Warranty handling fee???

cssmd27 said:

I had a firebox crack a few years after purchase and tried to get it covered at the dealer who is only about 10 blocks from my house.  Initially given the run around and told I had to produce a receipt which I no longer could find.  I was able to find the credit card statement which showed an $1100 purchase from their store and forwarded that to them.  Despite that, they said they had no record of any purchase from me, which was simply unbelievable.  Begrudgingly, they did eventually agree to get me a new firebox.

Overall, lesson learned.  The premium you pay for the supposedly great warranty has sketchy value depending on the dealer.  This is a fundamental problem with the BGE business model.  If/when I make another ceramic grill purchase, I'll value the warranty claims a lot less.  Consider me not impressed in comparison with other premium products or even Costco.

You said it......all depends on the dealer.  And it's not like it's costing them anything!!

I just took something back to Costco I bought 6.5 yrs ago.  I had to return some other stuff, and it just broke so I figured why not try.  Took a few minutes for them to find it in the computer and got it credited to my account no questions asked.  WOW!

These places that take returns no questions asked are not to be glorified. Like Walmart, they are bullies. They shove the product down the suppliers throat. The consumer should be held to normal standards. You shouldn't be able to just f up something and then bring it back. Where is our character and sense of fairness???

cssmd27 said:

I had a firebox crack a few years after purchase and tried to get it covered at the dealer who is only about 10 blocks from my house.  Initially given the run around and told I had to produce a receipt which I no longer could find.  I was able to find the credit card statement which showed an $1100 purchase from their store and forwarded that to them.  Despite that, they said they had no record of any purchase from me, which was simply unbelievable.  Begrudgingly, they did eventually agree to get me a new firebox.

Overall, lesson learned.  The premium you pay for the supposedly great warranty has sketchy value depending on the dealer.  This is a fundamental problem with the BGE business model.  If/when I make another ceramic grill purchase, I'll value the warranty claims a lot less.  Consider me not impressed in comparison with other premium products or even Costco.

I scan all of my receipts that I need for warranty purposes and save them in one folder. Makes it easier to find when I need it. Can also take a picture and save it.

I wonder if I could take back any food I didn't eat  before expiration back to Costco for a refund.

If you are lucky enough to get your product onto Costco's shelves, you will sell far more if it than you ever would have otherwise.  In return for access to those customers, you will have to eat some returns.  There is a line of people trying to get their products into Costco, eyes wide open.

Legume said:

If you are lucky enough to get your product onto Costco's shelves, you will sell far more if it than you ever would have otherwise.  In return for access to those customers, you will have to eat some returns.  There is a line of people trying to get their products into Costco, eyes wide open.

It doesn't make it right or ethical. I see it as a small part of our societal degradation. We wonder why people are always me me me? Why they always feel they're owed something. This type of policy reinforces that behavior. I just don't like it. It's easy to overlook, but it's overall indent on society just might be a net negative. Impossible to measure obviously.  

pgprescott said:

Legume said:

If you are lucky enough to get your product onto Costco's shelves, you will sell far more if it than you ever would have otherwise.  In return for access to those customers, you will have to eat some returns.  There is a line of people trying to get their products into Costco, eyes wide open.

It doesn't make it right or ethical. I see it as a small part of our societal degradation. We wonder why people are always me me me? Why they always feel they're owed something. This type of policy reinforces that behavior. I just don't like it. It's easy to overlook, but it's overall indent on society just might be a net negative. Impossible to measure obviously.  

The people suck problem is different than the company policy problem.  There will always be people that take more or less advantage of a policy or situation.  It was suggested just this morning in another thread that someone should go ahead and pick up a damaged Weber smoker at half price because "you know Weber will ship you the replacement parts for free" and the Weber customer service was lauded as a positive.  Is Weber supporting unethical customer behavior also?  I would bet the intent of the Weber warranty was not to support that, but probably not worth the cost in $ or reputation to enforce.  It's a big world of gray out there, not black and white.

nolaegghead said:

They're a great company.  LL Bean is even better as far as returns go. 

You know LL Bean founder's granddaughter is a republican and big Trump supporter/donor, right? 

DoubleEgger said:

I wonder if I could take back any food I didn't eat  before expiration back to Costco for a refund.

Yes, you can take that back, and yes I have.  I've bought expensive meat there before that has gone bad before the sell-by date (and I always take a cooler & freezer packs--I get the meat LAST and go straight home too.)  Same deal on fruit or other fresh foods that have been bad.  If it's something cheap, no big deal, stuff happens.  But if I'm already taking some piece of clothing that didn't fit for the wife or kids, then I'll take something else.

pgprescott said:

I agree whole heartedly about good fair honest customer service, but there are people out there that wear shoes for a year and bring them back? That's dishonest. They take those shoes and shove them down the suppliers throat using the fear of loosing their business as a club over the head.

I have heard of people buying coats or shoes for their kids and taking them back as soon as the kid outgrows them.  But I taken back kids clothes that have ripped after a few times--dues to poor quality, not something the kid did.  So I take a lot of stuff back there, but I buy a TON of stuff there too.    Why should I be punished for the actions of the bad actors?  I'm honest about it.  I don't abuse it--if something is a legit piece of junk, I take it back.  With their high standards, it shouldn't have been on the shelf in the first place.  The manufacturer is responsible for the quality/longevity and they agreed to Costco's refund policy, so it's not Costco's fault when the returns come in......they knew the risk before they signed on that line.

If they revise their policy to make it more restrictive, I'm not going to buy near as much stuff as I do there.  I won't quit, I'll just spend less.  I bought my wife's Fitbit from Costco for more money than at Amazon, because I knew if it broke I could take it back easily.  I just bought $1000 worth of interior LED lighting for our warehouse from Costco too (and $300 from Sam's for the exterior.)  Same deal--could have gotten it in bulk cheaper on eBay, but it was more convenient to go pick it up down the street and not have to fight anyone if it turned out to be junk.

I've never heard of it, but maybe if they find people abusing the policy they should revoke their membership.  Sounds like a bad PR move, but I've had to ask people to stop buying our charcoal.  We can not guarantee a rock-free bag and we're not going to give you a free bag EVERYtime you find a rock.....there's a half pound of extra charcoal in there for that already.  Had someone claim to buy 10 bags, claimed find one rock in the 7th & 8th bag, and wanted a refund for all 10 bags.  Told them to return the 7th-8th bag and the 2 unused bags, but then the store was too far away......wanted a check from me for 10 bags.  No receipt and wouldn't tell me which store they bought them at.  Get lost, not falling for that scam.

Costco had to change their return policy on electronics as people were regularly returning TVs and computers after a few years to get the newest model. Not sure how they address the Super Bowl TV phenomenon (people buy big screen for Super Bowl party and return). Maybe it's not that big of an issue anymore given how cheap TVs have become.