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Sears Washers & Dryers

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Betsy of Sachse, TX March 19, 2010

I purchased a brand new washer and matching dryer from Sears, which had two pumps, and three control panels replaced on the washer within the first year. No one wanted to declare the unit a lemon or replace it no matter how many times I asked. I took it to the coporate level (what a joke), sent a three page letter of all the problems over the course of the year with the washer, even then, the case manager was skirting the issue that this is a washer that in my opinion, and observations over the course of a year was not only a lemon, but a badly designed unit. I decided to go higher up and email all my correspondence with the case manager and the letter to some executives (another wasted effort).

The final resolution in all their wisdom was to give me an allowance for the washer, but for the dryer. There was no way in heck I was going to go with the same washer again, so I ended up feeling like I was getting screwed by having to settle for a mismatched set or spend more money to get a dryer that matched. I did not buy a mismatched set of appliances. These units were only slightly over a year old. How is that right? Sears does not value its customers. I say go anywhere but Sears for your appliance needs. I had to spend over 900.00 for a dryer to match the washer.

Tami of Orange, CA March 15, 2010

My Wife and I pay good money for you to make sure that our washing machine works properly. We noticed a noise and called for an appointment on the 17th of February. The appointment was set for the 20th of February. The Technician came out and had to order some parts. It took two weeks for the parts to arrive. The technician arrived on the 6th of March. He then came to the conclusion that he needed another technician to help. On March 13th the technicians arrived to put in the new parts. That is when the real problems started.

Repairs were done while I was taking a nap. My wife signed their paperwork at about 10:30 and left the house to do some errands. I came out at 11:25 to find water all over my service porch, leaking into my garage out the driveway and into the street. My original call was at 11:30 to report the problem. I was told that the technicians were called and would be calling me for a return time to Diedra. I then turned off the water to our house.

At 1:19 by Henry and I was told the same thing, except that I was informed that it was being escalated to the next level. (Whatever that means) At 1: 45 my wife called to report that we had had to turn off the water and could not flush our toilets, prepare food, shower, brush teeth, or any other things that everyone needs to survive. She also put in a damage claim. She was also told that it had been escalated to the next level. (You must tell your people to use that word to placate your customers.)

At 7:37pm I called again and was told that all I could do is call back on Monday. The exception in this case is that the technicians had the prerogative of not finishing their route. He also told me that it had been escalated to the next level. (I got warm and fuzzy over that one) So here I am on a Saturday night with no water and a huge resentment with the Sears repair department. You can expect that they will take your money and do the work on their time, rather than at the convenience of the customers. At 11:30 pm, our son can over to turn off the valve behind the washing machine, since I am a 60 year old disabled veteran.

WILLIAM of HAMPTON NH, NH March 12, 2010

I bought a new Kenmore washer and dryer on Feb 28 2009. We went to the Sears to see if the warranty was still good I was told that it ran out 11 days a go the lady told me that there was nothing that Sears could do. That ok I will stop buying from Sears your washer want last one year. Shame on you.

MICHAEL of MIDDLETOWN, NY March 12, 2010

We have bought a whirlpool washer the tub has broken 3x flooding my baseman and office the 3rd time we asking from answer from Whirlpool of how they are going to compensate me for all this aggravation.

Sandra of Stafford, VA March 10, 2010

My NIGHTMARE started less than a year ago. My husband purchased a red Samsung front loader washer/dryer from Sears. When the washer/dryer were delivered I received a red dryer with the pedestal and a white washer without the pedestal and the delivery man was surprised that I was upset. After 2 weeks I finally received the correct washer and pedestal. On Feb 12,2010 my dryer stopped working so I contacted the 18004myhome they knew exactly what was wrong with the dryer by what I told them- the heating element needed to be replaced. They scheduled to have my dryer repaired on Feb 25, 2012.

To my surprise the technician showed up to fix the dryer with no parts (they had already told me over the phone that it was the heating unit so common sense would be to bring a heating unit) At least I thought!!! The technician stated that the heating unit had to be ordered and it would take at least an additional 10 days to repair the dryer. I then called 18004myhome AGAIN and this is when the run-a-round began... I spoke to 2 different customer service reps and they did nothing but apologize as if that helped any. I don't want to hear apology after apology I want ANSWERS! I was placed on hold while the representative called the parts department, after a 10 minute wait I was told that the parts department was closed and I would have to call back the next day. I demanded to speak to a supervisor and the representative was very hesitant to connect me to a supervisor.

After 38 minutes the customer service rep hanged up on me, so I called back and had to explain my whole story all over again- only to hear " We do apologize you are going through this ma'am, - I swear they must read it from a script! A supervisor finally gets on the phone and again I get an apology but there is nothing they can do because my parts were ordered as "emergency" and I just have to wait. Since I was not satisfied I asked to speak to the supervisor's manager. The supervisor claimed there was no one higher and she was it! She did not appreciate it when I explained the chain of command to her and informed her that unless she owned Sears she indeed HAD a BOSS!!! after an hour of getting no where I hung up.

I called back about 2 hours later and retold my story another 2-3 times before I spoke to someone with "supervisory" rights- whatever that meant. This "supervisor" was at least a little more helpful and actually offered 2 options, 1: I could either rent a dryer from a local appliance rental store or 2: be reimbursed 25.00 a week for laundry services not to exceed 100.00. Now my new date for repair has moved to 8 March 2010. I received a call from Sears informing me that I was scheduled for repairs even though the parts had not arrived (go figure). I was GUARANTEED that my dryer would be repaired by the 8th of March.

To top it off I was told that my dryer parts were placed as an EMRGENCY order- I don't see how ordering parts on the 25th of February and having them scheduled for delivery on the 8th of March is an EMERGENCY- but I guess it's just me?????? It just so happened that the parts finally arrived but no technician! Once again, I called 18004myhome, and I was told that the next available appointment was March 16th (Are you freaking kidding me????) I demanded an earlier date so again I was briefly placed on hold and then told, "Well we can have someone over at your house tomorrow morning (9 March 2010) between 8am and 12pm." I agreed and requested for the technician to please call my cell phone when they were on their way so that I could ensure I would be at the house. The morning of 9 March 2010 I called 4-5 times between 7-11 am to ensure the technician had my number and that they would call me.

Each time I called I was reassured that the technician did indeed have my number and everything was locked on. To my surprise 12pm came and went and I did not get a phone call. So I called back only to hear "We're sorry ma'am but the technician went to the house at 10:45 am and no one was there so they left. I was told I would have to reschedule and that unfortunately the earliest available date was now 25 March 2010. Needless to say I lost it!!!!!

To make things worse Mary from Customer Solutions was about as helpful as a migraine!!! She seemed upset at the fact that I wasn't overwhelmed with gratitude. She stated that she could "squeeze me in" for March 11, 2010 from 8 am to 12pm as though she was doing me a favor. I asked for someone to come back today and her answer was: you can either reschedule for March 11th or March 25th and that I had no other options. At this point, I had no choice but to pick the 11th and she claimed I was now scheduled for the morning of 11th. I called back 30 minutes later to confirm and I was NOT surprise to hear that I was not scheduled for the 11th of March but scheduled for the 25th of March instead. I called customer solutions and spoke to another supervisor who scheduled me for March 11 2010 from 8-12. At this point I would NOT be surprised if no one shows up on Thursday morning (March 11, 2010)or I get a phone call asking to reschedule. Needless to say I am EXTREMELY displeased with Sears! I do not understand why it takes a company as large as Sears over 1 month to fix a simple dryer!! This is totally UNSATISFACTORY!!!

Mary of Atlanta, GA March 10, 2010

Let me begin that I have always been a loyal Sears and Kenmore customer. I have always had their washer and dryers and have never had any service complaints until now. On February 28th, the internal rubber ring, on my Kenmore front load washer, that prevents leaking was damaged. I called the Sears Service Center right away. I told them what was damaged and asked them to make sure the part was in the truck. I was told I could not get an appointment until March 3rd between 8 and 12.

The serviceman arrived looked at my problem and said he had to order the part and that it would not arrive until Tuesday the following week, so I made an appointment for March 10th. Well it is March 9th and the part is not here. I have just received a call from Sears informing me that the part was just shipped yesterday and that it takes 5 business days to arrive and that I need to change my service appointment.

I cannot get another appointment until Wednesday March 17th! This is a huge inconvenience as I have 2 active children and loads of dirty clothes that cannot be washed. At the initial service appointment, Sears had me pay for the part (that has not arrived) and for the service (that had not been performed yet), so I am stuck...waiting. I will know better next time and take my business elsewhere!

Annita of Wayne, OK March 6, 2010

The day after Thanksgiving 2008 I purchased a front loading washer and dryer. Because they had so many orders for this set of washer and dryer I did not get them until March 13,2009.

Here it is March 2010 and the washer needs repair. I thought no problem it is still under warranty. How wrong I was. After calling 2 times on 2 days I was told twice that my warranty started the day I purchased the washer. I said "You are telling me that the warranty started on the washer before it even existed?" They just repeated what they had already said and asked if I wanted to schedule an appointment. They informed me that there would be a 70 fee and then whatever the cost of parts and labor. I told them no and that I would not be buying anything else from Sears again.

Eleanor of Los Angeles, CA March 4, 2010

I bought a Sears washer & drier in Aug. 09. Because I am elderly, I did not feel that I could deal with Sears and that I was/am not happy with the way the washer performs. My daughter came to visit me recently and said she would negotiate with Sears. It has turned into a nightmare. They put her on hold, disconnected her, refused to let her speak with a Manager for 2 whole days, only to make a "service appt." for today between 8am-noon.

When no one showed up by noon, she phoned them only to be put on hold for TWO HOURS, hung up on, again refused to be connected with a supervisor, etc. The Tech man finally came here 5.5 hours late (with no phone call telling us that they changed the appointment time!), only to be told that "that's the way it runs; nothing is wrong with it", and leave, without giving us any satisfaction. My problem with this washer: There is actually no "Delicate" cycle. It washes and spins just as hard on "Regular" as on "Delicate" and it's tearing up my clothes! It runs ways too rough and hard. It seems out of control.

Wendy of Winter Springs, FL March 3, 2010

Is Sear just lousy concerning customer service, or they just don't care? It has three weeks and my washer has still not been repaired. At first I talked with someone who obviously works out of her home to schedule an appointment and we scheduled it for the next day at 2, which was a Saturday. No one came and by 4:30

I called and she told me that she did not have me scheduled for that day. Huh? I told her that I just talked to her the day before. She was going to try to get somone, and since I was taking groceries out of my car, I asked her to call me on my home phone and she repeated the number. What does she do - she called me on my cell phone!

When I tried to call her back, she didn't pick up. When we finally got another day scheduled, (and my husband took off work), the technican stated that the part was bad, and the machine is now in worse shape than before. That was over a week ago, and no one has gotten back to us yet. Is it just me, or is Sears mainly interested in selling than service?

David of San Jose, CA February 24, 2010

About two weeks ago, I contacted Sears' service department because my Kenmore washer was not working properly. The earliest appointment they could make was in two weeks. I was given a window of 8 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. which meant I had to be home all day.

The technician arrived at 4:30 p.m. It was apparent he was inexperienced because he was on the phone getting guidance from a superior. He diagnosed the problem. I had to pay him not only for his service call but up front for the part and for the service call to install it. The total bill was 339.81. I saved over 150.00 by purchasing a rebuilt part. The earliest follow-up appointment was in two weeks.

On February 22nd, a different technician came out and installed the part. He said the washer was working fine although he did not actually run it. The following day, I went to wash a load of clothes and the washer wouldn't start. I called the repair station to set up another appointment. Unfortunately, I have to wait a week.

I am partly to blame for this situation. About 3 years ago, I bought a Kenmore Calyso washer. it was a pile of junk. But because I had faith in Sears a year later I bought a HE2t. Since the beginning the washer leaked. And now this! I have paid in repair bills about half of what I paid for the washer new. This is the last Sears product I am buying. I will spread the word to all my neighbors and friends.

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