Lauren and I are excited about moving into our new house. In order to make our house liveable, we availed ourselves of Sears’s July 28 “10% off” sale. That in itself (today’s August 7, a week and a half later) should tell you we’ve had a problem.

We used sears.com to order a refrigerator, a microhood, and a stove. We checked the “ice box” option on the refrigerator: we asked for the ice maker that sears.com told us to get.

Here’s a summary of our communications with Sears Home Delivery and Sears.com, all via the phone:

  • Wed Aug 1: automated call: you’re getting a refrigerator tomorrow
  • Wed Aug 1: automated call: you’re getting a stove and microhood tomorrow. Yes, we will install these when we deliver them.
  • Thu Aug 2 6:45 AM: we can’t deliver your refrigerator they have to install the ice maker at the factory
  • Thu Aug 2 7 AM: we can’t deliver your refrigerator they have to install the ice maker at the factory.
  • Thu Aug 2 ~5 PM: mom, at the house, watches Sears deliver but not install our microhood and stove.
  • Fri Aug 3: automated call: you’re getting a refrigerator between 7:45 AM-9:45 AM tomorrow (Saturday).  I follow up: how are we supposed to get this stuff installed?  I am told to call “J D–z” (name omitted because I can’t spell it), who is our installer.  “You should have gotten that in e-mail.”  I think, “why do I have to call someone to get this installed when we paid you good money to install it for us?”
  • Sat Aug 4 ~7 AM: you ordered the wrong ice maker so we are not going to deliver your refrigerator.
  • Sat Aug 4 ~7:15 AM: you ordered the wrong ice maker so we are not going to deliver your refrigerator. Call sears.com.
  • Sat Aug 4 7:20 AM: I tried to call sears.com but they aren’t open until 8 AM
  • Sat Aug 4 10-10:30 AM: explain myself to sears.com lady, who listens politely for five minutes and then transfers me to someone without explaining my situation, so I re-explain myself and they call sears home delivery while I’m on the line and they talk about how my delivery zip code was wrong or something and they have to do an “even exchange” but they are going to have to e-mail it to someone but I should get a call in the afternoon.
  • Mon Aug 6: I call the phone number for “J D–z,” the installer.  The phone rings and goes to voice mail: “The person at the number you have called is not answering the phone.  Please leave a message.”  I leave a message but get no response.
  • Mon Aug 6 3-3:30 PM: I call Sears Home Delivery, they say my refrigerator has the wrong ice maker, they transfer me on the line to Sears.com, I talk with Sears.com people, they get Sears Home Delivery back on the line, they put in the order, and they say someone (”an expert”) will call back in 30 minutes.  This is essentially the same 30 minute conversation I had Saturday, except they tell me a specific date.  I threaten Sears that I will never shop from them and will return all our goods.
  • Mon Aug 6 4:30 PM: Sears person calls and says delivery scheduled for Wednesday.
  • Tue Aug 7 6 PM: I call Sears home delivery. Our refrigerator has the wrong ice maker. Mom offers to call them so I do not rain fiery vengeance. Delivery re-scheduled for Thursday.
  • Wed Aug 6:
  • Mon Aug 6: I again call the phone number for “J D–z,” the installer.  The phone rings and goes to voice mail: “The person at the number you have called is not answering the phone.  Please leave a message.”  I leave a message but get no response.
  • Wed Aug 8 6:15 PM: Sears home delivery scheduled delivery for tomorrow morning. What happen? We’ll find out tomorrow!