[+/-] Why doesn't Sears want to sell to me?

I'm departing from the 'blog theme today to relate a personal story involving Sears. How do these guys stay in business?

Here's the deal: I need a new set of box springs for my bed. So I get on Sears.com and find what I need, and go to order them. Whoops! Sears won't deliver to my zip code. WTF? It's not like I live in the boonies on a dirt road, or on a tropical island, or in any other locale that might hamper delivery. I live in suburbia: paved roads with well-marked street signs.

So I call up the local Sears store. They don't carry box springs. I ask if I can get them delivered to the store so I can pick them up. The employee I spoke with doesn't know. But what is strange is she is far more concerned that the matresses would sit in the store for days and days, and never get picked up, than she is with satisfying my question. Can I order from Sears and have the box springs delivered to your store for pick up? She doesn't know. Does her manager know? Nope.

Still determined to get my box springs, I call Sears phone order number. The rep tells me that Sears is changing the way it delivers matresses, and untill the logistics are worked out, it ain't gonna happen.

So the bottom line is, I have hundreds of dollars I want to spend at Sears, and they won't sell to me. How are they still in business? If I owned any Sears stock, I would be dumping it right now.