Are you familiar with this term:  "bottom right hand drawer syndrome"?  If you are not, it will likely create a major headache for you and cost you a good deal of money...

What is this syndrome?  In years past, before manufacturers started reducing the amount of time they would allow a claim to age, many warranty administrators would shuffle difficult claims to a "special" place so that they could "re-visit" it at a later date...often that hiding place was the lower right hand drawer of their desk.  Not only is this a fantastic example of ineffective time management, but it also demonstrates a critical breakdown of warranty processing procedure.

Manufacturers have tightened the guidelines for claims submission.  Most of them only allow for 30 days to complete the submission process for payment.  Warranty administrators that are thinking with an "old school" mentality are still using the "I'll fix that later" drawer - unfortunately, claim submisison deadlines get missed and the claims are refused.  Here is a little secret:  the license plate bulb claims are not difficult...the claims that are difficult are transmission rebuilds, engine replacements, water leaks, wiring issues.  You know as well as I do that those types of claims are the ones that are billed for $1000+ each and every time. 

The next time you sit down to review your outstanding warranty accounts receivable (and I hope you do this at least once a week...) sit your warranty administrator down and inquire about any claim that is older than 7 days.  If you see one that is older than 14 days, it would be a decent bet that it is a tricky claim, is worth more than $500, and is in the "come back to it" file.   

Manufacturers give us the tools to do the trade, but if we don't use the tools, the "tricks" are all that are left - and tricks never seem to work out in your favor.