Warranty + Guarantee Management Reference

Why this matters

Warranties + guarantees define what you promise customers + your responsibilities afterward. Clear warranty management protects customers + business. The tech who understands warranties handles claims professionally. This is the field card.

Warranty types

Manufacturer warranty:

• Equipment manufacturer's promise
• Length varies (1-25 years; lifetime sometimes)
• Specific terms
• Customer registers (sometimes required)

Workmanship warranty (your install):

• Your company's promise
• Length varies (typically 1 year)
• Covers your install + labor
• Standard part of service

Service warranty (your repair):

• Covers the specific repair
• Length varies (30-90 days, sometimes longer)
• Limited to that repair

Extended warranty:

• Customer purchase
• Beyond manufacturer's coverage
• Sometimes through manufacturer; sometimes third-party

Standard residential warranties

HVAC equipment (manufacturer):

• 5-10 year parts warranty common
• 10 year compressor (some)
• Lifetime heat exchanger (some)
• Customer registration sometimes required

Water heater (manufacturer):

• 6-12 year tank
• 1-3 year parts

Appliances (manufacturer):

• 1 year standard
• 5-10 year on certain components (varies)

Roofing (manufacturer):

• 25-50 year asphalt shingles
• Pro-rated warranties
• Installation must be per manufacturer for full warranty

Electrical equipment:

• 1-10 years typical
• Lifetime on some

Plumbing fixtures:

• Limited lifetime (often)
• Varies by manufacturer

Workmanship warranty (your standard)

Typical:

• 1 year on labor
• 30-90 days on small repairs
• Defined scope (covers your work; not customer's actions)

What's covered:

• Faulty installation
• Workmanship defects
• Components you supplied

What's NOT covered:

• Customer abuse
• Acts of nature
• Customer's other work
• Wear + tear

Define clearly in your warranty document.

Warranty documentation

For each install:

Customer receives:

• Manufacturer warranty (with equipment)
• Your workmanship warranty (written)
• Invoice / receipt
• Equipment serial / model numbers
• Date of installation

You retain:

• Same documentation
• Service record
• Photos

Customer keeps for their records.

Manufacturer warranty registration

Customer's responsibility usually:

• Register equipment with manufacturer
• Within timeframe (often 30-90 days)
• Some warranties void without registration

Some manufacturers:

• Register automatically (tech does at install)
• Customer-online registration
• Mail-in card

Verify per manufacturer.

When customer calls for warranty service

Customer reports issue:

Verify:

• Warranty still active
• Issue covered
• Customer met any conditions

Action:

• Diagnose issue
• Determine if warranty-covered
• Communicate findings
• Handle accordingly

Manufacturer warranty claim

For manufacturer-covered:

1. Diagnose issue + identify failed component
2. Verify warranty active (registration, age)
3. Contact manufacturer OR file claim per their process
4. Manufacturer authorizes part (sometimes; sometimes proactive)
5. Receive replacement part
6. Install + bill customer for labor (typically not labor-covered)
7. Document for manufacturer

Labor on warranty parts

Most manufacturer warranties:

• Cover parts only
• Labor billed separately to customer
• Customer sometimes surprised

Educate:

• "Manufacturer covers part; we charge labor"
• "Your equipment warranty doesn't cover labor"
• Make clear upfront

Your workmanship warranty claims

When customer returns for your install issue:

Diagnose:

• Was it your install error?
• Or different issue?
• Or wear?

If your error:

• Fix at no charge
• Don't argue
• Make right

If wear / other issue:

• Diagnose + estimate
• Customer pays
• Not warranty issue

Warranty disputes

Customer claims warranty applies; you don't think so:

Listen + investigate:

• Customer's evidence
• Documentation
• Your records

Communication:

• Respectful
• Documentation-based
• Sometimes escalate to manager

Resolution:

• Cover (if borderline)
• Decline (if clearly not warranty)
• Compromise sometimes

Warranty + insurance

Customer's homeowner's insurance:

• Usually doesn't cover equipment failure
• Sometimes covers damage from failure
• Different from warranty

You + insurance:

• Your general liability
• Workers' comp
• Auto

Common warranty mistakes

By customer:

• No registration (manufacturer voids)
• Modified equipment (voids)
• Used outside intended (voids)
• DIY repair (often voids)

By tech:

• Inadequate install (voids manufacturer)
• Wrong replacement part (voids)
• Skipping commissioning steps (voids some warranties)

By business:

• No written workmanship warranty
• Ambiguous terms
• Inconsistent application

Warranty length strategy

Standard offering:

• 1 year workmanship
• 30-90 days on repairs
• Pass-through manufacturer

Premium:

• Extended workmanship (2-10 years)
• Premium pricing
• Differentiation

Sale tactic:

• "Lifetime guarantee" (define scope carefully)
• Some businesses
• Costs vs benefits

Warranty as sales tool

Customer comparison:

• Some shop on warranty length
• Stronger warranty = perceived quality
• Marketing value

Reality:

• Warranty backed by ability to honor
• "Lifetime" only as long as business exists
• Realistic over hype

When customer asks about warranty during sale

Be specific:

• "Equipment has X years manufacturer warranty"
• "We provide X year workmanship warranty"
• "Here's what's covered"
• "Here's exclusions"

Customer informed; not surprised later.

Documentation as warranty support

For each install:

• Photo before / after
• Equipment serial numbers
• Customer signature
• Commissioning data (HVAC: refrigerant charge, combustion test)
• Warranty paperwork provided

When warranty claim comes: documentation supports.

Equipment registration

Help customer:

• Provide registration cards / online links
• Sometimes do for them
• Document registration done

Customer's responsibility but helpful service.

When you can't fulfill warranty

If your business can't honor:

• Customer's right to be made whole
• Sometimes refund OR alternative
• Don't disappear
• Reputation depends on honoring

Extended warranties (third-party)

Customer may have:

• Home warranty company
• Extended service contracts
• Different from manufacturer

Process:

• Customer files with warranty company
• They authorize your work
• Restrictions on scope
• Lower pricing (your rate vs their rate)

When customer has home warranty

Working with home warranty companies:

• (See related article)
• Standard processes
• Specific scope limits
• Payment timelines

Recall handling

A recall is not a warranty claim. A warranty claim is a customer telling you something broke. A recall is a manufacturer or a regulator telling you that equipment you installed has a defect, sometimes a safety defect, in units that have not failed yet. The obligation runs toward the customer whether or not they ever call.

Know the difference between the three notices you will see.

• Safety recall. Published through the Consumer Product Safety Commission for most residential equipment and appliances, through NHTSA for anything on a vehicle. Defined serial or date-code range, defined remedy, no charge to the consumer.
• Service bulletin or field-fix advisory. Manufacturer-issued, usually distributed through the distributor, covering a known defect that has not risen to a formal recall. Often carries a parts allowance and a labor allowance for a limited window.
• Known-hazard equipment with no recall behind it. Certain legacy panels and connectors have decades of field failure history and no manufacturer left to recall anything. You can recommend replacement, but do not tell a customer it is "recalled" when it is not; that is a claim you cannot support.

Where the notices come from. Distributor emails, manufacturer dealer portals, the CPSC recall list, and trade association bulletins. Assign one person to check these on a schedule. A recall notice sitting unread in a shared inbox is the worst possible position to be in if a unit later hurts someone.

Finding your affected customers. This is the whole game, and it is decided years earlier by whether you captured serial numbers. If your job records carry make, model, and serial for every piece of equipment installed, a recall is a database query and a batch of letters. If they do not, it is an unbillable archaeology project across paper folders, and you will miss customers. Capture the serial at install, every time, no exceptions.

The notification. Contact affected customers in writing, not only by phone, and log the attempt. Say what the defect is in plain terms, whether it is a safety issue, what the remedy is, that it is at no cost to them, and how to schedule. If the defect is a safety hazard, tell them what to do in the meantime (shut it off, unplug it, close the gas valve). Follow up on non-responders at least twice and keep the log; documented attempts are what protect the company if a unit you could not reach later fails.

Doing the work and getting paid. The manufacturer sets the remedy procedure, the parts supply, and the labor allowance. That allowance is very often below your normal rate, and the shop eats the difference. Decide in advance whether you are absorbing it as a customer-retention cost or declining to be a servicing dealer for that campaign, and do not surprise the tech with it. Follow the claim procedure exactly: prior authorization if required, old parts returned if required, photos, serials, and the campaign number on every claim. Sloppy paperwork is why recall claims get denied.

Equipment you did not sell. You are not obligated to run someone else's recall for free. You are obligated not to leave a customer standing next to a known hazard. Tell them, in writing, that the unit falls in a recall range, give them the manufacturer's contact information, and note it on the invoice. If they want you to perform the remedy, become an authorized servicer for it or refer them to one.

Document everything. Notice received and date, the affected list you generated, every customer contact attempt, every completed remedy with serial number, and every customer who declined. This file is the record that shows the company acted, and it is the first thing a plaintiff's attorney will ask for.

References

• Manufacturer warranty documents
• Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (federal)
• State warranty law (varies)
• Manuall internal: Service Contracts Design, Customer Communication Standards