I was an employee working at Sears Automotive and we were aware that the person in charge was not qualified for the job. One day I noticed her helping a customer who needed shocks on his '94 Ford Explorer. She insisted on not letting the customer get his shocks replaced unless he got the alignment done, even though he had just gotten it done. She was determined to make him think that replacing the shocks was going to affect the adjustments on the alignment which is indeed not true.
We were told that if we did not try to sell alignments to all customers that there would be diciplinary action. We were also told that there would be consiquences for certain types of returns.
Even some of the jobs we were told to do were unreasonable. Such as stocking batteries and battery acid without any sort of protection such as rubber gloves, aprons, or face protection. Acid burns are not a fun thing.
I was aware of car lifts that would drop with the cars still on them. Many of the employees were not trained to use the equipment properly. Many of them without safety glasses, back belts, or steel toed shoes. There was even a time when we had a 16-year-old boy stocking the batteries and tires which included using heavy machinery such as pallet jacks and freight elevators.
Sears was responsible for not properly handling an employee's on-the-job accident, just because the employee did not read english easily. One of our mechanics acquired some inner ear damage from someone using an air gun next to his ear. I feel that it is wrong to hire somebody and not give equal treatment. That guy ended up paying bills he could never afford and now he can't hear as well as he once could. It also leaves him more open to infection.
The list goes on and on but I thought I would just give you an idea of what it was like to be on the inside IN an entry-level position. So much for a compeling place to work, shop, and invest. I quit!
