Sears CEO job tough sell

Edward Lampert, the billionaire hedge-fund investor mired in turning around Sears Holdings Corp., has been looking for a chief executive to run the retail giant since last fall, a longer time period than ...

[Tom Bales]

There are a lot of reasons why nobody in their right mind would want to work for Mr. Lampert and Ms. Jones, in her usual exemplary manner, has touched on all the most important ones.

Kind of puts paid to his claim that all these little divisions he's putting together will have any significant level of autonomy too.

From the golden touch to everything he touches turning to something that sure as heck isn't gold. Retail can be brutal, eh?

[Gene]

Sears has lost control of customer service after the sale and has a very low instock condition in appliances. Poor service and nothing to sell sends the customers in droves to the competition. Sears needs to get back to the basics of 10 to 20 years ago, quit outsourcing customer service and back to store empowerment. Until that happens, no high powered CEO is going to help. Did you ever try to call someone in various customer service required situations? More than likely they will speak very little English and understand even less.

[rss]

Gene wrote:

Sears has lost control of customer service after the sale and has a very low instock condition in appliances. Poor service and nothing to sell sends the customers in droves to the competition. Sears needs to get back to the basics of 10 to 20 years ago, quit outsourcing customer service and back to store empowerment. Until that happens, no high powered CEO is going to help. Did you ever try to call someone in various customer service required situations? More than likely they will speak very little English and understand even less.

Gene, when you can't find a product in stock, and you're tired of complaining to in-store people, call Hoffman Estates and ask for someone in hardlines--a hardware or appliances manager or director; someone--and tell them about your experience. They need to hear this from customers directly. It's easy for armchair analysts to continue bashing Sears in articles. What Sears needs is for top management to hear constructive criticism from customers.
As for their call centers, can't help you there. I have the same problem with Dell Computer's India call center.

[meg]

Sears is reaping years and years of shoddy products and poor customer service. I haven't shopped there for at least thirty years because of all the dirty tricks they played. Recently I thought something of ending my one person boycott and asked others about their more recent Sears experiences. Apparently some things never change. The mystery to me is how they have managed to stay in business as long as they have done. I wonder whether it is because people who used to have to rely on the catalog and who had few options now can order anything on the internet; they don't have to put up with Sears any more. I can't imagine any CEO wanting to walk into that place.

[JIMBO]

Lovie Smith would be a perfect candidate for the Sears job. He works for people who pay under market prices, have a shabby product and might even take Lampert to the Super Bowl.

[Brad Hastings]

It is no wonder Sears is having problems. I have been a Sears customer for over 40 years and never had a problem with product quality until I purchased a front loading washing machine in 2006. It keeps moving across the floor from vibration, the company has acknowledged it is a bad design, has admitted many other customers have the same problem, and yet refuses to replace the product. No more Sears (K-mart or any other holding) products for me. So, if they do get a new CEO, she best look at product quality and design first. Next he needs to look at the "No Lemon Policy" which is a joke. And, yes, rss, I have contacted Hoffman Estates more than 4 times and the technical staff at least 8 times. I wish I had read Meg's comment before throwing away my money on this washer.

[No Sears for me]

rss wrote:

<quoted text>
Gene, when you can't find a product in stock, and you're tired of complaining to in-store people, call Hoffman Estates and ask for someone in hardlines--a hardware or appliances manager or director; someone--and tell them about your experience. They need to hear this from customers directly.

I followed this course of action after an experience with Sears Service and was told by every level of the organization there was nothing they could do.

Here's my quick story: I called for service, service personnel arrived, melted my freezer, ran away, denied causing damage, and the best offer I could get was a gift certificate for for less than 10% of the replacement cost.

Any company that wants to do business with me will not sell me a product/service that causes me damages and refuses to own responsibility for causing that damage.

Sears lost my respect.
Sears has also lost my business.
Further, I'm happy to tell anyone who cares to listen why I feel they should not ever consider doing business with Sears.

[kal]

I believe that sears can be turned around however it would take some one taking a serious look at employee moral and level of commitment.
when I was growing up I was taught that hard work and a sence of pride in a job well done was the way to job fufillment but when you have clock riders and management that is only interested in a paycheck then any good attitude shown by hourly employees is soon shot because they end up doing their work plus some one elses,this spreads like a plague and results in poor custemer service as well as a loss in profit because a system like this gone unchecked results in paying for sub standard performance and broken equipment as well ashaving to pay two people to do one job.
I think if shc. would take the time to instil a sence of pride as well as accountability in the employees from ground level up and quit trying to get all they can for themselves this would go a great distance in turnning this company around

[shopper]

I not only shop but also work for Sears.... it is a great company, but upper management needs to see what is really going on at store level in order to understand what needs to happen to turn things around..... Sincerly a Great Indoors employee....... Oh you've never heard if the great indoors?????????? one word ADVERTISEMENT

[Kristi]

I live near a Great Indoors and did not know they existed for 3 years!!!!( I also would have never known they were connected with Sears) What a great place to shop. The prices are way to high, but the items are unique.