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This is a subject that I’ve noticed hasn’t really been raised on UKW until now, but me being me…
What’s the feeling on spares warranties both in and out of a contract call?
My sentiments are almost solely geared to contract work and I find that some manufacturers do not warranty the spares that they sell to you, which seems a bit crazy. They also expect you to carry the can for the warranty on the spares as well as the labour involved in fitting those parts. Well, I warranty my engineer’s labour on a contract call, where I make no profit on spares or a vastly reduced margin I have not been paid to carry a warranty IMO and the funds are not there in that arrangement to carry a warranty on spares. Should the spare part fail within the warranty period offered it is down to the manufacturer to pick up the tab, including the labour as there was no failure in the work that was carried out, but in the spare that was supplied.
To give an example of this working the right way, full marks to Servevast, MFI and AIS who have all honoured this and replaced spares FOC and paid the labour charge to replace the failed spares. This, in my case, breeds a certain trust and a knowledge that should things go wrong somewhere that I can email or call those companies and resolve any issues like this (among others) with ease and that’s great I think.
However I also know that some extract the Mick. 🙁
Spares distribution companies used to be murder for this and it’s why I generally deal with very few and only the ones that I have a relationship with, so that if and when things do go wrong generally a simple call sorts it out.
Some manufacturers also take the Mick when you try to return spares, I mean, you order in good faith for their customers to do the job, some retailer or whatever decides to exchange then they expect you to return spares at your cost!!! Do they not realise that nothing was made on these spares, yet you are expected to pick up the tab to return them? Crazy, totally crazy. Not only that you have to list them, pack them and usually look up invoice numbers as well just to get a returns authorisation! Like we order up spares just because we feel like it! 😕
Just some thoughts for the weekend. 😉
K.
Re: Spare Part Warranties
Manufacturers and Distributors will always say they are supplying spare parts to us with very narrow profit margins, that handling costs continue to rise and transportation costs likewise are increasingly costly for them. Once you stop crying over their hard luck stories and realise the vast profits they are still making, it is sickening.
Fortunately the quality aspect of the majority of spare parts is very high and therefore recall failure rates are extremely low. Respect should be recognised to those suppliers that handle and credit us for faulty goods and honour guarantees. The advice can only be to avoid dealing with those that don’t, or at least ensuring you get an even greater profit margin yourself for handling their dodgy mechandise.
I do not do contract work so it is difficult to imagine the difficulties sustained within by those that do. But speaking personally I do have to shop around very carefully between several suppliers as the price difference is incredible (see my thread on Hotpoint Armatures for an example). Fortuneately for me I can supply and fit spare parts at a profit of between 30 and 50{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d}. 30{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} has to be my absolute minimum markup as I do carry quite a healthy stockload and high percentage first time call completion rate also of course to ensure it covers me in case the bit goes belly up!
All the parts I supply and work done carries a 1 year guarantee and I cannot remember the last time a part failed on me, probably years back!
Martin
You’re quite right Martin, but three timers in a dishwasher of later and a bearing/backplate assy that failed causing a drum to become damaged kinda brought this to the fore for me. It so happens that all these failures where very reasonably dealy with by the companies concerned and all credit to them for that, but it would have been a different story otherwise as, just in those two calls, there was over £400 of spares replaced by warranty.
K.
Re: Spare Part Warranties
Its not often I do this but……….
Whirlpool have a closure for us to be paid if their part fails within 12 months of fitting and this applies to our private work that we get through the whirlpool contract.
Rest of the deal is not so good though
tedRe: Spare Part Warranties
kwatt wrote:However I also know that some extract the Mick.
That wouldn’t include a Great British Domestic Appliance Repair type of company I suppose would it ?
Dave.
Re: Spare Part Warranties
Dave_Conway wrote:
That wouldn’t include a Great British Domestic Appliance Repair type of company I suppose would it ?
Dave.Dave they go one better ,They expect you to warranty the whole machine! Not just the part you have fitted.
Lawrence
Indeed Lawrence. I think the term is, “taking the p**s” for that particular little gem. Yes folks, Servis UK/GBDAR expect you to warranty the entire appliance for a period of 28 days after you repair it!
However it wasn’t directed at our friends GBDAR really as, to be fair, if a part does fail they do normally stump up without a problem, particularly with modules. Now I wonder why that is? 😉
K.
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