How you can save money with True’s industry-leading warranty
For over 75 years, True Refrigeration has been building quality products that are made to last. When you buy a True cooler, we want you to have the peace of mind that you’ve invested in a key piece of equipment for your business, one that you will be able to rely on for years to come.
We believe that operators should view the standard warranty period offered by a manufacturer as an indication of their own confidence in the longer-term durability and viability of their product.
As such, True Refrigeration’s standard warranty, applicable to our entire product range, protects owners against any material or mechanical defect for a period of five years from purchase, and includes all parts and labour. In the unlikely event of issues arising with the machine in that time, any costs to repair it will be covered by us.
Working with our team of expert partners, repair work will be conducted in a timely manner to ensure minimum downtime for your business. We know that the success of our business depends on the success of your business.
If you purchased a True product relatively recently, or a number of years ago, you may be wondering whether you’re covered by our comprehensive product warranty, and how the process works?
We spoke to Stuart Grieves, our Regional Sales Manager for the UK and IRE, about True’s warranty policy and why we believe it is the best in the industry.
What is True Refrigeration’s warranty?
Five years is a long time. The industry standard for refrigeration tends to be two years, so compared to most other products on the market today, we’re covering you from additional and unwanted repair bills for an extra three years.
For ease, operators experiencing issues can get in touch with the company they bought their True unit from and arrange for a service call out directly through them. They will then contact one of our authorised service partners to attend your site.
Stuart Grieves explained, “I’ve worked for other refrigeration manufacturers in the past, having known customers who have had to meet certain requirements for a callout. If you can’t open today because your fridge has let you down, the last thing you want to do is jump through hoops to get it fixed. It’s a headache no operator wants. I wanted to work with True because no one in the market is offering what we are or making it as easy. It really is a “service” for us.”
“We’re showcasing the quality and reliability of our product with the length of our warranty. Others offer the reassurance of five years for added cost. With us, peace of mind is a part of the package.”
Of course, we ask that you keep the product regularly serviced and maintained, as does every manufacturer, and in exchange, we guarantee minimum expenditure and downtime.
Checking your warranty
If you’re unsure what your remaining warranty cover is, you can check it easily by:
- Grabbing the serial number, usually found on the inside left wall of the cabinet
- Exclude any hyphenated digits (such as -1 or -2 on the label)
- Go to the support section of our website ‘My True’
- Put in your country and unit serial number
- Here you can find information about your product, including its User Manual and Warranty status
- The full terms and conditions of our warranty coverage can also be reviewed here
Working together
We know that reliable refrigeration is one of the most important elements of any food-led commercial operation. Without it, your business can’t function. So, when things do go wrong, every second of downtime hurts.
True doesn’t directly employ engineers, instead we have assembled a large network of approved partners. Located close to you and with a greater number of technicians, we’re able to get you back up and running quicker.
Our engineer partners are all screened, approved and trained directly by us on our products regularly, ensuring they are qualified to undertake the work, and able to do so to a high standard.
Stuart added, “We have an agreement with our registered engineer partners that they must hold common repair parts on their van. A “first-time fix” is our aim and is most beneficial to our customers to get them up and running again. We know every second counts.”
Cost saving
In the current climate, energy bills for commercial operators are a major concern. Recently, we’ve been trying our best to educate the industry as to the operating costs associated with running commercial refrigeration equipment. We urge customers to look past acquisition prices alone, and instead focus on what the product is going to cost to operate and maintain over its lifetime (which, in the case of quality equipment, can be upwards of 10 years).
Repair costs are also a part of this “lifetime cost” consideration, as Stuart explains, “If a compressor fails, it can cost around £350+vat for replacement, and another £250+vat for the labour to fit it. So, that’s roughly £600+vat for one call out. With most fridges, if this happens after 24 months of ownership, that bill is coming directly to you.”
As with everything in the current climate, parts are getting more expensive, and labour costs are also rising. Consider the value of an additional three-year coverage that comes as standard with True, compared to many other fridge products on the market.
Repair or replace?
Too often, refrigeration is treated as an easily replaceable asset. Buy something cheap, get a couple of years out of it, then send it off to the scrap yard while you replace it with another cheap unit.
We don’t believe this makes financial sense for your business, nor is it good for the environment.
Another reason that True provides a five-year P&L warranty on our products is to underline that they’re built to last, with a high level of repairability.
“Having known people buy cheaper, I know they’ve come to regret it. Having only thought of the upfront costs, they’ve had to fork out for massive energy bills. The repair bills start after a couple of years, and having given up in the end, they’ve had to buy a replacement rather than keep paying for repairs after not much time at all.”
Stuart concludes, “I’d urge any operator looking to buy a fridge now or in future to not just look at what a unit costs to buy, but also think about what they want from it longer term. Consider its lowest overall cost, factoring in what it costs to run, this year, next year and so on, but also weigh up the potential downtime affecting your business if it were to breakdown, as well as the costs on top to have it repaired”.
“There are a lot of budget refrigeration products on the market, unfortunately, so it’s not surprising that so many operators get caught out. I’d urge anyone to do their homework, talk to us, and make sure you buy the right refrigeration solution for the success of your business”.
Our energy cost calculator allows you to see the estimated lifetime electrical (kilowatt-hours) savings you could have by choosing one of our energy-efficient refrigerators or freezers, compared to our competitors.
For more information on True’s extensive products or on our warranty, please visit: https://truerefrigeration.co.uk
