A cracked frame and a thread of emails
A customer brings in a two-year-old aluminium frame with a crack near the dropout. It needs to go to the brand as a warranty claim. Your mechanic takes photos on their own phone, someone finds the original sale in the till, and an email goes to the distributor with the frame number. Two weeks later the distributor asks for different photos, and those emails are in the owner's inbox, not the workshop's.
At the same time there is a leaking fork with its own claim, a wheel with a cracked rim, and an e-bike display that the manufacturer wants returned. Four claims, four processes, and a customer for each ringing to ask what is happening.
Every brand has its own process
Some brands take claims through a dealer portal, some through a distributor by email, some want the part returned, some want photos only. Each wants slightly different evidence. None of them connect to your shop's systems, so every claim is tracked by memory and inbox.
- Photos are taken on personal phones and are not stored against the claim.
- Proof of purchase is hunted down in the till each time.
- Replies from brands land in whichever inbox sent the claim.
- Parts returned for inspection leave without a record of when or how.
- Customers hear nothing until they ring, and the answer is a guess.
Why stalled claims hurt the shop
A customer with a warranty problem is already disappointed with the product. If the claim then drags without updates, that disappointment shifts to you. The customer does not see the distributor; they see the shop that sold the bike.
There is a direct cost too. Claims that are forgotten or incomplete are the ones where you may end up replacing the part yourself to keep the customer, or losing them. Whether any claim is accepted is always the brand's decision; our part is making sure yours are complete and followed up.
A warranty claim tracker for the workshop
We build a claim tracker that sits beside your workshop and EPOS.
- A claim starts from the workshop job. The tracker asks for what that brand usually wants: frame or serial number, photos from set angles, a description and the original purchase.
- Photos are taken on the workshop tablet and stored against the claim, not on anyone's phone.
- The original sale is found in your EPOS by customer or frame number where your system allows, and attached as proof of purchase.
- The claim goes to the brand by their route, whether portal, email or form. Emails are sent from a shared warranty address so replies land in one place.
- Replies are attached to the claim. If nothing comes back within a period you set, the tracker reminds someone to chase.
- Customers receive short updates when the status changes: submitted, more information requested, accepted, replacement on the way.
| Claim | Brand route | Status | Last contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cracked frame | Distributor email | More photos requested | 3 days ago |
| Leaking fork | Dealer portal | Part returned | 8 days ago, chase due |
| E-bike display | Manufacturer RMA | Replacement dispatched | Yesterday |
Claims you can answer questions about
Anyone in the shop can tell a customer where their claim is. Claims do not stall because one person was on holiday. Evidence is complete the first time more often, so fewer claims come back for more information. And you build up a record of which brands handle claims well, which is useful when you decide which ranges to stock.
Signs your warranty claims need a system
- Warranty emails sit in one person's inbox.
- Claim photos are on staff phones.
- You have had to ask a brand what happened to a claim.
- Customers ring for updates you cannot give.
- You have replaced parts yourself because a claim was lost.