Insights ·
A 5-year warranty “extendable for a fee”: 10, confirmed in writing
A manufacturer told us the warranty was 5 years, extendable for a fee. Their official documents said otherwise. Three times.
In a meeting, a manufacturer told us: “the warranty is 5 years, extendable for a fee.”
Their official documents said otherwise. Three times:
- The user manual: “Warranty period: 10 years”
- The published warranty terms: “10-year standard”
- Their own commercial table: “10Y”
We didn't argue. We didn't negotiate. We did something simpler: we put the three quotes in writing and asked which figure governs.
The answer came within 24 hours:
Confirmed: 10 years.
No tension. No haggling. The warranty doubled with a single message, because serious trade runs on a principle the Romans already knew: the written word makes faith.
The written word makes faith
A conversation gets forgotten, softened, remembered differently. A published document binds, before a customer, a bank, a judge. So when you buy equipment meant to last 10 years, the question that protects you isn't technical. It's this:
It costs nothing. It takes a minute. And it sorts suppliers into two categories:
- The one who writes it down, can honor it.
- The one who won't, has already answered you.
We sign contracts where the technical documents are part of the agreement. Every figure: its report. Every promise: its paper.
Everything else is conversation.