"Sev" wrote in news:1151185103.575091.160410
@r2g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

Maybe they
were anticipating a lot of service calls; since everything short of
explosive is described as normal operation.

I had the most fascinating conversation today with the helpful people at
Sears. My washing machine, which is little over a year old, stopped
mid-cycle and began emitting a series of beeps. The LCD on the panel
said E10, which I assumed was an error code, so I went through all the
documentation and could find nothing about error codes (though there
were other "troubleshooting" suggestions like checking to make sure the
power was plugged in and the hoses attached, etc).

I called the Sears 800 number, and they immediately began to schedule a
service call for next Wednesday. I said that I didn't need a service
call; that it was likely something simple and if someone would kindly
tell me what the error code means, I could take care of it myself. She
told me that there was no number for tech support -- that the only way I
could talk to a tech support person was to schedule a service call for
them to come to my house. "Are you telling me that your tech support
has no phone?" I demanded, to which she asked, "Do you have an extended
warranty?" I told her I didn't, to which she responded that in that
case, they do not have a phone number. "So what you're telling me is
that they have a phone number, but that you won't give it to me because
I didn't purchase your extended warranty?" I asked. She said that it
was an "internal" number, and no, I couldn't have it. I then asked why
they even bother to display the error codes on the machines if they
aren't going to give customers the information that the error code
references, and again, she tried to schedule a $90 service call.

I told her how delighted I was with my choice to purchase my washer and
dryer at Sears, along with what she could do with her service call, and
hung up. Then I re-set the washer and it re-started and ran through the
cycle without a problem. Guess I'll never know what caused the error,
but. . .that's got to be the most amazing service policy I've ever heard
of. Bottom line is. . .even the simplest tech question costs $90.

The moral of the story is. . .shop with care if you're intent on
shopping at Sears at all -- and for goodness sake, don't buy Kenmore.
At least with any other brand, I could have called the manufacturer.