After seeing the 877-467-3277 number on Caller ID over and over, I decided recently to answer the call. A Sears Home Improvement telemarketing representative was on the line, trying to interest me in a federal stimulus credit program for energy efficient home improvements, including heating and air conditioning systems.
I cut her script short and asked whether Sears installed solar panels. Her answer was no, and she had a logical explanation: Sears subcontracts its home improvement business and has not yet found contractors who’ve been in business long enough, nationwide, for the company to offer a solar panel installation service.
Interestingly, she went on to say that Sears had prior troubles establishing a nationwide network of roofing contractors, and surmounted that problem by establishing its own roofing business, the only home improvement service Sears does not subcontract.
With the current interest in alternative energy and federal stimulus credits for solar installations, I wonder why Sears wouldn’t take a proprietary approach to solar panels, which after all are usually installed on roofs…