Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

In reading about this particular fiasco, I found it hard to like either side and what they did. Usually in customer service cases you can see fairly clearly whether there really was a service problem or the customer was just trying to get something for free or a discount.

This case involves a man who had purchased a garden tiller at a local Sears store. He brought it in for repairs and evidently Sears hasn't been able to figure out what is wrong with it. That was two months ago.

Now Sears has pressed felony charges against him, accusing him of extortion.

What caused the situation to get worse was that Sears accidently shipped 12 tiller transmissions worth $4,000 to the customer's house. Sears said it resulted from a clerical error.

The customer alleges that he didn't know what was being delivered, so he diverted it to a friend' warehouse in a nearby town. Then he says that he called Sears to let them know.

When Sears went to his house to get the transmissions, the customer refused to let them know where they were. As a result, Sears reported him to the authorities who charged the customer with grand larceny.

Now the customer says that he is no longer fighting for himself - that he's fighting for good customer service. "I've been humiliated and embarrassed, I'm angry that people can be treated so inconsiderately." 

There are some things that aren't included here that make it hard to know quite how to take all of this. For example, did Sears provide the man with a substitute while they were working on the tiller? We aren't told.

There are some little clues here about this particular customer also. He asserts that he was humiliated and embarrassed. Over what? Did he think that he can just have some friend store goods that he didn't own and get away with it? Also, what about his friend? Does he even think of him? He could be possibly charged with receiving stolen goods.

Also his comments about he's no longer fighting for himself are bizarre. Who's he fighting for?

Could Sears have averted this? Well, we know one thing, they do have problems. A clerical error sends equipment to a disgruntled customer. Talk about setting everybody up for failure. This is one of the reasons Sears is struggling so hard to survive and compete right now.

I used to manage a store that included a repair shop for garden and mowing equipment. There were times where something unique would happen to a piece of equipment and a specific piece that would take a while to be delivered would cause the service period to go for awhile. Still all of this was communicated, and customers understood the situation. With a transmission, which isn't that unique of a part, it's hard to know why it would take two months and still not be fixed.

This is one of those things that all managers dread happening. Now it's an event, not just a service issue. What would you have done differently than Sears to handle the problem?