Monday, November 3, 2014

Money Monday: Warranties, Returns, and Replacements

Many of the things we purchase have warranties of some kind. I have never been one to take advantages of warranties for smaller purchases. When my husband and I make large purchases, such as at.v., washer/dryer, refrigerator, ect., we often purchase the extended warranty. We may never have to use it, but it gives us a piece of mind that we have it in case our product did not function property. 

But, for smaller items, historically, I have never taken advantage of the warranties offered by the manufacture.
A few weeks ago, I was drinking water from my Turvis Tumbler, and a friend noticed that it was extremely discolored and cloudy. He mentioned that Turvis had a lifetime warranty and all I had to do was send it in and they would replace it for free. I went to their website, filled out a form, grabbed a box from work, and sent my cup in. Two weeks later, I received a brand new cup in the mail. 

I did the same thing with the cup I use at the office, a Bubba. The insulated piece unattached from the outside holder. I went to the site filled out a form, sent it in, and again, less than two weeks later, I received a new cup. 

Those two returns ended up savings me money. Rather than purchase new cups, I spent about $12.00 in postage to receive $40.00 in new products. 

I bring all this up, because as I said, prior to these returns I never used the warranties for the products I purchased. 

Back in August, I purchased a new pair of running shoes. I live in the Brooke's Adrenalines. They are my go to running shoe, but they are not cheap. At $120.00 a pair, I try to get as much mileage out of them as I can. I had my new pair of Brooke's for about 3 weeks, and put about 60 miles on them, when the fabric along the edges began to tear. I lived with it for a few day's and finally, encouraged by my experiences with the two cups, I sent Brooke's an email and explained the problem. In return, they asked me to send in photos of the damaged shoes. Within 24 hours, I had a reply apologizing for the problem, and that I would be receiving a replacement pair of shoes within 3-5 business day's. Less than a week later, my new shoes were waiting for me on my door step. 

I was pleasantly surprised. With the exception of some torn fabric, the shoes are in great condition, and I am still running in them. And, I have a pair of brand new shoes in my closet when these wear out. For Brooke's, I am sure this was nothing but a blip on the radar, and cost them very little. But for me, a person who loves to run but will never win a race, nor sponsorships in this lifetime, it meant a great deal. I won't forget their great customer service was, and it solidified me as a customer for a very long time. 

In recent weeks, I've learned that there is no harm in speaking up. There is no harm in using a warranty for a product that you purchased. I am so much more cognizant of warranties and guarantees now as a consumer, and I am willing to go to a company to ask them to repair or replace my purchase. 

I am a firm believer that we vote with our dollars and that companies will listen to us when we speak up. 

Tell Me: Do you use warranties? Any companies worth bragging about for their warranty policy? 

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

HP warranty has always been great but I had a horrible experience with GE. I would have probably just tried to return the shoes to the store but the manufacturer was a better deal. I would never have thought to return the cups. Good for you!

Anonymous said...

I never used to even think about looking up brands' warranty policies or exchange policies — I figured it was all just too much headache and not worth the time. A few really great customer service experiences I had over the summer proved me wrong and reminded me how much money I've probably thrown away over the years not taking advantage of them! Now I always attempt to contact the company if I have an issue with the product and it's way less of a headache than I thought :)

Denise said...

I recently replaced the pitcher part of my blender - my high speed spendy blender that I thought was toast. Nope, they sent me a new one - no shipping cost - nothing.

about your shoes...any chance they might be too small? (just a thought)

Autumn said...

I love a company with a good warranty. We use Otterbox cases for our iPhones - they're more expensive, but they'll replace them for free with no questions asked. We've only had to replace one and the service was outstanding.

Kristen said...

that's good to know about brooks, my shoes are a couple years old (oops) and i've never had a problem with them, but its nice to know they'll replace them if i do!

Kristen said...

that's good to know about brooks, my shoes are a couple years old (oops) and i've never had a problem with them, but its nice to know they'll replace them if i do!

~Carla~ said...

Good for you!! :) I will NEVER buy another Sunbeam item after my iron died in just 6 months and I was basically told "sucks to be you, go buy a new one." Wth?! NOT impressed with them. Good companies... Kicking Horse Coffee. AMAZING customer service. They have my business FOREVER.

Melissa said...

I actually rarely buy warranties too, because I don't think they're needed. I buy them on the big stuff, like you do, though! :) I never thought about writing to companies with defective products. Interesting!