Sarasota Business Network

UPDATE: it is now 1-3-2011 and a new manager at Sears just stepped up and gave us road hazard and a refund. If you have any issues talk to Justin, a kind man who want to please his customers.

My Truck

We have had quite the experience with Sears Auto Center in Sarasota. I will say my first experience with them was a pleasant one. I called about 4 tires for my H2 and the woman I spoke with recommended I buy three and use the one on the back of the truck and put my best tire on as a spare. That saved me $300. They gave me a quote and they met that quote with no additional fees.

My Son’s Car

My son needed new tires on his car for college, so I called Sears and asked how much. They said $500. I said let’s do it and sent him down there. He was just going to hang out at the mall for a few hours and said I didn’t need to come. So, he goes in and drops his car off and immediately calls me and says that Sears now said the cost would be $738.

So I call and they man starts listing off all these extras, alignment being one of them. I told him we didn’t need the alignment done and he said that I was like everyone else and didn’t understand that it had to be done anytime and every time a car has new tires put on it…yes, he did say that. (They didn’t say that with my H2)

I told him the car was just serviced and the car didn’t need it. I asked him to remove all the extra charges that we didn’t ask for as well. Road hazard on tires excluded. The man said he wasn’t taking the alignment off. So, I assumed they thought women are stupid (although I was raised in the car business with my dad having 12 car dealerships). It had been 10 minutes since my son left the store, 5:15PM, and I had my husband call back and he said to not add the alignment service to the car, period. The guy said fine.

Sears Auto Center Sarasota - Liars or Incompetent

My son calls after 7PM and said Sears called and said the car was done. He went back and the bill was $660 dollars for 4 tires and alignment. Obviously I was angry and called and the guy said they did the alignment before we called and said we didn’t want it.

So, according to him he did the alignment within 10 minutes of my son dropping the car off and before the new tires were put on! GIVE ME A BREAK! If Sears does do the alignment before then they don’t know what they are doing! I am not saying it isn’t possible, but typically it is done after and what Sears doesn’t know is we told our son to stay there because we may cancel the whole thing. Until my husband called and said “NO” my son sat with his girlfriend and watched his car. Guess what? It was NOT being worked on and therefore the alignment could not have been done while we were on the phone or before we called. His car was sitting there the whole time.

I called and made a complaint and they didn’t care. I called back and the operator transferred me to some national complaint center and she even said, “They don’t do alignments until after the tires are put on! I would be mad too.” So the operator knows more than then the auto center…sad.

How Sears Responded to My Official Complaint…

They did nothing…end of story.

Jump Forward 4 Weeks to Monday Sep. 13, 2010

My son calls and said one of the tires blew. I said, “Get to Sears.” (I was in a meeting and couldn’t leave). He put his spare on and drove down and was told there was no road hazard on the tires. He said they were flat out rude. I called and spoke with the woman who sold me the H2 tires originally (and tweeted recommending her - Sears noticed that and asked her name). She was rude as hell and said “oh well”.

I called back and asked for a manager - one was on vacation and one wasn’t there for a few days. Interesting management structure there. So, I told off the operator and I wasn’t very nice. Kind of felt bad, but I did tell her what I did for a living and said I would make it my mission and use all my web skills to let Sarasota know not to use their auto center. Obviously we had to get a new tire elsewhere. Sears operator, I am sorry I freaked out on you. It wasn’t your fault.

Next Day Sep. 14, 2010

A man calls and leaves a message on my phone, “You don’t have road hazard so there is nothing we can do.”  He was rude and didn’t sound happy to call. Since then, everyday, a woman has called and said to call back and they could get us a tire put on for the same amount we paid at Tire Kingdom. No offers, no apologies…and then TODAY - Sep. 18, 2010 I get a call from the same woman saying if I come in and pay the $78 for road hazard they can give me a tire for free. So, 6 days later they come up with something they think is fair and could save me money.

I say to the MORONS at Sears Auto Center in Sarasota:

• We were already suppose to have road hazard, we said we wanted it, but somehow that was taken off and alignment was on. Interesting (sneaky and deceptive to me).
• Your people are either stupid or they purposefully planned to steal money from my family, even though we CLEARLY said we didn’t want your additional services.
• You added services we said we didn’t want, then wouldn’t allow us to have the car unless we paid for it!
• You did NOTHING to help us with the first incident, which I consider theft, and then you wait 6 days to come up with a solution for the second (and one of the original) mistake your people made.
• How dumb are you that you would think a college kid would drive on a spare for 6 days?
• You should treat people with a little more respect and think about how you would feel if these situations happened to you (not that you care because it appears your staff has no souls).
• Yes, it is my mission to tell everyone in Sarasota not to use your services….ever!
• The stress, irritation and wasted time you have put us through is so much more than you know. More importantly, it is wrong, not that you would care.

Melissa - FYI, I recommend you don’t use Sears Auto Center in Sarasota, Fl. Private owned auto stores, if you need a website or SEO let me know.