It was the outline of vinyl or acrylic paint lettering that had been removed off of the glass of the front entrance. It used to read "Satisfaction Guaranteed or your money back". Someone intentionally scraped it all off. The old "Sears, Roebuck and Co." lettering still remains on the other side.
Such a small detail but it speaks volumes as to Sears' lack of willingness to foster good, old fashioned, no-nonsense customer service. Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck invented this motto (look at any old Sears catalog) yet they threw it all away.
Gimmicks, gotchas and technicalities replaced common sense.