Craftsman Hand Tool Warranty

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Just wanted to post a copy of the letter I'm mailing out regarding a recent problem with the Sears store in the mall in Waldorf MD. I apologize for the length...


For the last 15 years, my husband has purchased only Craftsman tools, primarily because of the warranty provided by Sears that states “If any Craftsman guaranteed forever hand tool fails to provide complete satisfaction, return it for free repair or replacement.”i On the weekend of 26 February 2005, he was doing some work on my car using a Sears’ Craftsman 12 piece wrench set that my father gave him several years ago. While he was working he noted that tools had begun to corrode and said we should take them to the local Sears store in St. Charles Town Centre to replace them because the nickel plating that prevents corrosion had begun to deteriorate.
We brought the tools into the local store and located a replacement set before approaching the sales associate with both sets of wrenches and some other items my husband wished to purchase. The first associate asked how long my husband had owned the set of wrenches and then stated that he didn’t know how to do the transaction we were requesting and would have to get another associate. The second associate also enquired to how long my husband had owned the tools and when he learned that they had been purchase probably 5 years earlier said he could not exchange them. My husband reminded him of the unlimited warranty and the associate went to get the manager. The manager, Eddington, refused to exchange the wrench set. I showed him the warranty off the replacement set of wrenches and asked him to tell me what it said. He acknowledged that it was a lifetime guarantee but refused to exchange the wrenches because there was nothing wrong with the tools. I proceeded to read the unlimited warranty aloud to him. When I finished reading the warranty, I said that my husband had stated that he was not fully satisfied with the wrench set and therefore we expected a replacement. The manager said that if my husband had not been fully satisfied he would have returned the tools within a 30 or 90 days of purchase, not 5 years later. According to the Sears website, “the first Craftsman hand tool we sold back in 1927 is still under warranty today;”i however, I must assume that if that first tool were returned to the Waldorf store for replacement the owner would be told that was not possible after 78 years to determine that one was not totally satisfied with a Craftsman tool. After the manager made the statement about the time limitations on customer satisfaction, my husband asked to see the store manager. Eddington said, “I am the manager”. My husband told him that he wished to speak with his boss and we were informed that the store manger was not there. My husband asked for the name of the store manager; but Eddington made no reply. I informed him that I would be filing an executive complaint with the corporate offices of Sears and that we would not be purchasing any items in the Waldorf store. He shrugged and walked away. I called after him “Excuse me sir, I need to get your name.” He continued to walk away from me so I followed him and called out again. He turned and replied “Eddington” and I inquired to whether or not he had only one name since I would have preferred to have an entire name for use in this letter. He snapped back that Eddington was his only name. On our way out of the store into the mall, we asked another associate for the manager’s name. He asked if we had spoken with Eddington, to which my husband replied that we had and the associate said for us to wait a moment while he checked to see if he could find anyone else to assist us. He went to the service area in lawn and garden and Eddington arrived at the same area a few moments later. Eddington asked the associate what he was doing and the associate told him he was trying to assist us. Eddington’s response was something to the effect of ‘Oh, them again’. We left without getting the name of the store manager. I called the Waldorf store several times attempting to make contact with someone who could provide the name of the manager. Unfortunately, there was no answer when the operator transferred me to the manager’s office or human resources.

I want to state that I found the customer service in the Waldorf store appalling. The manager, Eddington, came across as rude, arrogant, and unwilling to resolve a customer issue that should have been a non-issue. By virtue of the verbiage in the unlimited warranty that is on the back of Craftsman hand tool packaging; the exchange should have been made, no questions asked. The warranty does not state anything about how long a person owns the hand tools or that the tools must be defective. It states that if the customer is not fully satisfied for any reason the tools can be returned to any Sears store in the United States. If Sears no longer is inclined to stand behind the warranty as written then it should not be printed on the packaging of every Craftsman hand tool that is sold. Since it has not been removed to date, I expect Sears to replace the wrench set and I expect the associates in the Waldorf store to be trained properly in how to handle exchanges of Craftsman tools under this sort of circumstance. I also expect an apology from Eddington for his inability to provide acceptable customer service and dismissive attitude. His behavior as the acting store manager sets a poor customer service example for all the associates in his charge. If management is not properly educated about the warranties and policies that exist and the correct way to handle customer service situations; inevitably, all customer service in the store will suffer.