Dick Heunisch of Burnsville is a guy who makes companies live up to their promises. Even though he bought his Eddie Bauer watch about 15 years ago, Heunisch held on to the piece of paper that promised free repairs and maintenance for the life of the watch.
Each time a battery died, he brought the watch back to the Eddie Bauer store for a replacement. Then, earlier this year, the store told him that the warranty was no longer valid. Heunisch was given a phone number, which he described as the "customer disservice line."
Whistleblower has previously explored the slippery world of lifetime warranties, but Heunisch's situation seemed particularly strange, given that the company changed its policy without notice. After Whistleblower contacted Eddie Bauer corporate headquarters in Bellevue, Wash., Heunisch got a call last week from the office of the company's president that helped solve the mystery.
Eddie Bauer had shut down its watch repair shop, he was told, but the company wasn't going to leave him with a dead watch. If he sent in his receipts for watch batteries, Eddie Bauer would reimburse him. Heunisch asked for the guarantee in writing.
