BOSTON -- Sears is one of the biggest names in appliances.

But a lot of customers say they'll never go back now that Team 5 Investigates has identified a pattern of problems with the company's repair service department.

"We purchased it in July," explained Maria McCarthy, as she stood next to the dishwasher she bought from Sears. "And it was fine for the first few weeks."

But soon after paying more than $700, McCarthy had big problems with her new appliance.

"It started to make this really loud sound," McCarthy said. "My son said it sounded like the dishwasher was starting to eat the dishes!"

But McCarthy said she couldn't get any customer service from Sears. Weeks of calls went unanswered.

And when a repairman finally did come, not only could he not fix the problem, McCarthy said he was rude.

"He said, it's not the end of the world," McCarthy said. "It's only a dishwasher."

Betsy Sarles is another unhappy Sears customer.

"I don't know how many times I tried to get a hold of somebody at Sears in Burlington," she said.

Sarles had to take her wet laundry to her mother's house because she said Sears ignored her many requests to fix her nearly new dryer.

"No one's there," she said. "They're on vacation."

"It's never their problem," McCarthy agreed.

Customers told Team 5 Investigates that Sears service people don't call back, they don't send repair techs, and they don't acknowledge the problem.

And that's true for many of the appliances that Sears sells.

Tony and Sue Maglio spent most of the summer unable to use their Sears air conditioner despite a service contract that costs $65 a year.

"They said, oh yeah, we'll check into it, we'll get back to you, we'll check into it, we'll get back to you," Tony Maglio said. "Never did."

In the past, Team 5 Investigates rarely received complaints about Sears, so the number of complaints this year is unusual. At corporate headquarters in Chicago, a Sears spokeswoman admitted, Team 5 Investigates had identified a major problem.

The spokeswoman called it "the perfect storm" --- losing technicians to injury and turnover, and waiting for parts. She said technicians are working six days a week, but May through October is their busiest time and they just can't keep up.

"It's frustrating, I tell ya," Sue Maglio said.

It's been more than frustrating for Mary Earle, an elderly woman who has been unable to use her washing machine because of a broken door seal that Sears wouldn't fix. Earle is the primary caregiver for her sick husband.

Right now, she does some of the laundry by hand.

"Service is terrible," she said.

When will things change? Sears tells Team 5 Investigates, "the company is actively recruiting additional applicants."

And in the meantime, "we apologize...to our customers."

"It's very disappointing," Tony Maglio said. "And it makes you want to get off of wanting to buy Sears products."

"I just would not step back into another Sears."

Tuesday, a Sears spokesman contacted Team 5 Investigates to add that the company is currently training new techs who will be ready to respond to repair calls next month. Sears is even prescreening scheduled service calls now to determine whether any parts need to be ordered.

The company also is re-assigning repair techs to the metro Boston area to shorten response times. In some cases, Sears will hire outside contractors to make the repairs.

Sears Statement

Right now we are experiencing the “perfect storm” by losing technicians to both injury and turn-over during our highest call volumes of the year. Technicians are working six day weeks in an attempt to reach all of our customers as quickly as possible and the company is actively recruiting additional applicants.

If anyone is interested in applying for a home service technician position, they can log-on to our Web site to apply. We apologize for the inconvenience to our customers during this time.

Kimberly Freely
Manager, Corporate Public Relations
Sears Holdings Corporation