TEMPLE, Texas — A Temple woman has a working air conditioning system once again after calling 6 News.
Marek, 78, had her air conditioning go out on June 3. She told 6 News it was under warranty with Sears, so she called to get it fixed.
She said she was first told they needed to get the right condenser unit. The first day contractors were supposed to come out, June 14, she had surgery on her foot. She said she tried to coordinate a family member being at the home but Sears didn't get back with her. She told 6 News she tried to reschedule on June 21 and June 25 but said no tech came out on those days.
Finally, Marek called 6 News about the issue. Reporter Andrew Moore reached out to Sears Monday. Corporate Communications & Transformco PR Director Larry Costello responded within hours and said they would work to coordinate a time to make repairs as early as Tuesday morning.
"We are working to coordinate with Ms. Marek to have technicians evaluate and repair her air conditioning system as early as tomorrow morning, if a member of the family can be at the home during the repair," Costello wrote in an email.
Costello provided another statement to 6 News the next day stating that the company had sent technicians out to the home multiple times before, but apologized for the miscommunication.
“At Sears, the satisfaction of our customers is our top priority. We are pleased to have repaired Ms. Marek’s air conditioning unit this morning and regret the previous miscommunications. Our technicians had made several visits to her home to provide service in June and unfortunately, Ms. Marek was not home to accept service. We regret the delay in completing this repair and are pleased that her air conditioner is back up and running properly. Sears is proud to be trusted by millions of Americans for their repair and coverage needs and we take that trust seriously,” Costello said.
Marek had told 6 News she had previously called Sears when she was in the hospital to provide her sister-in-law's number so someone would be home, but they never called her sister-in-law.
Monday evening, 6 News provided Costello the family's contact numbers and confirmed there would be someone home to make the repair. Sears representatives then called the family.
Tuesday, Marek's sister-in-law, Marilyn Rothaus, told 6 News a Sears technician was at the house at 8 a.m. sharp.
"I got there at 8 and he was there as soon as I was," Rothaus said. "He worked until 11, was very efficient and very polite, and got the job done and the house felt cooler. It was that fast."
Rothaus said a Sears district representative called after the job was finished and said to let them know if Marek had any other problems with the air conditioning unit. Marek said the communication was much better overall after 6 News got involved.
"It was wonderful," Rothaus said. "I told my sister in law this morning we could not have done this left to our own devices. We had a stroke of genius and called KCEN."