A recent kiplinger.com post generally critical of vehicle service contracts (VSC) makes a pretty good case for buying one. Continue reading
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Tag Archives: plain English
Even a critic sees value in vehicle service contracts
Filed under Best Practices, Service Contract, Warranty
Plain language to the rescue?
Imagine if you will, you are the founder and CEO of ABC, Co., a small to midsize company that’s been sued for millions of dollars in a breach of contract action. Next imagine that, just before sending the jury out to deliberate, you heard the judge say to them: “It is up to you to decide what ABC, Co.’s obligations were under the contract.” Feeling queasy? Well, here’s the kicker: your company wrote the contract.
Recently, a scenario just like this one played itself out in a Chicago courtroom. How’d it turn out, you ask? Read on. Continue reading
Filed under Best Practices, Court Decisions
Groundhog Day: Another piece questioning the value of extended warranties
The same article keeps popping up every other week or so in one publication or another. Its headline either asks if extended warranties are worth the cost or screams they are not. It gives the same advice – “buy smart” – and generally reaches the same conclusion on whether you should buy a service contract – “It depends”. See here, then here, here, here, here, and here. Why is somebody always picking on extended warranties?
Here are 5 reasons why I think extended warranties make an easy target. Continue reading
Filed under Customer Experience, PR & Branding, Service Contract, Warranty
Three cheers for plain language
Commenting on An Orwellian approach to legal writing, 3 readers share insights and experiences recommending plain language. Here’s a sampling of what they have to say:
“My crime briefs ‘read like a thriller,’” says Bapoo M. Malcolm, Advocate, Bombay High Court, India.
“Practice has shown that people appreciate simplicity & clarity in comprehension compared to more technical writing (jargons & all),” observes Janice Isu, Acting Principal Legal Officer, Office of the State Solicitor, Dept. of Justice & Attorney General, Papua New Guinea.
“A company can’t hide behind fine print written in legalese. Judges rule for the average person,” declares Paul Eveleigh, a copywriter from Melbourne, Australia.
There’s more. Continue reading
An Orwellian approach to legal writing
Responding to an earlier post, Plain and simple, Nick Fielden, a freelance copywriter from Perth, Australia, observes: “Perhaps when it comes to comprehension, we should be thinking less of simple versus complex, and more about clear versus obscure.” I don’t know that I’d put it in quite those terms, but before I reply further, let’s take a look at all Nick has to say: Continue reading
Filed under Best Practices, Customer Experience, PR & Branding, Service Contract, Warranty
Plain and simple
Want a better relationship with your customers? Want to spend less time and money dealing with frustrated or irate customers? Want more customers to walk out of the store with your extended warranty or service plan? There’s a sure fire way to make these things happen, plain and simple. Continue reading
Debating Warranty Arbitration
Robert J. Cloburn, CAIB, of Vancouver and Gregory Smith of Dark Room Perfection shared their views on a recent post, Arbitration wins another court battle. Here, I offer a few follow up thoughts. Continue reading
It’s not only what you say, but how you say it
Last July, GM overhauled its supplier contracts; now it’s overhauling the overhaul. This time, GM is working with its suppliers’ council to develop contract language both sides can live with. Continue reading
Filed under Best Practices, Resolving Disputes, Warranty
Warranty Week Previews 4th Annual Warranty Innovations Conference
The most recent edition of Warranty Week, “The Newsletter for Warranty Management Professionals,” previews next week’s Warranty and Service Contract Innovations Conference being held in Nashville. The conference features speakers representing a variety of market sectors, incluidng major retailers, automotive and heavy equipment manufacturers, and legal and public relations professionals. Topics on the agenda include approaches to building and sustaining customer loyalty, the benefits of clear communications and consistent messaging, effectvie use of social media, and understanding and navigating emerging legal challenges in the age of online marketing and sales.
Filed under Service Contract, Warranty
Matthew Kelly
The Editors
Paul Wojcicki