File in Section:
Bulletin No.:

Service Bulletin

Date:

00 - General Information
11-00-89-005G
November, 2013

WARRANTY ADMINISTRATION
Subject:

Clarification of Use - Dealer Empowerment Labor Operations and Customer
Enthusiasm (U.S. Only)

Models:

2014 and Prior GM Cars and Trucks

Attention: This service bulletin does not apply to ‘GM of Canada’ dealers. Dealers in Canada
should continue to refer to the Goodwill section on the Warranty Administration
Homepage in GM Global Connect for the most recent information and updates to the
GM of Canada ‘Enable and Empower Project.’
This bulletin has been revised to provide additional information concerning Policy decision
making. Please discard Corporate Bulletin Number 11-00-89-005F.

The effective date of the requirements of this bulletin is
October 17, 2013.
For some time now we have been working together to
be even more focused on our customers and to put
them first in everything that we do. During this time,
we’ve challenged you, our dealer partners, to be
assertive on behalf of our customers and make
effective use of the policy and goodwill tools available
so that customers are satisfied and remain loyal to their
vehicle brand and your dealership.
Over the past several years, we have extended
increased levels of empowerment to our dealers and
our team members so that you can confidently do what
is right to satisfy our mutual customers. And while this
effort has been largely successful, the reality is that the
strategic approach is not always consistent across
different dealerships and different markets. In addition,
with more and more of your employees engaged in

doing what’s right for the customer, several of you have
requested that we provide additional guidance to assist
you in training them to make good quality decisions, on
behalf of the customer, while expending resources in a
cost effective manner.
It is those requests, and the desire to continually
improve the customer experience that are the basis for
this bulletin, in which we will be documenting guidelines
to further assist you and your employees in developing
a more consistent professional approach to resolving
customer issues while spending resources in a
judicious manner.

Organizational Terms
The following should clarify the terms used to describe
various payment categories used to satisfy customer
requests for assistance. These terms will be used
throughout this bulletin.

Resource

Definition

Warranty

Vehicle repairs within the time and mileage limitations of the written warranty period that are a result of
a covered defect in materials or workmanship.
• Example: Ignition lock cylinder is replaced during the 3 years/36,000 mile New Vehicle Limited
Warranty.

Customer
Enthusiasm

Vehicle repairs within the time and mileage limitations of the written warranty period that ARE NOT the
result of a covered defect in materials or workmanship.
• Used in rare/unique circumstances.
• When submitting a transaction for repairs that are Customer Enthusiasm, be sure to select
Customer Enthusiasm in the Job Card Transactions Detail section of GWM.
• Example: Repair of a front air deflector due to customer not realizing how low it is.

Policy

Vehicle repairs outside of the applicable time and mileage limitations of the written warranty period.
• Example: Wiper motor fails at 52,000 miles and GM pays for all or part of the repair cost.
• When submitting a transaction for repairs that are Policy, be sure to select Policy Flag in the Job
Card Transactions Detail section of GWM.

Copyright 2013 General Motors LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Page 2

November, 2013

Resource

Bulletin No.: 11-00-89-005G

Definition

Goodwill

Assistance expenditures made to satisfy the customer.
• The term “Goodwill” does not refer to a vehicle repair. Repair outside of Warranty is “Policy.”
• Goodwill is the term for the tools that are used to offset customer inconvenience or to offer
additional protection and peace of mind. Details of the Goodwill tools are found later in this bulletin.
• Example: An Owner Loyalty Certificate (OLC) is offered to a customer who is in the market for a
new vehicle due to continued out-of-warranty transmission issues.

Special Coverage

Extension of the warranty coverage of a specific vehicle component or system if an identified nonsafety related failure occurs.
• The necessary repair under a Special Coverage will be performed only if the specified condition is
present in the vehicle.
• Example: Extended coverage on the transmission shift cable for certain Saturn vehicles.

Customer Enthusiasm Repair-Non
Warranty
A Customer Enthusiasm Repair is a repair performed
within the warranty period when the product issue is not
covered by the New Vehicle Limited Warranty but the
dealer/customer wants GM to cover the repair to
ensure customer loyalty. In these instances, when the
transaction is being submitted for reimbursement, the
dealer should use the repairing labor operation and
select the “Customer Enthusiasm-Non Warranty
Repair ” check-box.
Important: Do not select Customer Enthusiasm if
the vehicle is beyond the terms of the applicable
warranty – by definition post warranty repairs are Policy
transactions. ALSO: All examples in this Bulletin
assume certain facts. You should evaluate each
customer’s situation on a case-by-case basis.
• Example 1: A customer comes into the
dealership and states their keyless entry fob
on their 2010 SRX with 24,000 miles was
inadvertently lost by their college age son who
was unfamiliar with the keyless start system.
This is not a defect in material or workmanship
and therefore is not covered by the New
Vehicle Limited Warranty. However, based on
the customer’s situation, previous repairs for
other issues and to maintain customer
satisfaction, it is determined that GM will cover
66% of the $150 cost to replace the transmitter
and re-program the system. To do this, the
transaction would be entered as a ZREG using
the 6430280 Remote Control Door Lock and
Theft Deterrent Transmitter Replacement labor
Operation, the Customer Enthusiasm-Non
Warranty Repair box checked, the full amount
of parts and labor input and the $50 Customer
participation input into the Customer/Service
Agent Participation field. The Complaint,
Cause, and Correction fields must document
the situation including the reason for the
decision.
Important: The Complaint, Cause, and Correction
fields must document the specific situation including
the substantive reason, for the decision.
• Example 2: Customer’s vehicle has a cut in the
rear seat back at 8,000 miles. This is not a clear
defect in material or workmanship and
therefore would not be a warranty repair.

Based on the facts and circumstances and the
customer’s history with the dealership, the
service manager would like to fix the
customers issue and submit this to GM for
reimbursement even though it is a
non-warrantable repair. The transaction would
be entered as a ZREG using the rear seat back
labor operation with the Customer
Enthusiasm-Non Warranty Repair box
checked. The Complaint, Cause, and
Correction fields must document the situation
including the substantive reasons for the
decision.

Policy Guidelines
In early 2012, General Motors introduced Policy
Guidelines to document the boundaries of vehicle
Policy repairs. Now that they have been in market, it
has become clear that there is some confusion on how
and when to use them. To simplify the process, GM is
launching a revised set of guidelines that are
documented below.
The Policy guidelines are being used to:
• Create a Policy strategy which drives increased
service and sales retention.
• Develop consistent decision making practices /
processes among dealers, field (including Fleet
Sales) and Customer Assistance Center (CAC)
representatives.
• Document customer / dealer participation amounts
at varying time and mileage intervals once a
decision to provide assistance has been made.
The Policy guidelines are NOT being used to:
• Discourage taking care of our customers.
• Impose a rigid “one size fits” all approach to issue
resolution.
• Drive a particular decision – the guidelines are
only to be used after a decision to assist has
been made.
• Disregard facts or circumstances that make a
particular customer’s situation unique.
When presented with a customer situation that requires
you to determine whether to perform a Policy repair
your decision making process must treat each case as
a unique set of circumstances and each customer’s
situation must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Bulletin No.: 11-00-89-005G

November, 2013

When considering an out of warranty assistance
situation you should have a clear understanding of:
• The customer’s issue and problem with the
vehicle
• The customer’s expectations
As you review the individual case please consider the
following supporting and limiting factors as you
determine the level of support that you will offer, if any.
Please note that there may be other factors that
influence your decision making. We are relying on our
dealer service management personnel to engage with
the customer and to make the best balanced business
decision possible.
Supporting Factors:
• Close to vehicle or component’s warranty
expiration
• Original owner
• Loyal GM new vehicle customer
• Loyal GM service customer
• Repeat repairs related to current vehicle issue
• Type of repair
• High incurred customer expense to repair “out of
warranty” issues
• High number of days vehicle down during
warranty
• Customer’s point in the ownership (purchase)
cycle
• Additional factors that you believe support
assistance
• Customer has established history of properly
caring for and maintaining the vehicle
Limiting Factors:
• Well beyond vehicle or component’s warranty
expiration
• Recently purchased as a used vehicle
• Vehicle purchased outside of the warranty
• Cause is not normally covered by warranty
(misuse, abuse, neglect, accidental damage, lack
of maintenance)
• Customer does not appear to take good care of
the vehicle
• Expenses incurred due to damage from an
accident that insurance will not cover
• Expenses incurred due to damage done by an
independent repair facility
• Vehicle has an active Service contract
• Additional factors that you believe do not support
assistance

Page 3

If you decide that some level of assistance is
appropriate, you will need to do the following:
• Based upon the result of your review of the
particular case, you will need to determine and
agree with the customer / District Manager
Aftersales (if required) to an appropriate level of
GM assistance for repair. In addition to the
concept of a declining level of GM support as
the vehicle’s age and mileage increases there
is a customer / dealer participation amount as
outlined in the tables below and in the online
Policy Calculator.
• The level of participation by GM and the customer/
service agent is to be determined by:
• The participation amount is calculated through
the use of the online calculator or tables in this
bulletin. The calculator or tables are to be used
for every job card and on each line of the job
card where participation is recommended.
• If the amount noted on the calculator or tables
is adjusted then the calculator MUST be
attached to the hard copy of the job card. This
holds true for every line on the job card that
has been adjusted to the amount noted on the
calculator. In addition, Service Management
must explain the reason for adjustment on the
hard copy. Vague reasons such as “for
customer satisfaction”, “good customer”, etc.
are not sufficient.
• The service manager must authorize the policy
adjustment prior to the work being performed.
This authorization must be in the form of an
explanation, signature and date (reference GM
P & P #1.6.2.15).
• If you conclude that GM Participation is
appropriate, you must indicate (on the transaction
input) the amount of Customer / Service Agent
Participation in the “Customer/Service Agent
Participation Amount” field in the transaction.
• The online Policy Calculator can be accessed in
the Reports and Tools section of Service
Workbench via the link to “Dealer Aftersales
Empowerment.” If you do not have the link, please
contact your dealership’s Partner Security
Coordinator (PSC) to obtain access.
• Effective October 1st, 2013 the Policy
Calculator will utilize the information that you
enter to determine the ownership status and
advise you if any of the following situations:
• Our records show that the vehicle is not
owned by the original owner
• Our records show that the vehicle is a
Certified Used Vehicle
• The database is not available
• If you are prompted that the vehicle is no
longer owned by the original owner, please
determine the ownership status as there are
several circumstances that could lead to this
indication. Among these are name changes
from marriage, transfer within the family,
business name, etc. If it is determined that it is,

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•

November, 2013

in fact, a used vehicle, then use this
information in your decision making process as
appropriate (It is likely a Limiting Factor).
If the components coverage is not listed, please
utilize the Bumper to Bumper time and mileage
table or Policy Calculator field to determine the
starting level of Participation. You will need to use
your judgment to determine if this level of
participation is appropriate.

Important Participation Notes
• If the cost of repair under warranty rates is less
than the indicated participation amount then there
will be no GM participation without approval from
your District Manager of Aftersales.
• As the majority of Policy repairs are isolated and
unique, the participation applies to each Policy
labor code on the job card.
• The customer and/or Service Agent participation
MUST be documented in the Customer / Service
Agent participation field of the Global Warranty
system transaction (see section below).

Bulletin No.: 11-00-89-005G

Important: Failure to document the participation
amount in the Customer/Service Agent participation
field may result in a charge back for the applicable
amount.
• Document in the job card the substantive reasons
and pertinent facts and circumstances supporting
the assistance. The reasons supporting GM
assistance should be abundantly clear to an
objective third party reviewing the job card that
has not been involved in the customer decision
making process. Short general comments such as
“good customer” or “out of warranty” are not
sufficient - document your decision making
process as well as the reasons for adjustment in
some detail.
• Providing assistance on a vehicle that is beyond 8
years old should only be considered under rare
circumstances. As an alternative for these and
other circumstances where repair assistance is
inappropriate, consider using one of the Goodwill
tools that are described later in this bulletin.

Participation Time and Mileage Tables
Bumper-to-Bumper Coverage (Includes Powertrain
items on 2006 and Prior vehicles)
Beyond New Vehicle Limited Warranty Repairs in the
following repair groups:

Time and Mileage Table (Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac, Saturn)
Customer/Dealer will pay greater of Participation $ amount or % of total repair as indicated in the applicable table
below.
Days out of Warranty

Miles out
of
Warranty

TABLE 1

0

1 – 365

366 – 730

731 – 1,095

1,096 –
1,460

1,461 –
1,825

1,826 +

0

In Warranty

10%
or $100

25%
or $200

40%
or $300

55%
or $400

70%
or $500

PreApproval

1 – 12,000

10% or $100

10%
or $100

25%
or $200

40%
or $300

55%
or $400

70%
or $500

PreApproval

12,001 –
24,000

25% or $200

25%
or $200

25%
or $200

40%