Excellent overview, Keith.
I have discussed this situation with the largest dealer in the Dallas
area and he puts it this way:
The dealer is responsible for delivering to the customer the equipment
he has ordered in working order. If the equipment is DOA, then the
dealer has not done his job and is obliged to take back the DOA
equipment, replace it from his stock, and return the DOA equipment to
his supply source on his dollar.
On the other hand, once the customer gets possession of the equipment,
if it works out of the box, not necessarily to the customer's
satisfaction or expectation, then any further interaction concerning
the warranty and support of the equipment is between the manufacturer
and the customer. The dealer has done his job and is out of the loop.
As a personal favor, or whatever, the dealer "might" offer to return
non-DOA equipment to his source on the customer's dollar, but he is
under no obligation to do so. For a very highly regarded customer -
who buys a lot! - special arrangements can sometimes be made, but
these situations are very much in the minority of cases.
So, bottom line: once the customer takes possession of the equipment
and finds that it "plays" (not that it meets his expectations or
pleases him but that it simply functions) any further support is
spelled out clearly in the warranty and that does not involve the
dealer.
When asked why such a stern policy, I was told that it became
necessary in the face of three increasingly common behaviors on the
part of too many customers:
1. buy the equipment to try out and after deciding that they didn't
like it, claim a malfunction and demand a return of their payment. Ten
Tec avoids this with their 30-day return but includes the expected
average cost of this program into their cost of sales and the ultimate
price of the product.
2. the customer "mods" the new gear - frequently to put it on CB or
Freeband - and breaks something or it doesn't work. He then wants to
return the radio as malfunctioning and get his money back.
3. the customer uses the radio for two or three weeks or months and
either decides that he really doesn't like it or something actually
breaks and it needs service. He attempts to persuade the dealer to
either take it back and refund the purchase or to fix it in the
dealership, preferably while he waits.
The gist of all this is that the dealers have been forced to play
strictly by the book and play the role that legally they are assigned
under present market and warranty conditions. If they made more money
on each sale and if there was a decent market for used or repaired
equipment, then they could be more liberal in their operations. But
almost everyone wants a new piece of gear in an unopened factory pack
box.
I am in no way taking sides here - just passing along what one major
dealer tells me is his policy and why he has been forced to adopt it.
Comparisons with Ten Tec policies are inevitable and again I take no
sides.
73/72, George
Amateur Radio W5YR - the Yellow Rose of Texas
In the 57th year and it just keeps getting better!
Fairview, TX 30 mi NE of Dallas in Collin county EM13qe
K2 #489 IC-765 #2349 IC-756 PRO #2121 IC-756 PRO2 #3235
----- Original Message -----
From: "Keith Lodahl" <lodahlkh@charter.net>
To: <tentec@contesting.com>
Sent: Monday, February 03, 2003 6:04 AM
Subject: RE: [TenTec] dealer networks: AES NO value added
> I would suggest that any return/replacement expectations a buyer has
should
> be discussed in advance with the seller. Then live with the
outcome. If
> the buyer is expecting special treatment then they will frequently
be
> disappointed.
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