23.03.2022

Genie to charge for older lift support

Genie/Terex AWP has announced that it is to start charging its customer and dealers for technical support services that are usually non chargeable on all platforms that are over 10 years old.

(UPDATE: Genie has now stated that the following announcement was sent to customers and partners outside of North America in error See the new announcement at the bottom of this item. )

It seems that the announcement has taken some dealers by surprise. The company says that it has found that technical support on older machines takes considerably longer than for more recent models.

The full announcement is as follows:

Technical Product Support Announcement

Dear Valued Customer,

As has been the case throughout Genie's 55-year history, our team is committed to delivering quality equipment and expert support throughout the life of our products. It is a testament to that commitment that so many machines continue to be workhorses on the jobsite more than a decade after they were produced.
We've found, however, that equipment a decade old or older generally requires more advanced troubleshooting capabilities and longer handling times for our Technical Product Support Team. As we continue to provide the quality support you need to keep your equipment in peak condition, please note that beginning April 1, 2022, there will be a charge implemented for Technical Product Support on all units 10 years and older.

This charge will help ensure our Technical Product Support team is able to provide high-quality, timely and reliable expert support for all of our customers when and where they need it.
Thank you for your understanding, and your business.

Sincerely,
Matt Treadwell,
Vice President of Parts & Services

UPDATE:
Clarification announcement

Dear Valued Customer,

Earlier today, we sent a message via email about Technical Product Support on older equipment. That message was intended only for customers in North America. However, it has come to our attention that customers outside of North America received this email as well.

For customers outside of North America, there are no changes to your current Service and Technical Product Support processes and agreements. Please disregard the email you were sent and accept our apologies for the confusion we inadvertently created.

For customers in North America, this charge coincides with other, back-end changes to our Technical Product Support process that are designed to improve your overall support experience, including reducing phone queue wait times in most instances.

Again, we apologize for any confusion created by today’s email. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your Genie team. We are here to support you.

Sincerely,

Matt Treadwell,
Vice President of Parts & Services


Vertikal Comment

This is an interesting move, but one has to wonder how often the factory is asked to provide advice on older machines and therefore how significant the overall cost. While it might have shocked some customers it is unlikely to have much impact on many rental companies which make up the bulk of its sales. It could though affect rental companies that choose to refurbish or rebuild larger boom lifts rather than replace them with new. Those rental companies that maintain a young, modern fleet may well appreciate this move in that it penalises those that compete on lower prices with older kit?

End users or smaller rental companies are those most likely to feel this the most, although one has to think that most dealers can provide most technical help and advice on older models.
Some might argue that this is anti-environmental, encouraging more to buy new, however, it can also be argued that the move encourages companies to change to more environmentally friendly machines with cleaner diesels or all-electric power.

An interesting one that we will follow up.