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General Guidelines for Warranty Work |
March 2002 ... Larrie York |
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Related Pages |
1) Paperwork
Frontier publishes a
Warranty Claim Form. This is a generic form that includes
all the data that is required by any of the manufacturers we represent.
Be sure to fill in all the blanks that apply. This information
will be required to process the claim.
2) Record Keeping
Warranty claims are sometimes disputed.
Many claims are not really "warranty" but "goodwill policy" and occasionally
Frontier finds itself caught between an unhappy customer and a manufacturer who
refuses warranty. For this reason it is always good policy to keep oil, fuel or
coolant samples if they may be required. Make sure that any unusual conditions
are noted in writing on the time card or on a separate service report.
Failed parts must also be kept, tagged with the WO number, until the claim is settled.
3) Frontier's Policy and Approach to Manufacturer's Warranty Claims
A) We "administer" warranty on behalf of the manufacturer. Basically
our "stance" with the customer is that the manufacturer builds and warrants the
equipment. Frontier will do its best to comply with the guidelines and policies
of that manufacturer. However, it is not up to Frontier to accept
warranty responsibility. Therefore we will process warranty on the
customer's behalf but if the claim is unsuccessful, the customer is completely
responsible for the costs of repairs. If we do not know if the claim will be
honoured, we should contact the manufacturer before the equipment is released
to a customer who does not have an account with us. (Or a customer who
does have an account but is unlikely to pay if the warranty is
rejected.)
Frontier neither approves nor declines warranty. We "process" warranty.
B) We do not consider our suppliers to be profit centres. What this means is that we try to be as fair as we can be with all of our suppliers when it comes to warranty claims. We do not process claims that are obviously false. Customers sometimes ask if we can "just claim that under warranty?". The answer is "No". We value our reputation with our suppliers as much as we value our reputation with our customers.
If the supplier's terms are such that we make a profit on warranty work, that's fine. We accept the flat rates, the parts allowances and so on that each supplier gives us. Sometimes we "win" sometimes we lose a little. However we feel it is very important that the supplier approve the claims that we believe should be approved and the only way to have this advantage is to have the supplier believing that we are honest and straightforward in our dealings with them.
4) Unclear Situations and How to Handle Them
It is not
unusual to enter into a "warranty" situation where the repairs may be
questioned or rejected by the manufacturer.
Stop.
Remember whose money we are proposing to spend. The supplier becomes our customer and he has the right to determine how we spend his money! Contact the appropriate warranty or service person at the supplier's, preferably in writing, explain the circumstances with all the necessary details, e-mail pictures if that will help, and ask our supplier what he would like us to do. If we contact him in writing we can expect a reply in writing and this is usually the best, clearest answer. Most of our suppliers bend over backwards to keep customers happy. They are generous and fair but if they think we are taking advantage of them or not providing the customer what we should provide, then the supplier has every right to complain, reduce or even withhold settlement of our claim.
5) The Customer and his Warranty Entitlement
Basically the
customer should receive prompt, professional service. He has paid for the use
of a machine and while we accept no "consequential" liabilities, we do want to
leave him with a good impression even though he may have had a disappointing
experience with "our" engine. The engine returned to him should be in "as new"
condition except for the normal wear caused by the usage of the engine up to
the time of the warranty failure.
A customer should not be penalized in any way owing to a warrantable failure. The engine he receives back, following warranty repairs should be in the condition it would have been in had it not had a premature failure.
Therefore, except in very unusual circumstances, the engine will have had no "machining" done to it. All components will be covered by the existing warranty until the end of the normal warranty term.
6) Common Sense
As with most other functions, common sense in
handling warranties will go a long way in avoiding problems. Remember that the
manufacturer wants to keep our mutual customer "happy" if possible but at the
same time he wants to minimize his costs. Like any other customer the supplier
has a right to expect good value.
Never submit a claim that exceeds the cost of a new engine unless the supplier is fully aware, in advance, that this is going to happen. (Probably by around 50% of the cost of a new engine, the repair gets questionable - from everybody's point of view.)
Submit ALL the required information in a clear and organized manner. Remember that the person processing the claim may not be familiar with the work performed.
Keep all the backup information that may be required by the supplier, the customer or by an independent third party. Photos, samples, notes etc. are all good information to keep until the claim is settled.
Finally, if you are not sure what you should do - ask. Find out from someone in-house or at the supplier who can give you a definitive answer.
Details on specific manufacturer's warranties can be found on our Intranet site under the "Policies and Procedures" heading.
Deere warranty admin manual on Intranet
home page
Isuzu warranty
procedures
Generac warranty admin manual on
Intranet home page
Kubota warranty claim procedures
Lombardini warranty claim procedures