It isn't the mistake, it's the response it gets.

Hi Mcbsmith-Did you have an issue you need help with?  We do have an excellent customer service escalation team on this site, who have assisted many who have had problems.

Sears is always looking for honest feedback from their loyal customers.  Did you have a specific instance you would like to share? 

There have been issues.  But I was just noticing the thought that if I understand that mistakes can happen, then my attention doesn't dwell on the mistake or whether it should have happened.  My attention is then focused on whether or not you take the steps to make it right.

 

For example, a few years ago I purchased a rather expensive bed set from the Great Indoors.  I really like that store and was assured of a significant warranty on the bed and its quality for holding its firmness and shape.

 

After a couple of years, my wife and I began to notice a sag.  And when it got significant enough I brought the issue to the store I bought it from.  They let me know that since they had dropped the line they could no longer help me but directed me to the manufacturer.

I went through a great many steps to prove my purchase and my problem only to find out that the manufacturer was having major problems and was dodging every complaint that it could.

In the end, I owned the problem and bought a new bed at another store. I neither used The Great Indoors or the manufacturer, but that isn't the point.

My post is an invitation to consider. Make "Service" your beacon of performance and you will ultimately win the market.  It is a suggestion and a request. Consider how you can utilize your purchasing power to have vendors work with you to produce product that performs as stated or a way to make it right.

At that point you stand out from the field of companies that offer similar product and become someone we can rely upon.

This is not a specific situation through which I need to vent.  This is an opinion of how you can survive in your market place.  You have a lot of competition and you don't currently have a brand that is relevant in the market. I like many of the people I have had contact with from Sears and Kmart in my area to the Kmart on Maui in Kahalui, Hawaii.  You are doing some good things and it seems like you are trying hard in many ways. (Open forums like these, better lighting in the Kmart stores, improved scheduling and response from your Service Department.)

These are things I have experienced in the last year and thought you might like to know how to really win in your market.

I am curious if other people feel the same and so that is why I have made this post. I am saying that you don't have to be perfect but you need to care enough to have my business matter.

I think you are capable of this kind of quality across all your businesses and you have a lot of people betting on your ability to be a success, from your Chairman all the way to your part time seasonal associates.

This is just some customer views that you might find useful.

I wonder what other customers think. I wonder what other people who work in your company think.

 

I'm unsure what you mean by not having a brand that is relevant. Sears continues to dominate the marketplace in its core businesses (appliances and tools, with electronics now experiencing an increase). Sears sells about as many appliances in a week as any of its primary competitors sell in a month. Sears has the #1 selling tool brand in America, along with every other major non-exclusive consumer brand available in America.

Regarding your mattress problem: when a brand is no longer carried by a retailer, that retailer has lost all ability to replace the product through any warranties that the product had. Warranties are for repair or replacement. The warranty is paid for by the manufacturer. If retailers were financially responsible for the warranties on other companies' products, retailers could never afford to be in business beyond the first week. That's why you had to go through the manufacturer. You would have had the exact same experience with any other retailer. No retailer can afford to pay for manufacturer warranties. That's why they're called manufacturer warranties, and not retailer warranties.

I'd agree that there is always room for improvement. However, the talk of Sears being doomed, or being irrelevant, or being dead, has been going on for as long as I've been alive and longer. It's as dead as the paper industry and paper/metal currency.

Great response BluecrewguyinMA.  Zesty dialogue.  So this is not an attempt to make Sears have to defend itself.

But let's talk about your comment on the mattress.  As a customer all you have to tell me at the time of purchase is that you back the manufacturer as long as you carry the product.  Although it is a silly request and I know you can't do that.  My whole point was that I had one expectation when I bought the product and when I needed help, that expectation wasn't operable.  It happens.  What I think would have been a great action on the part of Sears is to have me submit a letter of complaint or distress that Sears would then forward to the manufacturer so that the maker could feel visible and a little more cooperative.  I realize that I didn't ask for that at the time, I didn't think of it until it was way too late.  But again, I understand that it is a limit that you have as a retailer.  So I accept that.  Your point about Manufacturer warranties is superb.  Retialers used to exist because they provided access to products that manufacturer's could not.  That is no longer true.  So how does a retailer add value today?  Access isn't enough.

I dont know if Sears is doomed.  I know that it is without a rudder as a brand and that you are scrambling to decide what to stand for as a company.  It is a hard thing in these times to know where to plant the flag.

Additionally, I am saying that the "Brand" is irrelevant not Sears.  I am not a marketing guru so you can run circles around my information.  The future of the Brand resides in Generation X and Y.  The Boomers have some life left, but not very much in terms of time.

The question you want to ask is: What will make customers think of us first?  what will make customers buy from us versus WalMart, Target, Kohls, Best Buy, Loew's, Amazon, Ebay and anyone else that you hold as competition.  I don't know who your competition is at this point.

I like your courage to support your company and don't take this as an attack on you guys.  It is always uncomfortable to think your company isn't the best or driving its own destiny.

This is as much an exploration for me as a customer.  I look at how you make me want to spend my discretionary dollars in the same way I have to think about how I can make my customers want to do business with me.  It is always easier for me to see my own issues when I look at someone else's.  So I am jsut thinking out loud here.  I am noticing signs of distress on your brand.

It takes more than that to make or break a company.  So asking the hard questions and staying authentic in the process is what makes you have the chance to stand out.

It would be good to look at the facts and figures for the last 5-8 years on revenue, customer demographics, etc.  Not to find fault, but to understande patterns.  To make fresh decisions about what you pay attention to and how you go forward.  You guys were a big deal when I was growing up.  A lot of things have changed over the years ande I wonder if you want to win the game you are in - enough to do what it takes to win.

Thanks for the exchange, I am learning a lot about what I am responsible for as a consumer versus what you are responsible for as a retailer.  It is really helpful becuase it let's me know when it is even appropriate to get frustrated.  I mean this sincerely.

I definitely agree with your original post, it makes a great difference to me if I feel that Sears has performed in a manner that makes me want to continue to do business with them in the future, as well as promote them as a great company with great service.  Answers to issues that will inevitably come up in retail for customer service all depend on how the person handling the feedback addresses the issue and should understand why the negative feedback is happening to begin with.  Cookie cutter responses are void of caring, and pushing the blame back on to the customer or someone else that serves as a scape goat like the infamous higher up corporate (out of reach) management, is not something that will continue to foster a warm customer relationship.  In my opinion, and I can speak from over 11 years of experience in wholesale/ retail, the best approach I have seen and used, is asking the customer "what can we at Sears do to make things right?"  This makes the customer feel like you truly care, and want to make it right.

Before you get to what Sears can do to make things right, it must be determined what, exactly, is happening. If someone is putting 40 pairs of jeans into a washing machine and is destroying it, and they call complaining that the washer isn't working as it should, the response to "what can Sears do to make it right?" will be "replace my washing machine!" However, that's not going to solve the problem, because the same problem will arise with the next machine, and the next one after that.

Customer service is very much like medicine. A doctor doesn't ask the patient what he/she can do for the patient to solve their problem without first diagnosing what is happening and what the source of the problem is. Only when the situation is properly diagnosed can any course of action be enacted. The same can be said for computer technical support. The assumption that the computer is defective is rarely the correct answer, and the solution is often far faster, easier, and cheaper than simply replacing the computer. And, if it's a user error issue, it will cost far more to replace than to find the source of the problem, remedy it, and train the user to use the product properly.

To act without adequate knowledge is shooting in the dark. You might hit the target sometimes, but mostly you're just going to be wasting time, energy, and money. Whether you call it triage, troubleshooting, or diagnostics, the purpose is the same: to find the real problem and provide the most effective solution.

I think that understanding the current problem is a great thing.  It could even start at the point of sale when the customer is asked about how they plan to use the purchase.  Is the TV going to be left on 24 hours a day?  Is the washer going to be running high volumes of jeans or tablecloths or towels.  Is the Refrigerator going to serve a family of 2 or 8?  Is the dishwasher going to run every day or more than once a day.  This helps in the selection of the item.

As to computers, I think your point is very interesting.  I don't know the answer to what a customer should already know or expect to be trained for.  It is a tough call because consumers want everything to be intuitive.  (Certainly I do) And I don't want to read a manual if I can get away from it.  Thankfully there is GPS so I don't have to worry about asking for directions.

The point is that the basis for adding value is changing and as a customer I want to understand what I can count on a retailer for, so that I can make a decision about whether that reailer is for me.

I don't know the pains you all experience from customers.  I am sure there are as many or more stories about crazy situations from customers as there are about whcky sales situations.  So I am taking the high ground here and assuming the best.

What should I expect from you as a retailer?

What do you expect from me as a customer?

 

Give me your views and I will respond.  Thanks for continuing to talk about this.

I think the key word here is responsibility.

That is something that most people do not want to accept in their lives these days, whether they realize it, or not.  Frivolous lawsuits are pure proof of that.

People really need to stop blaming their shortcomings, lack of education, lack of common sense, or lack of knowledge on others.

If you don't know, learn it.  If you can't understand it, ASK someone who does to explain it in Mr. Wizard's English.

When you deny yourself knowledge, you deny yourself the power that goes with it.

If you misuse, or abuse a product, it will not last.  PERIOD.  Today's machines are precision instruments, designed to operate as efficiently as possible.  If they are not used correctly, you will not obtain the desired result.

Warranted, there are times that a defect in design arises, and that can be helped after production and sale by taking proper steps toward a remedy.

In reality, we don't totally have a Sears problem, we have a society wide problem.

Because society involves people, well, take a good look around...

 

Worldweary2, I am not sure how your post is relevant to the thread of this discussion.

I agree that responsibility is a very useful tenant here.  I will make a leap of logic and guess taht you are talking about irresponsible purchases or use of purchases.  I don't have a way of knowing what percent of all purchases that the "irresponsible" factor you reference will come into play.

The biggest challenge is where responsibility starts and stops for the seller and where it starts and stops with the buyer. I think it has to be discovered in each transaction and this way boundaries can become well formed and appropriate.

I just finished purchasing a set of tires.  It was done in part on line and in part on the phone.  The nice (and all too rare) feat was that the sales rep on the phone (Josh in Automotive) did a superb job of finding out my planned criteria, helped me make a couple of informed comparisons and I think I made a good purchase.

I am not looking for a free ride (pun intended) and simply want to know what to expect in the final cost, product performance in terms of traction, wear and noise, as well as time frames for completion.

I think the responsibility card is too generalized.  So explain more about what you mean by, who is responsible for what and how it works.  Society and culture is a wholesale scapegoat.  The opportunity is to really spell out the rules of engagement and then have upside and downside consequences for the results on both sides.

Responsibility is a portion.  Accountabiity is another portion.  If I pay your price, I should get what you offered in the ways you have offered it.  If you don't perform or if the product fails, then there needs to be accountability and the transaction needs to be made whole.

I am not talking about the people in the world who are takers or only want to gain at the expense of ethics and fairness.  I am talking about the people who are just trying to make good lives for themselves, the work to respect people and want the same in kind.

I am sure there is great traction to the notion of responsibility, it just needs to clarified for action.  A rant is nice now and then, it just doesn't resolve much.

I am enjoying the dialogue in this.  It gives me more information and lets me know where my thinking is well formed and possibly ill formed.  I think the point of responsibility os to be concerned about the "impact" that the buyer and seller have on each other.  Not simply the intent.

There seems to be a human trait that does take advantage of some situations.  I can't address all those points.  So we start with this point - what do you do when an agreement goes unmet?

 

 

Your post made me think about a few things. First that came to mind was when you were talkling about grabbing the future generation's market potential. I think in this area, your thinking is a bit outdated. When I am out shopping for something, I look for the merit of the product, not the store. While I do avoid certain stores due to the fact that they can't seem to keep products on their shelves that do not fail within the first week (e.x. Walmart), most big box stores are exactly the same. Back to products, you have to look at the market mentality that my generation was raised on. We were brought up in the 80's and the 90's, there was so much money in America, that who cared about products lasting. Something broke, we threw it out and replaced it. So retailers and manufactorers caught on and started mass producing cheap products with low lives spans becuase it's what the market demanded. Sears/Kmart is not going to change that trend and if we tried, I don't see it working out in the long run. While I would love to see products last longer, until the market as a whole demands better quality (and is willing to pay for it) I don't expect this to change. As far as warranties and protection plans go, my girlfriend and I buy one on anything electronic and when it comes to manuals, I usually read them twice, just to make sure I know how to use a product and how it works. That's just some of the thoughts that came up while reading your posts.

Thanks for weighing in.  Since my information is more anecdotal rather than market researched I will easily concede to the potential that my information on the future generations is flawed.  I am really going on what I have observed and the picture is much bigger than I can see.

At the same time I have been paying attention to how these generations are expressing themselves.  They may be many more times competent than was suggested in the original post re: responsibility.

The thing that needs defining is who Sears wants as customers and what differences in appeal might the different groups require.  My own thinking is that it seeds in trust. Which is the underpinning of my original post around service and response.

There is an old formula that was featured around computers "Smaller, Faster, Cheaper - pick 2"!  Always an interesting truth.

Your point on the products that don't fail issue is a good one. So again it comes back to helping the customer make decisions that are well-formed.  We have learned to seek the lowest price for a variety of reasons.  Many times the more expensive item was no better than the cheaper item.  In other cases, there was no discernable difference.

These days, money seems a lot less available and we do a lot more research on things before we buy.  We shop them and as we encounter differing prices we start to ask why and learn the differences.  We then make trade-offs and a decision or get overwhelmed and wait until we can't stand to be with out the item for another minute and go for convenience or speed.

I think that I know the customer experience I seek.  At the same time, my needs may be very different than peers or other generations.  It is a tough place for a retailer but it is addressible with communities like this and the exchange of useful info.

I am looking to see how Sears steps up to the thinking here and wonder if the Service notion will become significant.  Anyone who is betting their future (as customers, employees or vendors) has a vested interest.

I am curious if Sears and Kmart can combine their strengths and create the new path for retailing.  More than a warehouse and less than a super high end retailer like Saks or some of the other foo-foo brands.

 

One addition to the points of trust.  I believe that as a customer I am trusting you to represent the maker of a product and be my link (and champion if need be) to the manufacturer.  To me, a Manufacturer is pledging that they will back their claims if a product fails to perform as offered.

I am trusting you as a company to know your stuff about a product and help me make the best possible choice.

Is my trust misplaced?  Should I place more of my trust on my own research and my ability to have the manufacturer be responsible and accountable for their product performance?

This is a really important point and I would like your best thinking on it.

Thanks

Right, mcbsmith is arguging from a consumers point of view, while sears guy 00011 or w/e his name is arguing from a companies point of view, you may agree on some points, but you'll never completely understand each other.

Thanks for that comment.  It is absolutely true.  I am simply viewing this from my own views as a customer.  If I were a shareholder, my views would differ, if I were an employee, my views would differ.

But this conversation goes much further because I have my own business and I know the position of the "company" extremely well.  In having this conversation, I am purely in the stance of the customer and it will help me on a number of fronts.  One is that I know that my investors and my company don't do too well if I don't have customers. Another thing is that as a customer I may have well formed expectations or ill formed expectations.  Addressing the expectations is the real order of the hour.

The questions you raise here that are interesting to me go along the lines of:  What do I need to understand about the company in order to buy from them?  What does the company need to understand about me in order to sell me things over time?  It is easy to make one sale, but the costs and efficiencies improve a lot if you can make many sales to me over time.

Do you think the positions are mutually excluding?

So a great question that I will post in another discussion has to do with what customers should understand.

appreciate your taking the time to read and respond.

The idea of stakeholders comes to mind as I finish reading this long dialog... and I did read the whol;e thing. All of the boards I sit, or have sat on, as well as community projects are all concerned with getting input from stakeholders: anyone with a real or percieved stake in the decisions made.

It would seem that as Sears decides who they are and how they are going to enter 2010 to maintain and capture market share in whatever markets they choose to be in, they need to consider the concerns of all stakeholders.  And, market research? That's tough since the market has changed so much over the last 9 - 12 months.

I will share with you that I have not shopped at K-Mart in many years, not since before Sears bought the store. I never - never - went in and was able to come out without a price discrepency between what was on the shelf and what was rung on my register receipt; customer service was awful; and the stores were always dirty. Even if I thought they had a better price, it finally never became worth the hassle of shopping there. As I read through the post, I realized I had never given the new owners of K-Mart a chance. I haven't been back to see if they have turned it around, or if it is still the same unrealible store with a new owner. I plan to go to KMart this week to see if there has been a change.

As for Sears, they are the first place I go for tools and appliances, but what about clothes and household goods and all of the other things you get at Sears? My sister was THRILLED when they brought in Land's End as she loves that brand. Bringing in more merchandize and brands that are relevant and reliable is good.I stopped buying clothes at Sears long ago because they never lasted long. I haven't purchased Land's End brand yet, but only because of funds. When I can invest in clothes again, I plan to visit and give it a try.

Sears has always been in my life; I remember as a kid getting the Sears Wish Book as we entered the holiday season. Sears, for me and my siblings, was about making dreams come true. It was about giving me ideas of the best that was out there and the only question I had to answer was, which majical idea would I ask Santa Claus for?

What happened? I know that those are just the memory of a child, but 40 years later they are still with me and I still remember the joy of Christmas morning when the picture fromt he Wish Book showed up wrapped under my tree.

Now, when I walk into Sears, I feel as if I have stepped into a timelessness as far as fashion and brands and the look and feel of the place. Sure, it is consistent, but it doesn't feel as if they have kept up with the times. If you look at a Sears store in 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, and today as we enter 2010, are their any real differences? It's not enough to just keep doing what you've been doing. 

I love your new online community, but your store still looks like a catalog showroom rather than a fun place to shop. And I know it's not just me. I was in Lynchburg VA with my sister for Thanksgiving. We parked near Sears because I wanted to buy my daughter a gift there. We walked through the store and the mall to Belk, purchased clothes and purses, and then walked back to Sears for the gift. Belk was a buzz with holiday shoppers while Sears was almost eery with muzak and quiet shoppers. I did notice some of the same purses we purchased at Belk and the prices were somewaht comparable except that we had great coupons from Belk, but the point is that we didn't even consider stopping there first, it was only for one item as we'd come back through to the car. What changed in our thoughts over the years to not consider Sears to be the first place to shop? How does Sears get that "first thought" back from me?

I don't know. I'm hoping you do. Sears is a staple in American Culture; it's time it became relevant again as it has been so often in the past.