Sears Outlet - Jacksonville

Overall it went pretty well but unbelievably it took about six weeks to complete the purchase of an appliance. We were in the market to replace an aging garage "overflow" refrigerator and we thought this might be just the place to locate a new but "scratch & dent" model reasonably - as that would suit us just fine for the garage. We have always had great experience with Whirlpool refrigerators so that is the brand we looked for here. We were looking for a side by side refrigerator/freezer unit in the 25 - 30 CFT range. On our first visit we found several units that met the criteria but truthfully were priced pretty close to comparable brand new, non scatched or dented units at a couple close by competitors. (We just were not looking to spend that much for a garage unit - that is why we were looking for a scratch-n-dent unit in the first place!) When you factored in free delivery by the competitors there really wasn't much of a discount at all for taking a distressed model - and some of these indeed had significant dings and dents. When we pointed this out to the sales person they mentioned they would be having a "parking lot sale" in a few weeks and there might be some extra special pricing at that time that would be more what we were looking for. In the interim we continued to stop in once a week or so to look at any new arrivals and see if they were priced suitably for our purpose. Unfortunately we did not find any. The day of the "parking lot sale" ("manager's special", etc.) we went down soon after it began. Again, we found a model that met our criteria, under a tent in the parking lot - but the pricing was just not in line at all with the extensive visable damage. This time I spoke to someone identified as the manager personally and pointed out again that there simply wasn't much discount over brand new comparable units from competitors who delivered without charge. I made what I thought was a "make sense" offer to him on the unit in question but he stated that he could not accept any discount from the price marked. We shook hands and I left, thinking pretty much it would be a waste of time to return. A couple of weeks later I was in the area and dropped in again anyway. This time I found a brand new Whirlpool stainless steel 25 CFT side by side unit with visable, but not large, scuffs on the painted sides. None on the stainless front incidentally. Inexplicably, it was priced substantially less than what I had offered for the more heavily damaged similar, but not stainless steel model, at the special sale! It was in the price range we had been looking for all along!? I bought it on the spot and had it delivered. That is how we happen to have a stainless steel refrigerator in the garage. It took us a half dozen visits and some exasperation but we did find what we wanted. This was also an energy star model that qualified for a JEA rebate. (sticker on the fridge indicated this) JEA initially did not accept the invoice copy from Sears Outlet and rejected the rebate request. A call to the outlet to request their assistance was made and special effort was made by a nice lady there to get JEA what they needed to process the request successfully.

I like that we can get good deals here. They always give me great service.

Our dishwasher door had gotten off track and would not close. When we tried to shut it, it sounded like it was going to break. Because it is an old Kenmore washer, we called our local Sears repair number. Although we live in Long Beach, they arranged for a technician to come out from an office in Ontario. We were told it cost $129 just for a repair man to show up. The technician arrived on time and quickly solved the problem. Because it did not involve any new parts, we were only charged for the house call - the $129. I happened to mention how I hated the old, dated color of the machine. The technician showed me that there were alternative fronts that could replace the one we had. I hadn't even know that! He took off a part across the bottom of the machine and showed me the alternate fronts. I chose the white one and he slid it in for me and put the bottom of the door back together, at no extra charge. We really appreciated the technician's honesty. He could have told us the door repair was a big deal - or even that we needed a new machine - and we wouldn't have known any different.

They told me I needed new wheel barrings and ball joints, which only have 30,000 miles on it. This is very unusual. I took it to another mechanic and he told me everything is fine. I am actually going to the Better Business Bureau on this because I do not want anyone else taken advantage of. I have driven cars for up to 150,000 and replaced a lot of things and these were never anything I replaced. It has been 5 months now and it is still driving fine and he made it seem like my tires were ready to fall off. There was some shimming on the car but they were not balanced. But he was taking advantage of that. They did not have the tires I wanted. The tires were no big deal but then they told me I needed all this work and it was not necessary.