What is a Reasonable Amount of Time?

"FIX IT RIGHT NOW! GIVE ME FREE EVERYTHING!"

Straight from my Torts and Civil Proceedings class:

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Suitable; just; proper; ordinary; fair; usual.

The term reasonable is a generic and relative one and applies to that which is appropriate for a particular situation.

In the law of negligence, the reasonable person standard is the standard of care that a reasonably prudent person would observe under a given set of circumstances. An individual who subscribes to such standards can avoid liability for negligence. Similarly a reasonable act is that which might fairly and properly be required of an individual.

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You know what that means? Nothing. Reasonable is the most relative term there could ever be. In a legal proceeding a "reasonable person" or a "reasonable act" is even defined as something a "reasonably" prudent person would do! At law, that would be the entire case, convincing the jury, judge, arbitrator, or whomever what was and wasn't reasonable.

At Sears, this is entirely different. Technically it isn't, as reasonable is still relative, but given that we are providing a service and the customer is in need of service, our ideas of reasonable are never going to be the same. Mostly this is due to the customer-retailer relationship, where the customer is generally going to think a retailer owes them the world for spending any amount of money with them.

I can't cite case law for you since I don't have access to Lexus or Westlaw Campus outside school, so hopefully you'll take my word for it, but there is PLENTY of precedence at common law for a "reasonable" amount of time to be anything within a month in most non-emergency situations.

Judging from most of the customers I've ever talked to and a majority of the posts here - "Should never have happened..."

INSTANT reaction time is too-slow for many people.

Everything should be perfect!

Always.

Including any 3rd party processing, like mail.

Reasonable amount of time,  such a broad subject, I hoped it would generate much more discussion.

For instance water heaters,  Not exactly a necessity but we sure do think so if we dont have any hot water, now then, if I were helpless when it came to water heater trouble, I would want one day service, and who wouldnt?  Is it an emergency?  Probably not, unless the the heater problem required for all the water to be shut off to the house.  Not likely these days as valves do get installed.

Air and Heat?  for those that have kenmore HVAC products and agreements,

your darn tootin... for the elderly anyway... Same day service.... anything less is unreasonable.  how about some opinions??  (real ones please not junk posts)

Is "yesterday" a valid category?

by all means expound upon how it relates and to which area of service and do tell how it is obtainable cost effective or doable.

based on some of the refund posts i've read here, wouldn't it be reasonable to refund money spent in the same amount of time the money is taken? 

At law that would not be reasonable, because the mythical "reasonable" person would be aware of the way the financial system works and that banks sometimes hold your money for a few days before posting it. The "reasonable" person would also understand that when dealing with hundreds of thousands of transactions a day that some are bound to not go so smoothly.

The wisdom of youth with an education and too little real world experience.

We don't expect free, we deserve and expect what we've already paid for. A reasonable expectation. You think waiting a month for service, parts, rebates and going without the product we paid for is OK. How would you feel if you had to give up your commision while we waited? We'll just take it now and you'll get it back in reasonable time after our product is repaired and working properly.  

I think BlueCrew is the "cost effective" guy.

I'm the "go here" helper for parts and manuals, and outside resources.

The Sears Cares folks are the "I'm sorry..." posters.

It's alright.

With all the help that's offered on this site, I can certainly see how you might get the different "flavors" of help, mixed up a little.

Hey!

Who uses the airport and planes to fly around in?

Let's talk BEING PERFECT, less than perfect employees and CLOSING DOWN some airports!

And, what is WITH all that construction that is always going on to offer improved service and access to larger volumes of planes!

It should have been DONE, before any of us ARRIVED at the airport.

We all pay good money for our tickets!

Oh!

Who has ever had their luggage lost by a Carrier?

Anyone?

They should track it ALL - in real time!

Did I ever mention the lost luggage with TIRE TRACKS over the bag, when it finally DID show up, about a week into our vacation?

We should get FREE return flight tickets, complementary drinks and a free movie, too...

I'm NEVER going to...

I think this is a great topic!

I think water heater and HVAC issues are emergencies and need to be addressed immediately.  I know that this is sometimes hard for us but I would love to see us handle these issues within 2 days MAX!

For other appliances, yes it is a huge inconvenience not to have a refrigerator/range/washer/dryer.  I feel that these are also situations in which we need to be able to service quicker.  In my mind, 5 days.  For dishwasher/microwaves, these are just nice to have.  You can suffer for a week with hand washing dishes.

For our refund issues, I think that 3-5 business days would be great.  I know that with certain banks this can take longer but over a week is excessive.  I know personally, with my bank they are pretty quick with transactions so the 3-5 day thing is what they do.

you could be right...but one thing is certain and that is I recognize NO help when I see it.

And in that particular case it doesnt matter from where it comes it is what it is, wether in a forum or in employment.

and if they didnt do something about your bag its because it was ok and you expected it.  Ive found them promt and accomadating to include temp supplies...and I do wish you would stick to the topic just this once......

Problem with the HVAC and the elderly, 2 days is enough in harsh conditions for them to expire and I dont mean the already failed HVAC units.

Many elderly die from the heat for instance in our state when the temps are in the three digit range.

Thing is dear neighobr at the call center in Round Rock, are you able to accomplish that................... what I mean is without asking you to internalize, does the process allow? (after it has gotten to you that is)

It's an "anology...

Which is different than an ACRONYM.

But, most people are capable of making the JUMP in logic.

Sort of like "telling a story" to make a point.

Like a Parable.

let me apply it to the topic then....its not reasonable.... lol

From a consumer standpoint, immediate is nice but not necessary.

Like mentioned before, the situation really depends on the time frame. I'm perfectly okay with the policies that Sears has in place. The problem is that it doesn't always get executed the way the policy instructs.

• HVAC/Water Heater issues, service= 2 days max (agreeing with amberskie)
• Washer= 1 week max
• Dryer= 2-3 weeks max. A dryer is not a necessity. Before, dryers used to be considered a luxury. I used to hang my clothes around the house and leave the door open or hang them outside.
• Dishwasher= Any amount of time required. C'mon people! You have hands...use them. I have a dishwasher and I STILL wash dishes by hand. Don't come with the excuse that you don't have time because I have two full time jobs and still have the time to go home and clean and do what I have to do.
• Refrigerators= 1-3 days MAX. Refrigerators are considered a "life line" since they hold all of our perishables that require us to feed our families, etc.
• Ranges= 1 week MAX. Of course, range issues depend on the "reasonable" amount of time. If the burners aren't working, I wouldn't be bothered with a 1 week wait. If the oven isn't working, I can go 1-3 MONTHS without it. I'll just find something else to cook :)
• Microwaves=I'll buy a new one...-.- To me, microwaves are not worth the hassle. Regardless if they're over-the-range Microhood combinations or countertops.

Now...going back to what WallyP was touching base with. Now that I work for the company that does most of the repairs in the industry and know the processes, if something were to happen to my appliances, I know the reasons as to why it will take so long to get things repaired and I would be less demanding BUT better prepared for it...i.e. talking to family members to help out with putting perishables away in their fridge temporarily, using their appliances i.e. washers, dryers, etc.

I'm not going to hold the company responsible for my appliance dying on me because I know the company didn't make it...they sold it. I'm also not going to hold the repair department responsible for not having the parts readily available to fix my appliances when now I know that, just like the consumer is at the retailers mercy of having items in stock, the retailer is at the mercy of the parts manufacturer for their stock. Once you see things from a "bigger picture" perspective, from outside the box, you start seeing that the company is doing everything they can to get the situation taken care of and it makes you less upset and it helps you cope with the situation a little easier.

Ok, speaking from firsthand experience with a washer your 1 week max sounds  reasonable to me. Actual time from breakdown. to new delivery, 29 days.

Should a "loaner" been made available to ease the inconveniences? That would have been nice. I had no family in the area to turn too.

The fridge ordeal resulted in no less than 4 total loss of food from first failure to replacement. The final resolution took a while longer than 2-3 days. Not a perfect world I understand. However, solutions to prolonged problems are not beyond reach. They are just overlooked.

The company may do quite a bit to resolve issues, eventually. Definitely not "everything they can do" and certainly not always in a timely fashion.

And by the way, when luggage does get lost, it's often delivered free of charge, the next day and not when the route is convenient. There is also  monetary compensation for wardrobe and essentials immediately. Not a very good analogy I'm afraid.      

I'd also like to add,,, The airline passenger transport industry likely handles more baggage than you do deliveries on a daily basis. Since you guys always like to point out the succesful transactions occuring regularly, there's an analogy for you.

They compensate in a timely manner (reasonable) for losses. And if it is there mess up, they do in fact compensate fairly generously.