Some years ago, I had the opportunity to have lunch with the local district and regional managers of a major auto parts store. I asked them why my store manager kept telling me to accept warranty returns on parts that were obviously not defective, or had been returned multiple times (batteries, plug wires, caps and rotors) but were only symptoms of a deeper issue. I was told the following:
"Customers like these can be aggravating, but you have to remember that most of these hard parts are low margin and infrequently purchased. If we lose the customer's business over a set of plug wires that we make, say, two percent net profit on, we have also lost his business on the monthly purchases of high margin items like shop towels, tire shine, car wash soap, washer fluid, etc. Those items are significantly more profitable in themselves, and are bought much more frequently. In other words, we can afford to "eat em and smile" on the hard parts knowing that we will sell the other items.
Also, we have policies and budgets in place at the corporate level for hard parts accepted as defective at the counter but rejected by the manufacturer as not defective. These are audited and tracked, but so long as they are below a certain percentage of overall store sales, they are expected. Do what is necessary to maintain high overall customer satisfaction and profitability will follow."
Given this, I have no qualms about telling somebody to use this corporate mindset to their own advantage. Their entire goal, from the shape of the sales floor, to the arrangement of the plan-o-grams, to the soft muzak playing over the in-store radio is to separate you from your money. If they are willing to bend over backwards to make you happy, it's not out of kindness or magnanimity but to further that stated goal.
You paid for the part. You paid for the warranty. Whether you know it or not, you've already paid for part of the cost of the replacement part, as it's built into the original price. I'm not about to tell one guy who made an honest mistake to suck it up when the company itself doesn't give a damn one way or the other. There's no due diligence on the part of the company to verify or deny a warranty claim, because nobody in the store is qualified to do so. How do I know? How many times have you been asked for year/make/model by the counter jockey when all you want is header gaskets? Do you think THAT guy can tell defective plug wires from good? An AC compressor run without oil from one that had a defect? A condenser with a hole in it versus one that was left open? NO! Why? Because the corporation does not care. Spare me the moral pearl-clutching and proselytizing, it's just business.
"Customers like these can be aggravating, but you have to remember that most of these hard parts are low margin and infrequently purchased. If we lose the customer's business over a set of plug wires that we make, say, two percent net profit on, we have also lost his business on the monthly purchases of high margin items like shop towels, tire shine, car wash soap, washer fluid, etc. Those items are significantly more profitable in themselves, and are bought much more frequently. In other words, we can afford to "eat em and smile" on the hard parts knowing that we will sell the other items.
Also, we have policies and budgets in place at the corporate level for hard parts accepted as defective at the counter but rejected by the manufacturer as not defective. These are audited and tracked, but so long as they are below a certain percentage of overall store sales, they are expected. Do what is necessary to maintain high overall customer satisfaction and profitability will follow."
Given this, I have no qualms about telling somebody to use this corporate mindset to their own advantage. Their entire goal, from the shape of the sales floor, to the arrangement of the plan-o-grams, to the soft muzak playing over the in-store radio is to separate you from your money. If they are willing to bend over backwards to make you happy, it's not out of kindness or magnanimity but to further that stated goal.
You paid for the part. You paid for the warranty. Whether you know it or not, you've already paid for part of the cost of the replacement part, as it's built into the original price. I'm not about to tell one guy who made an honest mistake to suck it up when the company itself doesn't give a damn one way or the other. There's no due diligence on the part of the company to verify or deny a warranty claim, because nobody in the store is qualified to do so. How do I know? How many times have you been asked for year/make/model by the counter jockey when all you want is header gaskets? Do you think THAT guy can tell defective plug wires from good? An AC compressor run without oil from one that had a defect? A condenser with a hole in it versus one that was left open? NO! Why? Because the corporation does not care. Spare me the moral pearl-clutching and proselytizing, it's just business.
