Sears Shopping Fail and Partial Win

What was supposed to be a quick purchase at Sears turned into a frustrating and complicated process. If short on time you can skip ahead to the summary.

I was looking to buy two ToughBuilt soft container sets via Sears when I noticed that the product was eligible for free in-store pickup. Rather than placing the order online and waiting up to 2 hours (or more!) for the confirmation email, I decided to drive down to the local Sears to just purchase the items there in person.

After taking the opportunity to browse around looking for new products, I searched for the ToughBuilt Octagon Softbox Towers but could not find them anywhere. I looked for them near the other ToughBuilt products and in the toolbelt and toolbag section. Unsuccessful, I sought help from a nearby Sears associate that was setting up a display. Oh, I don’t know, I don’t work in this department. He then took the time to walk me over to a manager-looking type.

The manager-looking type did not recognize the product (I whipped up an image on my cell phone), and although his computer showed that they had a couple in stock, he had no idea where they were. But he offered that I could order them from his terminal. Once (if) the items became available, I would receive a call to come back and pick them up. Thanks, but no, that sounds like too much uncertainty and too much waiting.

What annoyed me most about the experience was that the employee did nothing to actually find the items. He did not see them where he expected them to be, saw the computer report that they were in stock, and gave up.

In the past, when I could not find a specific tool in-store at Sears, I was always offered the option to order it from an in-store terminal with free home shipping. In this case I was offered the option to order it for in-store pickup at some unspecified time in the future when it *may* be available.

I also didn’t appreciate the attitude of the employee who seemed like he was too busy to try to help me. I feel that he gave up too easily and looked for the least effort resolution. Ideally I wanted to buy the item then and there. With that not happening, a free ship to home option would have still made the trip worth it.

Ironically, as I was leaving the store I overhead a customer complimenting and thanking a young female cashier for being so pleasant. They then said something about how other Sears associates they encountered in the past were very unfriendly. Right before I walked out the door the cashier said something about how there was a corporate initiative to change workers’ attitudes.

Annoyed at having wasted my time driving to the local Sears only to leave empty-handed, I went home and popped online. I checked the in-store pickup availability, which still reported that there were 3 in-stock at each of the Sears locations in the area. A few clicks later and I ordered the two sets with in-store pickup at a different Sears location.

It is important to note that the item I ordered was listed as available for in-store pickup for a couple of days now, so it’s not as if Sears.com was reporting inventory that just arrived in the shipping dock.

A few hours later, I received a email notice telling me that the items are not in stock at the store I selected for pick-up. Wonderful. At least my order was cancelled without my credit card being charged. I checked the in-store pickup availability, and it now reported that 1 was in stock – 3 minus the 2 I ordered!

So that’s 0 for 2 now. Something similar happened a few days ago when I ordered a sale item from Lowe’s.com with the in-store pickup option. But in that case I received an email about the order cancellation 22 minutes after I ordered, not 2 hours.

But what’s this, alternative options?! That looks new. The email tells me that I could:

• keep the order live and wait to see if it arrives in-store for pickup in 10-12 days
• opt for the order to be shipped to me free of charge via standard shipping
• give up and shop for something else

I chose to have the items shipped to me, and after clicking the link I was taken to a checkout page. A few clicks later and the order was placed, with free shipping as promised. Somehow my order total was also 11% cheaper than before with no obvious explanation.

To sum it up, both Sears.com and an in-store point of sale terminal reported inventory that nobody could or wanted to find, and my local Sears has an ineffective associate or department manager that chews bad-smelling gum and did little to help.

I don’t want to jinx things, but it looks like everything just might turn out alright. My ordered ToughBuilt cases should arrive in a few days instead of my having them in-hand same day, but at least they’re on the way. I hope my next Sears shopping experience won’t be this complicated.