Article taken from January 2004 GM Profit & Protection warranty newsletter
What do you consider a repeat repair? It may be replacing the same part that was replaced a relatively short time ago, such as a seal or gasket. Or you may consider it replacing or repairing a similar part or component that was just serviced. Possibly you define it as another repair attempt for a similar condition, like an oil leak or a squeak/rattle.
All three of the above scenarios may be considered by GM to be a comeback or an unsuccessful repair attempt. Performing the same or similar type of repair on a vehicle whether it is the same day or within a reasonable amount of time later may not be subject to warranty claim payment, rather the dealer is responsible.
“The dealer is responsible for the satisfactory completion of any warranty or special policy repair work claimed for credit. If a repair of the same item is needed again as a result of improper inspection, diagnosis, workmanship, or deficiencies in parts not supplied by GM, the repair would be classified as a shop comeback.” (GM Service Policies and Procedures Manual Article 1.5.12)
Repeat/related repairs are edited on a 90-day or 4,000mile comparison, whichever comes first. The only exceptions are paint; any labor operations that begin with an “A,” and some with a “S.” The exceptions include any campaign “V” labor operations, and any labor operation that is described as an align adjust only in the LTG. These exceptions reject forever, there is no time or mileage limit. If the system detects a similar repair or previous usage of the same labor operation the claim will reject pending dealer service management review or approval with the appropriate authorization code.
There are several reasons for a claim to be considered a shop comeback or a repeat repair. Before you can determine if a repeat or related customer’s complaint is truly a comeback, you must gather the facts. Your service consultant is the first line of defense in your efforts. It is his/her responsibility to get the precise information from the customer that can provide both you and your technician the information needed to properly diagnose and repair the vehicle. Without asking the following questions; who, what, when, and how often, the technician is left with very little information for accurately diagnosing the vehicle.
A poor write up can often be just the beginning of a shop comeback. When opening a new repair order, for a concern that has the potential to be a repeat repair, the consultant must ask and document whether the condition is a new concern or if it is something that has been worked on before. When it is something that has been addressed in the past, service management should become involved in the repair visit. The situation may involve special circumstances that if properly tracked, communicated and documented will support a warranty claim submission.
Once the second repair has been completed and verified, management should review both the previous and the current repairs to determine responsibility. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Was the write up poor or lacking information that the technician needed on the first repair order?
- Was the first repair misdiagnosed?
- Was the repair dispatched to a properly trained technician?
- Which repair actually corrected the customer’s concern? If one repair was ineffective, should the earlier claim be debited?
- Did two separate concerns exist that required two separate repairs?
Management must often rely on their technicians to explain repairs that are similar to one another, but legitimately are separate failures. Taking a detached and fair approach to shop comeback reviews will send a message to the shop that will pay off in the long run. If you were paying the repair bill, would you buy the story that the two repairs were legitimate?
Proper and complete documentation that begins at service write
up and continues on through to the warranty administrator and
ultimately to service management, is invaluable in the case
of potential shop comebacks, or repeat repair situations.
© J&L Warranty Pros™
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