Hooray for Sears

[lofty900]

Received the following from my daughter. I will definitely be buying more at Sears!

Lofty900

a.. Could we each buy at least one thing at
> Sears this year?
>
> How does Sears treat its employees who are
> called up for military duty? By law, they are
> required to hold their jobs open and available, but
> nothing more. Usually, people take a big pay cut and
> lose benefits as a result of being called up...
>
> Sears is voluntarily paying the difference in
> salaries and maintaining all benefits, including
> medical insurance and bonus programs, for all called
> up reservist employees for up to two years.
>
> I submit that Sears is an exemplary corporate
> citizen and should be recognized for its
> contribution.
>
> Suggest we all shop at Sears, and be sure to
> find a manager to tell them why we are there so the
> company gets the positive reinforcement it well
> deserves.
>
> Pass it on.
>
> Decided to check this before I sent it
> forward. So I sent the following e-mail to the Sears
> Customer Service Department:
>
> Received this e-mail and I would like to know
> if it is true. If it is, the Internet may have just
> become one very good source of advertisement for
> your company. I know I would go out of my way to buy
> products from Sears instead of another store for a
> like item, even if it's cheaper at that store.
>
>
> This is their answer to my e-mail:
>
> Dear Customer:
>
> Thank you for contacting Sears. The
> information is factual. We appreciate your positive
> feedback.
>
> Sears regards service to our country as one of
> greatest sacrifices our young men and women can
> make. We are happy t o do our part to lessen the
> burden they bear at this time.
>
> Bill Thorn
> Sears Customer Care
> webcenter@sears.com
> 1-800-349-4358
>
> Please pass this on to all your friends. Sears
> needs to be recognized for this outstanding
> contribution and we need to show them as Americans,
> we do appreciate what they are doing for our
> military!!!
>
> It's Verified By Snopes.com at:
> http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/sears.asp
> (shows the entire article)

Also:

http://consumeraffairs.com/news03/sears_benefits.html

[JoeyGee]

Being the cynic that I am, I went to Snopes.com and searched for the article (in case the referenced address was spoofed). I found it IS true, and I second the hooray for Sears.

Five years ago, I swore I would never set foot in a Sears store again due to bad quality in the Craftsman line (I was burned by at least 3 power tools--figuratively, not literally) and the managers I spoke to literally shrugged their shoulders and said "that's too bad, you should have bought the extended warranty".

They have won me back by revamping their power tool line and re-dedicating themselves to customer service (at least at my local store). This is just icing on the cake for me.

[headhunter636]

I too have had a few bad experiences with power tools from Sears but I still like to do business with them. This little tidbit makes it more worth while and I will conitnue to shop there.

Dave

[Knottscott]

...They have won me back by revamping their power tool line and re-dedicating themselves to customer service (at least at my local store). This is just icing on the cake for me.

Even though I've been fortunate to have never had a truly bad experience with a Craftsman tool, I'd had one or two that weren't terrific examples and had pretty much dismissed the entire line a few years back. Like you, the revamping of many of their stationary machines has me taking a good look at their current offerings when it's time to buy, and have been very pleased with my two latest Craftsman acquisitions...an Orion made 22124 hybrid saw, and a Rikon made 12" BS. I laugh when I read the comments about Craftsman tools not being what they used to be...it's true...IMHO some have never been better!

It's nice that they treat their military personnel they way they do, but by itself that wouldn't be enough incentive for me to plunk down a sizable amount of money for a tool...it's the quality and value that persuaded me. It's still important to evaluate each tool on it's own merits, b/c Sears offers a wide range of tools and quality levels for different niches but uses the Craftsman name on the whole gamut.

[jackellis]

I'll say this. Eddie Lempert, the new boss at Sears, is a 21st century version of the much-reviled corporate raiders that were made famous in Barbarians at the Gate. I think this shows a side that we don't ordinarily associate with financiers who are absolutely driven by the bottom line.

Goes to show you hot shot business types aren't necessarily ogres.

[Tom Slick]

Keep in mind that the average activated National Guardsman probably gets paid more on active duty then they do working at Sears. medical benefits are completely covered by the military also.
many many other companies do the same.

it is great that they offer it, the company I worked for didn't, but it's not as big of a deal as it sounds. it is great PR though.