Warranty return rate

[Conductor562]

Not sure if that link works (I'm on a mobile device) but here is Sears response:

Good afternoon Mr. Smith,

Thank you for contacting Sears.com.

We appreciate your loyalty to the Craftsman brand. Please understand that our decision to manufacture some of our Craftsman tools outside the United States was not made lightly. Craftsman customers demand a high quality product at a value added price point and that it be backed by our Forever warranty. In order to be able to deliver all three of these benefits, we decided to manufacture some of our Craftsman tools outside of the USA. We hope you will continue to support the Craftsman brand.
We appreciate your business and hope you will continue to make Sears Holdings your choice for quality and value. Please let us know if we can assist you further. We are here to help.

Join our Shop Max® program today and enjoy free shipping on millions of eligible items for the next 90 days! Click Here to add Shop Max® to your cart and enter the coupon code MAXCALL1 on the checkout page! View terms and conditions.

Anne B.
Sears Customer Care
[email protected]
1-800-366-3028

 

[sberry]

Tool breakage is so rare its way low on things that cost me sleep. I never even think about it. I can count on one hand the times it has been noticeable.

 

[fatfillup]

Its funny, some people seem to destroy tools and others have little problems. I almost never break a tool so I don't worry about warranty. I do wear some out, especially Knipex cobras and an occasional ratchet, but even then not often. I do lose them far too often though. The man who works for me almost never loses a tool but will break them and many of the customers I sell to break tools often. I think a lot of it is abuse. My employee doesn't hesitate to smack something with a hammer or put a pipe on something.

I'm thinking we need to start a National Tool Abusers Registry to protect our most precious commodities,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, our tools!!

 

[96snma]

If a Wilde rebrand breaks is it counted towards wildes warranty return rate, the rebrand or both. That might explain why wildes rate is so low. They're only accounting for warranty returns that are marked Wilde out of total products made. Say a craftsman/Wilde pry bar breaks and gets retuned to sears. I'd imagine that sears would take the hit for that one and Wilde would not be reimbursing sears. They take on the risk of it breaking once they purchase it from the original manufacturer

 

[kythri]

While Sears.com customer service should be a valid mouthpiece for the company, their ever-changing inconsistent responses, as illustrated by various posts on this forum, call into question the validity of anything they have to say.

When someone from Sears corporate confirms that statement, I'll believe it.

 

[03protege]

If a Wilde rebrand breaks is it counted towards wildes warranty return rate, the rebrand or both. That might explain why wildes rate is so low. They're only accounting for warranty returns that are marked Wilde out of total products made. Say a craftsman/Wilde pry bar breaks and gets retuned to sears. I'd imagine that sears would take the hit for that one and Wilde would not be reimbursing sears. They take on the risk of it breaking once they purchase it from the original manufacturer

Do you know that for a fact or is this all speculation?

 

[Conductor562]

I too have seen various reasons cited, but I find it hard to believe Customer Service is putting out responses like this without being instructed to by Corporate. I have to assume these responses are (for the most part) scripted.

 

[96snma]

Do you know that for a fact or is this all speculation?

Sorry meant that to sound as a question. I was asking/wondering

 

[Conductor562]

Do you know that for a fact or is this all speculation?

I'm curious myself?

 

[Conductor562]

Sorry meant that to sound as a question. I was asking/wondering

Sorry, I believe we posted at the same time.

 

[honcho]

If a Wilde rebrand breaks is it counted towards wildes warranty return rate, the rebrand or both. That might explain why wildes rate is so low. They're only accounting for warranty returns that are marked Wilde out of total products made. Say a craftsman/Wilde pry bar breaks and gets retuned to sears. I'd imagine that sears would take the hit for that one and Wilde would not be reimbursing sears. They take on the risk of it breaking once they purchase it from the original manufacturer

How defect / warranty rates are calculated are very important to understanding the whole picture. Manufacturing and engineering have their eye on manufacturing defects and failures during the "intended" use of the product. Managerial accountants and management in general are concerned about what the return rates are as to how they affect the profitability of the company.

Companies placing their own labels on goods often get better prices from the manufacturers if the sellers accept some / all of the risk and costs associated with warranty returns. Of course, the sellers want big discounts for accepting the risk and the manufacturers want to grant very small discounts. Statistics like those cited by Wilde claiming very small warranty return numbers would be used to establish and defend the both the quality of their products and any basis for establishing responsibilities for customer returns and warranty service.

I'd love to spend a few days talking with a Craftsman product management team including their product management, accountants and marketing types to find out what all goes on behind their decisions to offer the products that they do in the Craftsman lineup.

 

[stonesfan68]

They do bare a striking resemblance to the Craftsman's and probably a bunch of others as well.

I have some of both and they are identical except for the logos. Even the handle colors are the same.

I'll post a picture when I have a chance.

 

[03protege]

Sorry meant that to sound as a question. I was asking/wondering

Gotcha just checking, I figure only the business people at Sears/Craftsman and their respective manufactures know the answer to that question and it may in fact vary depending on their agreement with each manufacturer.