Sears stores’ policy for Web orders is to accept every order, even if the item is not in stock. I learned this a while ago.

The store also has a huge disconnect between its online and offline stores. Order something online that has to be delivered, and if there’s a problem both the local store and the online people will point to the other and claim it’s their problem.

Still, my wife ordered a new microwave oven from Sears. Free shipping. First of all, unless you join the store’s shopping club (whatever it’s called), you can’t track your order. How 1998.

Second, the oven arrived broken. Kaput. We called Sears and they told us to bring it in to the local store.

Hey, Einstein, the whole point of ordering online is to avoid the brick and mortar stores during the Christmas season. (And further, knowing that the offline and online stores have, er, trouble communicating, we’d likely end up billed for the thing even if we did return it.)

After a bit of an argument, they agreed to send a pick-up order in. Of course, they can’t tell us when UPS will actually arrive, so I guess I just leave the thing on the porch or something.

Come see the stupid side of Sears.