You know the routine. The customer purchased an extended service contract (which most car people still call "warranty") and in all likelyhood either don't remember what they bought or they believe they're coverage is greater than it is. The way you approach these situations can have an impact on repeat and referral business.

Consultative Review

Good Service Advisors will take the necessary time to sit down and review the service contract with their customers. But rather than approach it with a "let me show you where you're wrong" attitude, they take a more investigative approach:

Advisor: "You have a service contract? Fantastic! Why don't we review it to make sure we can maximize your benefits? That way we'll both know exactly what's covered. Okay?"

While reviewing the details they simply point out what is covered and what isn't. This approach also disassociates the Advisor from responsibility for the decision. That's important because the customer needs to see the Advisor as an ally, not the enemy.

In cases where the customer says they were told things different than what the contract implies; make sure to facilitate a conversation with the person or department they believe told them the misinformation. This will keep you in a position of being able to serve the customer outside of the conflict.

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