My Recent Non-transaction

I've been looking for a new weed eater AKA gas powered string trimmer. I've researched them on Consumer Reports and other web sites. Over all, I have determined that none of them are worth a darn.

Consumer Reports recommends Stihl. But when you read the consumer ratings, you want to look at something else. I looked in the stores and finally decided to go with Craftsman by Sears.

I went to the Sears website and checked out all of their models, read about them and perused the customer ratings. I finally decided to purchase one. So I went to my local Sears outlet. They didn't have it but would order me one.

I went back to the web and checked the availability at all the local Sears stores. Nada, nothing, nobody has that model. So I decided to order it on the web. Everything went fine until it came to "checkout" and the site wouldn't go there. I tried about a half dozen times but always had the same result.

So I wrote down the model number, the price, the sales discount, and called Sears. After hanging on the line a few minutes, a live person came on the line to assist me with my purchase. He was impressed that I had both the Sears item number and model number. He noted it was on sale and his figures matched mine.

Then he asked if I wanted to purchase the extended warranty. Knowing the miniscule life expectancy of string trimmers, I decided to purchase the warranty which was good for three years.

So, he began adding up the figures and put in $9.95 for shipping.

"You're kidding aren't you?"

"No sir".

He told me I must pay for shipping but it comes directly to my house and not the local Sears outlet. Well that sorta pissed me off, so I told him to remove the extended warranty. Then he gave me another total.

I explained that the Sears website said I get another 10% off for using my Sears card. He seemed confused but checked and said I was right. So he proceeded to give me a credit of $9.95 for my 10% discount. I explained that his math was way wrong. That was far less than 10%. He said there wasn't anything he could do about it, because that's the way the computer figured it.

So I told him his figures weren't adding up correctly. Then I said, "Tell you what, let's just cancel the whole thing."

"The whole thing?", he asked.

"Yep", I said, "the whole thing." "This order is cancelled." End of conversation.

I purchase a lot of items at Sears. In recent years I've purchased a refrigerator, dishwasher, double convection oven, smooth glass cook top, and a microwave. All of that was purchased at one time and I got a 10% discount for using my Sears card. I purchased a riding mower and somehow, got a senior citizen 10% discount. My gas grill had a few scratches on it so they knocked off 5%. I paid full price for a hedge trimmer. All of those purchases have been hassle free.

But this time, it just wasn't right.