A shout-out to the good folks at the Sears Auto Center

There's nothing worse on a cold, blustery, pre-snow disaster day in Durham than to find out that one of your car's headlights is out.

I headed up the street to Northgate's Sears Auto Center after calling and finding out over the phone that they stocked my car's headlight bulb. Naturally, I brought with me the usual skepticism over needing to spend hours there -- and plenty of reading material to boot.

Yet I pulled up to find that someone from Sears was waiting outside under the eaves, who happily checked out the car. Inside, after giving my car info and address, I was quoted a pretty low price ($9 for the bulb, $6 for installation) and told to grab a seat in the waiting room.

Six minutes after that, the crew comes in, finds me, and tells me my headlight was fixed -- no charge. Turns out the bulb had just popped loose in the socket. And despite my offers, they refused any cash.

My experiences with automobile service have generally ranged from "poor service" to "really bad service" to "OMG they just ripped you off." So it's nice to be able to share a story of actually getting treated well, and getting great service, on the middle of an otherwise pretty dreary day.

Comments

[Jessie]

Way to go for sharing a positive customer service story!

[D]

They were just as nice to me fixing a tire.

[CQ]

I've had good experiences at that Sears, too. They put on two new tires and changed my oil in under an hour without an appointment, and I was able to go do some shopping while they were doing it.

[ellen dagenhart]

We've had great experiences with them, also. Love that we can drop off the car & walk home & back.

[David McMullen]

I've only dealt with them once, and that was last Thursday. They were definitely courteous and helpful, so they'll be getting more business from me in the future. Hopefully not TOO much more, but still, it's nice to have them when you need them.

[Fish n Rice]

I had an excellent experience with them as well, when I had a random tire leak that a very thoughtful guy from the Northgate Office Depot pointed out when he helped me get some heavy boxes into my car. YAY NORTHGATE!

[SteveG]

This is great to hear. Their price for the bulb & installation was better than reasonable, then to have them fix the apparent loose connection, and to do so at no cost and so quickly is amazing! Go Sears!

BTW - if you have Kenmore appliances and ever need parts they have a parts dept that is on the back-side of the same building. I used it to get a $10 part to fix my dryer last week.

[Terri]

I've had some good experiences with them, too. It's wonderful to hear that they are performing consistent good work. I found SouthPoint AutoCenter disappointing though... (I guess they are too busy?)

[Gville Guy]

The night when my daughter was born, I bent the rim of my car trying the get to the hospital. The next day I went to Sears. The manager told me the name a salvage yard off Cheek Road where I could locate the exact type rim. When I returned, Sears replaced the rim and popped the tire back on for free. I’ve never forgotten that act of kindness.

[Crystal Clear Headlights]

I have learned an important lesson on this post. Thanks a lot!