Warranty--How Long?

dougchips

How long does your company warranty labor for?

If you get a call in 5 years saying "my door/window/deck/toilet does not work anymore", do you go out for free and take a look or do you tell them that it is not covered and a trip charge will be $__.

tcleve4911

Implied warranty for labor is 1 year. Manufactures' warrenty is their own.

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Back in Maine
Dubbin' Around
Doin' good stuff ......

marc

We have what we call a "Four point Guarantee"

10 years on workmanship
3 year accidental.....We cover the first $100
3 year annual inspection.....We come out once a year for 3 years
Manufacturers warranty

ultimatetouch

How about the tail light guarantee. Its good until your guy pulls away
from the job. I would just see what competitors are offering and beat it.

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Ultimatetouch
Illinois Remodeling Company, Kitchen Remodeling Chicago, Room Additions Illinois

Ed the Roofer

Options I am considering, depending on which of the Good, Better, Best option they select.

2 years standard warranty.

5 years standard warranty.

10 years, standard 1st 5 years, and prorated the next 5 years.

Any comments if that would apply or work?

Ed

dougchips

Ed, I generally tell people if they ever have a problem to just give us a call. I have yet to tell someone to go pound sand and I do not charge a trip charge. I am at the point where I need to have some thing in writting. Most people offer a one year warranty and I am not sure how good of a selling point a 5-10 year warranty is. In the end I will still go out and make people happy if they share their experience with their friends and neighbors. "Mr HO, this out of warranty service is costing me $125.00, please pick up your phone while I am working and call 15 people and tell them how great my company is"----somewhat joking.

If they want to provide their own material they get a one -year warranty and they are charged a trip charge if the issue is not labor related. Last year I only did one job for someone that provided their own material (14 int doors, one entry, one storm). They bought an elcheapo storm door and I have been back twice playing with it. I did not charge them any trip charges.

thom

Many years ago, I was sitting in the bosses office at a local mobile home dealer (we were developing plans for a sales office in another town) when he got a call he took on the speaker phone. He was talking about a warranty repair to a mobile home he sold with a plumber. It became obvious the problem was not a warranty issue but an owner issue. The dealer told him to do the repair, properly close everything up, and send him the bill.

After he hung up I asked why he would pay for what was obviously not a warranty repair. His response was: a plumber is cheaper than a lawyer and, the owner knows it's his problem and the owner knows I know it. If I fix it he will never stop talking about the exemplary service I provide, if I don't he will always bad mouth me.

Ed the Roofer

DougChips,

I don't know what window, siding, door, deck contractors offer as their warranty, (except for Marc now), but in roofing the least experienced tend to offer the longest warranties.

I've just been toying with the idea of increasing the labor warranty length proportionately with the category of product installed.

Although my current written warranty form specifies 5 years and what is and what is not included, thats just for a long term liability cya.

Last week, a customer from 9 years ago called and had a feww drips coming in exactly 3 ft in from the wall. It was an ice dam and the I & W shield we installed was 3 feet wide. I spent a little over an hour using a rroof snow rake to remove all the snow from his North side of his house and did not charge him for the service. He was a good customer 9 years ago, and will still be a good reference today.

Ed

dougchips

Ed, most if not all of the products that I sell have very little potential of having a problem in 10 years. What prompted my thought process was www.elkcorp.com look at the for contractors warranty info if you join their program---they cover labor if the HO buys an extended warranty.

If I offered a longer warranty I see some risk without the reward. If I could offer extended warranties then people might see the value of the warranty. Or if I created a value--if you purchase product *** today we can offer you an extended warranty for 3 years, noramally $395 for free-----this might sound like a used car pitch. I just confused myself.

Gordo

Look at where other industries are headed with their warranty.

Seems they are all charging for 3-5 year extended warrantes.

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Looks like some pros were here.

Stone Mountain

We provide 2 years on workmanship.
Manufacturers warranty (LOL) on wood.
Manufacturers warranty on manmade items, hardware, compsoits, etc.

There are a couple of companies (one in particular) that are 1 or 2 years old, offering 5 year full warranties. The customers don't seem to understand that a 1 year old company offering a 5 year warranty that a 28 year old company (me) sets at 2 years is perhaps just a bit....odd?

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Residential Deck Specialist: Vist our Website
www.fenceanddeck.ca

dirt diggler

kinda hard to sit there at a sales call and tell em you're the best blah blah blah and then just give them a 1 yr implied warranty (which I think in most states is law anyways ... right?)

Bob Kovacs

I don't think I'd be overly impressed by a 5 or 10 year warranty- especially if it was being touted as a reason to pay more for your services than the competition's. The reasons I say that are:

- In many cases, the HO won't be in the house that long anyway, so unless your warranty is transferable, who cares?

- Given the track record of the remodeling industry, a good number of contractors won't be around 5 or 10 years from now, so what good is a warranty that lasts that long?

Bob

dougchips

Intersting. It seems like nobody has any faith in warranties anymore myself included. For the most part if something is installed correctly a warranty is pretty much a none-issue. If a product fails generally it will do so within a few months.

Our best "warranty" call from last year "the window fell out, it is on the floor". I'm thinking that it is held in by 4 screws, low expansion foam and the window stops, how could it fall out. Same day rush service to find out that her kids figured out how to remove the sashes.

dirt diggler

good point

yeah, i don't pay attention to warranties either.

I'm still gonna offer em. And I'll stick to em.

POOLMANinCT

warranty plaster/marcite,dirt?

dirt diggler

yes ... 2/marcite
5/quartz
10/exposed

bonding & large cracking (not check cracks)

the_turd_man

Every job warranteed till the check clears

POOLMANinCT

whos pulling your plaster...?

dirt diggler

prep's on me