Sears Strikes Again!

[whirlcool]

Got a phone call from the guy I did the ice maker job for a few months ago. His neighbor has a Kenmore dryer (417.93042300) that he bought in 2004. The dryer started to shred clothing so he called Sears out to take a look at it.

Sears diagnosis:

The drum is shot, needs a new drum.
The motor is shot, needs a new motor.
Both the front and rear drum bearings need to be replaced.

Sears repairman's recommendation? Junk this dryer and buy a new one. BTW, he also mentioned that Sears is having a sale soon.

The owner of this dryer said how could it need a new motor when it still runs?

So I went over to look at it. It looks like the front end of the drum is about an inch lower than the rear of the drum. I see a few minor scrape marks on the exterior of the drum, but the interior is just as good as new. The reason the clothing is being shredded is that on the inside front lip of the drum there is a groove that is supposed to have felt in it and it came out thereby catching buttons, zippers, etc. The drum otherwise doesn't seem damaged. If you turn the dryer on, it turns without any noises. It looks like the felt on the drum came off and dropped the front of the drum. I found that repairclinic.com had a maintenance kit that includes all the parts needed for $47.00. So we ordered that and will resurrect this dryer.

And what's this about the front drum bearings? This dryer doesn't have any at all!

Does Sears actually repair anything at all anymore? This is the third time I have encountered someone who called Sears out and was told to junk their machine and buy a new one when the cost of repair was $100 or less.

I really wonder about Sears sometime.

[this post was last edited: 3/27/2013-20:52]

 

[pierreandreply4]

its sad to say this but today stores mostly no longer repairs appliance all they went is customers to spend money on a new appliance.

 

[whirlcool]

And they then hit the owner with a $129.00 service call charge just to tell them that they need to replace their appliances when they could easily be repaired.

Sears needs to retitle their repair men to "Sales Representatives".

You know Office Depot now has a computer repair shop inside their stores. In order to work there as a computer tech you have to work the sales floor for six months first. Uh-huh....[this post was last edited: 3/27/2013-21:33]

 

[combo52]

Frigidaire Built KM Dryer

Glad you were able to save this dryer for your neighbor Allen, The front felt that you replaced is considered the front drum bearing as it supports the rotating drum.  I am afraid that this experience is all to common, this is why it is important to find good local repair places for your car and appliances and NEVER buy extended service plans. Your neighbor probably could easily get their $129 back if they complain to Sears and if that does not work put it in writing to at least 12 different parties including local radio and TV stations congressmen state elected officials, etc, etc be sure all letters list all other people that are also receiving the letter.

 

[whirlcool]

I haven't done the repair yet, but it doesn't look that much more difficult than replacing a belt.

The link is to what I ordered. I also ordered the nylon "bearing" that fits inside the drum lip to the dryer, just in case.

It looks like when I am done, the dryer will be like new again. I'll tell you if word gets around that you repair appliances, your phone will start ringing!

http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Maintenance-Kit/5304457724/1198622

 

[arbilab]

Sears needs to retitle their repair men to "Sales Repres

Howbout "Somali Pirates"?

 

[limey]

Sears

whirlcool, combo52
The guy with the dryer may be interested in the comments of "IAMCERTIFIABLE" at the link below.

Loading…

www.managemylife.com

 

[drewz]

Sears Service,

Wonder if Sears Service is anyway related to A&E because they are bad, probably worse.

 

[pierreandreply4]

story related with sears

here is a story related with sears one of my aunt called sears repair service to have a repair done on her 6 year old frige the tech told her she would be better off replacing it good thing my aunt keep her purchuse papers it was finaly repaired me i think if or appliance needs repair its better off using another repair service than the store repair service. My aunt fridge was a kenmore fridge

 

[whirlcool]

Several years ago Sears had an advertising campaign letting people know that they will repair all brand names, not just items bought at their stores. A lot of people remember those ads. I just wonder how many repairable appliances have gone to the scrap heap just because of Sears?

One thought is that Sears wants to get rid of older appliances because eventually people will come back to them after purchasing new crap from Sears and say "But my mother in law's machine lasted 20 years. How come the washer I just bought from you only lasted 7?"

 

[whirlykenmore78]

My mother in law's machine lasted 20 years, how come the

Because if you look on her machine it had a model number with the prefix 110. meaning made by Whirlpool in the USA. Also known as a REAL KENMORE! The new one is most likely some shitty Yuckmore made in China or Mexico by Frigidaire, LG, or Samsung.
WK78

 

[oldskool]

The Spiral Downward...

... yet continues. This individuals experience with Sears Service is one of countless thousands that occurs on a daily basis in America. 

 

Sears' unraveling began years ago and baring some mighty miracle, will continue until the day we read the headlines - "Sears - Going out of Business". Some will be in shock and awe that day but many of us, will know that we saw it coming. I won't rant further at this point, but one doesn't have to look too far in history to see the repetitious mis-guided steps of ignorance and/or greed that have thrust Sears further into their downward spiral. Hope to be proven wrong, but I don't think so.

 

[limey]

Sears & A&E

Sears own A&E

 

[iheartmaytag]

I don't know if it is country wide, but here Whirlpool factory service will Dispatch A&E. ( I didn't know they were owned by Sear's) I have mixed reviews, The tech that worked on my dishwasher was a "parts hanger" he didn't diagnose, or even look at the machine for that fact, he just started ordering new parts.

The tech that worked on my washer took time to check it out and find the problem and ended up only being a sensor instead of a much costlier control board.

 

[mikeske]

I think that oldskool has hit the nail on the head. My father worked for Sears for 30 years ago, I think that my father (he passed away 25 years ago) would be shocked of the poor service, poor quality and general lack of regard of the customer that Sears displays today.

The fact is Sears is a shadow of what made the store that it was before. The town 25 miles north of where I live with a fairly large population (80,000 plus residents) just lost the Sears store that had been a fixture for the last 90 years and now folks there have to travel 45 miles to the nearest Sears store.

I used to buy everything at Sears but quit 15 years ago as I saw what Sears was when I bought a Sears garden tractor and it fell apart during warranty and the fact that the tractor was in more for warranty work then on the yard. I ended up buying a John Deere garden tractor that took all the work I needed it to do and I still use it today as I could not have something that falls apart every month as I have a 5 acres to maintain.

Sorry I had to rant but I feel that Sears will be probably be gone within the next 5 years. Sears was a icon but today I think that it can not fight it way out a paper bag even with a flashlight and the instructions printed on the inside.

 

[qualin]

I can certainly tell you that Sears usually uses 3rd party contractors for installations, I wouldn't be surprised if they did the same for repair people.

 

[limey]

Sears Authorized Repairers

qualin,
One of our local appliance repairer's recently told me that they no longer touch anything 'Kenmore' unless specifically asked to do so by the local authorized Sears repairer who, incidentally, operates from his home.

 

[whirlcool]

My parents bought quite a few items at Sears including lawn mowers and other lawn equipment.

I actually never bought too much at Sears. As a teen I tried to get a part time job with Sears. They hired all my buddies, but they wouldn't hire me. So I boycotted them. Then as years went by I forgot about that but the only thing that Sears ever had was the Craftsman tools I liked. I think in the mid 70's I bought a dress shirt at Sears and maybe a record album or two. If I ever spent even $400 my whole lifetime at Sears that may be too much.

They just never had anything that appealed to me. The only time I seem to be in a Sears store is when I am passing through to another store in the mall. And now that is being changed as they just tore down our local Sears store in our mall and are going to build a Nordstrom's on the same spot.

 

[bleacho]

bye bye sears...!

its not that far into the future...
i was a store manager for Sears for 3 years... three of the craziest years in my career... the bullying, intimidation, hostility from upper management, threats.... i couldnt believe this was the Sears, that i fondly remembered as a kid...
to this day, i am amazed they kept the unions out...