A Waste of Money? wrote:
I'm planning to buy a treadmill (Sole F83) from Dick's Sporting Goods, and don't know what to make of the store's additional "No Sweat Warranty." My initial feeling is that because Sole gives a warranty, then I shouldn't need to buy an additional one from the store. But it looks like, if something breaks, they'll actually come out and fix it.
Anyway, I have a simple question: Can anyone tell me if the "No Sweat Warranty" is worth it?
Many thanks, in advance...
As a former employee in the fitness department at Dick's, I can tell you that they will tell you anything, incluing lies, to get you to buy a warranty. The SOLE treadmills come with a fantastic warranty (I think it was something like 20 years or so) and they will come to your home to fix it. Horizon Fitness and Fitness Gear generally do not have as along of a warranty but both do include in-home service. When I worked there, I was told to tell customers that the difference between the Dick's warranty and the warranty that comes with the treadmill/elliptical was that you only get in-home service if you buy the Dick's warranty. THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE LIE!. I pointed this out to my supervisor and was met by a very cold response. It says right in the literature that is available to the employees that a worker will come to your home to do the repairs free of charge. Of course, they do not tell their customers this because if they did they would never sell any warranties. Warranties are a big deal for retailers because they are an incredible sourse of revenue. They are nearly 100% profit for the store.
All Dick's cares about are: warranty sells (#1 priority), credit card applications (#2 priority), and use of the Scorecard. They actually track these things on whiteboards back in the employee-only area and give bonuses to people who sell a lot of warranties. It is the only way to get a bonus so employees will do ANYTHING to sell warranties. I refused to lie to customers and consequently did not sell as many as other people in the department and got in trouble with my supervisor several times. It was funny that some fat f*ck in the fitness department who never exercised a day in his life was named "Employee of the Month" once even though he called off an average of one day per week for months and did not know a damn thing about any of the fitness equipment but he was able to lie to customers well enough that he convinced them to buy warranties. He would tell them everything was covered under the warranty which is not true, as normal wear and tear is not covered, and that if you did not get the warranty you would have to take the treadmill to a repair location because they did not do in-home service. For people without a pickup truck, is becomes impossible to transport a 250-pound treadmill in their car to get repaired, so they bought the warranty. This was a lie since in-home service is covereed with EVERY treadmill sold at Dick's by the manufacturer warranty.
As for the people who work in the fitness department, it is rare to find anyone who does any exercise at all or has any knowledge whatsoever of exercise. There is a "Certified Fitness Trainer" on staff (I was one) but this means absolutely nothing. To become the CFT you simply fill out an open book take-home test and mail it in. They are supposed to make you take the test under supervision without the use of any materials but I was told that since it costs the store money to purchase the materials for the certification and a very large percentage of people were failing and having to retake the test (and costing the store more money) they just give it as a take-home so that people pass the first time. I have two certifications through the NSCA (CSCS and CPT), took nearly the entire athletic training sequence in college as electives, and have been a lifelong competitive runner and weight lifter so I actually did know what I was talking about, but I was the only one in the department that actually knew a damn thing. When a new treadmill came in, I would not only build it but get on it for a good 10-minute run while trying out every possible option available. I made sure I knew the equipment inside and out.
The F83 was a good treadmill that I think is worth the money if you are a serious runner. I would never recommend it to someone who only planned on walking on the treadmill as all the "bells and whistles" of the treadmill would be a waste of money. I think the longest warranty offered by Dick's was only five years and SOLE came with I think a 20-year warranty, so they would simply ovelap. The Dick's warranty is not added onto the end of the manufacturer warranty; they run concurrently and are thus a waste of money. Bottom line is, DO NOT BUY ANY WARRANTY at Dick's in the Fitness Department. They are a complete waste of money. I cannot speak for the warranties in other departments like Golf or the Lodge since I am not familiar with the products or the warranties offered. On numerous occasions since leaving Dick's I have considered calling the Better Business Bureau and having them look into the business practices of the company. I'm sure they would get in some serious trouble for the way they sell warranties.
