# 12 Yr Warranty



## IPLUMB (Jul 15, 2009)

I HATE SOME  PEOPLE 
CUSTOMER CALLS ASKING FOR A PRICE ON A HEATER 50 GAL ELEC.I PROMISED MYSELF NOT TO GIVE ESTIMATES OVER THE DAMN PHONE, BROKE MY OWN RULE AGAIN. CUSTOMER IS SHOCKED AT THE PRICE AND THEN COMES BACK WITH WELL SEARS HAS A 12 YR WARRANTY WHY IS YOURS HALF. THE PRICE WAS FOR A REPUTABLE CUSTOMERS FAMILY MEMBER SO THATS Y I GAVE THE PRICE.BESIDES THE WHOLE I AM A LICSENCED PLUMBER THING WHAT ELSE DO YOU GUYS SAY OR HAVE ANY OF YOU COME ACROSS ANYTHING LIKE THIS


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## rocksteady (Oct 8, 2008)

When a customer comes back with something like that I just tell them that with my price and my supplied water heater you get support from me. If there's a problem it's one phone call away and I can deal with it. If they should need any warranty service on that Kenmore water heater from Sears, good luck. There's a convenience and security factor in buying a product supplied by the plumber.





paul


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## stillaround (Mar 11, 2009)

Try telling them that you could actually do it for free and see what they say. I break my rule also but rocksteady is right on.


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## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

Did her price from Sears include installation??? Sears is not required to have a licensed plumber install their heaters??? Are you just selling her a water heater or are you selling it installed? is sears selling their water heater installed or is she just comparing water heater price vs water heater price with no install?


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## IPLUMB (Jul 15, 2009)

Sears Is Installing So Am I The Price Is For Lab & Mat. But They Have A 12 Yr Warantee Same Like H Depot


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## IPLUMB (Jul 15, 2009)

Thats True Thanx Rocksteady, Is There Any Thing Else, I Never Purchased Stuff Like That From Sears But Is It Like Getting Your Oil Changed In 15 Min At Your Local Mech Or Like Taking It To The Dealer And You Might Have The Car Back Later On That Night


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## WestCoastPlumber (Jun 17, 2008)

thats funny, I repaired I think 5-6 big box junk water heaters last month, I spoke to the sears guy who was fixing my customers fridge the other day, he said that Sears now repairs everything, appliances, water heaters, furnaces, a/c units, anything that they get a call on, they are moving into home repair seems like.

there goes more of our trade. I thought they only fixed their own junk, now htey fix everything


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## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

I would politely say "I cannot speak as to the price or quality of a kenmore water heater,installaton and warranty. However I can provide you with a new XX brand water heater for approximately XX dollars for a typical installation if your existing water heaters connections are safe and meet current plumbing codes and I personally will be installing your water heater. How many plumbing companies can you call and have the owner answer the phone and then have the owner come install your water heater???? check around and see. Thats why 1 man shops are so sucessful.....people like talking to and having THE MAN do their plumbing. Its a trust thing.......nothing better than a customer that trusts you. Dont abuse that trust and you will have business forever. Please post how you feel and how your expected to post.....I promise my feelings will not be hurt.


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## user823 (Feb 3, 2009)

TheMaster said:


> I would politely say "I cannot speak as to the price or quality of a kenmore water heater,installaton and warranty. However I can provide you with a new XX brand water heater for approximately XX dollars for a typical installation if your existing water heaters connections are safe and meet current plumbing codes and I personally will be installing your water heater. How many plumbing companies can you call and have the owner answer the phone and then have the owner come install your water heater???? check around and see. Thats why 1 man shops are so sucessful.....people like talking to and having THE MAN do their plumbing. Its a trust thing.......nothing better than a customer that trusts you. Dont abuse that trust and you will have business forever. Please post how you feel and how your expected to post.....I promise my feelings will not be hurt.



What? I thought this thread was about water heaters? Why the rant about one man shops being better, what? what? what?


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## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

Maybe you could tell the H.O just to have sears install the water heater and save some money and move on to another customer that appreciates your personal service.


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## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

ironranger said:


> What? I thought this thread was about water heaters? Why the rant about one man shops being better, what? what? what?


 I just stated thats why one man shops are sucessful. personal service. Thats somthing he could have told the customer. I was simply answering the question at the end of the orignal post about what to tell a customer. I think thats a big selling point OVER a company like sears. The thread really has nothing to do with water heaters....you could have plugged in any plumbing problem to his post. I think his post was about how to handle a customer that price shops you and is informed of whats out there. I refuse to get caught in a trap so i will not speak about another companies product...just represent as to what i can do for the customer that maybe sears cannot.


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## Pipedoc (Jun 14, 2009)

Why not offer her the lifetime warranty model? Lifetime warranty stays in effect as long as the heater is given an annual water heater tune-up. Chances are you will receive the tune-up work as well. (legally you can't insist that the they pay only you for the annual tune-up. Only that they have this work done by a licensed proffessional.) It makes for a great retention tool and turns customers in to clients.

It is next to impossible to compete with the big box stores on price. In my opinion, the best way to compete with these guys is on quality of service, warranty, etc.


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## Plumber Jim (Jun 19, 2008)

How about the fact that that the kenmore heater is the same as the whirlpool heater! tell them your bradford White heater is better blah blah. You can take a few angles but most times people look at the price and don't look any farther. Bet to wait for the call from the customer who wants to buy from the plumber and get the service that he offers.


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## service guy (Jun 26, 2008)

Someone called me at midnight last night with a one year old WHirlpool gas water heater pilot not lighting. I asked him, "Who installed it, it should be under warranty?"
HE said, "A friend did it."

I said, "I guess they won't be honoring any warranty then, huh?"

"No." said the customer.

"Well, I don't deal with lowe's or service their gas water heaters, so you'll have to call Lowe's or the number on the side of the heater. That is the big downside of buying a water heater at lowe's and not having a plumber install it. Good luck finding a professional to service it."

WTF? He didn't call me to install a water heater last year, he just had a "friend" do it, but he calls me at midnight when he wants it serviced.:furious: *I am not touching it, especially since its a dangerous gas appliance installed ILLEGALLY by an unlicensed person without a permit or inspection!*:no:


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## Plumber Jim (Jun 19, 2008)

Another thing you can do is tell them to lookup the heater they plan to buy on http://www.complaints.com/ or one of the other similar sites and see what they find then do a search on that site for complaints on bradford white. hehe you find kenmore sears issues up the butt. no bad things on Bradford White. maybe they will value your service after looking at that.


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## user823 (Feb 3, 2009)

service guy said:


> Someone called me at midnight last night with a one year old WHirlpool gas water heater pilot not lighting. I asked him, "Who installed it, it should be under warranty?"
> HE said, "A friend did it."
> 
> I said, "I guess they won't be honoring any warranty then, huh?"
> ...


I got called this last week to install a customer provided 50 gal. electric. I didn't want to do it but she was just down the road and they already had the new one (Reliance) down the basement next to the other WH.

My flat rate install price for a customer supplied elect. is $300.00. A few 3/4" copper fittings and I'm done. They already had the old one drained too, took me all of a half hour to install it.

Then they wanted me to haul away their old Reliance, I said no I wouldn't do that. I also had them sign the invoice stating my warranty is for the install only, not on the WH. 

Sure they saved themselves over 300 bucks doing it that way instead of buying from me but what the heck, I made 300 so I guess we were both happy. Sometimes you just got to go with the flow. If I didn't do it then someone else would have right.


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## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

service guy said:


> Someone called me at midnight last night with a one year old WHirlpool gas water heater pilot not lighting. I asked him, "Who installed it, it should be under warranty?"
> HE said, "A friend did it."
> 
> I said, "I guess they won't be honoring any warranty then, huh?"
> ...


 Now thats the kind of marketing I like to see!:thumbsup: I'ma write that one down! Thats too funny...way to go:laughing::thumbsup: I wish i could think of things to say like that in the heat of the moment.


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## service guy (Jun 26, 2008)

*Here in North Carolina, a water heater must be installed by a licensed plumber and be permitted and inspected every time one is installed or replaced.* Since "his friend" installed the heater a year ago, I am not going to service it. Technically I would have to pull a permit and make sure the water heater is up to code and have it inspected if I am to follow the state's plumbing codes that governs my license to do plumbing.
*What happens if his water heater floods or explodes or catches on fire and I am the only licensed plumber on record to have serviced it and its only one year old and installed illegally by a "friend"?*:no:
*Can you say LIABILITY?*
Furthermore, I don't stock whirlpool gas water heater parts, and even if I did, I am not interested in fooling with a one year old gas water heater that I didn't install and the customer expects to be fixed under warranty...no thanks.
I have plenty of customers, and I service and install plenty of water heaters, there are four old water heaters in my shop yard as we speak from recent replacements.

Going out at midnight to service an illegally installed Lowe's gas heater supposedly under warranty for a new customer that thinks its cool to have his "friend" install it, well....its against my company policy.:thumbsup:


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## IPLUMB (Jul 15, 2009)

Thanks Guys Appreciate The Info. I Dont Mind About One Customer But I Did Have A Few Ask About It, So Im Better Prepared To Answer Them Properly Now Thanx


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## TheMaster (Jun 12, 2009)

service guy said:


> *Here in North Carolina, a water heater must be installed by a licensed plumber and be permitted and inspected every time one is installed or replaced.* Since "his friend" installed the heater a year ago, I am not going to service it. Technically I would have to pull a permit and make sure the water heater is up to code and have it inspected if I am to follow the state's plumbing codes that governs my license to do plumbing.
> *What happens if his water heater floods or explodes or catches on fire and I am the only licensed plumber on record to have serviced it and its only one year old and installed illegally by a "friend"?*:no:
> *Can you say LIABILITY?*
> Furthermore, I don't stock whirlpool gas water heater parts, and even if I did, I am not interested in fooling with a one year old gas water heater that I didn't install and the customer expects to be fixed under warranty...no thanks.
> ...


 WOW I'm with ya all the way:thumbsup: Those water heater are the worst!


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## Pipedoc (Jun 14, 2009)

service guy said:


> Someone called me at midnight last night with a one year old WHirlpool gas water heater pilot not lighting. I asked him, "Who installed it, it should be under warranty?"
> HE said, "A friend did it."


A lot of times these people fall in to what I affectionately refer to as the 3% ****head category. But sometimes they are like the rest of us and realize that they just made a stupid mistake. Some people are too ignorant to understand that they are putting their family at risk having some hack work on their plumbing. Doesn't necessarily make them bad, just ignorant. 

I would not have gone out there at midnight but I sure would the next day. Refusing the work seems like cutting off your nose to spite your face to me. I have gained a lot of life long clients from these types of situations. Then again, I have wasted some time on the 3%ers too.


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## service guy (Jun 26, 2008)

Pipedoc said:


> A lot of times these people fall in to what I affectionately refer to as the 3% ****head category. But sometimes they are like the rest of us and realize that they just made a stupid mistake. Some people are too ignorant to understand that they are putting their family at risk having some hack work on their plumbing. Doesn't necessarily make them bad, just ignorant.
> 
> I would not have gone out there at midnight but I sure would the next day. Refusing the work seems like cutting off your nose to spite your face to me. I have gained a lot of life long clients from these types of situations. Then again, I have wasted some time on the 3%ers too.


I told him to call lowe's and whirlpool to find out if any local service company services these under warranty. If not, I offered him to call me back in the morning if he wants me to look at it and try to order the parts from whirlpool. I doubt Whirlpool would answer the phone on a saturday though.:whistling2:


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## Pipedoc (Jun 14, 2009)

Yep, those are the tough ones Service Guy. I get a lot of calls from Bradford White owners who want me to change their heater under warranty and then bill Bradford White. They even want me to pay for the paperwork fee that the local supply house charges and wait for that too! I explain to them that if they bought the heater from me or another reputable plumbing contractor (our local supply house is a whore and will sell BW's direct to the homeowner:furious they wouldn't have to worry about that.

Oh well, we can't win them all!


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

When I run across some one that is putting in a water heater based solely on price I tell them to call Lowes. :laughing:
$250 install its the best or, worst deal in town depending on how you look at it.

Obviously they don't care about quality which is the only kind of work I do...

Sooner or later they will become interested in quality if they have any intelligence whatsoever. I'll wait and not waste a lot of time until they are ready to pay for quality...:whistling2:

Meanwhile I'll expedite their trip to the bottom of the barrel... :laughing:

have a look see at this link.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/whirlpool_water_heaters.html
180 pages of *****ing whirlpool water heater customers @ 10 per page:laughing:


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## service guy (Jun 26, 2008)

Great thread. Too many people are ignorant about water heaters and the dangers, liabilities, codes, warranties, permits, inspections, insurance and other issues that go along with them.

Most people think price is all that matters. SO far off.:no:


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## ESPinc (Jul 18, 2009)

service guy said:


> I told him to call lowe's and whirlpool to find out if any local service company services these under warranty. If not, I offered him to call me back in the morning if he wants me to look at it and try to order the parts from whirlpool. I doubt Whirlpool would answer the phone on a saturday though.:whistling2:


You bring up a good point that I tell my customers when they start this"I can get a better price at Sears, Lowes, Home Depot, etc." 
If you have any problems you will be able to get a hold of me 24/7 try calling one of those places at 3am on a Sunday see what type of response you get.


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## Rootster (May 21, 2009)

our water heaters installed come with a 10 year warranty parts and labor (state select)


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

Rootster said:


> our water heaters installed come with a 10 year warranty parts and labor (state select)


 Welcome to the PZ forums Rooster, why not head over to the Introductions forum and post an intro. Here is the link to help you get to the right spot. http://www.plumbingzone.com/f3/


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## IPLUMB (Jul 15, 2009)

Alot Of Good Info, Glad To See We Are On The Same Page. Its True Call Me 24/7 I Answer


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## SewerRatz (Apr 25, 2009)

service guy said:


> Great thread. Too many people are ignorant about water heaters and the dangers, liabilities, codes, warranties, permits, inspections, insurance and other issues that go along with them.
> 
> Most people think price is all that matters. SO far off.:no:


 lol Permits are a big one around here. A lot of cities want you to get a permit to change out a water heater. Lots of them get busted by having the new heater box out for trash or even the old water tank out at the curb. They get hit with a small fine(few hundred bucks) and an inspector comes in and makes sure it was installed to code, if he notices anything out of code the whole thing has to come out and have a licensed plumber come in and install it, still need a permit on the reinstall.


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## ROSELLE PLUMBER (Jun 26, 2009)

I think my last job had a Sears water heater installation- no cold valve and all flex hose. Where can report this unskilled work ?


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## hepco (Jul 29, 2008)

SewerRatz said:


> lol Permits are a big one around here. A lot of cities want you to get a permit to change out a water heater. Lots of them get busted by having the new heater box out for trash or even the old water tank out at the curb. They get hit with a small fine(few hundred bucks) and an inspector comes in and makes sure it was installed to code, if he notices anything out of code the whole thing has to come out and have a licensed plumber come in and install it, still need a permit on the reinstall.


 
I wish the inspectors in our area were so good. Seems they only go after the big stuff. Unlicensed contractors are not a worry of theirs. But they are so much of my competition. How do you compete against someone charging $15 per hour when i need close to a $100 to cover my gen liab insurance and trucks. Dont get me wrong , I have a good customer base but there are hurting the industry especially when the customer isnt seeing the job they get, only the price tag of the work.

A good friend of mine always told me a homeowner wants a 50 cent plumber and a $5000 front door...who cares about what you dont see.

But honestly my pet peive is handy men and do it all-ers riding around with advertising on vehicles and cards they distribute listing plumbing as one of their specialties. Any good inspector should be questioning their credentials and in turn would clean things up a bit.

I mean how much work can a person actually do without a license legally?


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