Whatever happened to quality? Back in my day, companies used to stand behind what they made. Things just lasted longer. There were warranties and repair shops for TV’s and appliances instead of everything being disposable. Nowadays, we just buy things and no matter how much we pay, we expect to have to replace them in five to seven years. It’s downright sad.
Shoddy workmanship coupled with new appliance styles and colors released every few years means none of us will ever be able to keep up. In my adult life they started as white, went to black, and now one is considered below the poverty line unless they have stainless steel. They’ve got this scam perfected. When your microwave goes out, instead of getting it repaired you have to replace it. And since it will no longer match your other kitchen appliances, the broken microwave ends up costing you $4000 for upgrading the entire kitchen.
Forget that mess, I have a white microwave with a broken handle, a black oven, and stainless dishwasher and refrigerator. I figure my cheapness gives me a wider spectrum of color in my kitchen and possibly a disappointed wife, but I refuse to give in to their madness.
I really didn’t start this rant to vent about kitchen appliances, we took a detour there. I’m angry about specs and tolerances. If packaging says the wire I am purchasing has a tensile strength of 1200 MPa, I figure I should easily be able to get 1250-1300 MPa out of it before it breaks. Or if my pneumatic nail gun recommends a range of 90-120 PSI, I think 130 PSI will make sure the sucker holds.
So it speaks to shoddy quality that a towel bar designed to hold 4 pounds of wet towel wouldn’t be able to keep a flailing, 210-pound man upright. It stands to reason that this should have been well within the tolerance of a reasonably made product, don’t you think?
I discovered this defect after our bathroom was rearranged for our new cat’s needs. The bath mat was not returned to its proper place and my wet foot slid out from under me upon exiting the shower. I desperately grabbed the towel bar only to find what inspector number seven did not. It wouldn’t hold when tested and tumbled down onto the cold wet tile alongside of me.
What is this world coming to when manufacturers don’t care about quality anymore? I tell you what it’s coming to: bruised bums and holes in the wall, THAT’s what this world is coming to.
It’s a darn shame…
Mark! That is one to frame! Superb!! :-) :-) :-) :-) Just sublime!!!
It really is a shame that we live in such a disposable world. Hope your bruises heel. 😀
👍👍👍
Quality is down the drain. 😜
It is a shame. On a positive note, no one sees those bruises.
Snickering….they really don’t make them like they used to, huh?
Wouldn’t you think it would hold? I’m a lean 210 lbs!
You’re darn right! I also refuse to go with that flow. Slightly different, I’ll never forget my head spinning once when my nephew recounted how he’d beg my sister for new sneakers because there was a small crease in the still-new ones he had. What!? A crease! Are we so vain? It’s a blessing to have better technology these days; however, we work to have wholesome and secure lives, not for wasting money to hoard the best toys. You’ve provoked me, Mark!
I didn’t mean to poke the sleeping bear! Just annoyed at the trends out there… A crease??? That young man better get a job and earn that money.
He was reflecting on “good ole days” when he was telling it. It’s a different story now!
How in the world are we going to fuel this lack luster recovery if American consumerism doesn’t do it’s part? We built this country on planned obsolescence and home equity loans!!! If we wanted this stuff to last we’d have kept making it in the US.