GEEKNOTE: Warranties

GEEKNOTE:  Computer warranties vary all over the map.  Absent an extended warranty agreement, warranties generally run for one year or less.  A few high quality companies stand by their products longer.

If you buy a brand name system, either by mail or from a big box store, you generally have to call a phone number to get warranty service.  With any luck, the person on the other end speaks English.  You can expect to spend a significant amount of time on the phone helping that person diagnose your computer and arrange for a warranty replacement of whatever part has failed.  They will have a list of questions that they are supposed to ask you before agreeing that the machine is broken.

Replacement parts will sometimes be mailed to you with the expectation that you will be responsible for installing them or the computer company may contract with a local company to swap out the bad part.  The tech who shows up at your door is almost certainly NOT an employee of the company that built your computer.  I know this because we've done these repairs on behalf of several big name companies.

One of the ways that the big companies keep their prices low is by negotiating to take all the warranty exposure on the parts they use.  If I buy a Western Digital hard drive through normal channels, it will come with a multi-year warranty from WD.  If you buy a brand name system at your favorite big box store with the exact same drive, it is likely only covered by the one year warranty that comes with the computer and Western Digital will NOT provide a replacement if the drive fails.  You will have to deal with the computer manufacturer.  You may also get a "refurbished" part to replace whatever broke in your computer.

Another warranty "gotcha" is a warranty that covers the hardware, but not the cost of labor.  Using a hard drive as an example, the cost of the drive might be relatively low, but the cost of having someone install it and reinstall Windows could easily add up to hundreds of dollars.  It pays to read the warranty carefully.

If the telephone support person determines that your problem is not hardware related, they will often try to pass you off to another company that will offer to diagnose and fix your computer problems over the Internet for some large sum of money.  I've heard reports of the price quoted running to $300 or $350 dollars.   If you wind up on the phone with one of these offers, hang up.

Extended warranties are generally NOT something you should purchase.  They typically come with numerous "gotchas" and most folks will never use them.  They are a major source of profits at the big box stores and the fine print frequently negates any benefit you think you are getting.

Service agreements, particularly on specialized gear are another matter.  This is expecially important if the device is critical to your business.  I just renewed the annual service agreement on our Bomgar Box.  The agreement covers software updates and overnight replacement if it fails.  We do our remote support sessions with our Bomgar Box and can not afford to be without it for any length of time.  Likewise, we maintain software agreements on our mail servers so that we continue to get the latest updates as they become available.

Before purchasing a service agreement for your computer, consider whether or not you are likely to use the included services.  They CAN be worthwhile IF you are likely to use the services. Otherwise, keep your money in your wallet.

For example:  We've got some customers who like the convenience of being able to call and have us take a look at their computer whenever they want some assistance without worrying about getting a bill.  For them, a small monthly payment keeps them from feeling like they are taking advantage of us when they call for help and we're able to keep the lights on, so it works for everyone.

Other customers get along most of the time without needing us and, for them, it makes more sense for them if we simply charge them for our time when they need us.

I'll suggest one of our support plans when it becomes apparent that a customer has us on speed dial and needs a lot of hand holding. 

Our most expensive annual support plan is less expensive than what the telephone predators are quoting for a single online tuneup.  It is a bit disappointing that some of the big computer makers are referring folks to them.

I'm looking forward to this coming week.  We're delivering a new server to a business customer.  This server is especially cool because it includes four high capacity solid state drives.  I expect the customer to be VERY happy.

I've also got one of the new Intel NUC systems coming in.  With a size about that of a paperback book, I can hardly wait to get my hands on it.  More details next week.

As always, feel free to drop me a note or give me a call if you have any questions about your computer or the Internet.

Rob Marlowe, Senior Geek, Gulfcoast Networking, Inc.
http://www.gulfcoastnetworking.com

(Rob also serves as deputy mayor of the City of New Port Richey. Opinions expressed here are his own and do not necessarily represent the position of the city.)