Warranties and guarantees | SHOPFLOOR ANALYSIS


There are many products, and often installation, that offer no defined guarantee; and those that offer anything up to a ‘lifetime’ guarantee. On that topic, we need to talk about what exactly constitutes a Lifetime guarantee. Posting a poll on Linkedin, I asked ‘How long should a lifetime guarantee last?’ and the opposing views were laid bare.


By only a hair’s


breadth, and with 43% of the vote, “The customer’s lifetime” was the


it is to our customers, as we’ll always help our customers, with or without the supplier’s support.”


In some cases, however, a customer isn’t going to be satisfied when their product develops a fault.


Andrew Greenhouse,


A factor that I wouldn’t underplay is sustainability, and product


sales


longevity of use is a vital part of this Tom Reynold’s, CEO, BMA


winner; followed just behind by “The product’s lifetime” with 37%. Such a gulf demonstrated the confusion (and often infuriation) that can lead to big fallouts between customers and retailers. Thomas Pertaia, legal adviser at DAS Law, believes that the term


itself could compromise


consumer rights, saying “as there is no definition of ‘lifetime guarantee’ it is a fair argument that the use of the wording without further qualification or clarification is indeed ambiguous and could be breaching the Consumer Rights Act.” From my own experience, as sales


director at Cavendish Kitchens and Bedrooms, I changed the definition of “Lifetime Guarantee” to “Lifetime Support”, which meant that outside of manufacturer guaranteed periods or terms, we would still help our customers but sometimes at a small charge to them. This approach is similar to that of other established retailers I have spoken to. Both Trevor Scott, CEO of Rugby Fitted Kitchens, and Nick Warrington, owner of Stuart J Warrington & Co, in Macclesfield, say that their businesses don’t offer a formal, written guarantee; relying on their company’s long-established reputation as security that they will look after their customers come what may. Similarly, Martin Jones, MD of kitchen-specialists Cwtch Haus, Haverfordwest, states: “We work with customers outside of guarantee, but we also look to work with suppliers who will help us in these circumstances.


Their help and support is more of an issue to us than


director, Bathroom Engineering in Glastonbury says: “Quite often it’s met with frustration from our customers or their clients. We stick by our warranty periods, but help we will offer a replacement at list less 70% to soften the blow.”


help So how long should a guarantee


be? Tom Reynolds, CEO, Bathroom Manufacturers’ Association (BMA) comments: “Guarantees depend on product categories, with sanitaryware on average between 20-25 years”. Answering from a kitchen sector perspective, McLaughlin from Wren adds: “Appliances tend to have the shortest warranty (usually two-to-five years), but these are the ones most likely to bring about costly issues. I feel


it should the be five years


the minimum”. What connection is there then, between


length of


guarantee and a perception of quality? “It


is incredibly


important as these tend to be


at


covered by the guarantee? Warrington gives a legal insight by saying “as a former solicitor, I know that a guarantee is only as good as the terms offered. These agreements are often full of caveats”. This is agreed by Bell, PKB Trade who says “some


[guarantees] I have seen


come with so many clauses they are worthless, and ‘lifetime’ would be the lifetime of a doughnut in an American police station”. Trevor Scott of RFK also suggests that it’s not always in the manufacturer’s/engineer’s interests to take responsibility. “Service engineers have had it drummed into them that the installation is at fault. As a result, we now visit all reported faults in the first instance with the installer, before reporting the issue to the manufacturer. “We are always ‘treading through


the broken glass’ of customer sensibilities, as you don’t want them to bad-mouth you, even if they are in the wrong. I therefore fight on behalf of my customers


to make


manufacturers fix faulty products”. So, if a manufacturer provides a free replacement for a faulty


substantial because manufacturers won’t cover labour.” This definitely seems to be a bug-bear across the industry, and a hidden cost of being in retail.


trade some insight


Paul Hide of kitchen appliance association Amdea, offers into


his members’


perspective. “Surprisingly there isn’t actually a legal requirement for manufacturers to offer a guarantee in the UK. In France though, there is a recently introduced law which means that a retailer has to replace, repair or refund faulty electrical appliances for up to two years. “It’s difficult for a manufacturer to estimate lifetime, as usage is so different from household to household. Modern appliances though


do monitor usage, for


example, the number of cycles a dishwasher has completed. The BMA’s Tom Reynolds agrees, stating “manufacturers are trying and succeeding in making products that last longer and longer. A factor that I wouldn’t underplay is sustainability, and product longevity is a vital part.” In what sounds like a good


long-term purchases,” says Greenhouse. “The customer wants to ensure they are buying a quality, long lasting, fit for purpose item”. Warrington adds that he believes, guarantees


“long are used as a


marketing tool”. And of course, offering longer guarantees on products, will inevitably result in more engineer callouts, and this has to be paid for, with Dan Jackson, national service manager at Fisher and Paykel, pointing out that: “Longer warranties equal high initial costs”. So, who decides if a product is


product, then that’s all good then? Well, actually, not quite according to Jones of Cwtch Haus who says: “I have a pet hate that manufacturers will often easily replace a faulty product, but I have to pay for the labour to uninstall and reinstall it”.


Again he is not alone in this thought, finding agreement from Trevor Scott saying “manufacturers don’t cover labour - we have to pay”, and Nick Warrington bemoaning that “re-dooring is a cost to my business which is often


idea for the appliance industry going forward, Hide revealed that Amdea plans to give consumers as much information as possible, to ensure they can make the right decsions. “We are looking into providing


more information to help the general public make informed choices,” he explains. “Covering repairability, how to maximise the lifetime of a product, standard repair pricing formats, and helping consumers find local repairers that meet standards.”


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