Turning Warranty Headaches
Into Competitive Advantage When equipment goes down at a school cafeteria or a hospital kitchen, customers don’t call the manufacturer. They call Great Lakes Ventures to manage the entire warranty and service process on their behalf. “For the most part, dealers all do relatively the same thing,” Israel said. “We all sell, install, and help design equipment and solutions. The only differentiator is service.” For nearly 20 years, the service
team has been tracking all warranty information and coordinating with service companies and manufacturers. The model insulates customers from disputes over coverage, delays in response, and confusion over who pays the bill. It also gives Great Lakes Ventures leverage with manufacturers, since the distributor can spot problematic equipment lines across multiple installations and push for fixes. The FEDA member buys equipment
in volume and tracks performance across dozens of installations. That way, restaurant owners and kitchen managers don’t have to argue over invoices or sit on hold with manufacturer hotlines — a costly distraction when a single piece of equipment can shut a kitchen down for the day. Great Lakes Ventures also keeps all product serial numbers and warranty details on file, which means customers don’t have to hunt down paperwork to get their warranty or repair claims going. Great Lakes Ventures also trains
all users — from kitchen managers to line cooks and everyone in between — on proper equipment usage and maintenance, all with the goal of preventing service calls altogether. “I want to sell a piece of equipment and then not have to hear about it,” Israel said. “That’d be the best problem in the world.” Of course, equipment failures are bound to happen. Great Lakes
Ventures’ service team handles the tough conversations, whether that means explaining to a client that user error voided the warranty or pushing a manufacturer to provide coverage. “We do our best to make sure the
end-user is not the one being punished with delay in service or paying a bill they do not deserve to pay,” said Israel, who’d rather have those difficult discussions early and find the fastest solution. “We’ve just never been the dealer that finds out about a problem and says, ‘good luck,’ and our customers know that.” The post-sale support model requires
patience and dedication to put into action and is not immediately profitable, Israel acknowledged. But for Great Lakes Ventures, that investment has been worthwhile because the value compounds over time. “Your reputation is really what matters,” he explained. “As long as you’re providing something better than your competitors, you’re probably in a good spot.”
One-Stop-Shop Model Tat
Drives Smarter Sales Culinary Depot’s service philosophy starts long before the sale even takes place. Based in Spring Valley, New York,
the distributor approaches every project as the beginning of a long relationship, not a transaction. It helps customers choose equipment that is the right fit for their operations, fully expecting to support that kitchen for years to come. “Our focus is the lifetime of the
customer, not the sale,” CEO Michael Lichter said. “If you’re going to be working with someone for three, five, or 10 years, you want to make sure you’re giving them the right products so they don’t come back in four years saying, ‘That was a bad choice.’” That long-term accountability
touches every aspect of Culinary Depot’s operation. When an oven breaks down at a customer’s kitchen, the distributor’s dedicated support team handles all coordination with manufacturers and service agents; troubleshoots issues directly with customers; and expedites parts when manufacturers quote long lead times. “We make sure our customers don’t
have to work with a service company or a manufacturer,” explained Pearl Meisels, director of operations. “They just have to reach out to us and we take care of it.” That single point of contact comes with serious demands. When equipment
ADAM ISRAEL EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT GREAT LAKES VENTURES
MICHAEL LICHTER CEO
CULINARY DEPOT
CHRIS MONICO VICE PRESIDENT OF FOODSERVICE DESIGN C&T DESIGN AND EQUIPMENT CO.
Spring 2026 17
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