Page 11 - MidWeek - March 8, 2023

Warranty Woes Paulette Ito
Another hiccup is that I paid for the warranty so my name and contact number are on the contract. Since I had broken the machine, I felt obligated to have it fixed and I was sold the warranty, so I paid for it. Because of this, the technicians kept calling me and would not speak with my parents to pinpoint the problem.However,thisended upbeingagoodthingasIwas finally able to work with a local servicingagentandbypassthe endless phone call prompts and rerouting.
Had I properly documented the warranty information after the initial repair, kept
the phone numbers, contract number, model number and serial number of the machine, I would have saved at least an hour. Had I properly documented the ticket number, technician’s name and phone number, I would have saved at least two more hours.
Little things, like taking the time to document the relevant information from a warranty, could end up saving you valuable time and needless stress. Being well organized enables us to live our lives more efficiently while providing valuable peace of mind. Helping all Hawaii ohana achieve their
highest quality of life possible is the main goal of Get Your House in Order” campaign, while reminding everyone of the importance of sound life planning decisions.
Ho‘okele is a personal planning booklet containing legacy wishes, employment and retirement information, insurance and bank document locations, vital contacts as well as other important information. Documenting itemslikewarrantieswouldbe veryhelpfulifeverneeded.Take it from me, if I had properly documented all the warranty details for my parents’ washer, I would have saved several hours
of phone frustration.
There are four phases of the
“Get Your House in Order” campaign with a new section Ho‘okele available from the HIFICU.com website during each quarterly phase. Each guidebook is free and available to the community. Ho‘okele 1.1 and 1.2 are now available, so get your house in order and download yourHo‘okeleguidebook!
Formoreinformationabout “Get Your House in Order” email: GYHO@hificu.com. Also,tuneintoKITVat7:00pm every Saturday to watch Yunji DeNies talk with local experts on how and why to “Get Your House In Order.”
Recording and documenting warranty information is hard enough, and if you have to do it for someone else’s it’s even harder. Whenever you take out insurance or any type of extended warranty coverage you need to remember you have the insurance as well as what is covered. You also need to know who to call and what information to provide should you ever need to redeem a warranty. Fortunately, the internet now allows much of this kind of information to be readily available, as long as you registered your purchase online and remembered your password .
On a recent visit to my parents house, I used their washer and it broke. So, I surfed the internet for repair options and called for service. The service operator was very good at her job and upsold me an extended warranty plan. The repair was very complicated that the value of the warranty was well worth it. I printed out
the warranty contract, wrote down the phone number on the packet and left it with my parents.
Fast forward to now and the washer needs to be repaired again. When my father called me to have it fixed, there was no need to remind him that he had the warranty packet. There was no need to let him know he could have done it himself because I know my parents either threw the packet out or stuffed it somewhere in a drawer. So, I looked up the repair company and started a ticket. Unfortunately this repair situation was not as easy as the last one. After eight weeks, and three repair visits, the washer is still not fixed. I spent at least four hours on phone calls and compiled a list of eight different phone numbers. Five of the numbers route to the same set of options and ultimately to the same call center. I have plan numbers, service order numbers, claim numbers and contract numbers.
March 8, 2023 MIDWEEK 11
PAULETTE ITO
SVP Marketing
Hawaiian Financial Federal Credit Union
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