SEARS SAGA

Let’s see – where did we leave off in the saga of the Kenmore Elite refrigerator that wasn't cold enough? I’m not sure, so I’ll just start with late June. I answered the phone one evening and a young-sounding female representing Sears congratulated me for having purchased Kenmore appliances and mentioned the recent successful refrigerator repair.

“Just a minute,” I said, “there was no repair." I explained that the tech said there was nothing wrong with the refrigerator and did not install the parts. "The refrigerator still isn’t cold enough, and we don’t know what to do.”

“Oh!” she said, “I’m sending an email to my supervisor about this right now, and someone will call you.” She assured me that they would call me. I was impressed. At last, someone at Sears was listening. I was sure a resolution would be forthcoming. Wrong!

We waited for the call through that week – and the next – and then it was the Fourth of July. And then Mike settled down to deal with Sears. He learned the outreach call had come from the extended warranty division. Not owning the extended warranty, we didn’t qualify for the services of this division, they said. And besides, they never initiate or return calls to customers. He was advised that the rep who promised a callback from her supervisor would be put on report. They referred him to the general customer service number. So, Mike called that number – and waited on hold – and no real progress was made that day.

The next day he called customer service again. Finally someone agreed to exchange the refrigerator on the grounds that we had initiated complaints within 30 days of purchase. The call took a long time while the rep completed paperwork. She advised us to call back the next day for further info on the exchange, including delivery date.

Mike called again the next day. This time he reached a male who said the agreement to exchange was in error. “Look,” I heard Mike say, “I just spent over $4,000 on Kenmore appliances. Do you mean to say you just don’t care about my satisfaction?” That seemed to be a turning point in the conversation, and with more waiting on hold, the rep agreed to an exchange. They would call us on July 14, he said, to provide the delivery date. (They would call us???)

July 14 came and went with no call from Sears. We weren’t surprised.  Mike and I agreed that we were stuck with the fridge. I turned it down to its lowest setting again, and we enjoyed cooler – if not cold – milk.

Wyoming landscape

Fast forward to July 31. We were stopped for the night in Rawlins, WY, on our way to Denver for a 10-day stay. Checking my email, I found a message from Sears announcing that my new refrigerator would be delivered Monday, Aug. 3. “Arghh!” I screamed. I couldn’t log into the website, but eventually we reached Sears through the customer service number and were able to change the delivery date to August 17 -- not without considerable discussion, though.

As arranged, the new fridge was delivered August 17. It’s just like the previous fridge – cooling issues and all. But – we think it's better than the previous model. It seems these new fridges just aren’t as cold as we’ve come to appreciate. It also makes ice s-l-o-w-l-y, which I believe is a design flaw, and it dispenses water that isn't cold.

Bottom line: If your present refrigerator does a good job for you, don’t be in haste to buy a new one. KW