I Got Schooled by my Husband

I pride myself on being in the know about great deals. Recently my husband brought home one I knew nothing about.  He visited the Good Housekeeping headquarters on a business trip. He was there to see how they designed their office space and testing areas for a project he is working on. I’ll admit I’ve never given much thought to the Good Housekeeping Seal of approval, but he told me about how they test products and ultimately stand behind the ones they place their name on.

If you purchase a product with the Good Housekeeping seal it is backed by a 2 year warranty.  So if for some reason you contact the manufacturer and they won’t help you resolve your problem you can submit a claim to Good Housekeeping.  Here’s the full description of their warranty from their website.

WE PROMISE
This is Good Housekeeping’s LIMITED WARRANTY: If any product that bears our Seal proves to be defective within two years from the date it was first sold to a consumer by an authorized retailer, we, Good Housekeeping, will replace or repair the product or refund the purchase price. This policy covers you, the consumer, whether you bought the product or it was given to you (by the buyer). Products that bear the Green Good Housekeeping Seal have been assessed by Good Housekeeping in accordance with Good Housekeeping’s environmental criteria and are also subject to the limited warranty if proven to be defective.

The only problem I see with the program is that it requires a receipt to accompany the claim.  When I purchase a small or large appliance I staple the receipt to the owner’s manual, but I do not keep receipts for smaller items which could be a problem if I ever wanted to file a claim.  With the many store loyalty programs out there you may be able to get a duplicate receipt if necessary.  I’ve done this with purchases I’ve made at Lowe’s, Sam’s and BJs.

I emailed their customer service address to get a claim form.  I wanted to read it and give you more specific details on how involved it is to fill out.  Unfortunately that was on Sunday and 4 days later I am still waiting.  Hmmm….. not off to a great start Good Housekeeping!  I’ll keep you posted on the form once I get it. One more piece of feedback, their website inundates you with advertisements.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a site with so many interruptions before you can access their content.  As a former advertising salesperson I totally get that websites are a huge source of revenue, but in my opinion Good Housekeeping has gone way over board.  Here’s the link directly to the information page on the http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/product-reviews/history/welcome-gh-seal.   Hopefully this will help you avoid too many unwanted interruptions.