Sears goes bankrupt despite its customer service

By ARTHUR VIDRO
What It’s Worth
A good company wants your business. A good company will bend over a little to accommodate you, especially if it doesn’t cost them anything. But first you have to speak up with your request.

Almost all mom-and-pop shops are good companies. They know they’re dependent on your business today and on your return business in the future.

Chain stores, though, are a mixed bag. Some of them are run or staffed by people who truly want your business. Others — a minority, I hope — are staffed by people who don’t care if you buy anything or ever return, so long as they get their paycheck.

Earlier this year, the missus and I went shopping for a new clothes dryer. The old one was clearly limping along, protesting loudly with each usage.

We decided to visit the Sears outlet at the edge of Claremont. I knew Sears was on hard times, and I wanted to give them some business for the sake of my old classmate Eddie Lampert, who’s now the CEO and principal owner of Sears.

I was carefully taking notes as we examined models and features and prices and what was on sale (for one week only) and what wasn’t. I was trying hard to process the numbers, but my focus was off. As often happens in stores, my focus was hindered by the blaring music. Usually this comes from a speaker or intercom set-up. Here, though, it was from a portable tape-deck device.

It doesn’t matter if the music is rock and roll or rap or country/western; if it’s too loud for me, then it’s painful.

I’d had enough. I needed to escape the noise.

I approached the man in charge. “Look,” I said politely, “we’re the only customers here. If I promise to make a purchase right here and now, will you lower the volume of the music?”

If he were to answer “no” (as has happened elsewhere when I made the same request, but that’ll be another story), I would have silently but politely exited.

At first he seemed confused by my request. Likely he’d never heard such a request before. Perhaps it took him a moment to realize music was blaring, because he was so used to it. To him it was background music, perhaps even pleasant music. To me it was a painful aural assault. But he was a good manager, so he nodded to his female associate, who completely turned off the sound system.

“Thank you,” I said. I then returned to my numbers and cogitations, and we soon enough selected a dryer, paid for it, and arranged for delivery. Everyone ended up happy.

Well, not quite everyone. Our purchase of a dryer didn’t provide nearly enough of the hundreds of millions of dollars Sears needed. So last month they declared bankruptcy. It’s too soon to know if this will lead to a total liquidation and shutdown (such as happened at Toys ‘R’ Us), or if the company will emerge from bankruptcy with a clean slate (such as happened with General Motors).

In either case, more Sears and K-Mart outlets, which are owned by the same now-bankrupt parent company, will shut down. Will some survive? That’s up to the creditors.

But I’m rooting for Sears, and for the Sears manager who turned down the music.

I just hope Eddie Lampert appreciates it.

Look for the What It’s Worth column in each weekend issue of the Eagle Times.