www.slashgear.com: For decades, Craftsman's lifetime warranty had a reputation for being one of the strongest guarantees in American retail. The policy was simple: if a hand tool failed for any reason, return it to Sears for a free replacement. No receipt needed, no questions asked.
3 comments:
Personally I was not aware of this "Lifetime" warranty that Craftsman offers/offered. It is a really cool concept that I really respect, as I am a believe that tools should last a lifetime to some degree. Specifically I believe that simple use tools like hammers or screwdrivers. These tools should last a lifetime or at least long enough to a point where the actual physical materials are starting to warp or deteriorate. So it is really cool that Craftsman honors this mentality and allows its customers to have tools last a lifetime. Which makes me even more sad to see that they are somewhat removing this mentality, or at the very least putting new restrictions that cause customers to not be able to get said lifetime warranty. Though I do agree that certain tools like some electronic ones should have a shorter warranty due to the amount of people that have a tendency to use tools incorrectly, as the incorrect use of said tools can lead to the tool breaking or not working faster than is expected. This is a user issue that can lead to said users abusing warranties. So due to this point I understand companies like craftsman reducing the way they honor warranties.
It’s not surprising that this change in warranty policy happened when Craftsman was sold to Stanley Black & Decker. Something I hear about all the time is how things have been getting worse, and having shorter and shorter life spans. Planned obsolescence is increasingly becoming the norm and it is often seen implemented even more when a company is sold to a larger company because those larger corporations often care more about bottom line than they care about their customers, products, or environmental impacts. This article reminded me of a positive experience I have with outdoors equipment companies about lifetime warranties. It happened when the backpacking pack I got from my Dad’s buckle broke. This pack was discontinued about ten years ago but when I reached out to the company to enquire about their lifetime warranty they actually let me send them my pack and they replaced the buckle with a new one (though not from that model because they don’t make them anymore). It would have been very easy for them to just say they didn’t make the part anymore but instead figured out a solution to keep the pack working.
I feel like it's within the scope of corporations in the 21st century to take a perfectly good thing and overcomplicate it and make it less of what it once was. That’s fine, it’s just disappointing, and there’s nothing we can do about it. To answer the article’s question, no the warranty isn’t as good as it used to be, but it’s only marginally worse. Instead of bringing any broken Craftsman tool anywhere and getting an immediate replacement, now the “lifetime coverage” only covers most basic tools and a few power tools with those that aren’t covered having their own limited warranties. I think rather than blame Craftsman for this development we should be looking at the general system of capitalism that has been putting profit over everything else, especially in the last three decades. There’s nothing to be done, but I take solace in the fact that if my Craftsman screw driver breaks there is still a way to get it replaced for no extra cost. Not all is lost just yet.
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