Working The Warranty
I used to work in a camera store that sold warranties. No matter how the camera broke, they would fix it or replace it under the warranty. The only problem was that the store would ship off the camera to be repaired, sometimes for months, up to five times before replacing it. So, let’s say your battery cover breaks off. You ship it off and six weeks later it’s back.
But it’s really a brand defect, so the cover pops off again. They won’t replace the whole piece or give you another camera. You’re out the camera for months while it’s being fixed. They keep selling the defective camera and the warranties. I got tired of screwing over customers. I thought it was dishonest. However, I read the contract myself and found an interesting clause.
If the camera was so physically damaged that it was obvious it couldn’t be fixed, we could take a picture of it and send that instead. The person immediately got a new camera. When people would come in with a camera with a defect I’d seen 100 times, I’d ask if they just wanted a new one. They’d say yes and I’d tell them to take it out into the parking lot and run over it with their car. I’d pile the pieces on the counter, take a picture, and give them their new, non-defective camera.