To whom it may concern:
One of my earliest memories about my birthdays was my father giving me my first Craftsman tool. Every year after, for my birthday and for Christmas my father would go to Sears and select a new Craftsman tool to add to my set. He continued to do this for every birthday and every Christmas as I was growing up.
The early lesson my father gave me was that a quality tool would never let you down. As I grew older, I came to realize that it as more than just the tool. It was the organization and the people behind the tool. It was Sears that would stand behind their quality product with quality people. It was Sears who I could trust.
I have always felt like I could trust Sears and I had a special affection for Sears because of what my father had done for me early in life. After I graduated from law school and took the bar exam, my wife and I decided to buy our first home. When it came time to buy appliances for our new home, my wife wanted to purchase a variety of different brands of appliances. It took me some time, but I finally convinced my wife that we needed to buy Sears Kenmore. My wife and I went to Sears and bought the complete line of top-notch Sears Kenmore Elite appliances (washer, dryer, refrigerator, range/oven, dishwasher, microwave/hood, and chest freezer). We even bought a Kenmore Elite Premier Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water System. And when it was time to buy a HVAC system for our new home we again turned to Sears.
Employee A {name changed per Sears request} from Sears came to our home, looked around the house and my existing system, and gave me his presentation. We wanted a system that was energy efficient and that would support an upstairs zone and a downstairs zone. Employee A told me that I was already set up for dual zones and suggested some very nice Carrier Infinity equipment. Employee A quoted me a price, I agreed, and we signed the contract.
The next day Employee A called me and said that he had made a mistake with the furnace component. Employee A said that the furnace he wrote on the contract did not qualify for the energy tax credit. As a result, Employee A said that Sears was going to upgrade me to a furnace that did qualify for the tax credit, at no additional charge. I later discovered that Employee A lied. My original furnace did in fact qualify for the tax credit and the "upgraded" furnace was actually a downgrade. I suspect Employee A's motive was that he underbid the contract and needed a way to trick me into agreeing to an alteration.
It was also later discovered that, while my ductwork was configured to support two zones, I did not have the necessary zone board and dampers required for the Carrier Infinity system. I called Employee A to request more information and a quote on adding the necessary equipment. Employee A said that he would check on it and get back to me.
Employee A called me back the next day and informed me that Sears did not support zoning. I thought that this was odd because one of the big features that Carrier promotes about the Infinity system is the ability to support multiple zones. In addition, it seemed unlikely that a company as large as Sears would not sell the additional zoning equipment. Employee A said that he checked and it was a policy of Sears not to support zoning. Employee A said that I would have to contact another company to buy and install the necessary equipment. I was very disappointed, however I allowed the process to move forward and the installation to begin.
The installation crew from Independent contractor hired by Sears {name changed per Sears request} was absolutely fantastic through the entire process. They were professional, courteous, accommodating, and competent. When they first unpacked the furnace, I noticed that it did not have the Infinity logo from Carrier on it. I thought that was odd, but I didn't say anything at the time. The installation progressed very well until a discrepancy came up with a connector on the furnace. The furnace would not connect to my other equipment.
At this point, there were just too many things that did not add up: no zoning support, the lack of an Infinity logo, and equipment that appeared not to be made to work together. I put a halt to the installation and ran up to my computer to check things out. Within about 10 minutes of online research, I uncovered the fraud committed by Sears and Employee A.
It wasn't long after I halted the installation of the furnace that Employee B {name changed per Sears request} arrived at my house. According to my paperwork and Employee A, Employee B was the Project Coordinator and the person in charge of the sales force and installation crew. I communicated my outrage to Employee B in no uncertain terms. He told me that he had nothing to do with the sales force, but would pass along my problems with Employee A. Employee B tried to convince me that the old furnace did not qualify for the tax rebate. I showed Employee B my research and he briefly tried to unsuccessfully poke holes in my data. Employee B also tried to convince me that there was little difference between the two furnace units and neither one was better than the other. In fact, Employee B said that it was simply a matter of rewiring the furnace to work with my other equipment. Of course, by now I knew better and demanded the original, better Carrier Infinity unit. Employee B agreed.
Later while we were talking, I informed Employee B of my disappointment that Sears did not support zoning. Employee B looked amazed and told me that he had just the other day quoted Employee A the price on my requested zoning equipment. I remember that Employee B had told me earlier in our conversation that he had nothing to do with the sales force. However, now he tells me that he does work with them. I mentioned this to Employee B. He stumbled over some words and said that what he meant was that he doesn't actually sell the equipment. I now had confirmation of what I had already suspected. In addition to Employee A, Employee B was also a liar.
Employee B told me that he would get me a price on the zoning equipment. I told him that I had no interest in doing any more business with Sears after the installation was complete. I told him that I would deal with someone else to set up my zones.
Employee B hung around the house for a bit working things out with the installation crew. To my astonishment and as a final insult added to my injury, I overhead him ask one person how I had figured it out. The question he should have been asking was, "How could this have happened?" This only confirmed in my mind what I had suspected. There is an accepted conspiracy within Sears to defraud customers when possible.
In light of my history with Sears going back to my childhood, this fraud that Sears has perpetuated upon me and my family has been a terrible violation. It is a violation in the deepest sense of the world and a fatal destruction of trust.
With this unthinkable Sears experience, I have been deeply cut and I have bled. This goes way beyond what any simple apology, explanation, or lip service by Sears might be able to repair. If you want us to move forward, if you want to try to repair some of the damage you have done, you must bleed along with me. And since your actions have demonstrated that the only thing you seem to understand is money, I have given it some serious thought.
If Sears wants to rectify the situation between us, you can reimburse me for the upgrades I am now paying to an independent contractor, in order to finally get the system that I originally wanted. You can reimburse me for the cost of adding on the dual zone equipment to the system that Sears installed. Sears can pay for someone else to do the job that Sears should have done in the first place.
Only then, when we have bled together, can we hope to move forward. Otherwise, I will make sure to tell my story to my children, my children's children, and their children. Sears will no longer be a household name in the Zahrt family, and I will strive to tell my story to other families. I promise that this will cost you far more in the long run than you can ever possibly hope to imagine.
One other thing, I can't believe that this is the only time something like this has happened. These sales guys from Sears were way too smooth, way to practiced. It took quite an effort, time, and research on my part to smoke them out. But as with any crooked organization, when the truth started to shine, everybody from Sears started running like rats to their holes. You can't imagine all of the finer pointing that went on. I just feel sorry for all the other unfortunate customers who have been victimized by Sears.
Regards,
Justin Zahrt
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