Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Kenmore - No More: So long Sears


It's no secret that I like male genitalia nothing that is sold in the US is made in the US, and we're constantly being implored to be patriotic and buy American. So why am I bitching? Because when I try to buy American, I get screwed.  Sears is a perfect example. Once a brand that was the undeniable flagship of American manufacturing, Sears too has fallen on hard times. Its stores are closing left and right, and its attempt to become a major player in the online retail world doesn't seem to be working. But before we go there, I'd like to tell you all why I personally will no longer shop at Sears.  A couple years ago, I purchased  all new appliances for my kitchen. I bought all Kenmore, with the exception of the dishwasher,  a Bosch which the salesmen recommended. Recently, the $900 refrigerator stopped working, so I called the Sears service hotline. The next day, they sent out a tech who told me that the compressor was bad and that it would cost $1,200 to fix it. Naturally, I declined, because as is the case with most everything these days, it's cheaper to buy a new one rather than to fix the old one.  I chatted with the repair tech about my refrigerator and found out that although it said Kenmore on the front, it was an LG product (an Asian company) that was assembled in Mexico.  RU kidding me? Sears? Made in Mexico? Via Korea or wherever, it just proves that American companies are just as deceitful as any other when it comes to full disclosure.  Perhaps, it was my fault for not asking the salesmen where it was manufactured, but Sears had always been my "go to" brand for appliances because of its reputation for quality and reliability. I just assumed that anything Sears would be made in the USA, apparently I was wrong. So much for brand loyalty. Sears, you will never get me back as a customer because of your crummy warranty and your lousy product. I'd tell you where to stick your Craftsmen wrench, but by now I'm pretty sure you know where that would be.  So long, Sears.

4 comments:

  1. Nothing new about OEM.

    Originally, an OEM (original equipment manufacturer)REG was a company that supplied equipment to other companies to resell or incorporate into another product using the reseller's brand name. For example, a maker of refrigerators like Frigidaire might sell its refrigerators to a retailer like Sears to resell under a brand name owned by Sears. A number of companies, both equipment suppliers and equipment resellers, still use this meaning.

    2) More recently, OEM is used to refer to the company that acquires a product or component and reuses or incorporates it into a new product with its own brand name.

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    1. Yes Dave, UR correct with regards to OEM, but my trust has still been betrayed by what I had come to know as a top-brand within its market.

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  2. It's all kinda annoying... NOTHING is made in the USA anymore, unless it's owned by a foreign corporation.

    It's kinda sad, ya know?

    -SEH

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  3. Don't get me started about Sears. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that has said 'so long' to them. And as a Chicago native, it initially pained me to dump a Chicago company. But Sears wiggled out of a rebate I was owed on an appliance I bought from them and that was the last straw. That $75 they saved on denying me the rebate has cost them a few thousand in sales from the business I've taken elsewhere for appliances, tires, garden furniture, etc. It made me so angry I searched until I found small, local businesses to shop at. The place I now buy my appliances is like the local hardware store I shop at, namely, it belongs to a buying co-op. While they can't always meet really discounted sale prices (or bait and switch rebate offers)the day to day prices are almost the same and the fantastic service I get more than makes up for the price difference. Still doesn't solve my problem of wanting to buy American as often as possible, too, but it keeps a lot of the money I spend in my community thanks to these family-owned business.

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