I got a reply from Sears.

[county worker]

The Sears store in our town had Fox News on about 10 tv's yesterday.

We went to look at appliances and I asked the sales person to please change the channel on those TV's. She said she had to play what the home office tells her to.

I ended up sending the home office this email:

I went into the Sears store in Lompoc, CA today. My wife and I need to buy a new refrigerator and washer and dryer.
I applied for a Sears charge and got $5,000 credit. I noticed that about 10 TV sets in the store had Fox News Channel on. I asked the sales person to please change the channel on those TV’s since Fox is not news but extreme right wing propaganda and lies.
She told me that she has to put on what the home office tells her to put on. I asked for the number of the home office and she said she would have to dig it out.

The lies on Fox news are helping to fuel the class war in this country which is responsible for the disappearance of the middle class and for the shutting down of businesses in Lompoc, CA.
I will not be buying my refrigerator and washer and dryer from Sears as long as Fox news is on the TV’s in the Sears stores.
Please have the store in Lompoc change the channel from Fox news and let me know when they did it.


I got this reply:
Dear ,


Thank you for your recent correspondence. We are always interested in
hearing from our customers, and regret it was this type of situation
that prompted you to contact us. Please accept our apology for any
inconvenience you may have encountered with the TVs.

By sharing your concerns, you have enabled us to address the issues and
provide feedback to the appropriate person. Truly, your remarks provide
forthright feedback that will enable Sears to achieve excellence in
everything we do.

Once again, we apologize for the situation with the TVs, and thank you
for contacting us.





Sincerely,

Miguel G.
Retail Customer Care
Sears Holdings Corporation


I went back today and sports was on all the TV's!.

[SharonAnn]

1. OK, not sure what it means, though.

[county worker]

6. I added to it. It should make sense now.

[molly77]

67. Since so many businesses have Fox on all the time,

I wonder if there is some sort of kickback.

[uberblonde]

79. Fox PROVIDES TVs to many businesses....

On the condition that they leave them tuned to Fox. Remember when you used to see those FM radios that only played one station in your doctor's office? Same kind of deal.

[RedCloud]

94. They Live! Get those special sunglasses now.

[sce56]

107. Military Medical clinics and other services personnel offices have them on wherever I go there for

ID cards, prescriptions & appointments etc.

[Roy Rolling]

112. and thus

the old joke about the term "military intelligence" being an oxymoron.

;-)

[LibDemAlways]

2. Good! Hitting them on the bottom line is the only way to

get their attention. Glad you followed through. Wish more people would.

[roody]

3. great job---NOT petty!

[CountAllVotes]

4. maybe the employee made that up

and store management got rid of her. Is she still working there?

[county worker]

10. I did not see her today, but she may be off today.

[CountAllVotes]

13. well it sounds like they stopped it anyway

and I sure understand about that. I was in a bank when the war on terra began and they were showing it on the tv. I told them that I didn't like watching people kill each other and they turned it off! :)

Good for you in any event!

[pipi_k]

22. Or she may have been disciplined

with unpaid leave or even fired.

I'd be interested in knowing whether your complaint led to action being taken against her.

But what the hell...there's honor in being the catalyst in the possible fucking up of someone else's life as long as the entire world is saved from the dire threat of Fox News.

[diane in sf]

29. If she's dumb enough to to torture customers with fox she deserves to have her life fucked up.

Maybe she will come out this experience realizing other people don't want to be subjected to right wing propaganda.

[Rebubula]

64. WOW!!!

Ok....I have seen some petty and down right mean shit on this board - But this takes the whole freaking bakery.

It is considered torture to see Fox News on the TV? It is considered OK to ruin someone's current life because they had Fox News on the TV???

Wow...sometimes, the so-called progressives on this board scare me as much as the assholes on the other side.

I am simply dumbfounded by your post. Such mean spirit.

[AtheistCrusader]

86. +1

The discourse continues to sink into the crud. Pretty sad really.

[verges]

87. Ruin a life?

Either she was enforcing a policy, in which case she's not going to get punished. Or she lied to a customer which should be unacceptable and should be punished. I'm betting nothing more happened than a word spoken to her.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

97. Or maybe it wasn't her fucking department.....

Nothing worse than trying to do task work and some dipshit would come up to me in a bookstore and bitch that we had "hidden" Ronald Reagan's face on some bullshit waste of paper coffee table book or that we were hiding Hannity and Coulter's toilet paper because we were a "liberal" operation.

Assholes who treat the help like serfs come in all political stripes.

[verges]

101. ????? nt

[WilliamPitt]

98. Fail.

[verges]

35. Wait a minute----

If she was enforcing company policy, it's highly unlikely she was punished in any way. If she wasn't enforcing company policy, she was intentionally lieing to a customer. In which case she should be disciplined!

[james0tucson]

81. Highly unlikely policy

It was very, very unlikely to be a company policy from any kind of headquarters. I'd believe it if it was a local store department manager insisting on some standardized thing as an effort "to not offend anyone." People who aren't really personally involved in this stuff tend to think of Fox News as a least-common-denominator, something "ordinary, normal and baseline", kind of like you'd pick the "smooth jazz" or "light contemporary rock" music station for a different kind of store. The idea of Fox News itself being a major problem isn't on the minds of a lot of people.

[verges]

85. I don't think you posted this in the right place.

It really doesn't respond to my post at all.

[whathehell]

54. So you're criticizing County Worker for complaining?

I don't want her to lose her job, but she should get a "talking to"

and yes, I think Fox News IS a "dire threat":eyes:

[PatSeg]

68. There is a good chance that it was a management

decision to have FOX play on the televisions, not the employee's. She probably didn't have any say about it. Large retailers usually have required viewing for their televisions and employees have to comply.

[james0tucson]

82. TV Retailers

TV Retailers usually play a closed loop source anyway, exactly to avoid this kind of controversy, and also because reception tends to be horrible in places like mall stores, and commercial cable and satellite solutions are a prohibitively expensive non-starter. So they play a montage that benefits them by exaggerating the quality of HDTV.

[PatSeg]

90. That is the way it is in most stores I've been to

I was surprised to hear that Sears was playing FOX and a sports channel.

[hlthe2b]

I think that is a victory... they weren't going to admit the specifics

to you, but I damned well predict that if you cornered the newbie young floor salesman some evening, they'd tell you that they'd been instructed to keep them all on sports or perhaps some other non-controversial station.

[malaise]

5. K & R

America will turn them off.

[otohara]

7. Excellent

you did real good today!:toast: :toast: :toast:

[blaze]

8. CW!!! That is very cool!!!

If that's all it takes to get faux news off all those TVs.... then I'll go shopping tomorrow!!! :)

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. Good.Now let's see the DUers who doubted you apologize.

[county worker]

11. I don't care about that but thanks for the concern.

[calimary]

18. +1

It DOES matter. Every Little Bit. EVERY Little Bit.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. It sure does

We absolutely must continue to push back at every opportunity.

[Drale]

12. The thing I can't figure out

is if you are trying to sell TV's why would you have a channel on that doesn't show off the HD quality? If you go to best buy, they generally have sports, an animated movie, or a action movie on because they all look good in HD. That kind of makes me think said employee was full of shit and just making it up so she didn't have to do work.

[Rhiannon12866]

20. +1

That makes sense to me, too. When I'm in a store that sells TVs, they're almost always showing an animated movie on their entire wall of sets...

[cojoel]

110. Faux News is in HD on my TV

The guide says it is, anyway. I never tuned it in. Live shots of peoples faces in HD look pretty good when you are standing next to the TV, like in Sears.

[Drale]

113. But it doesn't show off High Definition

like sports does.

[madmax]

14. The power of one.

Freaking fantastic!! :hug:


:bounce:

[thanks_imjustlurking]

15. Great job!

:applause:

[fatbuckel]

16. I would have done the same thing as you but I had an issue last week with my wisdom tooth.

It kept me up all night so I made an appointment with the dentist and he sent me to the oral surgeon. Well I went to the consultation and lo and behold... Fox News on the telly in the waiting room. So I read a magazine.

[DCKit]

109. Did you complain about them adding to your agony?

There are less controversial/offensive alternatives.

[calimary]

17. EXCELLENT work! It's great what you did and it's great that they responded.

At least somebody there KNOWS now. And obviously they listened because you saw the results yourself.

I think if more businesses knew that putting Pox Noise on for their customers in their stores or showrooms would alienate some of their customers, they might take preemptive action. They won't know, however, UNLESS SOMEBODY COMPLAINS.

Congratulations county worker!!! Superb grassroots activism!

:applause: :fistbump: :yourock: :patriot:

[femrap]

19. I used to sell appliances at Sears

in Lexington, KY. Glad you got the TVs changed off of Faux!

Hope you bought a Kenmore manufactured by Whirlpool....but I guess now they're selling many Asian brands that I don't know anything about.

BTW, back in the '70's when Sears ruled the appliance market, men were always the salesmen. They got a salary and then at a certain easily attained sales goal, they would start to get bonuses. Those dudes put their kids thru college and the wife/mother did NOT have to work. They'd pull down $70K/year. It was a great job.

Now, women can be saleswomen...but there is NO salary. 100% commission...which keep getting smaller and smaller. I worked 4 days/week and did get health benefits. But no matter how hard one worked, one was lucky to make $40K/yr. And we were never allowed to sit down. You have no idea how bad my feet felt after 9 hrs. on that hard cement. I got a doctor's note to wear tennis shoes....and what a tizzy that caused.

Back in the day, there were tables and chairs so the customer and salesperson could sit down and finalize the sale and make delivery arrangements.

Corporations hate their employees.

[PatSeg]

72. I remember when Sears was considered a

great place to work and people could retire with a sizable nest-egg thanks to their incredible profit sharing. I worked with a guy a few years ago who left Sears after many years because the changes were so oppressive after KMart bought them.

[femrap]

89. It was oppressive way

before KMart bought them. Maybe it just got more so if that's possible.

I think most all corporations have become oppressive, mean, and soul-eating. I just hate them. My entire goal in life was to save, save, save my money so I could buy my Freedom. Now I just have to die before my money runs out....and of course not get sick. I take vitamins every day and I do feel they have helped.

[PatSeg]

93. I know what you mean

There used to be good corporations and bad corporations. Now they all seem to be bad, at least from an employee's point of view. I really feel badly for young people entering the work force today. There are so few good choices these days.

Keep taking those vitamins. The world might still change and you don't want to miss it if it does!

[madokie]

23. See, one person can make a difference

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Brundle_Fly]

25. Awesome.

Just Awesome.

Kicked and rec'd

[Liberal_in_LA]

26. good job

[RKP5637]

27. Great Job!!! n/t

[defendandprotect]

28. Good for you -- I've actually walked up to the TV in doctor's offices ---

and changed the channel -- or sat there booing -- until others noticed and we shut it off.

[1776Forever]

30. Thank you! This reminds me of Michael Moore tonight on Rachel's show.

He said he got Target to stop selling hand gun bullets after Columbine shootings! This is a victory and maybe Sears will put out an email to all their stores to keep their TV's "neutral". Sounds like a good policy to me!
:yourock:

[WillyT]

31. HUGE K & R !!!

:woohoo:

:yourock:

:kick:

:hi:

[lonestarnot]

32. Well they better be! Turn off Fox. Bad news for America.

[onestepforward]

33. Bravo!

Well done!

[samsingh]

34. Good going

[Swamp Rat]

36. Yay!!!

:yourock:

[Beacool]

37. So, if they had on MSNBC you would have bought the appliances?

I barely notice what's on the TVs when I go shopping. It certainly wouldn't have stopped me from buying appliances at Sears. I like their service contracts.

:shrug:

[Wednesdays]

51. So, you're okay with Fox News, then?

:shrug:

[Beacool]

61. I have watched them on occasion.

I just simply don't care what stores or doctors' offices put on their TVs. Live and let live.

Although if they were going to put on a news channel, CNN would have been more appropriate.

;-)

[Demoiselle]

71. False Equivalency. nt

[Obamanaut]

38. What *will* they do when someone who hates sports shows complains?

"I went back today and sports was on all the TV's!."

If one is simply passing through a display, what is the big deal as to whatever is on the display teevee screens?

If in a waiting room, and it's called that for a reason, one can be prepared by taking a book or magazine for one's entertainment, and ignore the screen on the wall.

Why must we insist on people being allowed to view only those presentations of which we approve? That seems to be approaching censorship.

[obxhead]

56. Sports are not lie filled propaganda. There is a difference. nt

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

96. When are you going to realize that Sears doesn't care what is on the TV?

If it offends one customer, they'll probably come up with something else to put on instead.

And yes, that means if some tea bagger complains about MSNBC being on, they'll get the SAME response.

[obxhead]

105. hmm.

This was only my second post on this subject.

My first post only pointed out that bars, restaurants, and box stores that show fox news artificially inflate the number of Fox viewers and it was in the original thread on this subject, not this thread.

So, why make a comment to me that makes it seem that I have prattled on endlessly on this subject and fail to realize something. First, I never claimed Sears gave a shit one way or another about the programing on the sales floor. Second, the post you replied to only pointed out that sports are not the same as a propaganda network.

Maybe this was just a "drive by" posting and you thought you were replying to somebody else. If so I understand. If not, maybe you need to take a few days off from the DU/news cycle. :shrug: :hi:

[ZombieHorde]

99. I fucking hate sports, but sports is not half as bad as FOX News. nt

[EFerrari]

39. Well done.

:)

[Common Sense Party]

40. Did you buy all those appliances today?

And I hope you'll be able to pay them off soon...

[PatrynXX]

41. Fox didn't used to be on the tv's at Sears

Sports or HCNN. Not much else. and Headline CNN is hardly controversial. except when this idiot called Glenn Beck was on it. Sports is usually the item on though... Unless a customer changes the channel which anyone is allowed to. I see fox on a channel set I turn it over :P

[Iwillnevergiveup]

42. ONE TV showing Faux is too many

But TEN??? I congratulate you for your action as well as for keeping your head from exploding.

K&R

[Enthusiast]

43. Good job! I find this to be a near universal

condition in a business that plays a TV. Downright disgusting.

[jerseyjack]

44. Unless your email specifically included her name or

description, I doubt that it resulted in any discipline directed at her.

[MaeScott]

45. Please everyone do the same when you see Faux Noise

....in retail shops.

[MaeScott]

46. Please everyone do the same when you see Faux Noise

....in retail shops.

[Hubert Flottz]

47. I asked them at the doctor's office, if this was the place that people

came to get well? The doctor said she hoped so. I said, well when I come in here and the big screen TV in the waiting room is on FOX it makes me freakin' sick! Next time it was on CNN...how the hell can you win?

[whathehell]

55. CNN is, IMO, a bit better than Fox. n/t

[kitp]

48. similar experience

the coffee shop in our office building usually had the regular morning shows on its tv. all of a sudden it was always on fox news. (this was about a year and a half ago). I complained, told them why fox was bad, and they changed the channel.

about a week later they told me that there is a guy who comes in every morning, buys a cup of coffee to go, goes over and changes the channel to fox news, then leaves! because they like me they immediately went over and changed it back each time he did this.

i figured that this is one of the ways the lunatics are working toward destroying society...so i made it my duty to complain every single time i was anywhere and the tv was on fox news. i did it in the emergency room at the hospital, at other coffee shops and at retail stores.

good work

[DFW]

49. It wouldn't surprise me one bit...

To hear that Murdoch's minions have people all over that get a few bucks every month to change publicly viewed TVs
to his propaganda channel every chance they get. I'm sure you could find plenty of unemployed that would accept
$300 in cash every month if they promise to do this.

[cherish44]

50. They keep referring to the "situation" but never name it...

sounds like a form letter to me. Hope it changes things but this letter doesn't sound sincere to me.

[nessa]

121. It is a form of sorts. Apparently that is the format..

Sears/Kmart uses to respond to complaints. That doesn't mean it isn't effective.

If you google "we are always interested in hearing from" and "retail customer care", you will see that many people get that form letter with minor modifications.

Here is one from someone complaining about their gun policy.
http://www.usacarry.com/forums/open-carry-discussion/13456-sears-kmart-defense-free-zones.html

"Dear sir,

Thank you for your recent correspondence. We are always interested in
hearing from our customers, and regret it was this type of situation
that prompted you to contact us. We apologize for any frustration you
have encountered with our Gun Policy.


You may forward your comments to:

Sears Holdings Corporation
3333 Beverly Road
Mail Stop RR-1
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179

Once more, thank you for taking the time to contact us. We appreciate
your business and value you as a Sears Holdings customer. We certainly
hope you will continue to make Sears Holdings your choice for quality
and value.


Sincerely,
Ray J
Retail Customer Care
Sears Holdings Corporation "

and one about tires.
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/sears-c238790.html

"Dear
> Thank you for your recent correspondence regarding your experience with
> our Medina, OH auto center. We are always interested in hearing from
> our customers, and regret it was this type of situation that prompted
> you to contact us. We apologize for the inconvenience you have
> encountered with your vehicle after having your tires put on.
>
> We have forwarded your message to the Auto Center Manager. They will
> contact you within two (2) business days.
>
> Once again, thank you for contacting us.


> Sincerely,
> Jennifer W.,
> National Customer Relations
> Sears Holdings Corporation"

[bcool]

52. Got my car dealer to change over

When I had to sit in the waiting room at my local Honda dealer, they had F News on, and most of the others waiting were hypnotically staring at the screen. I was trying to read a book I had brought but it was so loud & annoying I found it hard to concentrate.

Later, when I was sent an online survey to rate my experience at the dealer, I gave them all good marks except for "comfort of the waiting room". I said that unless they put a more neutral station on the TV, I won't be coming back.

On my next visit, I noticed they had a different channel on. Did my complaint cause it? I don't know, but as another posted said, every little bit helps.

[rosesaylavee]

53. Great!

I always ask to have it turned to another channel the few times I have run into this and never had a problem. Great followup on your part. Thank you!

[keopeli]

57. Sports channels? You mean Fox owned ESPN?

[Roland99]

75. Umm....Disney owns ESPN (and ABC)

[tomg]

58. Good going. I run into

this constantly. Too often I keep my mouth shut.

I go for a beer to the same bar and with the same guys almost every Friday ( have for almost 15 years). They have three TV sets - one on Fox, one on MSNBC, one on CNN(except when all three are on sports or weather). Sound off, close captioned. Fox faces MSNBC. We always sit beneath Fox so we don't have to see it. MSNBC is over the bar. Coolest thing is going in on another night to find Hannity vs. Rachel. Hilarious.

[Stevenmarc]

59. OK you got a response of sorts, but I wouldn't exactly call it a win until

you step back into Sears and see if they actually fixed the "situation"

[AngryOldDem]

62. Also...the letter sounds like standard customer service boilerplate...

...and could be sent for anything from a beef about a rude salesperson to lack of sales help.

It could be too that whoever is working the floor that shift changes the TVs to something that they want to have on while they're there. Different day, different worker, different programming.

To me it's all background noise and I tune it out.

[tomm2thumbs]

60. the real test is to change a dozen or so TV's to FoxNews and see if they turn them back

THAT would be a good sign that this isn't temporary

Good job btw!!!!

[DirkGently]

63. It might mean someone at Sears checked a box and took note that Fox annoys people. Worth doing, then

[Rebubula]

65. Fox News

People give this station far too much power.

I guess some people need something to be up in arms about at all times.

The world is far too fucked up for me to waste time on something that IS ON TV!!!!!!! TV news is fading out quickly and is pretty much irrelevant to the younger generation.

Fox News is not a threat to anything other than some people's sanity. You would think that Fox News killed Ted Kennedy and raped your dog.

[nyc 4 Biden]

66. Great job!

- from a fellow biker.

[The Green Manalishi]

69. K&R

"One Little Victory"

[Shagbark Hickory]

70. When are businesses going to learn...

Politics doesn't mix. Not on demos and not in a waiting room.

[liberal N proud]

73. I tried that with a local restaurant that had TV's playing

They were tuned to FOX.

I made a comment to the server, they said they tried to change it but the manager hid the remote. The manager could not be found to complain to.

No response from the establishment so I will no longer be eating out there.


Good for you on this action.

[davidthegnome]

74. Though I'm not much of a sports fan

It's a hell of a lot better than Fox news eh? Damn good job. K & R - let's hit those fuckers where it hurts.

[greiner3]

76. Recently I have requested 3 businesses change their TVs;

From Fox to another channel. One said he did not know what channel CNN was and I waited until he flipped through the cable selections and got it there. Another did as soon as I asked and the third was at my credit union. It was tuned to Fox Business and they said they would change it to CNBC or Bloomberg (neither great choices but anything but...).

[russspeakeasy]

77. I spend a fair amount of time at the VA facility

90% of the tv's in the waiting rooms are tuned to fux. 
SARAH, SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP.

[upi402]

78. They're at Sears proving your sig line right

while Sears is letting Faux propagandize them into poverty so they can't afford to buy that crap at Sears anymore.

Ain't it great?

[Lorien]

80. So much for "writing letters never accomplishes anything"!

It may be a small victory, but it's still a good reminder to the "let's sit on our hands and complain " crowd and the "I did my part-I voted" brigade that more can be achieved by taking ACTION!

[james0tucson]

83. But what about GE?

Did you still end up going $5000 in debt to GE?

[county worker]

95. no

[Common Sense Party]

118. You didn't buy the appliances?

You're going to soon?

[DeSwiss]

84. Fill-In-The-Blank Form Letter. K&R - n/t

[zonkers]

88. I got one for you. Yesterday I took the bus twice, both times the new RNC chairman was giving his

first speech, laying out his plan. Now I know this was "news" but they gave it so much air time.

[thereismore]

91. Yowza! nt

[patrice]

92. Good Work! NGU!!!

[USMCMustang]

100. Good For You

I left Lompoc for the Marine Corps in 1980 and for good after college and OCS in 1987 and haven't been back. Maybe I'll go visit. I was going to volunteer for the USO here in San Diego until I saw on the USA San Diego Facebook page that USO San Diego "likes" Fox News. I emailed them and they never replied. I called the main USO office in DC and asked if they should take a political stance and they said no. The never did follow up.

[jtown1123]

102. What a great non-response.

[TheCowsCameHome]

103. Good for you.

More of us should do the same.

[onecent]

104. Could I please have the address??? I, too, will write a letter.

Thanks.

[county worker]

120. here is the email from the reply

[e-mail]

[Taverner]

106. ESPN or VH1 should be what most public TVs are turned to

They're about as neutral as you can get

[Prometheus Bound]

108. What a poor reply you got. Definitely a fail for Miguel G.

[Gman]

111. I HATE that kind of an answer!!

Corporate bullshit-speak. They all do it. They're all masters at it. There are people that sit in conference rooms and think up this kind of phrasing. Even more, there are people that can make it up and it come out all by themselves. They're hoping to get promoted, get a raise and buy that house for $250K that they always wanted. Then they get laid off, the bank gets the house and they're regretting they ever even heard of Sears.

[kittykitty]

114. I have noticed that large medical practices have mandatory FOX. Do you think Fox pays them to keep

the TVs tuned to Fox? My Spine Center with multiple doctors has both TVs in the large waiting room tuned to Fox, and no way to change the channels.

[sulphurdunn]

115. FOX is on the TVs where I work out.

I just go to the front desk, get the remote and change the channel. I do the same thing in my doctor's office. I do it anywhere I can whenever I encounter that abomination in a public place.

[Lucian]

116. Ah, they reply with a non-answer to shut you up.

And they didn't solve the problem you had.

I wouldn't shop there anymore if I were you.

[radhika]

117. Still - you rattled the cage a bit KUDOS n/t

[Blue-Jay]

119. So you got a form letter. FIGHT THE POWER!