I am not just pontificating, I have been there and made it happen.
Many years ago, I bought a major brand boat (I won't name) at the Boston Boat show and had a multitude of problems with it. Among other issues, the drive failed, a piece of a piston fell off, the ignition switch failed and I had to "hot wire" the boat to get back to shore. A dealer in Hyannis tried to charge me for a "sea trial" after fixing a warranty problem in the outdrive. I got to a point where I told the manufacturer "You name a part of this boat and I will produce a repair slip for it". Everything on the boat has broken at least once, and the dealer service has been horrendous. (And that doesn't even get to the trailer that was delivered with no brake fluid in the surge brakes)
I made a lot of noise. The chief Legal Counsel would not return my phone calls any more. The National Warranty Director and the Eastern Region Warranty representatives had stopped talking to me.
I was running out of options without using the legal system. One day, on a hunch, I telephoned and asked for the President of the company. Much to my surprise he answered the call. I spent the next 45 minutes outlining the problems and he listened.
Two days later he called, apologized, and offered me a new boat at no charge. During the conversation, I told him I had always wanted to see how boats were built. Two weeks later, he sent a corporate jet to Logan and picked me up. They took me to dinner and put me up in a motel. The following day, I was taken to tour their test facility on a local lake and they offered the opportunity to try any boat I wanted. Then the President took me on a tour of the factory followed by lunch.
I realize that is an extreme example but that is what happens with very good customer service and standing behind a product.
You shouldn't expect a response this good, but you also shouldn't be left hanging with a defective product.
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