My love affair with Sears has taken a hit. All of my adult life, I had leaned toward the "mom, flag, and apple pie" idea that Sears Craftsman tools mean solid, reliable reasonable tools with a replacement guarantee. If you come in my garage, you will see the big red Craftsman label all over the place. I am showing my age since the name "Craftsman" doesn't mean what it used to mean. (Get over it stevie). Now to my second lament. Growing up in a small farming community, I miss the idea that you walk down the street and you know pretty much everyone. You walk into any store and they call you by name and ask about your family, your dog or your pig. You could walk into the Summe (or Jagger) hardware with a need and they would help you figure out how to get it done. I have gone to the same Sears since 1975 and no one has ever called me by name. (My goodness old man; get with the times.) That's not my real issue. The real issue here is people who sell you things used to "partner with you" to solve your problem with the least bother and expense possible. We can only blame ourselves because we opted for Lowes, Walmart, etc. for a cheaper price; forcing businesses with personality out of the market. Sears is no longer Sears (even). My distaste for advertising has seen me make the statement that they should have shot the first person who hung out a shingle. I have a similar distaste for "management" Just like our country, our markets have been "ruined" by management. The name of the game is "protect the company" even at the cost of sending the customer to another store. Maybe my story will illustrate my point.
On our trips to Gas City, I have gotten into the habit of throwing tools into the Explorer "just in case". Today, I got a project in which I needed a jig saw. I looked through the tools I had brought and found that, yes, I had brought the new battery powered jig saw. In fact, I had brought along an additional 19.2 Craftsman battery. But alas, both batteries were dead. You see We only had a few days at home since the end of May because of back to back Oregon and Florida trips. You need to see refer to a previous post (Monday, July 28, 2008
freedom from the gasoline engine to get a grip on my desire to return to the plug in power tool. So back to the current problem. After contemplating my plight, I remembered visiting the Sears store in Marion to get wedding gifts in May. Ahah!. I can call Sears, ask them how much they would "charge" me to bring my Craftsman batteries in and have them charge them for me... Brilliant, right. Wrong corporate breath. After going through 3 people, we came to a manager who stated that although they have the appropriate chargers, they couldn't allow customers to use them... but they could sell me one.... (no s... sherlock) ( I wasn't asking to use it, just to pay Sears to charge my batteries.) I am more than confident that the Sears of old would have accomodated me and most likely at no charge. After giving him a few choice words (shocking myself as well as my wife) I reconsidered my situation. How about renting a jig saw? Here is where the story changes to support the "small town helping hand way of doing business". I found online a number for a "rentacenter" in Marion. They don't rent hand tools, but referred me to "aa rental" also in Marion. They don't rent jigsaws, but "being a helpful person" said, "the only place I can think of in Grant County is Owens Hardware (Do it Yourself) in Gas City." This is the hardware store right here in Gas City where I have become a familiar face over the past few years as I ran back and forth to get the right tool, part, or supply to finish different projects. Although we don't call each other by name, they have always been helpful, offering suggestions to best accomplish my goal at the least expense. Eureka! (also a neet town in California).. I called them and "yes" they have a jigsaw for rent. Right here in Gas City. Costed me $8 to rent a DeWalt saw which worked great (Craftsman beware). So another full circle. The "down home" service that I was hoping to get from my old friend Sears, was provided by the local hardware store. For how long??? Living in the small town of Mahomet, I do my best to support the local businesses to keep them with us as long as possible. I get the same "helping hand" service I just described. I will be anxious to check with my local Sears to see if the service I requested here is a Store wide issue or "manager dependent"... Us old dogs die hard (not like my jigsaw batteries). Sorry kids; no pictures.