I am through with Sears/Craftsman

August 05, 2017, 08:33 PM

I managed to break a couple of half inch drive sockets trying to get a really stuck hub nut off last weekend. I fixed that problem with a 1" drive breaker bar shipped Prime (yeah, F-you, hub nut).

One socket wrench was Lowes/Kobalt, the other Sears/Craftsman. Wife took the Kobalt to the local Lowes. They said, "impressive". She walks out with a new one.

Fast forward to this weekend when I have a chance to get over to Sears. Throw down the broken wrench expecting them to tell me to go pick up a new one off the shelf (which is what I did last time I broke a half inch drive, years ago). Instead, the counter kid rummages around under the counter, pulls out an obviously old wrench that has apparently been rebuilt and says that's my exchange. Apparently they aren't allowed to replace broken tools with new ones anymore. Well...crap.

I assume this is more fallout from the swirl of Sears' slow but inevitable trip down the toilet.

That's it. I'm done with you Sears.

August 05, 2017, 08:54 PM

Aquabird

I had heard that, so when I broke my craftsman socket drive, I just figured on seeing if I could buy the parts to fix it myself.

August 05, 2017, 09:31 PM

Chris Anchor

One has to remember that Sears no longer owns Craftsman, they sold it. The new owner may not be be living up to the old Craftsman warranty. Along with many of the Craftsman mechanical tools have been made in China not the USA as before. Chris

August 05, 2017, 09:31 PM

RobLew

I think you'll spend more time/effort trying to find the replacement parts than its worth. I'd roll the dice and maybe you'll get a refurb that's nicer than the one I got...with someone's intials in sharpie and paint splotches on on it.

August 05, 2017, 09:38 PM

They probably have someone come in and rebuild the old ones turned in.

August 05, 2017, 09:47 PM

Ronin1069

quote:
Originally posted by 41:
They probably have someone come in and rebuild the old ones turned in.

I was a district manager with Sears for 4 years. The staff does the rebuilds during slow times. It really does not take that long.

Greedy bastards can be thanked for the change of how exchanges are done now. Guys I lost track of the number of times people would come in with BAGS of ratchets, wanting new exchanges. They would pick them up at garage sales, and then sell the exchanged ones on EBay. This used to happen A LOT.

That is the primary reason you cannot walk into most sites and exchange for a brand new one anymore.

August 05, 2017, 10:12 PM

Kskelton

quote:
Originally posted by Ronin1069:
quote:
Originally posted by 41:
They probably have someone come in and rebuild the old ones turned in.

I was a district manager with Sears for 4 years. The staff does the rebuilds during slow times. It really does not take that long.

Greedy bastards can be thanked for the change of how exchanges are done now. Guys I lost track of the number of times people would come in with BAGS of ratchets, wanting new exchanges. They would pick them up at garage sales, and then sell the exchanged ones on EBay. This used to happen A LOT.

That is the primary reason you cannot walk into most sites and exchange for a brand new one anymore.

Doesn't surprise me a lot of people are pieces of shit nowadays.

August 06, 2017, 04:36 AM

V-Tail

quote:
Originally posted by Kskelton:
quote:
Originally posted by Ronin1069:
quote:
Originally posted by 41:
They probably have someone come in and rebuild the old ones turned in.
I was a district manager with Sears for 4 years. The staff does the rebuilds during slow times. It really does not take that long.

Greedy bastards can be thanked for the change of how exchanges are done now. Guys I lost track of the number of times people would come in with BAGS of ratchets, wanting new exchanges. They would pick them up at garage sales, and then sell the exchanged ones on EBay. This used to happen A LOT.

That is the primary reason you cannot walk into most sites and exchange for a brand new one anymore.
Doesn't surprise me a lot of people are pieces of shit nowadays.

They are entrepreneurs.

August 06, 2017, 06:35 AM

selogic

I recently exchanged a broken Craftsman wrench for a new one off the shelf .

August 06, 2017, 06:45 AM

egregore

quote:
I assume this is more fallout from the swirl of Sears' slow but inevitable trip down the toilet.

Or a cause of it. Kind of a "chicken or egg first" question, isn't it?

August 06, 2017, 08:15 AM

2Adefender

quote:
Originally posted by Ronin1069:
quote:
Originally posted by 41:
They probably have someone come in and rebuild the old ones turned in.

I was a district manager with Sears for 4 years. The staff does the rebuilds during slow times. It really does not take that long.

Greedy bastards can be thanked for the change of how exchanges are done now. Guys I lost track of the number of times people would come in with BAGS of ratchets, wanting new exchanges. They would pick them up at garage sales, and then sell the exchanged ones on EBay. This used to happen A LOT.

That is the primary reason you cannot walk into most sites and exchange for a brand new one anymore.

Those were the same people who would hang out at Wal-Mart early in the morning and buy up every single box of .22LR that would come in, leaving none for other customers. The bastages!

I hope none of my older Craftsman tools break. I'm trying hard not to abuse them.

August 06, 2017, 11:42 AM

Kevmo

I had a 3/8 drive ratchet go south yesterday and I stopped by Sears. The girly at the register told me to go grab a new one and I was out in 5 minutes.

I think sometimes it is the individual not the store...I also had to go to Apple store and replace a fraying cable (apple cables suck) and the first "genius" (using term loosely) was a complete cock-knocker and told me the cable was my fault then flat out refused to replace it. I asked for the "head genius" and explained what happened, had new cable in mayor of minutes and was out the door with a handshake and apology.

August 06, 2017, 12:06 PM

Elk Hunter

Unfortunately, now days we are subject to lots of focus on corporate profits, at any cost (no pun intended).

Reduce quality of product, slightly, then do it again, use cheaper materials, etc etc etc.

All while senior executives of those corporations are taking home millions in bonuses for doing such a good job of increasing profits.

Pure greed, stupidity. Why should they worry about what happens to the company a year, or 3, down the road? They will have scammed a ton and be gone.

I saw it happen in IBM. Since its inception the company had focused on customer satisfaction, great products, great service. Every CEO up to the point that they put Akers in office was from sales, and knew who the customer was. Also knew that without happy customers your business would die.

Board put Akers on bonus based on "profits" which led to drastic reductions in customer service, R&D. Akers was in office the first year that IBM actually lost money, but he pocketed something like 2 1/2 megabucks!

Too many companies today are so focused on short term stuff that they do really dumb stuff that while making the short term look good, do major damage in the long term. So, end of rant.

Elk

There has never been an occasion where a people gave up their weapons in the interest of peace that didn't end in their massacre. (Louis L'Amour)

"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical. "
-Thomas Jefferson

"America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." Alexis de Tocqueville

FBHO!!!

The Idaho Elk Hunter

August 06, 2017, 02:23 PM

rburg

quote:
Originally posted by Ronin1069:

Greedy bastards can be thanked for the change of how exchanges are done now. Guys I lost track of the number of times people would come in with BAGS of ratchets, wanting new exchanges.

The other explanation for bringing in a bag of broken tools is the lousy service you get when you try. Just not worth it to make a special trip to Sears so you can replace something. I have a pile (literally) of Craftsman tools out in the garage. Broken ones. I won't bag them up to take to the mall until I absolutely have to go with my wife. She can shop, I can waste time arguing with the moron. Yes, is says Craftsman on the thing. Its supposed to be guaranteed, so I want a new one. I'd take an older American made one if its OK. If Sears doesn't like it, too bad.

I also think its based on the store (or as said above, the person).

There was a time when the home mechanic could argue his Craftsman tools were nearly as good as Mac or SnapOn. I never fell for it because if you broke a tool when using it, you're out of luck. No one ever breaks one while not using it.

If you have sons, you tell them to use the Craftsman brand. Keep their cotton pickin hands off my SnapOn tools. Easy way to have all your tools where you expect them.

August 06, 2017, 07:15 PM

RobLew

While I don't dispute that there are people who abuse the system (like the hippies who would totally rip off REI with their lifetime warranty after using gear for a season, such that REI only warranties for a year now), I wonder at how many people like me they have lost.

For the number of times that I can count on one hand that I've had to trade in a tool, I've bought a buttload of Craftsman tools on the knowledge that if I needed to, I could. No longer.

August 06, 2017, 07:18 PM

RobLew

quote:
Originally posted by Elk Hunter:
Unfortunately, now days we are subject to lots of focus on corporate profits, at any cost (no pun intended).

Reduce quality of product, slightly, then do it again, use cheaper materials, etc etc etc.

All while senior executives of those corporations are taking home millions in bonuses for doing such a good job of increasing profits.

Pure greed, stupidity. Why should they worry about what happens to the company a year, or 3, down the road? They will have scammed a ton and be gone.

I saw it happen in IBM. Since its inception the company had focused on customer satisfaction, great products, great service. Every CEO up to the point that they put Akers in office was from sales, and knew who the customer was. Also knew that without happy customers your business would die.

Board put Akers on bonus based on "profits" which led to drastic reductions in customer service, R&D. Akers was in office the first year that IBM actually lost money, but he pocketed something like 2 1/2 megabucks!

Too many companies today are so focused on short term stuff that they do really dumb stuff that while making the short term look good, do major damage in the long term. So, end of rant.

I've seen a lot of this in the world I work in as well, where "strategic" is 18-24 months. They screw over their employees, their customer, etc to make the company numbers look good enough so that they can sell off the mess to someone else.

August 06, 2017, 08:56 PM

jimmy123x

I'm willing to bet you broke both ratchets with a 2' pipe stuck on the end of them for extra leverage. The lifetime warranty is for life when used in the manner it was designed for (not as a breaker bar with a pipe stuck on the end of it). That being said, if the rebuilt ratchet functions like a new one, what's the difference? If a $500,000 diesel engine blows up on a customers yacht Cat or MTU rebuild that engine in place and also not responsible for his loss of use of the yacht for 30-60 days while they rebuild the motor.

August 06, 2017, 09:30 PM

rburg

quote:
Originally posted by jimmy123x:
I'm willing to bet you broke both ratchets with a 2' pipe stuck on the end of them for extra leverage.

If they want to exclude things, they should state it up front. Not allow the register clerk make the decision. I'd bet most have never even worked in a garage or used the tools they get to decide upon.

And I have adapters, the ones that let you use a 1/2" socket on a 3/4 drive bar. They say craftsman, so it should be warranted. If they say SnapOn, they sure are warranted.

August 06, 2017, 09:42 PM

OKCGene

I simply like tools, don't use them for a living, and I buy on fleabay a lot. I'm a tool junkie and I enjoy older American made products that still work and work well.

I've bought several vintage Craftsman ratchet in the last few weeks.

August 06, 2017, 10:16 PM

Pale Horse

quote:
Originally posted by jimmy123x:
I'm willing to bet you broke both ratchets with a 2' pipe stuck on the end of them for extra leverage. The lifetime warranty is for life when used in the manner it was designed for (not as a breaker bar with a pipe stuck on the end of it). That being said, if the rebuilt ratchet functions like a new one, what's the difference? If a $500,000 diesel engine blows up on a customers yacht Cat or MTU rebuild that engine in place and also not responsible for his loss of use of the yacht for 30-60 days while they rebuild the motor.

How much do you want to bet that my broken Craftsman ratchet was used with a pipe on it? Or in any way other than intended? Bet as much as you'd like because you will lose whatever it is.

About 10 years ago I bought one of the more expensive sets from Craftsman that has both the 3/8 and 1/4 wrenches and all the sockets to match including deepwells and extensions. It also came with some open end wrenches and a screwdriver, bits and adapters. IIRC it cost around 300 bucks. The 1/4 socket wrench has barely been used as I almost only use the 3/8 but I pulled it out the other day and it was broken.

Meanwhile the Husky socket wrenches I use for work, which have been used a ton and with pipes and as hammers and in all sorts of hard ways not really intended, are rock solid. I used my Husky from my work toolbox to finish the job tat the Craftsman couldn't.

I figure between the fact that Craftsman was sold off and that Sears is pretty much guaranteed to fold within the next few years I will try to get a replacement for my broken ratchet and simply forget about buying anything from either brand.