Friday, June 30, 2017

Customer (Dis)service at Sears

NOTE (7/7/17): The cover of this book has been changed and the text has been re-formatted. What can I say? Lesson learned.

When I worked at the Sears, Roebuck and Co. headquarters in Hoffman Estates, one of my favorite jobs was handling complaints. Actually, I wasn't supposed to handle them personally; I was supposed to farm them out to one of the four call centers. But some of the senior executives found out that I liked handling complaints. If a complaint got through all the filters and was headed to B-6, I got it - with directions not to pass it on.

I was lucky. I didn't have a supervisor standing behind me with a clipboard and a stopwatch. When the complaint got to me, I called the customer right away.

Read about the woman who was sold a used wedding band. The store wouldn't take it back or exchange it.

Read about the man who was a customer for 48 years and whose drill bit broke the first time he used it. He got roughed up so badly that he custom-made a wooden casket for that broken drill bit and sent it back to the home office.

And then there was the customer who bought $6,000 worth of home appliances and had them shipped to his home in the Bahamas. He couldn't get them out of Customs, and the store in Miami wouldn't return his phone calls or fax him the right paperwork, because calls to him were international calls!

You'll find this book (Kindle version) on Amazon.com for $1.99. I hope you'll pick up a copy for yourself and also gift copies to anyone you know who worked at Sears or who has their own Sears customer service story.

After you read it, please leave reviews on www.Amazon.com and www.Goodreads.com

Thanks!!!

OK, I'm heading out to my mailbox now to wait for the royalties to roll in!

4 comments:

Big Daddy said...

I've been wondering where you have been. I will buy this book as I also worked for SEARS many moons ago. Department 180 to be exact.

Gus said...

Thanks. Big Daddy. Will anxiously await your review. Hope you like it. My email address is in the book.

Big Daddy said...

57 years old and you started a new career? Wow. And the wedding ring story. A good one. I just started reading it but so far good.

Gus said...

Big Daddy, no, didn't start a new career; just a new job. You'll find Crystal Lake counselor Joe Canevello mentioned in my book. He's a great guy. When I told him I didn't think I'd had a career, just jobs, he said, "Maybe your career was getting jobs!" Very smart guy, and worth his hourly rate!

NOW, I'm finally looking for a new career. Maybe public speaking... A friend in Denver has been after me for 30 years to stop talking about it and DO it.