The manager may very well have been stretched thin and been underpaid. Nevertheless, my example is a great one of how large stores have essentially eliminated personal and caring service in the name of “cost savings.”

If the manager had gone the extra mile and created a “wow” experience, I would have sang his praises from this very blog and recruited all my friends to shop there. Nevertheless, the story played out differently. This just underscores the impact that front line employees can have on customer loyalty and long term revenues from customers.

I appreciate your point about shopping at locally owned stores. Thanks for bringing that up as a great alternative to the large box syndrome. A great book to read on the subject of shopping and the customer experience is Shopportunity.

Asking a manager to do all that leg-work for your price protection guarantee is, again, ludicrous. To think he would have the free time you described amazes me. He is most likely stretched thin and underpaid.

Any customer who feels entitled is a problem waiting to happen.

You asked for a better deal, and were offered a solution: a credit card. Short of meeting them on that compromise, go elsewhere!

I don’t expect to get everything for free. I do expect to be treated with respect. Sears didn’t want to do that so I offered an ideal scenario of what could have been.

I take it from your comment that you don’t feel frequent buyer or loyalty programs are worth the effort. That is unfortunate since those can help build long-term relationships with customers that will keep their shopping dollars returning for more purchases.

You’re right, it is all about “me, me, me.” Me, the customer. Businesses will fail if they don’t serve the customer. I believe every customer should be treated special. Especially those that are loyal, long-term customers.

I mentioned in my first comment on how, from a business stand point, my Sears dishwasher could have been discounted.

My ideal scenario of the manager calling the competition was one way he could have made a great impression on me. He chose a different path and decided to confront me in an aggressive, and condescending stance.

Your statement about “quality and service” going downhill should be a red flag to any business that closely monitors customer loyalty. Thanks for sharing your experience.

I didn’t go in looking for a discount b/c I was already buying a fairly cheap dishwasher that was already on a pretty good sale (I’ve been watching them for months) but I expected to be helped by knowledgable Sears employees and I didn’t get that.

We, also, have bought stoves, refridgerators, washers, dryers, etc through Sears but may have to reconsider for our next appliance. I’ve noticed Sears quality and service has gone downhill in the last several years. (and don’t even get me started on the whole Lands’ End section in their stores—that only carries a few of their styles and not even in all of the sizes!)

I liked your point about the “premiere” treatment. That is one area where the service must live up to the name or customers will quickly see the irony and be disappointed as you were.

I wholeheartedly agree that some type of discount should have been offered. Previously, each time I called for a service call, the associate always thanked me for being a premiere Sears customer. However, the courtesy ends there. Even though they can tell from the computer how much money you have spent with them, premiere customers do not get ANY preferential treatment: 3-4 weeks for scheduling repair service, no discount on new purchases, and the same inept customer service reps.

They will send out invitations to Preferred Customer Sales events, but that only applies to the timeframe and products that they offer. So, you must buy things that they want you to buy in their timeframe, not yours, to get any type of discount.

Sorry, Sears, you just lost a “premiere” customer.