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Date: Friday, 4 October 1985 09:03:56 EDT
From: Ivor.Durham@g.cs.cmu.edu
To: Bovik@g.cs.cmu.edu
Subject: Sears Auto Service, East Liberty
Message-ID: <1985.10.4.12.52.29.Ivor.Durham@g.cs.cmu.edu>

I had a battery installed at Sears E. Liberty yesterday.  The installer
brought only a pair of pliers for the job.  He wrenched the clamps off the
old battery.  He attempted to force the clamps onto the new battery by
pounding on them with the jaws of the pliers.  Both battery clamps and posts
are soft and brittle.  He broke one of the clamps in two.  He ignored this
until I pointed it out.  He replaced the clamp without argument but pounded
on the new one too.  He finally fetched a special spreading tool to open up
the clamps.  He failed to seat the hold-down clamp properly as well.

I'm glad I was able to keep an eye on this procedure.  I have never chosen
Sears for any other work on my car and now they are completely off my list of
candidates.  I couldn't tell whether I saw stupidity, incompetence, laziness,
lack of training, or a deliberate attempt to void the warranty by cracking
the battery posts.

Ivor Durham