OK, Let's Take Another Look at Warranties

	OK, Let's Take Another Look at Warranties Gary stands corrected by Gary Kayye, CTS

	Last week, I wrote about the anomaly in the ProAV market where we have super-ridiculously long warranties that put most ProAV dealers in quandary. Remember that column? I explained that although long warranties offered by manufacturers to customers are admirable, they put GOOD systems integration companies at a disadvantage. Why? Well, good systems integrators calculate the real cost of maintaining a system when it comes to maintenance and service -- costs that include service tech time to drive out to the client's site, de-install the box and fix the system. These are costs that are not covered by most manufacturers of ProAV products. Boy, did I get letters. Most of them were thanking me for addressing something that they've (the dealers) been thinking about for a long time. In fact, although I didn't look at it statistically, I probably got a 90% approval rating for that column. But, that 10% was adamant that I was wrong. And, that's good. Although they agreed with my hypothesis, they said that some manufacturers ARE offering to pay the cost of the service calls under the warranty period -- even though the policy was not obviously stated in the manufacturer's warranty policy. Huh? Well, basically, many of our best manufacturers are doing this, but haven't, yet, made it a printed policy or guarantee. It appears that there is an un-written policy to support many dealers at any cost -- even paying for warranty service call time and labor. Well, I stand corrected. I am glad to hear that this is being done, but I hesitate to mention who those companies are. I don't see it in their service or warranty policies and I don't see it in their dealer agreements. But, I am assured that it's being done. Good! But, why not document it? Why not make it a written policy? Why not flaunt it? Be proud of it? I am sure there's a cost factor related to not making that kind of policy public, but maybe last week's announcement by Clarity will prod some along. [an error occurred while processing this directive] Clarity announced to the world their service policy for their dealer channel. Their service policy not only warrants the projector for a year, but also the lamp. Beyond that, replacement lamps carry an additional 90-day warranty beyond the OEM lamp manufacturer's warranty. But, they didn't stop there. They also offer a “field labor reimbursement policy”. That's what I was talking about last week. OK, I realize that Clarity is a specialized manufacturer marketing products to a specific niche industry, but I think they may be onto something. Although price seems to rule the world today, service is king and wins in the end. And, this kind of service to their dealer channel earns loyalty for a long time. And, I do think other manufacturers will emulate it. I've already heard rumors that NEC -- one of the traditional leaders in the projector market when it comes to loyalty and service -- is looking closely at this policy and may have a version of it themselves, soon. If so, I commend them. And, I think that would mean that others will surely follow. Gary Kayye, CTS, is Chief Visionary at Kayye Consulting, Inc., a Chapel Hill, NC-based marketing consulting firm that serves the ProAV and Home Theater markets. In addition to strategic marketing consulting, Kayye Consulting, Inc. is also a training development company. Gary can be reached via e-mail at gkayye@kayye.com or through his Web site at www.kayye.com. Source: Kayye Consulting, Inc.