Craftsman
Reviews and Complaints

My experience with the McMinnville Sears store has been FAR less than stellar! on 04/13/2014 I purchased a Craftsman String Trimmer Mower ($384.00). I used this item two times and it failed to start. I returned the item to the local store and spoke with the store owner. He informed me that the item was past the return date( by 8 days, if you counted business days it would be less). He stated it must be sent out for repairs. I asked him how long that would take and he stated that it may take " two weeks, three weeks or maybe longer". I told him that was unacceptable and that perhaps he could exchange or refund my purchase. He became very rude and stated that there would be no refund or exchange and I'll just have to wait until it's done. I told him that I really needed the machine and I couldn't wait that long. I just wanted to end the transaction. He then stated, " you obviously didn't hear me, I told you there was no refunds! if I refunded everyone with a bad piece of equipment that came in here I'd be out of business". I told him that he must be kidding and asked him if he really wanted to alienate customers with this rude attitude. He then stated that he was "done" and "that's the end of it".
I was livid. I left the store and all the paperwork and called Sears Corporate in Chicago. They called him and he again refused any compromise and solution other that me waiting for this unspecified repair period. Sears Corporate, after trying to reason with him, called me and informed me that since he was a "Franchise Owner" there was nothing they could do for me.
I went into the store two weeks later to check progress as I had heard nothing since leaving it there on 05/21/2014. The owner informed me that he hadn't heard anything yet. He didn't even offer to call and check. By now I was really angry.. I asked him to reconsider and just put and end to our transaction and interaction. He stated that he didn't have to do anything and that everything he was willing to do is being done.
As of this writing (06/16/2014) I went back to the store today. I asked him if the mower was done. I went in the back and brought it out. I asked him how long it had been there. He shrugged and stated that it was "probably Tuesday or Wednesday of last week, maybe Thursday". I resisted the temptation at that point to ask him why he hadn't notified me. I asked if it ran ok now. He stated "who knows". I said to him "don't you think it would be a good idea to find out?" He pushed it outside and pulled on the cord at least 8-10 times. I told him it didn't appear to be fixed. He stated, "it's probably out of gas". I said, so now what?". He stated, its been fixed there's nothing else he's willing to do. I asked him if he even knew the meaning of good customer service. At that point he began to raise his voice and tell be to get out of his store and never come back. "Take your damn trimmer, sign the papers and get out"!
I told him to keep it and that I'd just deal with him in court. He stated that "I have lot's more lawyers that you do and Sears backs me". Then stated that, It won't cost me anything...anyway Sears pays all my legal expenses". I was so angry and upset I just left. Sears Corporate tells me that the company policy states 30 day returns on mowers. They just don't understand why he's being so rude and uncooperative.
Long story short folks... I pity you if you buy anything in this store and it breaks down! This owner should not be in a customer service based business. I have owned my own business for over thirty two years and if I treated my customers this way I wouldn't have a business very long.
Save yourself some time, anguish and money and take your business to someone who appreciates their customers! I will NEVER shop Sears again!
- A former loyal Sears shopper, but no longer.

Lawn mower purchased 3-2012. Lawn mower was running poorly, I replaced the spark plug and some improvement. Lawn mower leaked gas all over garage and soaked the air filter. We took the air filter off because it was soaked with gas and the fumes were terrible. Took the lawn mower into the Service center at store 1255. They sent it out for repair. It was returned and were told that they replaced the carburetor. We used it twice before the same problem happen. Again took it to the Service center, they sent it out and it came back stating they replaced the carburetor, spark plug, gas cap and sharpened the blades. They wanted money for this. We refused as we did not authorize these other things they did. It is under warranty. Brought the mower home used it twice and again the same problem. Sent back for repair. Again it is the carburetor, but now they state it is our fault that we used bad gas and did not use an air filter even tho we told them that we did not bring the air filter with because of the gas fumes and being soaked with gas. So now they want us to pay $145.00 for new carburetor. We refused. They sent mower back to store 1255 without repair. We have used gas from the same place for the lawn mower they lent us without a problem and the other tools that need gas that we have used have not had a problem. They do not want to honor warrant because they are now blaming us.

On February 28th I had purchased a Craftsman 420cc 42” 7-Speed LT1500 Non CA. Several days later on March 4th it was delivered. That same day after the delivery I went to check my bank account information that's when I noticed not only did they charge me once but they had charged me twice for this product. First off the product was to be in its original packaging which it wasn't second it had deep scratches in the front. When we mentioned this to the delivery guys they told us to sign the delivery form and that we would half to take it up with sears. So needless to say I called and called and called at this point I was getting shoved around from one rep to the next. Finally the last attempted on calling I finally find some one who actually help me to the department. After informing them of what had happened I was told to hold so I did. They got back to me with an E-mail address to the solution team that could help me in this matter. Okay thought I was getting some where by now, in the end I wasn't. I had e-mail them about 4 times now, each time telling me of a different date to expect my secondary refund. I had contacted the Better Business Bureau as of tonight and hoping that this matter can be resolved. Still I am fighting with them mind you I have faxed all information to them of proving the secondary charge and the scratches as well. As for the scratches 100 gift card is the best they can do at this point. This is not worth the time nor the money to go thou. If your looking for a item my opinion is don't buy from them online you will just get the run around, and end the end possibly charged more then the item is worth.

I bought the Craftsman 5hp Snow Thrower Model # 247.887000 a couple of years ago and had problems with it since. The bracket that holds down the cables is made of plastic and keeps breaking. Every year I have to replace it. It should have been made of a heavy metal. This snow storm I had to pay someone to clean the snow out of my driveway because as soon as I started to use the snow thrower the plastic bracket broke again. I thought that craftsman made a better product than this. But I was wrong..

Saw Sears Outlet Store advertisement for "DOOR CRASHER DEALS" to be held on Boxing Day, December 26, 2012. Attended the store @ 6 a.m., and received a ticket to purchase a "Craftsman Lawnmower, Rear wheel drive Briggs Stratton, 850 keystart. Limit 1 per customer. reg price $599.99 - SALE $99.94". Beneath a picture of the lawnmower, there was the statement "may not be exactly as illustrated." Purchased the lawnmower but was told they didn't have them in stock yet & they'd call when it arrived.

Received call from store saying the mower was in & ready for pick up. Asked if it was in fact a key start (as advertised) & was told they'd check and call me back. Called them a few days later & they offered me my $$$ back - I refused. They said they'd contact Sears Customer Service & get back to me. I called them a few days later & what it boils down to is they're not prepared to honour their advertisement & to take it up with Sears Customer Service.

NOTE: To date, there have been no corrections in the local newspaper to cover any potential errors for the Craftsman Lawnmower that was advertised.

SEARS SUCKS!

If you want cowboys, you have come to the right company. I had the great misfortune to employ this company to replace my old wooden facia with new upvc cladding in April 2009. Despite it coming with a 10 year warranty, I am still fighting them to repair their faulty work, over 12 months later. Take my advice and AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS.

When I first made an enquiry to have the work done, they were bending over backwards, constantly phoning me to see if I wanted to go ahead with the job. On the day of signing up, the salesman even drove 45 miles from Edinburgh to ensure they got the contract. (Desperate or what!)

I chose to go with a coloured fascia instead of the usual white. The sample the salesman showed me was nothing like the final product and if you look up at my facia from ground level you can see it has simply been sprayed with paint rather than coming out of the factory already coated. There is white all around the underside of it and pretty unsightly when noticed. I have since found out they get a local [bodyshop I ws advised] company to simply spray it the colour of your choice.
The installation went ahead smoothly and the actual fitters were very nice and extremely helpful. On completion of the job, the balance of the payment HAD to be paid immediately, which I gave to the fitters. However, when I first saw this facia, I wish I had just cancelled the whole job and forfeited my deposit.

Over the next few weeks, once my cheque had been cashed, I noticed several faults with the installation which I reported to their “Customer Service”. I use this term very loosely as it does not exist at all and I feel they could do with going on courses to learn how to actually deal with their customers. Over the past 12 months they have been out to sort at least six faults.
THIS IS WHERE MY GRIPE WITH THE COMPANY LIES.
I had and still have to escalate all my faults to their director David Stewart, who apparently has to sanction all remedial work. He is the most arrogant person I have ever had to deal with in any company. Instead of taking responsibility and rectifying my faults, he continuously tells blatant lies that he will phone back when he never does. That is only when I actually manage to speak with him. This is cascaded down to the rest of the staff and when I phone to register a fault found, I am told he is either in a meeting or mysteriously “out”. Don’t waste your time waiting for a return call as it will never come. I have kept a detailed record of all the times I have had to contact them over the past 12 months to report these faults and it does not make for good reading. It is only when I contact them again and again that they actually say they have someone pencilled in to visit “tomorrow” to fix the fault. Of course, if I hadn’t phoned them all these times I would be still waiting. Each complaint has taken approximately 6 - 8 weeks to fix once reported to them.

I have little confidence in this company and would advise other prospective buyers to stay well away. There are plenty other more trustworthy companies out there to give your hard earned money to and if I could turn back the clock and go elsewhere, I would.

Giving Craftsman Cladding my business is the biggest mistake I have ever made in my entire life.

I own a Craftsman set including a cordless drill, trim saw, reciprocating saw and fluorscent light with chargers. My complaint is that all batteries will no longer accept a charge and now the entire kit is worthless to me. Replacement batteries are too expensive. I can buy individual items with batteries from other sources that will do the job but I would prefer to use my kit that I already own. I was leaving the batteries on their respective chargers in order to always have them ready when needed.

This, apparently, was the wrong thing to do as the batteries stopped working either from surface charge build-up or damage by overcharge. Nontheless, I feel I may as well trash the entire kit and re-buy individual tools. I know I can find others much less than the Craftsman brand so, unless I hear something positive from you soon, I will follow-up. I intend to also post this online to warn others not to buy kits. What a waste of money and product!

My wife had bought me a new craftsman winter coat and it has a zipper that works both ways it is very hard to get the two to line up for the coat to zip up, I have had several with zippers like this one but they were other brands and never had a problem with them just this one.

i bought an new yellow and black professional garden tractor 48 inch cut and when the store delivered it I looked ti over and it had two wrinkles in the seat right on the bend of the seat so I reported it to the store owner (Bolivar Mo.) that I thought it would crack the seat and he said if it did crack to call and report it, I also had the bumper installed on it when I ordered it and the plastic center piece that was riveted on fell off and got run over.I called the warranty department the Woman i talked to said they would send those parts out as a self install but they never show up.I then called back and the man I talked to said that they would not replace them because it was cosmetic and them requested to speak to his boss so I could explain it all to him and he put me on hold and then come back on the phone and said boss would have to call me later. But guess what no one ever called and now the warranty has expired as of Oct 7 2011, I guess they do not value me as a coustomer I sent $2600.00 cash on that lawn tractor and trailer that they also assembled and all the bolts was lose and I had to replace part of them.So I guess the price of the seat and the plastic piece on the bumper is worth my business. So next lawn product I need some one else will get my business!

I bought a power miter saw from them and the guard was defective. The saw sat on a table and one day when I went to use it the guard just broke off into the saw blade. Now they want over $20 just to ship this $16 part to Alaska. I will continue to use the saw without the guard and if I ever cut myself using it I will own some of Sears. I don't know why Sears has stores in Alaska when they want to rip us off on shipping for parts for their products.

I have been a customer of Sears for most of my adult life. I am 63 years old and have enjoyed your products a number of years. Over the past years I have sworn off of any air compressor or craftsman power product. We have all heard of bad luck comes in three's, in my case it comes in two's. Everytime I purchase a lawn and Garden item, Chain Saws, Weed eaters, blowers I purchase two, one for me and one for my father in law. Each of the items only lasted two years and could not be repaired at a reasonable cost. In the past 4 years I have purchased two air compressors under the same circumstance. Each compressor was received with a bad air nossel, we was replaced and each compressor will not old air overnight much less a couple of days. Here recently I find myself wanting to buy another compressor that will hold air and not think about all the trouble I have with your product. I continue to patronize your company and this time I am going to ask for some type of discount, return or something if I buy another compressor. My name is allen Byrd at [protected]@comcast.net

I purchased a Craftsman Professional series riding lawnmower in July of 2008. I may of 2011 i noticed there was a problem with the front tire alignment. I purchased the in-home warrenty. On May 18, 2011 a technician came to my home to fix the lawnmower. He did not have all the parts and had to order them. After the intial technician visit I moved the tractor out of my garage and the front axle completely broke in half. I called the 1-800 number to report the broken axle and to find out the status if my ordered parts. I was told they were on back order and wouldn't be in until the second week of June. I told the representative to add the broken axle to the workorder. On June 23 a technician cam to my home to fix the mower. I hadd all the front end replacement parts except for the axle. He did not have one on his truck and told me he had to order the axle! I have been waiting for 36 days for my mower to be repaired. I paid over $2800 for the mower and the warrenty and it still is not fixed. I would never recommend any Craftsman product. When I call customer service all they do is keep apologizing for the delay bu can't tell me when I'm going to get my part in to get my mower running. This is the first and last Crastman mower I will ever buy. It fact I will not buy anything Craftsman again because of this experience.

On April 18, 2011, our Craftsman riding mower broke down. We contacted Sears and was told that repairs were covered under warranty (we bought the machine in June 2010 for approx. $1200). The blades are not turning and we cannot mow the lawn (1 acre). First appt. was for May 4 wherein they installed a new belt and new battery (we paid for battery). After repairman left, belt fell off. Sears ordered another belt and scheduled another appt. for May 9 wherein they installed another new belt. After repairman left, belt fell off again. Sears ordered more parts (4 boxes of which we have not opened) and scheduled appt. for June 1. Sears cancelled this appt. and we rescheduled for June 6. On June 2, Sears called and rescheduled the appt. for June 24. Sears cannot figure out what is wrong with the tractor, cannot fix it and keeps delaying our appts. saying that other people are in need. Our family has always bought Craftsman tools, lawn mowers, etc. (I am also a Craftsman member) and cannot believe the type of service (NONE) we are receiving from Sears. We are very frustrated and want to return the tractor and get a refund or a new tractor. Please let us know what the next steps are to make a "customer" happy with your product. Thank you.

I purchased a $400+ gas push mower, with key start from Sears and 2 weeks later received mail soliciting that I could buy extended 3 year warranty for 114.99...
if I called [protected] by May 30 1011. I called on May 15, and the phone operator said he could not honor this price, that I would have to pay 100.00 more. Long hold waiting to speak to supervisor, who finally got on to say, that I would have to mail in the payment, they could not honor that price by phone ... (the Ad said to Call by May 30 to get the price!)
I asked to speak to anther supervisor, While waiting I said I was noticing the google searches for class action law suits citing fraud in Sears Warranty solicitations...

Here's the thing. While on hold to speak to someone.. I waited 5 minutes and called the same number. ( on my second phone cel phone) Got a different person on the phone and had no problem to get the warranty at that price using the same phone number. Go figure.

Way to go Sears.

In September 2008 I purchased a craftsman 625 series lawnmower serial#072408M021169 from Sears. Since then I have taken it to the repair deptmartment twice for the same self propel problem. The 2nd time was last September 2010. Today, April 15, 2011, the same problem occurred. I took it back again and was informed that since my warrenty was out there was nothing they could do except call the customer care center.
I called the customer I dont care center and explained that common sense would dictate that since the same problem occurs 3 times it is possible that it was never repaired correctly the 1st 2 times and was told there was nothing they could do about the charge but they would be glad to send it away to be repaired again or I could call craftsman and provided me a number. The rep. at craftsman said that sears is responsible for the repairs and that no documentation of ongoing problems with this model of mower exists and it was probably not repaired properly in the first place.
So now I have a barely used mower that looks new but does not work properly.
I know that I am just venting on deaf ears now but it is just frustrating that a company that I have shopped at and trusted for years cares so little about its customers.
However there are many other stores that will be happy to receive mine and my entire family's business for the many years to come.

FYI The Craftsman "lifetime warranty" has been lifted on new tools like: shovels, rakes etc. which have a wooden handle
it has been replaced with a 25 year "limited warranty"
fiberglass handled tools seem to still have the lifetime guarantee.

don't know why they did it, if a shovels gonna break its gonna do it within 25 years the only thing that will happen with this change will be a loss of many loyal customers... they're gonna loose money...

ohh yea all of craftsman's "New Innovative" tools are made in china
these tools include:
-the "dogbone" wrench
- the "universal Wrench" (boxed end is a bunch of raised edges)
- the reversible open ended wrenches
basically if it doesn't look like a normal tool then its probably made in china
I think i have seen some other tools that are made in china as well.

and pretty much every power tool is made in another country

craftsman is destroying themselves and pissing people off in the process... WHY?