Quite a size-able portion of the household articles would fall under the appliance/electrical gadget category. Most consumer durables today offer standard warranty terms and some even give guarantee on their products.

Warranty is defined as - “An assurance by the seller of property that the goods or property are as represented or will be as promised. ”

Guarantee is defined as - ”A promise or an assurance, especially one given in writing, that attests to the quality or durability of a product or service”

Although they sound similar warranty is usually “limited” in nature.

- Product warranty is usually subject to terms and conditions.

- On failure, the manufacturer may only replace the module which is defective.

Many such fine items differentiate a “Limited Warranty” from traditional Guarantee.

Indian Consumers are still far behind their European or American counterparts. The later enjoy benefits such as:

- Free trial periods

- Money back assurances

- Product replacements

- Toll free phone numbers for consumers to share their problems

- On site troubleshooting

and more.

Image Courtesy : azigntech.com

Consumers in India  are often taken for a ride. Most companies do not have appropriate service channels. One of the biggest Cliches is that a warranty card which is supplied with the product is not given due attention.

Most of us know that Warranty cards needs to have the seal and signature of the showroom where you purchased the product. This is a valid proof of purchase and it captures the date of sale along with other relevant details. The customer is advised to retain this warranty card along with the original bill to claim the warranty effectively.

The sad scenario is that neither the shop keepers give the necessary attention to the warranty card, nor do the consumers demand this. The only party which suffers from this is the end customer.

Promptness is yet another feature which is lacking in Indian companies. Most of them are ready to dump the product on the customer. They would make 10 trips to your home if essential, to close the deal. But when we call the customer support, they give one excuse after another to postpone the service call.

Only very few companies actually have a toll free number for registering complaints. Atleast the customer does not ring up huge bills in reaching the support lines.

Another problem which exists today is the lack of a proper channel for purchasing spares. Either the company does not have a wide network of support offices or it is too difficult to be accessed.

In our forthcoming articles where we would cover companies/appliances or services, we would try and rate their “after sales support” function as well.

If you have experiences to share relevant to this topic, drop a comment.