Would you charge for a guarantee?- edited

[opps]

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Edit---
My question was phrased pretty badly.

It should have been something along the lines of

"watch out for dodgy companies whose websites say that their work is guaranteed but on closer inspection in the small print you discover that the work is only guaranteed if you took out the guarantee insurance"

It was supposed to be my reaction to a firm who post in this forum.

The answers given have been valid given the cruddy way that I asked the question but none addresses the point I was trying to make- my bad., not anyone else's
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One of my posts in the decorating forum was just deleted.

A specialist oufit had given their advice and then hyperlinked to an article on their site.

They extol the longevity of their product and talk about guarantees. When you read the small print you discover that it is only guaranteed if you pay for insurance.

WTF

I told them what I thought of them- (to be fair to the moderators both his original post and my response were deleted)

Would you ever treat your customers like that?

 

[Deluks]

Bad wording then, lots of products bought in the high street are sold with optional 'extended' guarantees.
Something for the tradesman to think about, if you are confident in your workmanship and choice of materials/goods installed.

 

[opps]

The difference is though they don't say that the product is guaranteed for 25 years, and then demand a premium for the insurance.

Insurance and guarantees are different things.

Anything can be insured ad finitum providing you pay what would become uneconomical premiums. That is not the same as a lifetime guarantee.

 

[LooPrEvil]

Any product or service purchase will have risk attached to it. The risk generally being breakdown or failure.

The buyer decides who will stand the cost of the risk. If for example they buy a new tv, the first 12 months are risk free as the manufacturers warranty will cover for loss against faults and breakdown etc.

But the buyer can decide whether or not to take out an additional 4 year warranty for a fee, in which case the insurer will stand any covered loss. But the buyer will weigh up what is the chance of breakdown, what is the cost of the warranty, and what is the cost to replace / repair in the event of a breakdown - then the decision is made based on the perceived risk and the cost of transferring the risk to another party.

A company that offers say a 25 year warranty on a product service also looks at the chance of failure and the cost of remedy. The cost charged to the customer will actually include an element of additional cost in the event of failure, all customers will incur this cost without knowing it. It will pay the one in 100 or 1 in 1000 chance of failure when it occurs.

The customer still has a risk with a 25 year warranty: Will the company still be in business in years to come, so they may look for the guarantee to be underwritten.

You dont say in your case whether the premium is a one off or an annual charge, if it is an annual charge it could actually be a benefit, because if the company folds you would only lose a maximum of 1 years premium, rather then any remaining period of the 25 year fee for a one off payment. However insurance is better than a guarantee in so much that it will be (hopefully) underwritten by a large reputable insurance company (but you must read any small print for exclusion clauses!!).

Its all about minimising risk to an acceptable level.

 

[cumbriahandyman]

Guarantee
Warrantee
Insurance

Not the same things...

 

[LooPrEvil]

Dohh It ca be hard work sometimes

 

[Mw Roofline]

We give an insuranced backed guarantee to all customers (TrustMark requirement). It's only £29 quid which we add to the costing for the job. It only applies to anything over £350 I think.

Anything under £350 and they just ge a normal 'letter head' guarantee on materials and labour. We usually stick £20 on top of the costings in case we ever have to go out there and replace something under the guarantee.

 

[LooPrEvil]

We give an insuranced backed guarantee to all customers (TrustMark requirement). It's only £29 quid which we add to the costing for the job. It only applies to anything over £350 I think.

Anything under £350 and they just ge a normal 'letter head' guarantee on materials and labour. We usually stick £20 on top of the costings in case we ever have to go out there and replace something under the guarantee.

Exactly, those £20s add up and cover the occasional unexpected call back. A very sensible approach.

 

[opps]

We give an insuranced backed guarantee to all customers (TrustMark requirement). It's only £29 quid which we add to the costing for the job. It only applies to anything over £350 I think.

Anything under £350 and they just ge a normal 'letter head' guarantee on materials and labour. We usually stick £20 on top of the costings in case we ever have to go out there and replace something under the guarantee.

But do you say that all other products are inferior (and question the probity of all builders that use different products) and that yours will last 25 years and then demand money to ensure that it will last as long as you say.

I appreciate that all firms offering a guarantee factor in failure rates (and spread the costs) but I think that the un-named firm is lacking in honesty.

Not even Currys says our washing machines last 25 years, oh but so long as you pay a premium.

 

[LooPrEvil]

There are industries that will allow you pay monthly, or even annual payments for a product, and after a set period they will replace the original with new. You get what you pay for.

 

[^woody^]

Everyone pays for a guarantee - whether its generally higher prices, or a one off sum

In context, if you are any good, then you can charge higher prices - and that extra cost is either a guarantee that what you do won't go wrong, or if it does you will sort it out

For the customer, you can't actually guarantee that you will sort any future problem out (say illness or cease trading) or that you will agree that it is your fault, in which case you may like to offer extra assurance/insurance that a third party will deal with valid claims in the future - which will obviously be at a premium charge

 

[opps]

Whilst i agree with the sentiment of the responses I guess my vitriol is lost in the moment.

I don't like firms that use scare mongering tactics or make claims that are based upon criticising other trades, or that make claims about how long their coatings last and hide such claims behind potentially small print.

Unfortunately I can't name the firm as they will have my post deleted again.

Hey ho...

 

[Donkmeister]

Everyone pays for a guarantee - whether its generally higher prices, or a one off sum

Tell that to anyone who bought an MG-Rover circa 2004-2005...

Along with millions of others, my dad had bought a brand new MG with a 3 year warranty, then after a year when the company went belly up he was invited to buy a warranty to cover the remaining 2 years that he had already paid for!

The local dealers sorted minor problems out of their own pocket, fortunately, for those who had bought their cars there.

One thing I'd like to see enforced fully is free extended warranties that are used as a selling point. I bought a dishwasher that came with a 5 year warranty, but only if you sent off the paperwork. I did so, but the third party who furnish the warranty claimed not to have received it. However they still manage to send me letters asking me to take out a different extended warranty... How do they know that someone of my name lives at my address with this make and model of dishwasher? Hmmm...

 

[^woody^]

The purchase of a guarantee/warranty is completely different to the honouring of it

Obviously for large expensive items, its worth ensuring that the warranty is not only backed up by a third party, but that there are provisions for the warranty to be honoured by others should the company fold

 

[wreckedit]

I bought a telly from Tesco and in the paperwork was an option to guarantee it for it's life time for £30. It did breakdown after a year and I couldn't believe it when they collected, repaired and sent it back all within the terms of what they said. But in the small print the telly has a life of 8 years. So, they get me that way.

My partners specs broke after 2 years in an odd way that appeared they had broken due to a manufacturing fault. The shop said that they were only guaranteed for 1 year so she would have to pay for them to be repaired. I insisted that the break was an inherent fault and they should pay for the breakage. Anyway, I think they don't want to lose business so they are going to replace them, I hope.