Ok, why exactly does everything break so easily now? Why is it that, back in the 50s, iceboxes and refrigerators seemed to be built to last for 20 years or so (and similarly with other appliances) and yet every appliance my folks have owned have gone screwy over less than a decade?
Is it just me? Am I imagining that things are built more crummily now than they used to be? I know it's true of printers (the source for this current tirade) because ours keeps going nuts, using tons of ink and telling us that we need new ink cartridges all the time. This has been protested by others before me (and more effectively), but it still ticks me off.
I see this and other things about our relatively disposable society that trouble me immensely. There are people who are willing to get money at any cost, including quality and customer trust. Things like the too-early ink cartridge warning are stacking the deck against the consumer, not providing a service. The consumer becomes less a person to be served than a sheep to be sheared. Dishonest and unworthy of a decent business relationship. Grr at those this applies to.
2 comments:
I agree with you whole-heartedly! My parents bought a refrigerator before I was born. About 15 years back, she wanted a new one but wouldn't buy it until the old one died. It took another 13 years! They really built things to last back then. But it is a two-way street. Consumers buy new appliances and products every two years or so. So manufacturers don't have a demand for long lasting products. They both feed on each other.
As to the printer... I don't know if it's new, but new printer cartridges only come half full. Silly huh?
BTW, what are you Halloween plans?
--Bigredhammer
I was severely tempted to try arguing my case to trick or treat for UNICEF, but I am just going to dress up for work and hand out candy. I never did get around to ordering that brain Jello mold, unfortunately. But I'll make something suitably creepy - maybe some Pan de Muertos for Day of the Dead. You'll have to carry the torch for the sugar skulls (unless I can buy some - my mold's in storage).
How about you?
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