Not to defend the bashing here because I think "that" should have been handled in a different way...
Today's consumers are all about "Instant Satisfaction". I'm sure that you can see this trend. That is why "sending it back" is not a viable solution. For instance, let us say that the RTR was a gift, the consumer gives it to his/her kid, and the thing doesn't work. Kid's bawling, consumer is upset, goes to the shop owner for warranty...owner says he has to send it back and it will take 7-10 business days to fix. Is the customer happy (remember the kid screaming in the backround)? Will he blame the shop and never come back or will he blame the Manufacturer. This is a tough position to be put in and to be honest, the shop owners "best move" from a PR and a customer satisfaction standpoint is to "fix it right then". A shop owners options are very limited at that point. Then walking the "warranty" and "reimbursment" angle is another nightmare. He is at a "net loss" on the sale of the kit. He can only hope that his good customer service is what brings him more business. If not, he will be out of business shortly...
Could AE help him after the fact, after he did the repair? This puts the Manufacturer in a bad position and can potentially cost huge amounts of $$ in unsubstantiated warranty claims. Warranty costs go directly against the bottom line so the Manufacturer publishes policies on warranty. Now see above.
What can a shop owner do?