I took a set of allen wrenches back to Sears years ago and the clerk was resistant, saying he worked in a shop. Well, I worked in a shop for 37 years, including heat treating, and I told him their wrenches weren’t even 29 Rockwell. I thought their clothes were boring and overpriced. I did lots of business with them in the 50s and 60s. I remain a critic of American management.
last thing i bought from sears was a video camera. after a few days i noticed that the autofocus was a little off, and returned the unit. they did not have a replacement, and sent mine out for repair. after two months i went back to inquire, and was told that it would be back the next day. when i did get it back, it had not been fixed. took a lot of aggrivation to get my money back - they wanted to upsell me a more expensive model.
pulled all my business from all the sears financial network, including hr block and their eyeglasses joint. never been back.
a phone call AFTER the event does not erase the ill will generated, especially when the ill will need not have happenned at all - had they fixed the camera in a timely and effective manner.
Heat treating? LOL I bought a set of punches and chisels from Sears in the ‘90s. When I hit one with a hammer, they shattered like glass.