Made to Break? Why major appliances don't last as long as they used to...
Saturday, February 3, 2024
It's Saturday morning, and I'm waiting for our local appliance repair man to come and fix my 11 month old under-counter drawer refrigerator. Yes, 11 MONTHS OLD, and thankfully, just squeaking in under the measly 12 month warranty offered from GE.
For the past two months my $3000 refrigerator has been freezing everything in the top right corner of the drawer, even when set to 40 degrees (the recommended fridge temp is usually 36-40 deg.) and I finally decided to do something about it and contacted GE, who promptly scheduled a local repair person to come take a look.
The hunk of corn-fed man who showed up was such a treasure trove of appliance information I knew that I had to write a blog post about what many of us adult types have suspected for years -- that appliances nowadays are basically junk compared to their predecessors, and are simply not designed for durability or long-term use.
The real consumer question remains, is this planned obsolescence? And if so, what are the reasons and benefits for the retailer? Is this driven by consumer wants and needs, or by corporate greed?
Some argue that the idea of planned obsolescence, or the idea that consumer goods are designed to fail, is not the same as simple "shoddy workmanship". However, you can't argue that the results are the same -- you purchase an item made with sloppy workmanship and it WILL fail in a much shorter period of time than an item created with quality components. Both leave the consumer in the position of needing to buy a new item in a relatively short period of time, which creates demand for manufacturers and more money for corporations, which incentivizes corporations to use poor quality materials.
Regardless of the semantics of the discussion, there is a very real consumer tidal wave of poor quality goods replacing items that used to last years longer -- and customers are starting to notice and to be honest, they're a bit put-out. My repair-man told me that ten years ago he would get ripped a new one when coming to repair a fridge that hadn't lasted over 7 or 8 years, and now he sees appliances failing within 1-3 years and sometimes much less. More worrying he says consumers have come to expect this, and he's so busy repairing poor quality appliances, working every single day of the week, that he no longer has much time to spend re-furbishing older, higher quality goods like he used to. So, in effect, customers are angry about this relatively new wave of shoddy goods, but they are also inured to it, and worse, they don't know where to turn to find better quality goods.
Honestly, it's the perfect scenario for the corporations, isn't it?! They get you to purchase a new model every 3 years, AND spend money repairing it using their own shoddy parts in between. And excuses, excuses, their just meeting consumer demand and delivering the high tech products that consumers love -- even if appliances with computers and more electronic parts (like TV screens on the fridge) are more prone to breakage and repair than older strictly mechanical ones.
Is this what consumers want? Do we insist on having touch screens for our refrigerators and a stove that we can turn remotely via our apple phone? Maybe for some the answer is yes. For me personally, the answer is a resounding NO. I don't want a smart appliance, I want one that cleans well, keeps temperature, and performs for years without needing repair, and I think many people would agree with me. I'm tired of shoveling good money after bad in order to purchase low quality goods that let me down every time.
So I quizzed the repair man, and asked him what are the high quality brands, where should I be putting my money? His answer was disheartening, he said that all of the current appliances on the market have their own issues, and some are worse than others. He recommended GE dishwashers over Kitchen Aid because they are less costly to repair when their touch-screen controls go out vs. the motors that seem to die out most often on the Kitchen Aid. He told me Speed Queen has a "Classic" washer model that will run for years and has a terrific warranty and it's easily and cheaply repaired when need be -- but only the "Classic" model, and he did not recommend the others. He had no solid fridge recommendation and said there's a class action law-suit in the works right now against LG and Kenmore manufacturers concerning refrigerator compressors because they just don't last. He said Whirlpool and Kitchen Aid appliances are basically the same items with difference price points, both poorly made. Cue the sad music and wails of agony from the adults across America!
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| Speed Queen "Classic" |
Lest we believe this repairman has all the answers, I checked his website afterwards and found his company sells GE and Speed Queen products. So now I'm uncertain if his advice stemmed from brand loyalty or the desire to impart real world appliance wisdom? We may never know, but a quick internet search of Speed Queen in general produced lots of glowing reviews, so please do your own research before purchasing any major appliance. As for GE, my only experience is with my cafe fridge and it had a major problem within 1 year of purchase, which frankly doesn't instill confidence for the brand.
If you're interested in learning more about this topic I would recommend this amazing book: Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things as well as learning more about "right to repair" laws, which introduce and quantify in a legal sense, a consumers right to easily and economically repair consumer goods. There is so much to know in and around this topic and once you go down the rabbit hole you will be shocked at how manufacturers have historically cut corners purposefully to fuel consumer demand in other industries (Please see the "History of Planned Obsolescence"). Take heart, don't give up yet, and please let me know if you buy a Speed Queen Classic, because that thing is sexy.
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