Sears Home Services

Our expert team can answer your toughest questions

Every day, I correspond with visitors to our web sites who are looking for answers. Sometimes it's a microwave that's on the blink or a washing machine that won't spin. Whether it's a lawn mower quandary, water heater snafu or an owner's manual mystery, you can count on us to help.

It's an interesting job, to say the least. One minute I'm helping a guy whose garage door opener won't budge his door even though two of his neighbors' openers make his door go up and down just fine. The next I'm working with our team of experts to troubleshoot an elderly woman's ice maker that's making an odd groaning sound.

No matter what your need, you can come to us for sound advice and helpful information for any problem around your home. Reach out to our experts on www.ManageMyLife.com or drop a line to ManageMyHomeBob on Twitter. Either way, you'll get the help you need when you need it.

-Mike Morris, Editor, Manage My Life 

Posted at 09:33AM Feb 15, 2012 by Admin in General  |  Comments[500]

Chat with the Blue Service Crew

Posted at 10:13AM Feb 06, 2012 by Admin in General  |  Comments[2267]

Where can I find a manual?

Posted at 10:22AM Apr 28, 2011 by Admin in General  |  Comments[129]

Tell us how we’re doing!

Your complete satisfaction is absolutely critical to the Sears Blue Service Crew. That’s why on the bottom of every repair receipt, you’ll find the web address for our customer satisfaction survey (www.searshomeservices.com/feedback). We take this feedback very seriously and use it to measure our progress and identify areas for improvement.

The survey is super simple, just 6 questions that take most customers only a few minutes to complete. From this we can keep track of all sorts of info that is essential to meeting your needs. If you have a specific issue that you’d like us to follow-up on, the survey is a great way to let us know that too.

Last month, we used customer feedback to improve our delivery scheduling system and our customers are already noticing the improvement!

- David Polston, Chief Marketing Officer, Sears Home Services

Posted at 08:07AM Apr 23, 2011 by Admin in General  |  Comments[324]

Calling All Units…

Are you experiencing humidity problems?

Do you feel like you are running into the ground?

Are you turning on and off constantly?

Are you having problems staying cool or warming up? 

Are you constantly breaking down?

Energy Star states that 49% of all the energy you use in your home goes towards keeping cool or staying warm.

Today, the average price for a new cooling unit costs around $10,000 - equivalent to the price of a new car or one hundred pairs of designer heels! If you tune-up your car on a regular basis, why not tune-up you air conditioning unit too?  Here are three easy steps to keep you calm and cool in the summertime.

The Filter     

It is recommended that your unit’s air filter be changed out on a monthly basis. All you need to do is purchase a replacement filter that is pleated, the correct size, clean and matches up to the size of the unit. Next, locate the filter, which is usually where your return air goes into your unit at the return grill or on the bottom of the air handler. Reach in and swap the filter out with the new one by placing it in the right direction and proper position. It’s that easy. Changing the air filter on a monthly basis can keep your system functioning seamlessly and give you the biggest bang for the least amount of buck.

The Programmable Thermostat

If you are like me, and are away from home more often than not, a programmable thermostat may be your key to savings. Programmable thermostats allow you to control the humidity in the home and also vary the temperature and cycles from room to room and floor to floor. Once you find your temperature comfort zone, you can pre-set your air conditioning unit to run during specific times of the day and certain days of the week. By equipping your unit with a programmable thermostat, you will not only keep your system running smoothly but also ensure your comfort.

The Tune-Up

To make sure that your unit is in tip top shape for summertime, now is the time to schedule your pre-seasonal tune-up. Getting your system in order has never been so easy. Give Sears a call at 1-877-827-8585 or just set up the tune-up service order directly online. Sears uses certified technicians who service all the major brands nationwide.  Their tune-up costs on average $90.00 and includes a technician who will come out and verify the operating efficiency and performance of your unit.

I know that your time is valuable but sacrificing an hour today will give you cooling power tomorrow. Spring time is the best time to cut back on cooling costs and make your unit work best for you during the summertime months. 

Jennifer D | Training-Team Manager, Sears Home Services www.searshomeservices.com

About Me:  I have been with Sears for almost a year and am a Training-Team Manager for the Sears Home Services National Call Center in Lake Mary, Florida. My team and I make sure that we have the right people trained for the right job. I work exclusively with the associates on the HVAC Repair Sales and Service team, Third Party clients and the Technical Specialist team on how to assist our most valuable customers and own the customer’s experience. My goal is to become THE trusted advisor for all Sears Home Services customers.

Posted at 12:59PM Mar 25, 2011 by Jon B in General  |  Comments[8]

New Home Entry Doors

Have you ever driven past your home, and looked at it through the eyes of a stranger? Would others see your home as warm, inviting, and accessible? If you’re thinking about selling, the curb appeal of your front entry door is very important to potential buyers, but also to your friends and family as they feel welcome to your home. A new entry door is one of the fastest, easiest, and least expensive home improvements you can make!

When replacing your entry door—don’t be tied down by the current door you have swinging on the hinges. Consider adding sidelights (the slim stationary glass panels next to the door opening) or if you have a double door, replacing two with one extra-wide door and sidelights to fill in the space. To allow the outside in—with light and giving others a hint of what lies beyond the door—consider including decorative glass in your door design. Create a custom glass design for a new look, or a touch of glass for a touch of beauty. You would be surprised how much a glass door brightens the interior of your home! If a glass door makes you feel too exposed, consider etched glass, with all of the benefits of glass and also privacy from the outside.

Of course, it’s not only about the ‘look’ of your exterior entry door—it’s also about a door that provides security, peace of mind, and energy efficiency. In fact—did you know that you can even get ENERGY STAR-rated custom entry doors? New entry doors require little to no maintenance—so no worries about chipping or peeling paint, or constant upkeep!

Sears custom entry doors provide security, peace of mind, and energy efficiency in 90 different styles. At Sears Home Services, you’ll find wood, steel, and decorative entry doors to make your home warm, charming, safe, and welcoming. Sears offers an array of the most popular exterior door styles available on the market today. You’ll also enjoy increased security and energy efficiency. Show all of the warmth of your home with a new front door from Sears.

Andrea

Posted at 10:06AM Mar 17, 2011 by Jon B in General  |  Comments[4]

Air Quality & Humidity with Heating & Cooling Units

Our heating and cooling unit broke down this winter. The house was new (for us) so we didn’t know if it was a problem that the previous owner didn’t tell us about—or we just weren’t using the system right. It was a very chilly 18 hours until we had the problem resolved. Living in Florida—summers would be very uncomfortable without air conditioning, and at times during the winter, when the temperatures drops—I am very thankful for the invention of heating and cooling units. It’s said that central heating may have dated back to ancient Greece. It is believed that in 350 B.C., the Great Temple of Ephesus was warmed by heated air that was circulated through flues laid in the floor. Today, with forced-air systems that usually travel through ductwork from the furnace to the rooms in your home, nearly 35 million American homes have central heating.

The Sears Home Services heating and cooling repair team often get reports from homeowners who have problems with their heating and cooling units. Some of the more common problems that we hear about is that a company has installed a unit that is either too big or too small for their home (and either over or under compensates), the installer placed a new unit without addressing other concerns such as poor ductwork design, indoor air quality problems, moisture damage/mold concerns, and reduced comfort such as uneven heating or cooling throughout the home.

Just a little education about heating and cooling units can help a lot! Let’s talk a bit about the air that we breathe, inside our home. We take over 20,000 breaths each day. According to the EPA, each day, a person breathes in 2 teaspoons of pollutants! EPA studies have also shown that the air inside of our homes and workplaces is 10-100 times more polluted than outside air! What we need is a healthy home solution to focus on providing your family with a cleaner home environment by improving air quality. Some indoor air quality issues can be improved by simply controlling humidity since to low or too high humidity can cause a increase in certain organisms.

Speaking of humidity—when your home comfort is affected, variable airflow can help by balancing the temperature within a room, between rooms in your home, and between floors. Variable air flow also dehumidifies your home during the summer to improve comfort and increases humidity levels with a humidifier during the winter. It also affects the temperature in your home. When the relative humidity is 10% and the ambient temperature is 72 degrees—it actually feels like 67 degrees. When the relative humidity is 80%, and ambient is 74 degrees, it actually feels like 78 degrees!

I think that’s enough about heating and cooling for this article. We’ll talk more about the size of heating & cooling units, ductwork, gas or oil furnaces, forced air and more in a future article.

For more information about heating and air units, check us out at:

http://www.searshomeservices.com/central-heating-air/improve

Posted at 09:15AM Mar 03, 2011 by Jon B in General  |  Comments[5]

Laminated Glass Windows for Security, Noise, & Insulation

Think of your car windshield for a moment. You know, you could take a sledgehammer to it and the most damage you could do, would be to bend in the glass--while the whole windshield remains intact! Now think high-strength, high-security windows for your home.

Laminated glass has ‘soft coat’ coatings on BOTH panes of glass to reduce UV rays up to 99% (think no more discolored furniture, hardwood floors, artwork, and almost zero heat radiation).

Laminated glass is two pieces of glass, bonded together over a high-strength plastic interlayer. When bonded, the plastic interlayer becomes invisible to the naked eye, yet will stop a burglar and his sledgehammer in their tracks. In addition, sound transmission noise is reduced to the barest minimum. Live near a train track? You need this window. Live in a crime area or have burglar bars hiding your view of the outdoors? This window is for you. Stop living in a noisy fortress!

Other features of these windows include a ‘desiccated matrix’ material inside the glass pack to absorb any water vapor that might get in, the stuff that causes that milky-white, fogging, 'raining inside my window' look. Add to that, the ‘tilt-in’ sashes for very easy cleaning (there is such a thing!). This means, when you finish cleaning the outside window glass from your family room, you won't have to wrestle the sashes back into the frame. It’s neat and easy. The windows still have a lifetime warrantee on the screen, interlocking meeting rail, corrosion resistant and color matched hardware and lifetime, transferable warranty. With beautiful looking grids, in between the glass, in six painted or stained colors. They still contain "titanium dioxide" meaning your white, beige or clay windows will not fade more than 2% over a 50 year period. It's the same stuff used in your sun tanning lotion.

Sears Home Services still offers custom built windows to your openings, double-hung, casement and geometric shapes--not to mention standard and non-standard size, sliding patio doors, bow and bay window systems, and garden windows.

To top it all off, Sears Certified Installers are ranked among the best in the country. Fully qualified, fully insured, fully nice! And they usually replace all your windows in just one day! They even clean the windows before they show you around and say goodbye. The only thing you have to do is put the lifetime warranty papers in the drawer and stare out at your little part of the earth.

Posted at 09:03AM Feb 22, 2011 by Jon B in General  |  Comments[4]