Sears Canada Inc

In January (2016), I had a terrible experience with Sears Canada when ordering a washer in Toronto. On the very first call, I already felt hesitant about going with Sears, because the process for getting the washer delivered, having our old washer uninstalled and hauled away, and having our new washer installed, sounded almost impossible. It was incredibly difficult to even understand from the sales person how all of this would work. The onus was completely placed on me as the customer to coordinate everything, calling 3 different numbers to get all of this set up. Finally, I was able to purchase the washer, call the separate contractor who would deliver the washer on a specific day, call the people who could come uninstall/install on the following day, and then arrange with the delivery service to haul away the old washer (i.e., 3 days of Sears/contractors coming to my home). Each of these services at an additional cost, of course. Not only did all of this take me HOURS on the phone, each of these days I needed to be home for 4- to 6-hour time intervals. We have a 2.5-year-old, and I was nearly 9 months pregnant with our second – this was quite difficult to coordinate, all while hauling loads of laundry to a neighbourhood laundromat and hoping everything would be set up before the newborn arrived.
At every phone call with Sears, I clearly outlined that the washer and dryer are stacked in a laundry ‘closet’, located on the 3rd floor of our townhouse and that the old washer is on the bottom of the stack and would have to be uninstalled before installing the new one. The delivery people were nice enough, but said that nobody told them they’d have to climb 3 flights of stairs (another red flag). On the following day, the contractor told me that he would not be able to do the uninstall/install because he did not know they were stacked (!!!!) and that I was supposed to have purchased a stacking tool kit for him to do his job. He said to call the customer service line, purchase the kit and then he could come back to do the job (but probably not for a few days).
When I called customer service, I complained that I had clearly outlined that they were stacking appliances and expected them to expedite a stacking toolkit so that I could get the contractor back ASAP. Not only did they have zero sympathy for my situation, they told me that it would take 5-7 business days to get it to me. Alternatively, I could travel to north Toronto to pick it up myself. (We have no car, and given my situation above, this was not going to happen). They also added that I “should have known” I needed this toolkit and “should have mentioned” that I had a stacking washer/dryer set (!!). Terrible customer service, no matter how you slice it. Finally, I asked to speak to a Manager. They put me on hold for 10-15 minutes, and with my little one around I couldn’t stay on the line any longer, so hung up.
Since I’ve got a lot on my hands and my husband works long hours, my mother thankfully took over. (At this point, I decided I would not deal with Sears any more on this. I’d rather wait to have everything done properly and be treated with respect.) Another customer service Manager repeated to my mother that I “should have mentioned” the stacking washer/dryer and Sears insisted on charging me for the contractor service call that was never completed. After much argument, they finally refunded us. We also had to call Sears THREE TIMES to ensure that the haul away appointment was cancelled and refunded (at each call, it was as though the previous person had never recorded the request – no wonder “nobody knew” I had a stacking washer/dryer)! In the end, it took multiple phone calls with multiple different people to finally get a $50 Sears card delivered to us for our troubles. After all of the stress this had put on me, hours spent on the phone, hours waiting at home for services that were never completed, this does not even come close to making up for this horrible experience. My family – both immediate and extended – have all been informed of this situation, and we will not be shopping at Sears again.