I wouldn't normally have considered myself a big fan of Sears (as in Sears Roebuck), but I had a great customer service experience with them last weekend that really turned me around.
A few weeks ago, I broke the shaft of my twelve year-old Sears Craftsman shovel. Not knowing quite what to expect, I took it back to the nearby Sears store.
The kid behind the counter told me to just go back and get a new shovel. I did. He gave me a receipt, apologized for making me wait (there was a problem with the register for a bit), and I was done. No questions about when I bought it or how I broke it, and the guy on the floor was empowered to make it better with no forms or managers. Sears simply stood behind their product no questions asked.
I loved the experience and am an evangelist for Sears Craftsman tools now. I wish more companies (including mine!) had this attitude.
Bruce Reply
Sears really does do a lifetime guarantee.
My father had a similar experience in about 1995. He broke the side off the open end of a 1/2" combination wrench that he had purchased just before World War II. I recall it says Craftsman or Sears Roebuck or some such, but it's quite a bit different from today's wrenches. He took it into Sears, the kid squinted at it a minute, said "I'm sorry this broke, go grab a new one", and rung it up as a warranty replacement.
Amazing - 55 years of use, and Sears replaced it when it broke. With apologies.