American comedian Ron White frequently tells a story about how his van was damaged in a comedic way by the technicians at a Sears Automotive Center in Savannah, GA. This week, that Sears Automotive Center is being torn down. While the shopping mall that former Sears location is a part of is otherwise doing well, the Sears has been closed for years. The department store end-cap building and the car service center in its out-parcel property are being demolished to make way for the development of a new apartment complex.
A link to Ron preforming the story for a live audience.
I had a love-hate relationship with Sears for a long, long time. We'd always shop around for larger purchases, and quite often Sears would end up getting the sale, and then I'd have to put up with the salesperson bugging me about opening a Sears card and buying an extended warranty, and then being obstinate about taking NO for an answer. Of course, this was back when Craftsman Tools and Kenmore Appliances tended to be better than average. Hell, about 6 months ago we finally replaced a Kenmore refrigerator that we bought in '99. It's currently cooling beer in my bro-in-laws garage. I'm still using Craftsman tools I bought 30+ years ago.
Yeah, even back in the nineties they were still making good stuff. My mom always bought my jeans there as a kid because they sold a store brand that had reinforced knees. I was an outdoor child and ran through clothing at an alarming rate.
Tough skins! Every kid in the 70s and 80s, until designer jeans became a thing for older kids
Yeah I felt sorry for the staff. When I would check out towards the end the cashier would insist they had to have my phone number. And they wouldn't admit to there being any way to bypass it. I actually memorized the store phone number and gave that to them on the rare occasion I went there any more.