Basica Guru
ArboristSite Member
I can see both sides to the argument, well 3 if you count the customer's side. I ran an independent auto repair facility that sold tires and I also ran the service dept. at a Ford dealership.
For years, the new car dealers would not do tire warranty work on tires. We sold Goodyear and Michelin, so we saw tire warranty from all the local dealers. When a customer had an issue with a tire, they would feel that it HAD to be warranty because it was a new car. The fact that they jumped a curb or bashed a pothole did not matter. When they went to the dealer, the dealer would send them to us because they did not want the hassle. 90% of the time the dealer would tell them that it would be free because it was an obvious "defect". Basically they just wanted to get them out of there and make us the bad guys.
One thing we could do as a warranty dealer was offer a good-will adjustment, if the tire became unusable because of a road hazard. We could give them a 50% discount, if they were reasonable. After a few dozen times of being told "The dealer said it would be free", I would call the dealership on speaker phone and ask if they would like to pay the other half since they told the customer it would be free. Never had a one offer a single dollar. I also started giving the customers discount coupons on oil changes. Most thought they had to have it done at the dealership to keep it under warranty. So in essence, the dealer was sending me 4-10 new customers a month that I did not have to advertise for. I just had to find the way to capitalize on the situation.
Now dealership work was much different. Like the saw dealers, warranty work would pay about half of what customer pay would. Making a living on warranty work would be impossible. Customers could not comprehend a situation where something would not be covered under warranty. Abuse, wearables and stupidity are not covered under warranty. You can either laugh at them, bill them or educate them. If you educate them, you can generally bill them. Then laugh at them when they leave.
Now, I can understand the thinking of the guys that do not want to do warranty work on saws they did not sell. They think to themselves "I was not good enough to buy a saw from, but now I can fix it"? I had a call a day at the dealership from guys that were fixing their own vehicles and wanted to "pick the techs brains". Sorry, buy a Chiltons or cough up $65 an hour to talk to them. The tech is trying to make living and you aren't even going to buy a part from me. That was my cut-off point for being a nice guy. Everyone has to find their own cut-off when it comes to dealing with whatever. Some have more patience than others.
For years, the new car dealers would not do tire warranty work on tires. We sold Goodyear and Michelin, so we saw tire warranty from all the local dealers. When a customer had an issue with a tire, they would feel that it HAD to be warranty because it was a new car. The fact that they jumped a curb or bashed a pothole did not matter. When they went to the dealer, the dealer would send them to us because they did not want the hassle. 90% of the time the dealer would tell them that it would be free because it was an obvious "defect". Basically they just wanted to get them out of there and make us the bad guys.
One thing we could do as a warranty dealer was offer a good-will adjustment, if the tire became unusable because of a road hazard. We could give them a 50% discount, if they were reasonable. After a few dozen times of being told "The dealer said it would be free", I would call the dealership on speaker phone and ask if they would like to pay the other half since they told the customer it would be free. Never had a one offer a single dollar. I also started giving the customers discount coupons on oil changes. Most thought they had to have it done at the dealership to keep it under warranty. So in essence, the dealer was sending me 4-10 new customers a month that I did not have to advertise for. I just had to find the way to capitalize on the situation.
Now dealership work was much different. Like the saw dealers, warranty work would pay about half of what customer pay would. Making a living on warranty work would be impossible. Customers could not comprehend a situation where something would not be covered under warranty. Abuse, wearables and stupidity are not covered under warranty. You can either laugh at them, bill them or educate them. If you educate them, you can generally bill them. Then laugh at them when they leave.
Now, I can understand the thinking of the guys that do not want to do warranty work on saws they did not sell. They think to themselves "I was not good enough to buy a saw from, but now I can fix it"? I had a call a day at the dealership from guys that were fixing their own vehicles and wanted to "pick the techs brains". Sorry, buy a Chiltons or cough up $65 an hour to talk to them. The tech is trying to make living and you aren't even going to buy a part from me. That was my cut-off point for being a nice guy. Everyone has to find their own cut-off when it comes to dealing with whatever. Some have more patience than others.
