Category Archives: Shopping

Tuesday Sears Update: Important Information About Your Treadmill

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Michael Froomkin

I really wasn’t going to blog about the treadmill today. Enough already. Maybe too much. But then, this evening, the third thing happened.

The first thing was that the phone rang at 8:04am just like it did yesterday, instructing me that I had to call to reschedule delivery of my treadmill. I didn’t bother. (But I’m betting they call at 8:04 am tomorrow and wake me up on Yom Kippur.)

The second thing was that when I got into the office there was a message from “Stephanie” at the Sears executive offices, who wanted to talk to me about my “treadmill experience”. This although the problem with my treadmill experience is of course that I have not in fact had any opportunity to experience the F80 treadmill. I called right back and identified myself, name, order number, zip code, address, and Steffane found my record. “This shows as complete” she said. I started laughing.

Eventually we got that sorted out — there is no treadmill here. None. Nada. Ziltch. And Stephanie agreed that it “looks like it needs to be reordered”. But it is on backorder, so they can’t do that now. I explained my fear that my model is gone, and they are bringing in a new model, and that as a result I may be on hold forever. Stephanie seemed to grasp that point, and suggested that maybe I should pay the difference for the newer version of the F80. I suggested as how since Sears had taken my money and promised me a brand new, not damaged, F80, that is what they should deliver. We left it that Stephanie would research the matter, which I took to mean calling around trying to find one of the old ones to send me. And if that didn’t work, getting permission to offer me something or other. There were three F80s in Aventura yesterday according to the web site, and they’re still there today, so maybe that isn’t it, I don’t know. Anyway, I was content to leave it in Stephanie’s hands for a few days, and see what she cooked up.

But when I got home and picked up the mail, we got to part three. The outside of the envelope announced the topic clearly:

I really had no idea what to expect, but I sure didn’t expect this:

Let’s deconstruct the key parts of this, shall we?

Continue reading →

Posted in Shopping | 4 Comments

Monday Treadmill Update

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Michael Froomkin

AM: Just after 8:00am this morning the sears robot called. There was a problem with my recent delivery and it was “urgent” that I call 888 567 3452 today to reschedule. Urgent, eh? Maybe they have found a treadmill to deliver to me. (Previous post, for those who came in late, Why I Do Not Have A Treadmill (Sears Can’t Deliver).)

So, I called back right away. After about a minute of hold time, “Molly” at the call center answered. Name. Address. Zip. Address. Having pulled up my file, she seems surprised I am calling — the file says I have already been told it has been backordered and they don’t know when one will be available.

But your robot said it was “urgent” I said. And your website says you have them to deliver on Saturday in my zip code.

Mention the web site, and the jaws of the script snap shut: any questions about that and I have to call sears.com. She’ll connect me. Wait! I say, what do I do if I’m disconnected? Call 800 349 4358. There are clicking noises and a very ominous moment of silence. But, again, having a fallback plan saves me from disconnection, and I am through to “Joyce” who sounds like she might be from somewhere a little south of the Mason-Dixon line. She wants my order confirmation number, and having pulled up my file quizzes me to make sure I know my name, my email address, and my home address. Satisfied that I’m not some whacko who calls Sears with counterfeit confirmation numbers just for kicks, Joyce tells me that my treadmill is backordered, and they don’t know when they will come in.

But, I say, on the website…

You wouldn’t want us to schedule you until we know we have one, would you?

But if I was buying a new one, you’d give me Saturday as a delivery date! That’s what I want.

Joyce clearly has worked in politics, because her spin on the situation is that they are treating me extra well, better than the people on the website, and not taking any risk of misleading me. It would be funny if it was not so frustrating.

What about the phone call this morning, I ask, will I keep getting them?

Yes. We want to keep you up to date about your order.

(Never mind that the robocalls don’t actually tell me anything — they want me to call in whether or not there’s any point to it.)

Joyce says she will request that I get emails instead of phone calls. But she’s too honest, and warns me that “I can’t promise that will happen”.

Meanwhile, I check the Sears.com website. Now they have two entries for the the F80. One is the high performance F80, which I think is what I ordered, and the other is the fitness F80 for $500 more. The “high performance” model is available for pickup at some stores, but not for delivery. The “fitness” model can be delivered as early as Saturday. [PM Update: now the website says it could be delivered as early as 09/28/12. But not to me, it seems.]

Is the problem that Sears wants to send me the old one, but can’t find any? Is Sears hoping it will wear me down and get me to cancel the order? Or are Sears’s computer systems designed in a way that doesn’t let Sears replace the SKU for the old model for the new one? And would I even want Sears to do so?

Looking at the specs I cannot see any significant differences between them, although the tread on the “fitness” model seems 2″ wider. If the “fitness” model is the 2013 version that could be good or bad; new models of popular products sometimes fix bugs, but they also sometimes involve doing some corner-cutting. Without reviews there’s no way I can tell.

PM: Four random afternoon facts:

(1) For some reason I’m having trouble keeping this song out of my head:

(2) I have found an amazing website called I Hate Sears. It sounds as if many other people have had similar experiences to mine. [Update 2015: the site is gone but I’ve linked the archived version.]

(3) From that web site I learn that Sears has a “Sears Social Media Support Team,” which I prefer to think of as the squeaky-wheel brigade, and they can be reached at smsupport@searshc.com. I emailed them. And in no time I got this reply:

We apologize for the difficulties you have encountered. A case manager has been assigned to address your concerns. We will contact you within 24 business hours.

Thank you,

Eric O.

Social Media Support – Senior Case Manager
Email: smsupport@searshc.com
Hours: Monday – Friday 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM (CST)

But what do people without blogs do?

(4) Sears stock (SHLD) is down $1.12(1.93%) today, no doubt entirely due to my efforts.

[Next installment: Tuesday Sears Update: Important Information About Your Treadmill.]

Posted in Shopping | 13 Comments

Why I Do Not Have A Treadmill (Sears Can’t Deliver)

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Michael Froomkin

On Aug. 27 I ordered a treadmill online from Sears.com. It seemed like a pretty good deal for a Sole F80.

Ironically, given what was to follow, I picked Sears because of its delivery policy: for a $100 extra, Sears would carry the treadmill up one flight of stairs and assemble it. There were better or equal prices online, but not from companies that did their own delivery (I wanted one company responsible for the whole transaction), or would do stairs; one other company would sell me the same model for the same price, but wanted more than double for the install. So Sears, at least on that day, offered the best deal. Consumer Reports liked the model, and I figured it would pay for itself in a couple years of gym memberships, and be far more convenient too.

I wanted the treadmill in my upstairs bedroom, but the same heart condition that makes a brisk walk the only exercise my doctor permits me also means I can’t lift up anything heavy. So I needed the delivery and setup. We scheduled delivery for the next Saturday ($10 extra) so I wouldn’t have to risk missing something at work. Although I have some flexibility in my day, Sears won’t promise a particular delivery window more than a day in advance and there didn’t seem to be any way to choose one. I didn’t want them to pick a time I had a class or a meeting. The next day Sears charged my credit card for the treadmill, for the delivery, and for the Saturday delivery supplement.

A few days before the Sept 1 delivery Sears robocalled me to confirm someone over 18 would be home on Saturday. The robot said it would call me again on Friday night to tell me what time the delivery would be. That’s not ideal – it means you can’t plan to do anything else all day, but I did want the treadmill. And on Friday evening the robot called back to say delivery would be between 9-11. We got up early to move the dining table and the heavy sofa to clear a path to the staircase and to make the bed so the room would look nice for the delivery people. That’s a bigger issue than it sounds – we have to get up at 6:15 on workdays to get our son to school, and we really really like to sleep a bit later on weekends. Ever since my operation I find that it’s much more important to get that extra sleep, or I really don’t feel as good or work as well. But I wanted the treadmill.

Eleven o’clock on Saturday, Sept. 1 came and went. I called Sears to find out what was happening. The truck is running late, I was told, but it will be there soon. And indeed, a few minutes later a truck pulled up and two friendly guys, one of whom even spoke English, came in the house to survey the route to the bedroom where I wanted the treadmill, where a rubber treadmill mat awaited. Looking at the stairs, the delivery guys announced that it looked like a tight fit, and it would be better to open the box outside the house, take up the two big pieces separately, and then assemble the treadmill upstairs. I was fine with that. They lowered the large box on the truck’s tail lift and opened up the box. The treadmill was all smashed up, as if someone had taken a giant machete to it front and center, or maybe dropped it from several feet.

Having read many online horror stories about how hard it is to schedule treadmill repair, and generally believing that it would be nice to have the new and undamaged unit I’d paid for, I told the delivery guys that I would not accept it, and to please take it back and bring me an undamaged one. They called dispatch, and a very annoyed lady made me recite all my personal information – name, phone number, address, zip code – even though they were delivering to me, and their delivery guy had called her from his phone – before asking peevishily why I wouldn’t take the damaged treadmill. I explained it was smashed. Continue reading →

Posted in Shopping | 34 Comments

Pitching Statistics

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Michael Froomkin

Blenderlaw takes aim at misleading advertising for 5 Hour Energy. The ads, it says, throw around numbers that are designed to mislead without outright lying:

The latest … begins with the statement that they asked over 3000 doctors to review 5 hour energy. … And the ad does not state how many doctors actually reviewed the product. … But the ad then goes on to use the 3000 number again at the end (ask your doctor, we already asked 3000), reinforcing the impression that lots of doctors approved of the product.

False advertising? Probably not under current law since it’s not actually false. Blenderlaw isn’t satisfied:

This sort of carefully constructed message, designed to give a very different impression from the one that the actual words used, carefully parsed, give should, I think, be treated as problematic in law.

I don’t know if algebra should still be required in high school, but I sure wish we taught some basic statistics to every high school student. This might, maybe, help arm citizens against the advertising fast shuffle. Actually, I think the worst offenders are not sleazy food supplement vendors, but politicians and advocacy groups. Maybe if the population were better trained at parsing claims about percentage changes, artful baselines, and especially real vs. nominal values, we might get a tiny bit more substance into our politics. Maybe.

Posted in Politics, Shopping | Comments Off on Pitching Statistics

Good Companies

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Michael Froomkin

At some point during the past Spring semester I made a snarky comment during a class about one of the corporate parties in a case or a hypo, and a student challenged me to name a corporation I liked. Which seemed like a fair demand — especially as it took me some effort. In a way, that shouldn’t be surprising: in capitalism red of tooth and claw, a corporation that is liked may be leaving some consumer surplus on the table that it maybe should be grabbing and turning into producer surplus. Then again, perfect price and service discrimination is not yet possible: so, assuming I am not the absolutely average consumer even in the mythical world of free and perfect competition there ought to be some firms whose delivery of goods and services is sufficiently great as to give me some warm fuzzies.

I was reminded of this because a very pretty and inexpensive table we bought just a few years ago — from a store we will not be going back to — is showing signs of imminent collapse. To replace it we recently ordered a table from one of my favorite local companies, written before. And we recently celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary at a fabulous local restaurant that we go to only for the most special occasions.

Of the big national firms that I deal with, the ones that I think I do the best job and are most pleasant to deal with are, in alphabetical order:

  • Aetna. It may be strange to list a health insurance company, and in part this may be a case of exceeding very low expectations. And, yes, the premiums have gone up a lot over what we paid a decade ago. But for that money we seem to have gotten a good policy. Aetna paid out pretty well when I had my aortic valve troubles – there was only one piece of attempted unreasonable behavior and we got it sorted quickly; financially the end damage was more like buying a new car than a new house (or, at the rack rate, waterfront property). When I call them for assistance with something billing-related, the people on the phone are usually (not inevitably, but almost always) not just friendly but competent and efficient.
  • Costco. Too far away, and I doubt we actually save money there, but we sure eat better when we shop there. Staff at checkout work like beavers to get you through.
  • GEICO. Yes, another insurance company. Hands down the best phone service from any company I deal with. Plus, they have done things that I didn’t expect and saved me significant money. Example: They don’t charge anything extra for a teen driver when your teen is in college, even if he spends the summer at home; I would have expected something pro-rata.
  • UPS. I get a lot of packages. They are almost never late, and in 20 years even more rarely lost. The tracking system online is excellent. The driver who comes to our house is always very pleasant. The prices seem reasonable when I want to ship something. So they always park illegally downtown — no one is perfect.

I was tempted to add Whole Foods to the list, because I love their cheese and the staff are nice, almost creepy nice, but the prices are so absurdly high that I don’t go often. Similarly, the rare times I’ve dealt with Williams-Sonoma it’s been great, but pricey. And the experience of dealing with Puget Systems to buy the computing equivalent of a noiseless Ferrari for the kids’ gaming machine (had to be silent as it would be in the family room) was excellent. The product was beautiful, indeed noiseless, and I’ve never seen such fine cabling and documentation. It really felt like a luxury product and luxury purchasing experience, but I still can’t believe how much I paid for it. Or that I’d like another one for myself.

I ought also to mention a small software company, Thornsoft, the makers of Clipmate. Not only is this probably the single most useful piece of productivity software I’ve relied on for about 20 years, but on the rare occasions I’ve had a problem and emailed support, I’ve had a prompt responsive helpful reply from the programmer himself, Chris Thornton. Great stuff.

Plus, as I mentioned recently, I’m a big fan of the Gables Stage, although I don’t know if this counts as it’s a non-profit.

Notably absent from the list above are any banks, and any electrical or air conditioning maintenance/repair companies. I don’t seem to have much luck with those.

What are your favorite national or South Florida firms, winners not just in terms of price/quality but also in terms of quality of customer service?

Posted in Econ & Money, Shopping | 2 Comments

Privacy and the Lumpen Consumertariate

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Michael Froomkin

The Secret Shopper by Willie Osterweil has a bit too much jarring Marxist jargon for me to feel in tune with it, but it makes some provocative points about the institution of the “Secret Shopper” — the folks hired by management to go to stores and pretend to be customers and then report on the quality of the service.

Stripped of (some of) the cant, the conclusion is that the mystery shoppers are tools of conformity:

Mystery shoppers are miniature thought police, affective pinkertons, mercenary management to whom real management outsources the legwork of everyday psychic control. They are sent in to break the avenues of refusal available to workers, to enforce the arbitrary standards dreamed up by marketers, bureaucrats, and MBAs that so deaden the experience of everyday life under late capitalism. … All just for a little extra cash for the weekend.

Producing identification with the bosses; smashing labor; and making solidarity difficult through contract labor, precarity, and remote working are key features of neoliberal workplace organization. But central to this vision, too, is workplace surveillance. … Heightened workplace surveillance helps build a workplace where no time is wasted, where all effort is put directly into the production of the bosses’ product. But it transforms more than just the bottom line.

The threat of the ever-present spy, the fear that the woman who forgot her ID in the car but swears she’s 18 is actually a scab employed by your boss, means you trust no one, expecting them all to be against you, out to catch you breaking management’s rules, which you now enforce with paranoiac efficiency. Surveillance, ultimately, isn’t about stopping crime. It’s about making police.

I think that even if you are OK with Taylorized service jobs, this critique ties somehow to the importance of privacy in other realms — or the need for concern about the upcoming Dossier Society — more generally. Data is a way to watch you too.

Posted in Law: Privacy, Shopping | 1 Comment