Sears Warning: DO NOT buy appliances from Sears

On March, 18, I purchased a brand-new HE washer/dryer set from Sears/K-Mart. I purchased delivery and installation with the machine. On March 22, the installer team arrived, hauled away the old washer and dryer, and supposedly tested the machine. I live on an island where houses must be elevated, so my laundry room is on the 2nd floor, above the garage. Since I had been several weeks without a washer, I was very excited, and washed a load as soon as possible. Bad idea. When I went outside, I saw a large puddle of water seeping out the garage door. When I opened the door, I found a large puddle of water (approx. 3 ft in diameter), as well as a large spot of water soaked drywall on the ceiling, directly under where the new machine had been installed. I immediately called the 800 number to report the issue and the damage to my home. Sears was unable to send anyone out until Friday the 26. I specifically told them that Sears had caused significant damage to my house, and that I needed them to send their insurance adjuster. They asked me to move the machine to look for an issue. I explained that I was disabled and physically unable to move the machine, which is why I had purchased delivery and installation services.

The 26th arrived, and a Sears van arrived at my house, 45 minutes after the 2 hour window they had given me on the phone. Instead of sending any type of adjuster, Sears had sent out another team of installers. I immediately showed them the damage. They responded that they were merely installers and would not do any kind of damage report. They verbally reported that a hose had been incorrectly installed, but they were sure that a leaky hose would not cause that degree of damage. When I asked who was going to come to assess the damage to my house, they called their supervisor to try to find out. The supervisor told them no one was going to come out to assess the damage; it was my problem and I would need to file with my own insurance company. I immediately called the 800 number. I told the customer service associate that instead of sending out an adjuster or a technician, they had merely sent out installers who had done nothing to help me with my issue. The associate informed me that the 1st associate had failed to initiate a claim, and he gave me a claim number. He assured me that the installation team would report the damage when they returned from the job, and told me they would call me back with additional information. He also told me they would send the proper personnel out the following day. I asked to speak with a supervisor. I was on hold for 30-40 minutes before the associate returned to the line to say no supervisor was available.

Saturday morning, another two people arrived. These 2 individuals could barely form a coherent sentence. I asked them if they were technicians or insurance folks, and they told me that they were just installers. They spent less than 5 minutes at my house, saying there was nothing they could do. I again called the 800 number, and they assured me that I should stay home, and that a technician would come out sometime that day. The technician arrived several hours later, and told me the machine was fine, but that my drain was blocked. He told me to call a plumber to assess the hook-up, and this was clearly not a Sears issue.

After wasting an entire Saturday (the 1st Saturday that it was sunny in months), I went back to the store that sold me the machine. The store manager and sales person spent about an hour on the phone with Sears and got no where. They assured me that they would try again Monday morning, during normal business hours. He called me early Monday morning to report someone would be coming out to assess the damage later that day. About an hour later, he called me back; no one was coming out. He said that the installers had reported there had been no installation issues, (despite the fact they had told me that hoses were not properly connected the first time,) and the technician on Saturday had said that my plumbing was the issue. So, as far as Sears was concerned, the case was closed. Sears told him that they had sent 3 people out, and that was more than they needed to do to resolve my issue. I needed to have a plumber come out, at my expense, to fix whatever the issue was.

The plumber came out today, and he spent several hours assessing the issue. The plumber's diagnostics showed that there was no issue whatsoever with my drains, pipes, or plumbing. He also said that the locations of the water damage (directly below the washer) was indicative of a washing machine issue, and in fact, was no where near where the drain pipe ran. The plumber's conclusion: my hook ups could not have caused the damage, my drain was fine, and I had no leaking pipes.

So, after spending about $1000 on a new washer/dryer, I am left with damages to my house that will exceed the cost of the appliances. I am left with a plumbing bill that adds another hundred dollars plus to my costs. I have a major mold issue developing in my house as well. Sears will not do anything to help me resolve the issue in any way. I can't get the old appliances returned, and if I try to return the new ones, not only will they not refund my delivery/installation costs, but I will have to pay a restocking fee.

I went to Sears when I needed new appliances because of Sears' stellar reputation. What did I get for it? I have spent literally 4 full days trying to get the issue resolved. My health is suffering. I am left with a destroyed laundry room floor and garage ceiling, an ever worsening mold issue, and absolutely unacceptable service from Sears. I have spent over a week trying to escalate this to a corporate level, to no avail. I am highly allergic to mold, and I have a stress-exacerbated disability. I have had nothing but elevated stress since the first set of installers left. I am still without functioning laundry appliances, and instead am left with a floor that may fall through any day. When that happens, I fully expect the response to be that THAT damage is not covered under my warranty.

I will share my experiences with everyone I know--stay away from Sears at all costs. You will be left with damages that far exceed the costs of the appliances to mitigate, and Sears will flat out refuse to do anything to help you. Just because Sears assigns you a claim number, do not believe that will get you anything. Be smart--call in your own professionals before allowing Sears to let the issue get worse. They will close your case and leave you worse off than you were before choosing to give Sears your money. Instead of an appropriate and timely response, you will get migraines, large bills to "verify" what you already know, and a "We didn't do it" response from Sears, despite hiring 3rd party professionals to verify that the damage was, in fact, Sears' fault. Do not waste the hours trying to resolve it through the channels Sears' suggests like I did. Read through the "MySears.com" forums BEFORE shopping at Sears so you are spared the heartache of having to post your own story of woe, echoing all of the others on their own forum. Don't waste the time and energy trying to accelerate your concerns through either the store or through the 800 number unless you actually like headaches. Do not expect Sears to send honest representatives out to address the issue, and ask for everything they say in writing. Be aware that spending money at Sears may leave you in a worse position than you were to begin with.

Sears' old "stellar reputation"? Well, that reputation is history, as far as I can tell, and in no way represents the "new" Sears. Every thing is outsourced, and Sears will not do anything to stand behind their subcontractors work. You will get robo-calls, asking you to complete a customer service survey. At the end of the call, you will be asked if you want a call back. Do not hold your breath waiting for that call back. I am still awaiting my call-back, and as of this minute, am unable to speak to a supervisor or anyone in corporate.

I will tell you all something--I know who I WILL NOT call to address my home damages--Sears Home Improvement Services. In fact, after this experience, I will never set foot in another Sears as long as I live.

Liberty University Usurps Students' Liberty

Falwell's Liberty University is a misnomer. Today, I read that the University demanded that the Student Democratic Club disband, and they threatened its 30 members with expulsion if they did not. They did not, however, place the same restrictions on the Student Republican Club.

University Administration evidentially decided that the Democratic Candidates are in direct opposition to the University's goals. They did not like the fact that its members actively supported Obama in the last presidential race.

Last I checked, universities' goals involved preparing their students for the "real world", and teaching them critical thinking skills. I guess at Liberty, the only type of thinking they want to foster is right-wing conservatism. Dare to have an opposing view on anything, and I guess you just don't belong there. They don't want your type in their hallowed halls.

Is Liberty trying to produce critical thinkers, or sheep? Are they trying to teach their students to challenge their belief systems, or merely to parrot what they're told?

I must confess: I went to a small, conservative, private Baptist University located in Virginia. Although the Student Democratic Club was much smaller than the Student Republican Club, it received the same University funding, resources, and support. During significant National elections, the two clubs sponsored debates in order to challenge the other side's views, and hopefully, sway a few attendees to change sides. It helped induce all students to vote according to the candidate and the issue, rather than following strict party lines.

Liberty University is also a small, conservative, private university located in Virginia. As a private school, it has a right to promote any viewpoint it so chooses. But it is doing its student body a great disservice by stifling the voice with which it doesn't necessarily agree, rather than encouraging students to listen to that voice, to assess what it has to say, and to filter it through their own view of the world. College is supposed to help you learn to see the weaknesses in others' arguments. They are also doing a disservice to their own mission. Their graduates will have missed the opportunity to experience the other side. They may be able to quote the company line, but they will have difficulty explaining why they do.

I'm glad I live in a country where the First Amendment gives me a right to speak my mind. I'm glad my country's educational system values critical thinking and examining all sides of an issue. I'm glad I live in a country that has educational choice and freedom, allowing me to go where I want to study what interests me. And I hope that all potential college students, of all political affiliations, who value choice will think twice about attending Liberty. Finally, I hope those free-thinking students at Liberty, currently being threatened with expulsion, start thinking about transferring to another school.

(Original Article: Washington Post)

Why I'm Applying for Food Stamps

I’m thinking of signing up for food stamps. I have been eligible to do so for almost a decade now, but I’ve resisted. But I’m thinking my time has come. Why now? Why not? Everyone else is doing it, regardless of their “true needs”. I figure it’s about time I joined the line of people with their hands out, begging the government for help. Why not jump on the bandwagon?

For most of my life, I worked serving the community. I have a bachelor’s degree in English and Secondary Education, and a Masters in Counseling and Human Development. I spent almost 20 years working for non-profits, earning the “little bucks”, helping others who were truly in need. My salary stuck me right in that “lower middle class” economically, and my low wage levels qualified me for a whole range of financial assistance programs. But I never applied. I could eek by on my modest income, as long as I forwent the small luxuries in life—things like cable TV, high-speed internet, meat on a nightly basis, and new, luxury cars. I lived in a modest house in a working class neighborhood and clipped coupons. I judiciously saved until I had enough for a modest down-payment on a “fixer-upper” and paid my mortgage each month, even if it meant eating Macaroni and Cheese for a week straight. Then, due to no fault of my own, I was involved in a car accident that required almost 2 years of rehab and left me physically disabled. Everyone around me told me to go on Social Security. I had earned it. But I resisted. Leave the government money for those that really need it. I’m neither poor nor illiterate. I can do it on my own.

Fast forward to the new Millennium. Who are sticking their hands out for government help? Those same entities that have been feeding off of the “little guy” for eons. The corporations who have been rewarding their executive misbehavior with multi-million dollar golden parachutes fir years, while raising the prices end-consumers pay for their goods. The automakers, who have been paying workers replaced by machines to sit around and do nothing for years, while raping the American people with thousands in bogus fees when they attempt to purchase a new car. The banks, who have been paying me less and less over the years for the use of my money, the money they have been squandering. And now, they are demanding more?

I have been bailing out the executives for years, watching as they use my money to buy $10,000 shower curtains, luxury McMansions, and gas-guzzling, oversized cars. I have bailed out the American manufacturers, time and again, by paying more and more for life’s staples (food, gas, etc.) every time I enter a store. I have bailed out retailers with my tax dollars, paying for the public assistance their line-workers need by funding housing assistance vouchers, Medicaid, WIC, and AFDC. Why can’t the mega-retailers pay their workers a living wag with a decent benefit package instead of expecting me to subsidize their costs of doing business?

My 10+ year old car needs about $2000 worth of repairs to keep it in running condition. Are the automakers going to bail me out and help me with the costs of these repairs? Or are they going to charge me $2500 for $2000 worth of repairs, all while sticking their hands out, asking for my tax dollars to help them get through these tough, economic times. Will the banks bail me out, and pay those ridiculous overdraft fees, should I not have enough money in my account for my inflated repair bill? More likely, they’ll attempt to process the under funded check twice, so they can rape me with twice the fees, all while asking for my dollars to help them out.

Maybe if the corporations, auto manufacturers, and banks had been as careful with my money as I had, they wouldn’t be sticking their hands out right now. Instead, they keep acting frivolously, while expecting me to eat canned beans so that they can continue having their nightly filet mignon. They want me to help pay for their McMansions, while I throw another tar patch on my leaking roof. They want me to pay to repair my own, aging goods, so that my tax dollars can pay for them to replace, rather than repair.

So now, I’m thinking of joining that line of people with their hands stuck out. I’m tired of eating stale bread so the “big guys” can continue to have their cake. I’m tired of being sick because I cannot afford the doctors and medicine that might make me well. I’m done with leaving the financial assistance for the “have nots”, only to have the rich butt into the line to grab the dollars from the poor. I’m tired of helping out those who are better off than I.

If I try to grab a piece of the pie to fill that hole in my empty stomach, will they make me regurgitate it back up, so that they may have it for their well-fed bodies? How skinny am I expected to get helping those that are already obese?

So don’t be surprised when you see me, and thousands of my hard-working cohorts join your assistance line. We’ve been dutifully paying our taxes for years, trusting our government to use our resources for the greater good. Instead, we’ve seen Robin Hood reversed—take it from the working poor to give back to those who have been taking from us for years. Now, we’re joining your line in an attempt to get some of it back.

Locals’ Bill of Rights (Otherwise known as Guidelines for Visitors.)

I live on a small barrier island on the West coast of Florida. From about Thanksgiving until the frost melts up North, we are inundated with seasonal residents and weekly vacationers. Many of these folks are warm, polite people. However, the dip in the economy seemed to bring us a dip in the quality of visitors. The following post is a humorous look at how some of us locals feel about THIS crop of visitors.

This is an open letter to all visitors to our humble Island. We welcome you to our little slice of Paradise, and hope you enjoy your stay. But we also implore you to show consideration for the locals, and observe our local customs during your stay.

Yes, there are some of us who are lucky enough to call this our one and only home. We live here. Year round. And a great number of us are neither snowbirds nor retirees. We’re working class, and we can’t afford the luxury of a second home. Many of us have jobs that have nothing to do with tourism or hospitality. We have to get up in the morning and do the Nine-to-Five thing. (Or the Seven-to-4 thing. Or sometimes even the Six-to-Three thing.) Others work the late shift, and appreciate quiet in the mornings so that they can sleep in.

The world may see the Island as a “resort”, but we view it as our home, a working-class city. Please be mindful of this while you are raising a ruckus in your rental house. Chances are, if you don’t see a shingle hanging outside your window that says “Motel”, you’re staying smack-dab in the middle of a quiet residential neighborhood. Especially if you’re staying in Anna Maria City or Holmes Beach. You have the privilege of being our “temporary neighbors.” We ask that you behave as you would have your own neighbors behave back home. If you want to scream and play loud music early in the morning or late at night, consider staying in one of our many beautiful motels, rather than in a quiet, residential neighborhood.

If your children need a place to run around and play, we have several child-friendly hot-spots on the island. We have playgrounds and tot lots. We have the Skate Park in Holmes Beach. And we have miles of beautiful beach front. All of these provide wonderful places for kids to run around and scream without bothering the neighbors. We even have a couple of playgrounds on the beach.

And speaking of our beaches, there’s no arguing that they’re the most beautiful and most popular part of our island. And we ask that you help us to keep them that way. Although the “No Alcohol on the Beach” rule is barely enforced, we ask you to at least respect the “no glass” rule. There are very good reasons behind this rule. There are trash receptacles by every beach access. Please use them. The Gulf is NOT an appropriate place to deposit your empties. Dirty diapers are especially bad for the wildlife. Likewise, the beach is not a giant ashtray, which is why you’ll see the locals carefully collecting their spent butts before they leave the shore.

We love the beach. We are fishers, and swimmers, and skimmers, and walkers, and we all co-exist peacefully. The skimmers try to stay away from the swimmers, and the swimmers try to stay away from the skimmers. The fishers try to stay away from both groups. If you choose to fish from the beach, rather from one of our many scenic fishing piers, we ask that you find a spot away from the swimmers. The walkers carefully watch the fishers and the skimmers, trying not to get in their way. They hate having to avoid the unfilled craters left by children long gone from that stretch of sand. If your children love digging holes, encourage them to make filling them back up the last activity of the day. It’s one less hazard for the walkers, joggers, and skimmers to have to avoid. And believe it or not, unless they’re below the water line, the surf will not fill the holes back in.

We love our dogs. This is probably one of the most pet-friendly destinations in the country. But the locals have to take their pets to the “Doggie Beach” at Palma Sola. Since we get admonished for bringing our pets past the Beach Access, expect us to do the same to you if we see you with your pets on the sand.

Yes, there are many of us who live here, part-time or full-time. Our island is more than merely a collection of rental units. We love our lawns, and we carefully tend our fruit trees. We get extremely miffed when someone parks on our grass, leaving tire tracks, helps themselves to our fresh fruit without permission, or ignores the local “pooper-scooper” laws. We get angry when we see people littering our beautiful paradise. When we drink, we recycle our empties. We are mindful of our impact on this island, and ask our visitors to show similar consideration.

We are lucky not to have to jump in our cars every time we want to go somewhere. We have wonderful, “green” transportation options on this island: the trolley, and the bicycle. Please take advantage of both. But also, be reminded that a bicycle is considered a motor vehicle in the state of Florida. While you may feel safer on the sidewalk than on the street, remember you are supposed to give way to pedestrians and dog-walkers on the sidewalks; they are not supposed to clear the sidewalk for your bicycle. And be mindful that cars use the streets too—pull over to one side when traffic is approaching, rather than staying three abreast, and use your headlights and tail lights at night. We’d like to see you go home with all your limbs intact, and our insurance rates are high enough.

Speaking of the roadways, we do have some beautiful stretches of scenic highway, replete with palm trees, beaches, and water views. We locals are not immune to the beautiful vistas. We just have someplace we need to get to. For many of us, that place is “work,” maybe even at your intended destination. And we’d like to go the speed limit while we’re going there. We ask that you not slam on your brakes in the middle of the bridge to admire the view. There are parking places on either side of each bridge where you may park and admire to your heart’s desire. Those brick things? They’re crosswalks, not speed bumps. You don’t have to slow down unless a pedestrian is approaching, in which case you’re supposed to stop. The whole circle at Bridge Street is a crosswalk. If there are no pedestrians, there is no need to stop. You’re supposed to yield to the traffic already in the circle or to pedestrians. If there’s neither, then there is no need to stop. And we’d like to remind you that the speed limit is over 25 MPH through most of Holmes Beach (and much of Bradenton Beach.) When you get to that restaurant, and your table’s not ready, it may just be because your assigned server was stuck in that traffic behind the guy going 25 in a 45 zone, slowing down to enjoy the view.

We love our island. We choose to live here because we think it is one of the greatest spots on the planet. And we have the best “locals” around. One of the things that make it such a great vacation spot is that we’re more than just an empty resort town; we’re a collection of colorful townies with eclectic histories. We welcome you to our little slice of paradise. However, we’d like to remind you that it’s our home, and we’d like you to respect it as such. You’re playing in our backyard. Remember those “guest manners” your mother taught you? Treat us with respect and observe our local customs, and we’ll welcome you back into our home, time and again. And we’ll even tell you the REALLY good places to eat.