Sears Hometown Store in Biddeford, ME Closed now

Reviews about Sears Hometown Store

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  April 19, 2019, by Wendell Poole II
  went in to see what they carry while doing laundry. owner made me very uncomfortable about looking at merchandise, like he wanted me to just buy something and leave. so i left and won't go back.
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  April 15, 2019, by Joy Haddad
  When I first walked in with my kids and my service dog, we didn't exactly fit the picture of prime customers. Besides that, the owner was already conversing with a group of two or three other customers - while he saw me, he didn't initially shift his attention. If I were a self-absorbed individual who expects my whims to be catered to, I might have been offended by this. However, I concluded that I could likely find the information I wanted simply by looking around the store counter and on the item tags - and by doing a few minutes of "browsing" on my phone. Successful at this, I left, but returned later in the day after doing my research. He asked me some basic, straightforward questions to narrow down what type of snowblower might best suit my needs and then made a recommendation for a mid-range model. Never at any time did I feel patronized or taken advantage of despite the fact that I know I appeared not to have any practical experience with the equipment. Not once did he suggest that I apply for a Sears credit card to finance the purchase - in fact I chose to ask him about the leasing program - which he almost seemed reluctant to suggest, and with good reason. He did suggest the extended warranty - which while I don't blame him (it is a very profitable upsell), it would be the only negative point that I would give the entire sales pitch experience. Was it the best deal in the area? No. Was it by far the most professional, yet genuine purchase experience I've had in a long time? Absolutely. No, the store isn't strictly independent since it is a Sears Hometown store, but it is owned and managed by people who are personally invested in building rapport with a regular customer base. That results in a no-nonsense logical and professional buying experience. The money that I spend can either be a drop in the bucket for a multimillion dollar bottom line in a major box store where people are getting paid far less than they're worth, or it can help out a small business owner. Yes, I could have paid less elsewhere, but the more personal, yet professional purchase experience was worth taking the 10-15% hit. I will close with a word about the leasing program. I do have some buyer's remorse about it, especially considering that if I had wanted to, I could have purchased the snowblower outright. The program is actually administered by WhyNotLeaseIt. It is NOT a rent-to-own program unless the customer exercises the Early Purchase Option (only available for the first 90 days), which is NOT a same-as-cash option - you will pay purchase price plus a 10% upcharge. If the early purchase option is not used, then the customer is obligated to another two months of payments - at the end of which the customer STILL DOES NOT OWN the item, even though the purchase price has been paid. After the five month mark, the customer must then pay an additional amount (according my terms, it is about a 50% upcharge) to then purchase the item (referred to as buying out the lease). If the customer does not buy out the lease or return the item, they will keep seeing payments deducted from their account. In short, the business model for this leasing program counts on people to not keep track of their key dates - and that can be difficult for many people. Don't be that person if you're going to use this program - I spent at least 15 minutes on the phone with a customer service agent from WhyNotLeaseIt getting the fine print details on the program - I was respectful and got respect and professionalism back. And the same applies to the store - respect is easy enough. It's a shame that more people don't try it. All in all, I will be needing to purchase a new refrigerator within the next year or so. While I won't use the leasing program for it, I will more than likely purchase it at this store.