In my years involved in warranty administration, I’ve seen the policy of dealers and manufacturers vary widely when it comes to determining which customers should receive goodwill from the automaker and which ones shouldn’t.
I have a hard time faulting service departments for not knowing the criteria they should use. Take a look at any warranty policy manual and you’ll be hard pressed to find any guidelines to use to determine warranty goodwill eligibility.
Don’t look to your local service representative. Many times a rep will tell you that if it’s within your goodwill empowerment guidelines and to make the call yourself. Not a heck of a lot of help there unless you have a good rep.
Often the perspective you’ll get from the manufacturer is that we’ve given you certain mileage, time and/or dollar limits and you should work within them.
So, for the most part, you’re left on your own to figure out your own goodwill policy.
There is no easier place to start than looking at the goodwill limits the manufacturer has set for you. Do you have any goodwill empowerment at all? Are there any limits such as mileage, time or dollar limits place on the goodwill assistance can you offer?
Once you know your basic limits, now you want to get down to a more comprehensive review of when you should offer goodwill assistance. Here are some limits that may be placed on the vehicles you can perform goodwill repair on.
- No other assistance is available to pay for the repairs (insurance, service contract, etc.)
- The vehicle must not have a branded title (scrapped, flooded, etc.)
- The vehicle should be eligible for warranty repairs in this country (some manufacturers do not pay claims for vehicles built for sale in other countries)
- Is the vehicle owned by a dealership employee or an employee of the manufacturer or an immediate family member of either? Several manufacturers limit goodwill assistance on vehicles owned by dealership or manufacturer employees. When it doubt, contact the manufacturer.
If a vehicle passes all the basic limits, it’s time for a more detailed review of the customer’s situation. You’ll want to keep in mind the parameters we are going to give you so you can make a good judgment
- Will you the offer of goodwill satisfy the customer? If the customer is not going to be satisfied by the offer of goodwill assistance then the offer should be withdrawn.
- Has the customer had all recommended services performed according to recommendations? Does the condition of the vehicle reflect pride of ownership? Keep in mind that the decision should not hinge exclusively on a vehicle’s service history, unless it’s relevant to the nature of the needed repair. For example: engine oil changes do not affect the durability of door lock switches.
- As the servicing dealer, are you willing to participate in the cost of repairs in some way? More and more, manufacturers are expecting the dealership to participate in some way financially when offering a customer goodwill assistance.
- What part of the expense should the manufacturer, the dealership and the customer pay? It’s difficult to determine a fair level of participation for everyone involved. It’s best to put yourself in the customer’s shoes when making the call. Most customers know that they will have to pay for part of the repair and it’s not unreasonable to ask them to do so.
- Is the condition one that was caused by some direct action of the customer, either accidental or intentional?
In many cases, there may be sound justification to give the customer the benefit of the doubt. The question that should be asked is, “What would a reasonable person think was the appropriate thing to do?” If you have any question about a particular case, contact the warranty assistance hotline (if they make goodwill
decisions) or your local service representative.
Before making the final decision you want to take a few minutes to review the customer’s history at your dealership and check the information available online from the manufacturer. It may be possible that you can uncover more information that could further bolster your reasons behind giving goodwill assistance or find a
reason you don’t need to offer it, such as the case of a parts claim.
Make sure any offer of goodwill assistance is made using sound judgments that will have an impact on customer satisfaction. Don’t make it about quieting a loud customer just to get them out of your face. Remember that some manufacturers will survey goodwill customers and could include the goodwill claim in your warranty expense numbers. Your good intentions could come back to burn you in the end.
