Sears Gift Registry sucks. Too bad they can't be as good as Kitchen Stuff Plus, which is the only store we should have gone with. If you're thinking about which store to register with, don't go with Sears. Even though it might be enticing since you can set up a registry online with store items and catalogue items, as well as choosing your own pick-up location so guests don't have to bring their gifts to the wedding (the reason we went with them so that it would be easier for our international guests), it's not worth it. Here is why.
1. If you want to return or exchange an item, good luck finding the right department. That's right, there is no one-stop counter you can go to if you have more than one item. The onus is on you to find out which department you have to go to and if you have our experience you will also have to:
a) Explain to them MORE THAN ONCE that you do not have the original receipt since the item is off of your gift registry and someone else bought it for you.
b) If you're lucky they will accept the OFFICIAL SEARS DOCUMENTATION plastered on the item as you don't have the original recepit, otherwise you will have to fight with them to accept the other documentation.
c) Tell them to stop directing you to different departments since you were directed to their counter from others in the first place. They're all about delegation and don't give a shit about how much time you're wasting in their useless store.
2. You'll have to argue with the sales clerks who refuse to help you exchange or refund your item since their store location does not carry the item. It is understandable that they cannot exchange your item right away since it's not stocked there, but to not even see if they can have it shipped there for pick-up from another location is just bullshit. They will just tell you too bad you're stuck with it loser to your face
3. If your item is a catalogue item, may God help you because Sears won't. You have to walk your ass down four floors (if you went to the Eaton's Centre like we were) to the catalogue department to find out that you cannot be issued a refund, store credit or exchange because you are not the original purchaser of the item. In our case since the item is missing a part and is a piece of junk without it, we had to give it back. So I now have to contact my aunt to tell her that we had to give her gift back and she has to go to Sears where they will issue her a refund for the item. WTF.
When our items were picked up we were specifically told that 1. all we needed for a refund or exchange was the sticker put on by Sears - no hassles, and 2. our guests would never know if we returned or exchanged an item they bought for us. LIES!
So if you want yourself and your guests to be inconvenienced due to:
1. Incompetent staff who do not understand how a registry works,
2. Having the onus put on you to go to each respective department for a refund/exchange, and
3. Having your guests be notified that their gift is a "reject"
then go with Sears.
Thank God the item we had to return wasn't sent from one of relatives in Asia. I would have lost it on Sears if it was. I already wrote them a letter of complaint for their useless service. I hope they will take it seriously, although I doubt it. It is sears after all.
P.S. I now have a few hundred dollars worth of Sears giftcards that I do not want to use because I'm tired of dealing with morons.
