Be Technical by Techniques

I recently bought a “TaylorMade Burner Draw 460 Drivers” from a leading sporting goods chain for $199 (currently selling for $149 +taxes). The salesman (a golf-pro working there) also wanted me to get the “Store Warranty” for extra $18. Store warranty would cover any damage to the club for next two years which was tempting but somehow I declined it.

Indeed, it was a great driver from the best golf equipment manufacturer. Within a month I was hitting about 300 yards; my tee-shots were straighter, farther and staying more on the fairway. Needless to say that credit also goes to my instructor “Joe Porter” and my hard efforts.

After two months on a range I observed a half-inch dent on the club face. It was little heart breaking for me to find the deformity at the edge of the sweet spot. I ran to “retail store” immediately where they called it a manufacturing defect (not an abuse) but expressed their inability to do anything about it. They would have given me a brand new club if I had their “store warranty” but now I am left to deal with manufacturer directly.

Anyway, the very next day I called “TaylorMade” and a friendly staff heard my full story. She was very happy about “declining the store warranty” part. According to her, it is a popular SCAM where retailers typically re-sell the “manufacturer warranty” as it is and pocket the extra money for it. SCAM! SCAM!! SCAM!!!

She suggested me two options:
1) Send the club to “TaylorMade” and they will send the replacement for free (may take few weeks).
2) Go to “retailer” and ask for replacement.

Second option was obviously better! I explained the situation once again and repeated what store manager told me earlier; “we do not have such relationship with manufacturer and can’t deal with them on your behalf”.

She laughed a bit and said “Another lie! Any authorized retailer selling our equipments is supposed to honor this manufacturer warranty”. She asked me to visit the store once again and ask the manager to give her a call. She also gave me her direct number along with her supervisor’s for backup (in case she is busy with any other customer). Wow! What a friendly customer service

So I went to the store and found a different store manager who repeated exactly same stuff (no shop warranty, can’t do anything, call manufacturer directly). I smiled and handed over the paper with phone numbers. Then I said “I’ve talked to them already and they are very eager to talk to you; according to them retailer is supposed to take care of it”.

This worked like magic and the guy was literally speechless. Without any further argument, he left for the area where drivers were kept and pulled a brand new club. I got a new club

Well, now you know what to say when a salesman is trying to resell you the manufacturer’s warranty as-it-is. Almost all top golf manufacturers mandate their authorized retailer to honor their warranty.

See the follwoing faq from TaylorMade’s website.

Q: WHAT DO I DO IF I HAVE BROKEN MY CLUB AND IT IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY?

If you have broken your TaylorMade club, please take it in to your nearest TaylorMade retailer for evaluation. The retailer will call in the damaged club, and have it sent in to us for repair/replacement. To exercise our five year warranty on our clubs, you do not need a receipt or proof of purchase unless it is specifically requested. To be covered by our two year warranty, you must have your sales receipt from the authorized TaylorMade retailer. The consumer may be responsible for shipping charges to return the defective product back to us. TaylorMade will return the repaired or replaced product at no charge.

Details can be found on our Warranty Information page. You can locate a TaylorMade retailer in your area by using our Retail Locator.