Out of Warranty, Still Your Customer: How Stores Can Help When the Warranty Runs Out
For stores3 min read
A customer comes back with the soundbar they bought from you fourteen months ago. It’s stopped working, and the warranty ran out two months ago. They know that. They’ve come to you anyway, because you’re the shop they bought it from.
The easy answer is “sorry, it’s out of warranty, you could try the manufacturer”. It’s true, and it’s over in a minute. But the customer remembers how it felt, and they’ll remember it the next time they’re choosing where to buy a television.
You don’t do repairs, and nobody expects you to. But you can still be the one who helped.
What the customer really wants
Most customers aren’t expecting something for nothing. They want to know their options, and they want someone to take it off their hands. That might be:
- A repair, if it’s worth doing. You send it to your distributor, they quote, and the customer decides.
- A new one, if it isn’t. If the repair costs more than the product is worth, a replacement is the honest answer, and it’s a sale.
- A gesture, if they’re a good customer. A discount on a new one, or a word with your distributor about a goodwill repair.
Whichever it is, the customer leaves with an answer and the sense that you looked after them. That’s worth more than the repair itself.
Where it goes wrong for stores
It takes far longer than it should.
First your distributor has to assess the product and send a quote. Then the quote has to reach the customer, and the customer has to decide. Then the go-ahead has to find its way back before any work can start. Each step waits on the one before it, and a repair that should take a week can easily take a month.
Nobody is quite sure who should call.
Some distributors quote the customer directly, while others leave it to the store. When neither side is certain, each assumes the other has it in hand, and the customer hears from no one.
The customer’s “no” gets lost.
They turned the repair down weeks ago, but the message stopped with the distributor, so the product is still sitting on a shelf and the customer is still waiting to get it back.
Help without doing the repair
RepairStep lets you look after the customer while your distributor looks after the product.
You log the product, send it to your distributor and keep the customer updated along the way. Your distributor gets the photos, notes and customer details with no re-typing, and assesses the warranty. If it’s out of warranty, they can tell you so, and that they’ll arrange payment with the customer, so everyone knows who’s handling what.
Reply to the store
Talking to the customer
- We need to speak to the customer about the fault
- It's out of warranty - we'll arrange payment with the customer
Resolving the repair
- Repaired - sending it back
- Sending a replacement
- Not economical to repair
Your customer gets their own page to follow the repair, with the status, the progress and your latest notes. They know where things stand without having to call you. And if your distributor is on RepairStep too, their updates appear on that page as well, so you, your distributor and your customer all see the same thing.
If the customer decides against the repair, you can close it properly and talk to them about a new one.
You can try it on your first 20 repairs for free, with all the features and no credit card.
Frequently asked questions
Does our distributor need to use RepairStep?
No. They get a link by email and can answer from there, without an account.
Who decides whether it’s in warranty?
Your distributor usually does, because they assess the product. You can record their answer on the repair.
Can customers tell us they know it’s out of warranty?
Yes. When they book it in, they can say they’re happy to be quoted for the repair, so nobody has to ask them for a receipt.