UNITED STATES—Let me ask you a question: how often are you asked about a warranty when you purchase a product? Hmm, like, all the time. Have you ever asked yourself the question, ‘why is that?’ What perk do you get out of purchasing a warranty to begin with? In all due honesty, a replaceable product; but why should you have to pay for it? You’ve already done so once.
That could be my biggest gripe when dealing with warranties. Shouldn’t I already be granted a free item within a year or two if anything happens to the product I just purchased? If there is any product that is a must when it comes to warranties, it’s electronics. It’s almost as if the manufacturer develops crappy products, because they know it’s going to break and they want the consumer to spend some extra money. I’m certain the manufacturer and the retailer who sells the products have some sort of agreement intact.
The one product where it seems a warranty is a given are Apple products, particularly the iPod, in my opinion. I’ve had so many issues with my iPod I’ve vowed to never purchase another one and I’ll tell you why. First and foremost, I waited years before I purchased my first one. I always knew the price would never drop, but I secretly hoped it would happen, but when it comes to technology, if you want something you have to pay for it.
After purchasing my first iPod back in 2007, it broke within two months. What happened? The screen just froze and wouldn’t come back on. It wasn’t like I was able to pry the device back open, Apple makes it so that the product is almost impossible to open to attempt to fix. That’s besides the fact, so I take the device back to the retailer where it was purchased (I won’t name names), and I had a hassle about getting a new product. First, the employee questioned what was wrong with the device. I mentioned the device wasn’t working, I purchased the warranty and I would like a new one. She took my receipt and viewed the information for accuracy.
I’ll admit, she looked a bit dumbfounded for a few minutes, and then said, “Well, what’s wrong with the device?” Um, it doesn’t work. Why continue to ask me a question I gave you an answer to, not to mention the fact that I have a warranty that I paid for, just go to the back and get me another device. After a constant back and forth, she had no choice, but to get me another device.
So this goes with the point, I do not want to go back and forth with a retailer on issues regarding a warranty when I have documentation indicating that if ANYTHING and I mean ANYTHING happens to this device, I get a new one without any questions. Why, oh why, do so many retailers fail to acknowledge this? Well, it’s all about money. If they can FIX your product and attempt to make it like new, it saves them from having to lose funds on giving out a new product to a client. This is the point of a warranty: you get a new answer without any questions being asked. This isn’t just for electronic devices, but for jewelry, furniture, appliances (this is a big one), vehicles and so many other things.
Perhaps retailers should eliminate the idea of a warranty. If I’m paying for a quality product, I shouldn’t have a worry about it breaking in a week, a month or six months after I purchase it. The sad irony is, these devices are becoming less reliable on a daily basis, what works one minute, is not worth a mention the next.
