Mad.

You know that new sewing machine I was so excited about? Well, I have made two trips to Sears and I still don't have it. As you know I ordered it online last Friday. I selected in-store pick-up because the computer showed it was available at the Haywood Mall location. I even received a confirmation via e-mail stating the same. I printed all this before leaving home last Saturday, went to the designated parking area at Sears only to find out that the machine was not at the store after all. To make a long story short I was told I would have to cancel the order and then re-order the machine again.

I was able to do this after talking with several customer service representatives and then directly to the store manager. I wasn't happy about any of this, but I told myself not to get worked up over a silly sewing machine. The manager at Sears told me the machine would arrive on the Wednesday afternoon truck and that it would be best if I'd wait to pick it up on Thursday. No problem I told him.

Today is Thursday.

I picked Ryan up from school, but decided to call Sears and confirm the arrival of my machine while I was still in the parking lot at the Meyer Center. I didn't want to make yet another wasted trip. I spoke with someone directly and gave her my order number. She told me to hold one minute while she pulled the order up. She came back on the line within a few seconds and confirmed that my sewing machine was ready for pick-up.

She said and I quote, "Yes, Mrs. Freeman, your sewing machine is ready at merchandise pick-up."
I said, "You are sure, right, because I came to pick it up once before and it was not in. I don't want to drive over to the mall again for nothing."
She said, "The computer is showing that your order is here."
I said, "Great! I'll be over to get it this afternoon."

You already know what's coming. It was not in the store! I was furious and told the customer services girl as much and then a few other things too. She had no explanation. I asked to speak directly to a store manager. I then had to rant to her about the terrible customer service I have received from Sears. She let me go on and on and respectfully kept her mouth shut. I appreciated that, but eventually she had to ask me if I still wanted the machine. Believe me, a big part of me wanted to cancel the order and boycott Sears for the rest of my life, but I didn't do that. I guess that's what I should have done, but I researched the machine I ordered for months. I talked to seamstresses, I read close to one hundred on-line reviews, and even read about the Kenmore brand on sewing forums and bulletin boards on the internet. Over and over I heard about the exceptional quality, value for your money and that it is a great machine for beginners as well as the experienced seamstress. I thought about all of this and calmly told the customer services rep that I want the machine, but only if it could be shipped to my home at Sears' expense. She made a few phone calls and reported that the manager agreed to ship it to my home once the machine arrives in the local store. Now I wait.

I am still mad. It isn't about the machine anymore, or that I had big plans for playing around with it all weekend. It is because there are so many people out there that don't do their job and don't seem to care how it affects other people. I learned from speaking with the store manager last weekend that I should have never been told the machine was available in the store the first time I ordered it. He said that when someone places an on-line order an employee in the local store is sent an e-mail immediately to their PDA and it is then their job to check the availability of the item by going on the floor and visually confirming the item is there. Once the employee does this he or she then sends an e-mail back to the on-line sales department and they send the confirmation e-mail to the customer. This apparently didn't happen. I figure the in-store person said the item was available based on recollection and not visual confirmation. I also guess this person could have visually confirmed the item, but didn't remove it from the shelf and it was later sold. Thanks buddy!

I don't know what happened this afternoon. I don't understand how the customer service rep requested an order number, entered it into the computer, assured me the order had arrived when in fact it had not. I guess she didn't look, or she misread the information, or the machine is there and the other employees misplaced it when I arrived to get it. Oh yeah, I suppose the computer could have been wrong, but if that's the case someone still entered the information incorrectly.

This machine better be worth the wait.