Warranties-Furniture Buy a warranty with the purchase of your Furniture?

Warranties- Furniture Purchase-Furniture Sale-Furniture Warranty-Cleaning Codes-Retail Furniture Sales-Stain Protection-Furniture Cleaners-Interior Design Resources

Warranties,warranties,warranties that is the number one thing sales people working in retail environments hear every day from their bosses. The pressure to sell warranties and to feed the appetites of corporate offices and upper management is huge. There was a time when the only goal was to reach sales quota's for selling actual product but those days are gone. The new and most intense sales goal quota's now belong to the warranty category. The pressure is fierce and daunting, constantly threatening the jobs of the sales person and his or her superiors.

Why do you ask is the drive to sell warranties so fierce? The answer is profit! How can a company profit, from a furniture warranty, if the cost of replacement or repair of the goods is higher than the price you paid for the product? The answer surprisingly enough is in the numbers. The seller of the product and warranties counts on you the consumer to forget they bought a furniture warranty or that you are too disorganized to use it.

Surprised? It happens all the time. Consumers pay for warrantiesand 9 out of 10 times forget they bought the warranty when they need it. Therefore, warranties become high profit product. There is no over head. Corporation's do not have to store furniture warranties in the warehouse or fit them in a corporations annual budget as inventory. The only marketing cost are sales people pushed to pitch warranties to the customer. Most sales staff are commissioned sales persons so no salary cost are involved. The sales person already has your attention because they just sold you the sofa or mattress or dining set. So why not push the furniture warranty?

Most sales people hate selling warranties because it takes a great deal of extra effort to convince the consumer that warranties are good for them. They figure that they can spend that extra time selling $3000 or more of furniture at 4 or 5 % commission instead of messing with earning an extra $10 or $30 dollars pressure selling furniture warranties. The rejection percentage on warranties is a lot higher than the rejection percentage on selling the actual product.

Why then does the sales person pursue the push to close you on the warranty? Because his/her job is on the line and so is his/her bosses job and if the furniture warranty is not sold along with the product every ones job is on the line. Some companies have standards to sell high percentages of warranties more than other companies. The big box chain stores seem to really put the push on the warranties whether it is furniture, appliances, computers, printers etc. Hell, did you know that most large banks have high pressure measures to push staff into selling consumers more bank accounts and services such as credit protection. Yes, it is the ugly truth! Sell, Sell, Sell that is a managers motto and his bosses motto and his bosses motto and so on.

What about these warranties are they any good? Warranties are usually as good as your memory to use them if you run into problems with the product you purchased. Most product has factory warranties of 90 days to one year against factory defects but what about those accidents?

I will give you some examples using my experience as a sales person and in management in regards to warranties. These are real stories:

Example One: My customer choose to buy a replacement warranty that covered her for full replacement value on an expensive mahogany dining table. Cost for the table alone was about $3000. Several weeks after delivery she realized water from her plant, she placed in the middle of the table, had been leaking and ruined the table. Why on God's earth would anyone put a real plant, that needed weekly watering, on a $3000 dining table is beyond me. Anyhow she did it. Yep, you guessed it. Her warranty covered her for a brand new table to the tune of $3000 only weeks after her table was delivered.

Example Two: When I was managing a big box store customers that bought furniture warranties reported stain issues on sofas and chairs on a regular basis. The ones that bought the warranties had service men come out for free to remove the stains. This was very common (even daily) for the customers that remembered to use their warranties.

Example Three: I have seen entire leather sectionals replaced with brand new ones a year or two after purchase due to dye pigment flaking and cracking. Do remember that some warranties will be in question if you did not follow proper care and maintenance of you furniture.That is only fair. Do not expect replacement if you abused your furniture or did not care for it properly. This includes excessive staining and allowing your children to jump on the furniture and sit on the sofa arms until they finally crater under the abuse. Abuse is not covered.

Example Four: A young mother asked that stains be removed from her sofa that was less than 6 months old and was under warranty. She purchased the warranty for that exact reason. The service man saw the condition of the furniture and refused to touch it until the mother first got it professionally cleaned. The maintenance man stipulated that the furniture was a health hazard and therefore he refused to touch it. The consumer was told she must have the sofa cleaned professionally at her expense. After professional cleaning the warranty covered any stains that would not come out from the professional cleaning. Why? Abuse is why.

Warranties can be good and I for one buy them on things like computers and some appliances. I love stain protection product warranties. I no longer have little children to worry about. However, I did get a beautiful dining and coffee table surface both ruined by over night visiting relatives. Scorching hot plates warmed in the microwave will ruin your nice wood finishes. Water and beverage glasses will leave rings on your wood pieces and even some of the stone surfaces on the market.

Table pads, mattress protectors and furniture care products are great investments. Be careful not to mix oil and water base furniture products. Combining oil and water base products over time on the same wood piece can cause clouding. Every sofa, love seat and chair should have a cleaning code label under the cushions. Cleaning codes can be researched on the internet to tell you how to clean specific stains. If you have your furniture treated with stain protection follow the cleaning guidelines given to you by the company that provided the protection.

Truth be known many upper level executives do not realize how much business they loose due to unrealistic sales goals placed on warranty sales expectations. If you are pressured to buy a warranty, you do not want, ask for the manager. Politely let the manager know your sales person did his/her job and you just want the product not the warranty. If you still get pressure to buy the warranty and it makes you uncomfortable then just buy elsewhere. A good manager should be happy to sell you only what you want to purchase. Some times furniture warranties are just not in the family budget. If a sales person tells you they will not sell you product unless you buy the warranty you do not want then ask for his/her boss.

If a manager or sales person lets you walk out the door without your purchase of product over warranty purchase refusal consider dropping a line to the owner or president of the company. That is just bad business and the powers above should know the truth. You are doing them a favor by pointing out the problem.

If you do consider a warranty purchase make sure you know exactly the cost and what it covers. Some warranties become null and void after you file your first claim. Be selective on your filings if your warranty falls in this category. Warranties can be useful and can be a good idea if you can afford them and remember to use them. Keep a file of your major purchases with warranty receipt and details attached. Remember they are counting on your disorganization for their profits.

Well that is the real scoop from an insider on furniture warranties. I hope this will help you make an informed decision when asked to buy a furniture warranty on your next furniture purchase.

Warranty- Furniture Purchase-Furniture Sale-Furniture Warranty-Cleaning Codes-Retail Furniture Sales-Stain Protection-Furniture Cleaners-Interior Design Resources