I worked at Sears back in high school. Sears was in decline, you could just feel it. But Sears was VERY serious about protecting the perceived value of their tools. Almost cult like I would say. We had a little old man bring in a hammer that looked like it belonged in a museum for tortured tools. It was a craftsman (still barely legible on the head) and the handle was worn down from god knows how much use and the head was taped/nailed onto the old wood that was coming apart. Well we couldn't find it in the catalogs and the old man just wanted another hammer or have it fixed. The manager asked him how old it was and he said he didn't know, but as a kid he got it for christmas from his dad. The manager then told him we would of course honor the warranty and he could have any Craftsman hammer he wanted no matter the cost. He spent about a half hour trying to talk the guy into a really nice "modern" hammer with a fiberglass hand etc... It was lighter and might be easier for him to use, and after all it would be free. Nope, the old guy just picked a basic old cheap plain jane hammer. Usually, we needed to take the old tool, or what was left of it in exchange. (just to be thrown out) But the manager insisted he keep the old one if he wanted since it was a gift. That was NOT done for marketing or future sales, the manager was a true believer. If it was Craftsman, Sears will make it right or better than right. That was not just corporate talking points, it was a point of pride. RIP