Warranty Program Readiness Checklist
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A pre-launch and annual review checklist covering the written warranty, registration, claim intake, triage rules, fulfillment, closure, and the data loop, so a hardware brand's warranty runs as one process instead of an inbox.

[ ] The written warranty states in plain English what is covered, for how long, what is excluded, what the customer must do to make a claim, and what the brand will do in response.
[ ] The warranty is designated as full or limited in its title, as the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act requires for most consumer products; counsel has confirmed the designation and any state-specific wording.
[ ] The warranty text is available to shoppers before purchase: on the product page, in the listing on every marketplace, and in the box.
[ ] Registration is not a condition of coverage for a full warranty, and if a limited warranty requires it, that condition is disclosed clearly rather than buried in the manual.
[ ] The registration form asks only for name, email, serial number, purchase date, and place of purchase; every other field is optional or removed.
[ ] Every unit carries a serial number that is printed where the customer can read it without tools, and the serial format lets the team derive the model and production batch.
[ ] The quick-start card carries a QR code that opens the registration form with the serial prefilled, and direct-store shipping confirmations include a one-click registration link.
[ ] There is a way to register units sold through retailers and marketplaces, whether through a retailer feed, a scanned receipt, or a manual entry the support team can do in under a minute.
[ ] The claim form collects the serial number, purchase details if the unit is not registered, a description of the failure, and photos or a short video, and it takes a customer under five minutes.
[ ] Every claim gets a claim number and an automatic message telling the customer, in plain words, what happens next and when to expect a human reply.
[ ] An internal first-response target exists, is written down, and is measured weekly; someone owns the number.
[ ] Triage decision rules are written down for each common failure type so two agents facing the same claim reach the same answer on troubleshoot, repair, replace, or refund.
[ ] The advance replacement policy states which products and which situations qualify, and whether a card hold or a return deadline applies above a stated unit value.
[ ] Repair is used only where the part is a known, replaceable component and the labor cost makes sense relative to the unit; the list of repairable failures is current.
[ ] Prepaid return labels can be issued by an agent without approval below a stated value, and the returns address, carrier rules for batteries, and inspection steps are documented.
[ ] Replacement stock is reserved for warranty use and reviewed monthly so a claim never waits on a sales backorder.
[ ] Closure includes a confirmation that the customer's replacement or repair works, not just that it shipped.
[ ] Every closed claim carries a root cause tag from a short controlled list, and untagged claims show up on a report someone reviews.
[ ] Failure data is summarized by model, batch, and root cause and reviewed with engineering on a fixed schedule, with a record of what changed as a result.
[ ] The warranty reserve per unit has been estimated from claim rate and cost per claim, is reviewed at least quarterly, and finance knows where the number comes from.
[ ] All claims, from every channel including retailers, marketplaces, and the direct store, land in one queue with a visible stage and age; nothing lives only in a personal inbox.
[ ] Customer-facing macros and templates use the customer's name, state what was decided and why, and never ask for information the customer already provided.
[ ] Declined claims explain the reason, cite the relevant term, and offer an alternative such as a paid repair or a discount on a replacement.
[ ] A named person owns the warranty process end to end, and a second person can run it during vacations without asking the founder.