Sears Canada (actually Simpsons-Sears, as the company was a merger of Canadian retailer Simpsons and the US Sears parent; they changed the corporate name about 20 years ago but the corporate structure remained the same; the stores were rebranded Sears beginning in the 1970's) was, in my experience, the "never pay" store. I used the Catalog to determine the retail price of everything, or stopped into a retail store, and then went shopping for a lower one, which I was always able to find.
Sears was only worth price shopping at during a sale, at any other time they were the most expensive retail option. What you got for that was a bulletproof warranty, one of the first Department Store cards with easy qualification, and plenty of attentive, knowledgable sales staff (most were lifers).
For many that was worth paying for, and Sears did fine as the first wave of retail assault came, with gum-chewing illiterates on the sales floor and muchos-hassle exchanges along with low margin pricing emerging as the alternative. What killed them was the misguided attempt at competing with the discount warriors. This involved hiring gum-chewing illiterates as the lifers retired in part-time positions (no no staff investment into the job; it was a stepping stone), not hiring enough staff for any actual attentive shopping experience, and not being able to cut prices enough to actually compete with the bargain retailers. Basically, embracing the worst of the new market reality while disbanding the attributes that their formerly loyal customers expected. Doom, basically.
Never used Sears Auto service, although they had a good reputation, I just never took my vehicles in to anyone for almost any reason, doing it myself. I'd pay for alignments, new tire and tire repairs, that's about it, and never bought tires from Sears (see "most expensive retail option" above).
Bought a fair amount of Sears Craftsman tools, even after the Chinese assaulted the tool market. Never had to use the lifetime warranty, which says something.
Never bought Sears appliances, again they were only worth shopping during sales, and my needs and their sales never merged on the same week. I did shop them when looking for my fridge and stove (I bought Frigidaire Gallery) but the features / prices were disappointing and non-competitive. Five old-school staffers in a store when I was the only shopper, though (at a Sears Warehouse store, basically furniture and appliances only).
