Kmart is doing some things right in this economic downturn compared to other retailers, ie, no payments no interest on Sears cards until June 2009 on purchases of 199+, double coupons, lawaway, and early black friday deals. I hope that Sears and Kmart are able to weather this economic storm and continue to remodel thier stores, service, and distribution network as I like having an option other than Wal-Mart to shop at becuase many of their products are cheap and fall apart (low price comes at a cost). Having the right amount of product on time is paramount along with good customer service=return customer. Part of the problem Touch of Lace is that Kmart closed many of their stores in the Minnealpolis area during the last round of bankruptcy, thus leaving the window open for Target and Wal-mart to aggressively move in along with other retailers.

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ronpb1969 — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 01:03:38 GMT

I don't agree with you. I enjoy Kmart. It has had some hard times in the past but I think things are looking up for it.

Get Rid of Kmart

TouchOfLace — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:46:58 GMT

K-Mart has much better deals then Target will ever have. People were lined up for the Twin Cities C.D, but other then that they have no great deals and the only way they ever will is if the economy gets even worse then it is. And I believe they still will be higher then any other store. The employees could care less in helping you compared to K-mart. They say they are lowering prices, but they do not beat K-Mart!!

Get Rid of Kmart

nifman — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:42:58 GMT

The K-Mart store in my area is better than any of the other stores that sell the same type of products. They have many workers that have been there for 20+ years. The management is very responsive to suggestions. My Motherinlaw is 91 and is getting frail, I try to get her out as much as possible and we normally go to K-Mart on Sundays. There was only one non electric wheelchair there and she needs to be pushed around if she is going to be able to enjoy the trip. I emailed the address I found on the website and the next day I received a call from the manager. I explained the problem and he promised to do what he could do. A couple of days later I was in the store and there were 2 wheelchairs there. Haven't had a problem getting a chair since.

I will say, there is not always some there to assist right now. the service is still much better than most stores except for maybe stores where the sale people are on commission. And with the economy in the shape it is in it is going to get much worse.

Dennis

Get Rid of Kmart

amamo — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:02:17 GMT

I am like you, I like K-Mart store. A number of them have closed here in my area, Western New York but we do have a few left and I go to one all the time. I think the quality of the products is great some times priced higher then Target or Wal-Mart, but on the whole a nice store. I have used lay-a-way a number of times which is great for someone on a fixed income.

Keep K M

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kenhanish — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:42:50 GMT

I live near a Super Kmart in Riverside, California. My last few visits have been pleasant. I am usually asked by an associate if I need some assistance while shopping and the store is kept quite orderly. Except for the restrooms. They are wrecked every time I go in there. I could echo what was mentioned earlier that there are usually not more than 2 check-out lines open and I always have to wait. Other than that, I like shopping there.

Get Rid of Kmart

weeks — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:19:58 GMT

i agree with you. as a mother to i want to get the best prices. the more money that i save the more money that i can put to better use like taking care of my family. even though some times you don't get the best service at least you save a little money. i also agree that the stores need a little better service.

Get Rid of Kmart

fixkmart — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:58:20 GMT

At my Kmart, 9600, the manager and assistant manager are very helpful to both the customers and employees. They even runs a cash register when we are busy and need help. Our manager smiles and talks to her customers and makes sure they are satisfied with their purchases and their shopping experience. Also, she makes sure to stress that customer service is #1 to her employees, making sure that her employees smile and say hello to the customers, take them to the product, and explain the options and features to them. I have been told by many customers that our store offers the best customer service in town, despite having a new Super-Walmart.

Get Rid of Kmart

michelina — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:14:17 GMT

Hi firsttimegrandma, I'm sorry to hear about these store experiences. Did you know you can write a review and rate your local Sears and Kmart stores? Yep, it's true. And, these reviews will be available to the store managers so they can get a real customer perspective. I'd encourage you and everyone in our community to write a rewiew of your local store. I hope we do better next time!

Get Rid of Kmart

firsttimegrandma — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:56:00 GMT

The people at my local K Mart never smile from management on down. The CSR desk is always staffed with someone who acts like you have interrupted them and are now trying to steal the store out from under them. Although, most of them would not notice if you did. Once when I checked out I recognized the cashier and was excited to see her since we had lost track of each other. Well as she was checking out my items I was just talking away not even giving her time to get a word in edgewise, the manager came over and told me that the cashier was not allowed to be talking on the job. It held up the line. She wasn't even half way through checking my stuff out. I was mad to be reprimanded since I was the customer. So I waited until she had finished ringing me up. Made sure I paid in cash. Went directly to the CSR desk and got a refund. The manager did not like that. He even had the nerve to ask me why I was returning what I has just bought. I told him by his talking to me he was holding up the line. He did not like losing a sale of$489.76 Later I saw the cashier and told her what I had done and she said she new she got wrote up for it. Can you believe that? No wonder the staff doesn't smile or act friendly. Thank goodness he is not the manager any more but they replaced him with a woman that is even worse can you imagine?

Get Rid of Kmart

miaholder — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:05:16 GMT

The Kmart that I shop at is normally a mess...The toy dept. especially I believe it is understaffed and the staff that is there doesn't care or they have no supervision. I am looking for Elmo Live and half the shelves were empty and most product was in the wrong spot. I went to Wal Mart and spent my money there.I love Sears products but they need to Make the Kmarts look like a sears store...organized and clean.