I don't blame HA associates for being pissed

Joined: 23 Sep 2006 Posts: 17

Apparently, the no price match thing was a miscommunication. Sears associates in the store can price match any Sears.com price if the customer requests it. This communication was passed down to the stores last week. If your manager hasn't passed that info along to you, ask them to look it up.

Joined: 28 Sep 2008 Posts: 4

Just can't give the additional 10% of the difference for price match on Sears.com.

Joined: 06 Jul 2003 Posts: 699

Joined: 28 Apr 2005 Posts: 1716

Joined: 08 Sep 2003 Posts: 332

Here's what they should do for the "proactive" price matching. Do it before the customer even walks in the door. Go through the competition and make our stuff the same price. Then every once in a while do a 10% off or tiered event (NOT EVERY MONTH so it's actually special).

Fort Max

Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 259

Joined: 09 Feb 2008 Posts: 1292 Location: Brand Central

PAs are not extended warranties, they are DIFFERENT. Didn't anyone tell you that?

Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 349

Sears' PAs are better than the average extended warranty, when used to the fullest.

And no, I'm not going to argue about this again....Nofs Wink

just kidding.

Joined: 06 Jul 2003 Posts: 7078 Location: Central CA

Not a problem Shake. Wink

Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 2:19 pm Post subject:

The web is the "new catalogue". It is the 21st century wish book.

Soon they wont need to come into the store for almost anything.

So....it will allow them to do away with commission and cut the salesforce. That will be the next wave as the ship slowly sinks into the deep. IMHO Sad

Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 259

Joined: 07 Feb 2008 Posts: 181

Joined: 01 Feb 2008 Posts: 259

Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 5:20 pm Post subject:

Joined: 09 Feb 2008 Posts: 1292 Location: Brand Central

I was being sarcastic... sorry that was lost... the interwebs do strip out inflection and tone

Joined: 31 Jan 2008 Posts: 195

Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 349

Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 269

Extended warranties/protection agreements are just like car insurance. A big waste of money until something happens and you need it. Any insurance is like that. Unless you a serious medical issue, your bills at the doctor don't come close to what you and your employer pay for your health insurance. However, when something big happens, it pays off.

None of go around saying, "Gee I hope that I get sick so I can use my health insurance. Or "I hope that I die soon so my wife gets my life insurance."

PA and extended warranties are just like that. No one buys one and hopes that the danged thing breaks.

Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 5:06 am Post subject:

The problem with our warrenties and why people refuse to buy them is too many people still think Sears is Sears and will take anything back regaurdless if they bought the warrenty or not. Even after I explain the return process to people some still scoff at it and say something like "You just got to know who to talk to." Then these are the same people who scream when they don't get their way. Warrenties are only a waste of money if you spent the money for it and never had to use it. Tractor warrenties are usually around 300 dollars for 3 years. Sounds like a lot of money till you consider the average cost of a service call is well over a hundred dollars for something as simple as pulling dirt out of the gas cap because the dirt in the gas cap is preventing the tractor from running. I seen this happen when I spent a day traveling with a tech. Car dealers charge somewhere around 5000 dollars for an extended warrenty on cars. On a 20,000 dollar car, that's about the same percentage as what we sell a 300 dollar policy on a 1500 dollar tractor. And we'll go to the customers home. Car dealers don't do that. You have to take it to the dealer. It's all a crap shoot. The customer is banking nothing will go wrong and we're banking something will. I bought a dryer 4 or 5 years ago at Sears and I already had to buy a new motor for it. Did I whine and bitch it happened to early? No. I bought one because I didn't buy the MPA. Some people do come in and bitch because they bought something and it failed to operate for 20 years like their last one. Shit happens. It pisses me off when I try to tell people the 2 year warrenty on a tractor doesn't mean unlimited coverage for 2 years. It's a limited manufacter's warrenty and people don't want to hear that or even want to hear the explaination.

Joined: 31 Jan 2008 Posts: 195

Joined: 06 Jul 2003 Posts: 7078 Location: Central CA

And that's just the simple nub of the whole discussion. Sure the argument could be made for ALL extended warranties... in fact, it's been made here before. They're all just forms of insurance against something that most likely never happen. There wouldn't be any profit in them otherwise.

What makes Sears' extended warranties unique is the price. There is nothing about a Sears extended warranty (whatever they're calling it these days) that justifies the massive price differential, especially when SHC leads the pack in complaints about the service they provide.

Joined: 08 Jul 2003 Posts: 4996

Everybody here seems to agree the PAs,service agreements or extended warranties are basically INSURANCE but that's exactly what the COMPANY does NOT want you to tell the customer because most realize you can't cash in unless a specific event happens.

And personally I think these state insurance regulators should have more control over these " agreements ".Sears PAs are sorta in limbo stuck between a service agreement and insurance policy.I think that's one reason they offer a PM check:that and they can use that PM check as a selling oppurtunity to extend or get an expendable part replaced.

And what everybody seems to miss in most PA discussions is the REPAIR agreement or carry in service.The Repair Agreements are for all intensive purposes an extended manufacturers warranty.You do get some free diagnostics but since those agreements don't cover normal wear and tear you are basically buying an agreement or insurance or placing a bet that the manufacturer screwed in the design or construction process.

LK-how much was the new dryer motor and how would the PA have cost-you still should be about even at this point.

Joined: 31 Jan 2008 Posts: 195

Joined: 08 Jul 2003 Posts: 4996

WTF-reasonably priced

That's exactly what Sears PAs are not.And that's why you have people screaming bloody murder when they're told they'll have to wait 2 wks to a month on a service call.

With a higher price comes higher expectation from the customers.If you sell a SEARS PA and the customer sees an A&E tech right off the bat you're loosing because you just showed the customer you contract out just like most others.All this crap about 14,000 tech and so many service calls a year is meaningless.Throw in screw ups and problems which = delays = time customer canNOT use thier purchase and leaving them feeling like they made an un-necessary purchase.

Then onething I've notice on the complaint boards over the last year or two is Sears refusal to replace compressors on fridges and ac's.Hey,your paying for a PA to keep your unit running,not to Sears make a 1/2 dozen service calls a year.

This entire decade I've seen many stories of long waits and service nit picking-abuse that never did before.I think Sears has been caught off guard over the years as to the number of customers actually using or needing their PA;uh-oh.Sorta like the rush on the banks.everyone seems to be cashing in including the PA customers.Except Sears was never prepared for heavy use of the PA.Some of the problems might be from product quality but Sears has to account for that-you know sorta like a Lehman exec accounting NEEDED cash.

Joined: 10 Aug 2008 Posts: 269

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