I remember as a boy playing with my father’s Craftsman tool box and his Craftsman tools which he still has today. I also remember the Kenmore washer and dryer in the house and the Sears catalog. That was the original online shopping! I remember back to school sales and the dark blue jeans with the day glow stitching on the sides.
When I was in the service, my ship needed some tools. Too many tools grew legs. The Chief Engineer (Cheng) authorized a purchase of $30,000 of new tools. By Craftsman.
When I got married, the reception was at a hotel next to a shopping mall. Despite living in an apartment, I spent $200 in tools. At Sears.
After the service, my car battery died. On a Sunday. New battery by Die Hard at a Sears garage.
Then I bought a washer, refrigerator, dishwasher. From Sears. Add a weed eater, leaf blower, car buffer drill. Sears.
Then things started to change. Sears Roebuck and Company decided to buy K Mart, then filed for financial protection. Stores started closing. Then some genius decided to have the power tools made in China. Then the Craftsman hand tools. I haven’t bought a tool from Sears since.
Kenmore appliances were some of the best appliances money can buy. The big boys like Maytag and/or Whirlpool made Kenmore appliances. They lasted decades. Now I had to have my Kenmore dishwasher replaced because the cheap hose that supplied the water kept freezing. Then my less than 2 years old Kenmore refrigerator with an ice maker stopped making ice. The repairmen from Sears did not want to move the refridgerator because they were afraid to damage my house or the fridge. My father in law took apart the ice maker to see if he could fix it. He recently passed away.
Then Sears sent me bills for services not rendered. The customer service reps are now in India, Pakistan, or some shithole country. I had to demand to speak with a supervisor to have someone speak and understand English to fix this.
Sears also got into home services. A rug cleaning crew tried to take me for $700 to clean my carpets. A vent cleaning service from Sears told me I needed hundreds of dollars of more work to properly clean my vents. A HVAC tech told me no. My wife called Sears for a new roof. Sears said I needed a new roof and it would cost me $7,000! The issue was just condensation. I got nothing fixed and it cost me $0!
Then I called Sears to get tires for my car. I have a Sears charge card and wanted to use it. I called the American customer service rep and was told that the auto care places do not have my tire. In any brand. I asked if they can ship it from a warehouse or supplier so I can get tires. And I was told that since Sears is closing 150 stores, they are not shipping any more products until a decision is made as to which what stores are closing! I want to give these people money and they don’t want to ship me tires!
And Sears wonders why they are getting their asses handed to them by Amazon, Target, and Walmart!
SEVEN FIVE RADIO 