Hi Jack,
Most contractors I have spoken with over the past 37 years have told me how they limit their warranties and add in all kinds of disclaimers in order to protect themselves from being sued. They were very concerned about putting themselves at risk.
After being hired as a consultant and expert witness in countless litigations over the years, I can tell you with all confidence that a limited warranty will not protect you nearly so much as you might think. The only thing that will genuinely protect you from being wiped out in court is to give your customers the very best roof work possible and to stay in a good relationship with them. Giving your customers great warranties will help you infinitely more than being fearful and tight-fisted.
If you remove your potential customer’s perceived risk of doing business with you, you have put him at ease. In other words, you have moved him away from pain and into pleasure.
Any call-backs or partial refunds you might have to make are microscopic compared to the increase in sales you will have by taking the risk on yourself instead of placing it on your customers.
I have learned from decades of my own experience that making good on a warranty is always to your advantage. Each time you do, you can ask for a letter from your customer stating how well you responded and took care of the problem.
Then, if you have a website for your company, you can include those letters on your warranty page. Those letters will win over your potential customers and give them the comforting knowledge that you will also take care of them in the very same way.
Your warranty page will show how extensively you cover your products and installations – and it will be backed up with testimonials of how well you respond to warranty calls. It will slam dunk one sale after another for you.
There is no real value to skimpy warranties, unless of course you plan on doing shoddy work and leaving people out to dry. Even then, your skimpy warranties and failure to correct future problems for your customers will do nothing more than turn them against you and land you in court.
So again, there is no real value in short, skimpy warranties. They will do you much more harm than good.
Suppose you offer your customer a ten-year service warranty. You will be linked to that customer for the next ten years – and that will be a good thing. You can add them to your list of references.
If your company uses quality materials and excellent workmanship, my advice is to pile it on in your warranties. Spell it out in detail. And include a coupon that says:
“Good for one free inspection and roof tune-up anytime in the next 20 years.”
And then spell out on the coupon everything you will check, repair, and touch-up.
Your warranty will cause your potential customer to heavily lean in your favor. It will alleviate his fear of the unknown, such as, if his roof will ever leak in the future. Your warranty will lower his “perceived risk” of doing business with you.
Your customers link your warranty to pain and pleasure – to pain if the warranty is short and skimpy – and to pleasure if your warranty encompasses their perceived needs and extends far into their future.
In reality, your warranties cost you nothing, because they will dramatically increase your percentage rate of getting the job. So, give great warranties and take the risk of the purchase away from your potential customer. He will feel good about you for doing it.
