The point here is that maybe it’s fair for retailers to ask for the warranty cards or receipts for service of goods within their warranty period. But for the consumers, the concept seems rather unfair. Not many people are able to keep warranty cards or receipts properly. Many would misplace or lose them after just a few days.

Just imagine if you lost or misplace your warranty card or receipt within a month of purchase and coincidentally you need to get your goods fixed. However, without a warranty card you now have to pay for the service, even though it is within the warranty period. This is quite unfair.
Although all, if not most, branded goods should perform well or last for quite some time, sometimes one or two would have defects. That’s a fact.

To overcome this issue and to serve consumers better, maybe it’s high time for retailers and manufacturers to implement some form of customer relationship management (CRM) application which can be used to serve customers better.


In this case, perhaps upon purchasing of goods, the serial number of the product can be recorded and saved in a database just like all branded goods. Electronic products usually would have unique serial numbers and these numbers can be linked to the warranty period that comes with the product.

For retailers that have a Web portal, they can implement a system which enables customers to check their goods’ warranty status online. These are among the advantages of ICT implementations that could benefit consumers and enhance the image of the retailers.

Should consumers lose their warranty cards or receipts; they know the goods they bought are still protected by the provided warranty.

For retailers, they would not have to argue with customers who bring in products for repair or inspection without warranty cards. They just need to key in the product serial number to check for the warranty status.

Providing this type of service would not just make the customer happy but also increase the brand image of the products, retailers, and manufacturers.


After all, very few would bring their faulty goods to a different outlet from where the goods were bought. It is true a happy customer will always make repeat purchases