After you draft your warranty, you will want to test it to see if your customers will understand it. Tests do not have to be elaborate or expensive. A small, informal test with employees, friends, or actual shoppers can tell you whether your warranty is clear. Or you may choose to do a more expensive and reliable test on a representative sample of consumers.
Your test should determine whether your warranty will be easy to understand and use in real-life situations. To do this, you might use a test in which people are presented with hypothetical situations involving the product and are asked to figure out which warranty terms apply. Some of the questions you might ask include:
- How long does the warranty run?
- Are certain parts covered longer than others?
- What parts (or problems) are not covered?
- Let's say you buy this (product) secondhand when it is six months old. the day after you get it home, it stops working. Will the manufacturer fix it for free?
- If this (product) breaks and causes damage to other things in your home (your kitchen counter, walls, or floors), will the company pay for the damage?
- Where do you go to get the (product) repaired?
The value of this type of comprehension testing is that it enables you to find out what people do not understand. For example, if people are having trouble finding information, it may be that your headings are not clear or that the information is not organized logically under the headings. If people misinterpret a particular word or phrase, perhaps you need to use a simpler word or explain a technical or legal term. If people fail to understand some of their rights and obligations, perhaps the sentence structure is too difficult.
Whether you use a scientifically valid and reliable test or just a small, informal survey, testing the warranty will help you know how clear it is. With this kind of information, you can produce a better warranty.
