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  Richard Earnhardt August 19, 2010 at 9:21pm

  I have had their paperwork sitting on my desk for 6 months undecided if I should take it or not - like you said - they expect a hefty amount of inventory (I already know 50% of those parts are going to sit for a year or longer) in order to get a "better deal" on equipment. Not all equipment manufacturers are like this. In fact, we do warranty work for another large manufacturer and not only did they supply us with equipment at no charge upfront, they don't fret the small stuff - they pay something close to what we ask, and the relationship makes sense to me.
  
  We represented an unnamed spa company because a local dealer went out of business and they were looking for someone to service the spas that were sold - what a mistake. Not even a year with them and I had already filed a BBB complaint on my customer's behalf because I could not believe the abuse of the "warranty" process with them. It seems that many companies plan to bypass the "merchantibility" clause of the Consumer Credit Protection Act because they figure most customers don't know it's existed since 1968. I always fight for the customer - it's a strange relationship in warranty work - you are always in the middle...but the manufacturers need you, and the ones that know that, treat their warranty centers with dignity, respect, and revere their field knowledge and experience. If they don't - then they are not worth your time, period. We can have the best or worst ethics in the world, bottom line, were here to make a living, and with many of these companies, they became a liability to my entire operation, as well as taking potential customers away since their first dealing with me was tainted due to bad manufacturer support - save yourself the headache and embarrasment, and frankly, loss of revenue and stick with the ones who support their products and warranty centers - they WILL win out in the long run. So will you.
  
  We've worked with a company for years that was just purchased by a larger company who does shoddy warranty work, and the level of service has diminished to a point that i've actually thought of looking at other manufacturers. Support will make or break a product, both from a consumers point of view and a dealer's willingness to make those products available to the consumer. Service is everything! Even in 2010~
  
  Jeff Woods said:

  I'm not going to name names, but you're on to something Luke. What I was trying to find out is, is the industry standard now? It's been a while since I did contract work, and I was with a much larger company that was given special leeway because of the volume that we did. I didn't know if the standards changed and I didn't know about it or is this the case of some genius in a suit trying to saturate the market with his inventory while making a profit for his company. It sounds good on paper, but it rapes the service guy that runs with little or no inventory.
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  Jeremy Hine May 12, 2010 at 9:41pm

  I can attest, it does alienate the dealers. It darn near alienates me as a warranty service center. So many customers dont get the terms of the warranty, though its spelled out in black and white.
  
  I hate having to tell the customer that the unit can be repaired, however its not covered under the labor. Customer will have to pay a diagnostic-service call plus the labor to have the parts replaced. For example the Aquatrol salt chlorinator has no labor warranty. Parts are covered under warranty for the first year only.
  
  I don't blame the factories, i see so many problems as a result of the dealer not knowing the product they sell and not informing the customer of how to maintain the product. How many times do I pull up on a salt chlorinator failure because the customer doesn't clean the cell or know of phosphates. A bit frustrating, but at the same time I have taken the position of Expert Pool Equipment. I'll set the customer straight and be the knight in shining armor. Get an ally and a loyal customer that calls me when they need help. All part of the job.
  
  Forgive me with rambling rant. Bit of a tiresome day of such service calls. Not necessarily fixing equipment, but fixing customers. And how do you charge for that? I don't. I gave the time away to earn the trust of a confused and helpless customer.
  
  -Jeremy
  -I fix broken pools, spas, and hot tubs customers
  Florida Leisure Pool & Spa
  www.FLLeisure.com
  
  Clint Combs said:

  Back about 5 years ago, if a product I installed failed during the warranty period, I could call the manufacturer, and they would send the part for me to install. It was fast, easy, and provided great customer service.
  Then manufacturers got stingy. They stopped sending replacement parts unless you were a warranty center. They increased measures designed to verify claims and cut warranty costs. (I wonder if these methods achieve that goal, or just alienate their dealers.)

  Florida Leisure Pool, Spa, Hot Tub Repair, Pumps, Filters, Heaters, Salt Chlorinators, Automation

  We repair pools, spas and hot tubs, pumps, motors, heaters, filters, automation equipment in Gainesville and North Central FL
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  Jeff Woods May 12, 2010 at 9:33pm

  I was/am a warranty center though. That's what I don't understand. Why set someone up as warranty center and then alienate them by stuffing them with obscure parts for inventory that they have to pay for.
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  Clint Combs May 12, 2010 at 7:30pm

  Back about 5 years ago, if a product I installed failed during the warranty period, I could call the manufacturer, and they would send the part for me to install. It was fast, easy, and provided great customer service.
  
  Then manufacturers got stingy. They stopped sending replacement parts unless you were a warranty center. They increased measures designed to verify claims and cut warranty costs. (I wonder if these methods achieve that goal, or just alienate their dealers.)
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  Jeff Woods May 6, 2010 at 3:41pm

  I'm not going to name names, but you're on to something Luke. What I was trying to find out is, is the industry standard now? It's been a while since I did contract work, and I was with a much larger company that was given special leeway because of the volume that we did. I didn't know if the standards changed and I didn't know about it or is this the case of some genius in a suit trying to saturate the market with his inventory while making a profit for his company. It sounds good on paper, but it rapes the service guy that runs with little or no inventory.
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  Jeff Woods May 5, 2010 at 8:44pm

  I do mostly repair work. I was looking at expanding my base with some companies, but so far my experiences with one company has cost me money in the form of extra inventory that they expect me to carry. I did warranty work for 13 years with someone else and my postion was always positive. They paid well, didn't squawk about field labor, and when I didn't have a part in stock they sent it to me overnight or at least 2nd day ground for no charge. Now I have to buy the part outright and they replace it at their will and their own sweet time. So, I've bought the part and fixed the unit and all they've done is replace the part. On 6 calls, they've denied field labor every time. 2 of which I still have yet to find out why. One was my fault outright, the installed date was out of warranty one whole month. I guess I'm used to the old days when folks stood by their product, and the service man in the field that took the time to learn the product and most importantly, sell it in the first place.
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  Jeremy Hine May 5, 2010 at 8:28pm

  Hey Jeff:
  
  I do quite a bit of the contract warranty work as an authorized warranty service station for many, many different brands of pool, spa, hot tub equipment. I accept most every opportunity I can for the warranty repairs.
  
  What kind of detail are you looking for with regards to warranty policies. Has something changed or about to change? Are you considering becoming an authorized servicer yourself? What are you currently doing? Repairs, cleaning, construction?
  
  -Jeremy
  Florida Leisure Pool & Spa
  www.FLLeisure.com

  Florida Leisure Pool, Spa, Hot Tub Repair, Pumps, Filters, Heaters, Salt Chlorinators, Automation

  We repair pools, spas and hot tubs, pumps, motors, heaters, filters, automation equipment in Gainesville and North Central FL