It never hurts to ask

A picture of our broken dead refrigerator earlier today.

 Warranty expired: April 20, 2012
Grace period to re-new warranty: August 20, 2012 
Price of warranty: $97.
Never paid it.
Fridge died: August 24, 2012

I called on August 24 
to ask if we could still possibly buy this warranty.

The tech on the phone asked, "Is your fridge not working?"
I answered, "You are right, it's not." 
"Then that will be $277. to re-enstate it today." 

But still I asked, because it never hurts to ask:
"Could I please re-enstate my warranty for a lesser amount?"

And this was her prize winning answer:
"Well....we can give you that warranty for $97, but next time be more careful, okay?" 
(meaning don't let the warranty expire in the first place)

I said, "I will. Thank you very much!" (and I will.)  



 The last line of that receipt is my favorite.

but there's a reason I keep going back to them 
year after year after year.

15 comments:

Richard said...

I used to sell Appliance warranties for Sears when I was in college...I might have cut you a deal on the fridge too (being you're my sister and all) but not before you renewed on the washer, dryer, microwave, and lawn mower!

Grandma Honey said...

I don't remember you selling warranties. Are you sure?

Richard said...

Yes. The first year we were married. Clyde Vaughn of the Fresno 10th Ward was the Parts Dept manager and oversaw our work too. He hired me.

Anonymous said...

Is that really how your fridge looks? It's sparkling clean! Mine rarely looks that good.
darlene

the Rich girl said...

What a wonderful story! I'm so glad that the lady on the phone was so helpful to you. I mean, that's what customer service reps are there for, right? To serve the customer?

I remember when I was working at RadioShack, my manager could get AT&T to do basically anything he wanted them to--if he liked the customer he was trying to help. It was actually a lot of fun to watch him smooth-talk customer service into doing what he wanted them to.

Grandma Honey said...

The answer is NO, Darlene. It's only clean because we lost most of our food and had to throw it out. So I looked at this as a new beginning and cleaned every inch of. Easy to do with no food in it!

Karen~ Interesting what you said about your manager. The older I get the more I realize it's not all cut and dry. There's often tons of leeway.

Heather said...

I love this story and Karen's comment too! It's so important to be nice to everyone. And it never hurts to ask, you're right!

Grandma Honey said...

I so agree Heather that it's about being nice to everyone. I think we have all known a "salesman" who turns it on and off according to what he/she wants. I believe the truth always comes out...eventually.

Karen Mortensen said...

Way to go Jill. Glad it all worked out.

Susan Anderson said...

My husband is always telling me that it never hurts to ask, and you've just proven it!

Cool.

=)

Eileen said...

Good to know! My next appliance will be bought at Sears!
And, it goes to show, it never hurts to ask!

Okay, I'm off to catch up here before Paul Ryan's speech. (I almost said 'Vice President' Ryan!)
Love and Prayers,
Eileen

Anonymous said...

How old is the fridge? It looks so new to break down already.

Grandma Honey said...

9 years old...you'd be surprised at how many service calls we have had already. That's why we keep renewing our warranty.

Mar~ said...

You are such a kind person and I'm sure that comes across through your phone calls. People love to help nice people!

It's good you asked!

Becky Jane said...

We buy all our appliances from Sears for that very reason. They have a great warranty service.

Look what happened last night

  Just a little pre-graduating gathering for our DIL Amy.... Not everyday a Mom of 7 and a Grandma of 7, graduates from college. It was not ...