You've Got Mail Monday

Our mail week was cut short by a major snow storm last week. I guess it's good for us to get used to not having mail on Saturdays after the announcement that the United States Post Office will cease Saturday delivery in August. Here's the view out my back door on Saturday morning.

This one is after we cleared the sidewalk:

Unfortunately, the snow blower died before we finished and we weren't plowed out until this afternoon. The governor had placed a traffic ban on all non-essential road traffic from 4 PM Friday until 4 PM Saturday, and some streets still haven't been plowed. People are getting aggravated. Some in Eastern Mass lost power, but around here the lights stayed on.

Okay, long rambling message over. My mailbox was fairly boring this week except a couple items to mention.

I received an ARC of Princess April Morning-Glory by Letitia Fairbanks. Fairbanks was the niece of silent film stars Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Mary Pickford. She passed away in 1992, and this book has emerged as a "lost treasure from the golden age of Hollywood." I'll be reviewing it on February 28th at The Children's and Teens' Book Connection.

Also in the mail came a package from The Children's Place, which I will state for the record I refuse to order from ever again. I purchased a Floral Embellished Denim Skort with Sash for the Lil Diva (11). This purchase was made online with gift cards I had from Christmas. I also ordered a few other items for both girls. When the skort arrived, I thought it odd I had ordered something without a belt or sash because the denim skirt I ordered for the Lil Princess (9) had a lace sash.

Turns out, I didn't. The original photo (there's a new one posted now) on their website showed a pink sequin  sash on the skort. I tried contacting The Children's Place via email, but it kept kicking it out saying their security settings were picking up something that wouldn't let it go through, so I was forced to call them. The Customer Service Representative (CSR) was not originally helpful. She tried to encourage me to visit a store to handle my replacement. I ordered it online because it was more convenient. Why would I want to drive to the nearest store to fix their error? So, she processes the replacement order and tells me she will mail me out a return label to send back the original product.

When I received the new skort last week, it also didn't have a pink sequin sash. I'm also still waiting on the return label. I just tried writing a review of this product online, which also allows you a place to state if you would recommend The Children's Place to a friend and why, but that also would not go through. I've been writing reviews on websites for years. I'm fairly certain the problem isn't me. I'm so unimpressed by my experience that even if they had a spectacular sale I wouldn't buy from them. It's not worth the effort.

Not sure what the mail carrier will be bringing this week, but hopefully it includes some books I ordered. Hope you have a great week.

Is Poor Customer Service Sinking Sears?

If you look like this after a customer service experience, that's never good. After my most recent experience with Sears®, I'm beginning to wonder if poor customer service is partially to blame for their financial woes.

My mother-in-law (MIL) visited our local Sears at the beginning of January to order a Kenmore bread machine like the one I received for Christmas. They didn't have one in stock, but the salesperson offered to order one for her. According to my MIL, they were having technology issues and the order couldn't be placed then, so she left. The reason she went to Sears in the first place was because she had a $40 gift card. This gift card was an attempt on Sears's part to make up for the total screw up on their hot water heater. Sears has a next day delivery guarantee. It took them eight days to deliver and install my in-laws' hot water heater.

At any rate, a few days later, my MIL asked me to order her bread machine online. When I went to do that, however, the gift card now had a zero balance. I checked her email, and she had a message from Sears that said, "Thank you for your purchase." We figured, the salesperson at Sears was able to get the order put through and in a week or so a bread machine would arrive at her home.

Well, when I was at their house Thursday and they still had no bread machine, I called our local Sears store. They were totally useless. They couldn't even find her order in the system. So, I then had to call Sears.com. After a lengthy, frustrating conversation, I discovered the order had been placed, but cancelled because they were out of stock of the unit. Now, you have to realize, both on the day I originally tried to order the unit online and the day I had this conversation with Sears.com their website claimed the unit could be delivered within a few days.

So, what about the balance of my MIL's gift card? I was told she would receive a new one within 3 to 5 days from the date of the cancelled order. We're still waiting on it.

I could give you other examples of our unfavorable customer service experiences with Sears, but instead, I'll offer this link to Consumer Affairs that lists numerous other complaints from people around the country: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/retail/sears_cust.html 

Poor holiday sales and news that CIT Group halted loans to Sears's suppliers seem to be signs of more tough times for this retailer. Hopefully, they can work on improving customer service and gain back some of their customers. My family shopped at Sears when I was growing up, and it pains me to think one more piece of my childhood will be eliminated.