Am I jinxed?

[Forty Rod]

Am I stupid?

Have I been cursed?

Why in hell can't I buy anything worth taking home?

Levis won't hold their color, fade in splotches, and don't hold up anywhere near as long as they once did (even though I'm nowhere near as active.).  They are batch dyed after they are assembled, so I can't even remove belt loops or back pockets  without bare white cloth showing.

I bought a Maytag refrigerator a year ago.  A more poorly designed and built piece of junk never existed.  The door shelves don't stay in the doors, aren't sized to fit common sizes of milk jugs, butter, etc. and it has more sharp edges than a junkyard (where it belongs.) It's gimmicky and has more wasted space than Antarctica.

A General Electric telephone with one hard-wired phone and one cordless, a two hundred dollar set up less than two years ago, has become a base station only.  The cordless unit no longer has a working 1 or 2 button, no redail feature, and the battery is good for abour seven or eight minutes.

A Hot Point range bought last June is nearly as bad.  Some real bad design flaws here, including a powder coated top that is so slick no pot or pan will stay in place while being stirred unless it's held by a second hand, a smooth and nearly nonexistant handle on the storage drawer in the bottom, and a balky electronic ignition system.  The hood that came with it is noisy and doesn't suck smoke worth a hoot.  The Gaffers and Sattler range before it came with the house and worked fine.  It looked awful after the remodelling, so we scrapped it.  I wish I had it back.

My new (Christmas gift) Black & Decker can opener won't open half the cans I put in it.  It replaced a twenty year old PX opener that would open an armored car until it wore out from a half million cans going through it.

A Hamlton Beach four slice toaster either burns bread or won't even darken it...same bread, same setting, half an hour apart.  It replaced my wife's Four Sloace Tister that we got as a house warming gift almost thirty years ago.  It finally died in October after years of kids making Pop Tarts, s'mores and toasted PBJs in it.  It wasn't high dollarr orr a fancy brand name (Kingsley), but it worrked.

A  Hamilton Beach blender came with a warped lid and the warranty provided us with...a warped lid.  It finally burned out after less than two years of once every six weeks use.

Brand new Price Pfister kithen faucet, over two hundred bucks, cracked wide open after ten months and sprays all over the place.  I'm fighting with the company to get them to honor the "damn near forever" warranty that they brag about.

I bought a Polaroid VCR a year ago.  Took it back within a week and it was replaced by a like model.  It crapped out three weeks ago, just nineteen days after the waranty ran out.

My daughter gave us a Kodak Easy Share digital camera for Christmas.  The  software that came with it never would load properly in my six month old PC with Windows XP.  Now the printing dock won't print.  It keeps telling me to add paper and push PRINT.  It has paper.  It worked just fine until a week ago.  A digital camera ain't worth squat  if you can't print, download, or transfer the pictures stored in its tiny little brain.

Verizon DSL, installedf fifteen months ago, has slowed down to where I'd be almost as well off with my old dial-up, and the e-mail funtion is balky and iffy at best.  The whole system is off line at least ten hours a month and was recently down for three and a half days.

A Hewlitt Packard scanner, about two and a half years old and not used all that much, just stopped working in mid-scan.  Nothing I've tried works to make it do what it is supposed to do.  It's deader than last week's fish.

The U. S.Postal Service has deteriorated until I can't count on getting my mail at all, but I sure get everyone else's.  My Cowboys newsletter took nine days to go seventeen mile (approx.).  I could have walked it, as old and out of shape as I am, in two days.   About half of my mail gets torn all to pieces by the time it gets to my box, but I've noticed it's usuallyb those things I pay for...magazines and catalogs...never the junk bulk rate crap that uses up a tree a week in stuff I don't want.

Quality control seems to be as far in the past as the Mayflower  I could expand this list almost without end, but you get the picture.

One guy said, "Well, you should have paid for the extended warranty."

I aked if this would have made the damn thing work longer.  He told me it wouldn't, but I could have  had it fixed fort nothing.  This is right after he told me they no longer supported that model.  I pushed my hands way to hell an'  gone down in my pockets to keep from slapping him to sleep.

If they made something worth the money, time, and effort to carry it out to my car and take it home a) I would happily pay more for it, and b) they wouldn't need a high-priced gimmick like an extended warranty to sell their crap.

Several years ago, a Sears representative told a group I was with that they could afford to give away every product they sold for free and still survive on what they made on interest rates on their credit cards and the revenue generated by extended warranties.

Will I live long enough to see a change?

Not bloody likely.

[litl rooster]

Forty Rod, Sorry for  your Luck or the lack of....I am wary of items that offer extended warrenties,it just bothers me that the producer is expecting problems with their product

[Four-Eyed Buck]

forty, depending on the model, that Maytag could have been built in Mexico, or may have been some of the last units out of the Galesburg plant. They closed Galesburg and if made there, might have been one of the last built by extremely disgruntled employees. I know, just your luck. the first stuff out of the Mexican plant, had to be redone, by Galesburg yet. Again, no incentive to get it right. I would stay away from anything Maytag at least until this buyout goes through, if it does. Then wait at least a year or two to see if the new owners can straighten out the current woes. shoulda asked me, but who knew. Especially knew that I worked for Hoover/Maytag...........Buck

[Forty Rod]

That would account for the poor workmanship, but what about a really poor design?  My 31 year old Kelvinator died on a Monday and I needed a fridge quick.  Sears, as usual screwed up and pi--ed me off so I went to a reputable dealer and bought this POS.

It isn't just this, either.  My wife tells me that one of the two groceries in the area is going to start carrying their own brand name stuff instead of the brands I like.  They've already stopped carrying so much stufff that we had to add a second trip each week to get everythiung we need...neither store carries it all, but I can buy seventy kinds of toothpaste in nine different sizes each.

This is just insane.

Wanna get me started on packaging?

[Four-Eyed Buck]

Nope, I've got my own problems with it.......Buck

[Scattered Thumbs]

Am I stupid?

Have I been cursed?

Will I live long enough to see a change?

Forty, you may live enough to see change...But I bet you won't like it.

< S.T. who whenever sees a change, it's for the worse >

[litl rooster]

Am I stupid?

Have I been cursed?

Will I live long enough to see a change?

DITTO


Forty, you may live enough to see change...But I bet you won't like it.

< S.T. who whenever sees a change, it's for the worse >

[Calamity Jane]

It's all about quarterly profits fer the mega-corporations.

Ya'll notice everybody's been bought by somebody else these days. There's precious few small local companies left who have a sense of community.

We'z (to a large extent) responsible fer the state of affairs. I talked to a local merchant friend who runs a lumber yard & hardware store a few years ago and complained about the (lack of) quality in the stuff he was carrying compared to 20 years ago. He tolt me it was simple, that folks don't want quality, they want CHEAP. He said if he carrys two similar items of different quality and the good one is priced at $5.00 and the garbage one is $4.50, the good one will sit on the shelf gathering dust.

Manufacturers respond to the sale of cheap goods by producing cheap goods. Companies that used to produce quality go bankrupt.

If ya want an example of the demand fer cheap low quality goods, ya need look no further than Microsoft.

[Joyce (AnnieLee)]

< Rant mode on>

I turn things over in the store to see where they are made. If it says "made in China," I'll put it back on the shelf unless I've searched all over and can't find one anywhere else. Even the local garden shows which were once a bastion of American made products have gone Chinese. I stopped to look at a metal lattice archway last year and lo and behold: Made in China. I asked him why it wasn't made in America and he said it would cost three times as much to produce it in the US. So then I asked why the price wasn't 1/3 of what it was a year ago when it was made in America? He just stared at me. No one ever has an answer when I ask that question.

I have yet to see a single product's price drop as a result of "out sourcing" the production line. It may cost 2/3 rds less to make it, but we are being charged the same price. Slave labor, poor to non-existant quality control, and customer service that doesn't care if they lose your business because another sucker will line up right behind you to pay for that junk.

My thrity year old Magic Chef oven died several weeks ago. I haven't replaced it because I don't want to buy junk and everything has completely unnecessary bells and whistles on them that jack up the price and add to the list of things that can go bad. I'd be perfectly content with a gas stove with four burners, an oven that works, an old fashioned pilot light, and no digital anything!  But I can't get one with a pilot light, all they make now are ones with electronic starters. They said too many people blew themselves up trying to light a pilot in an oven. You see, we are simply too stupid to take care of ourselves, doncha know?

I'd better stop ranting.

No, you aren't jinxed, Forty Rod.



AnnieLee

[Four-Eyed Buck]

On target there Janie and Annie. Wal-Mart, Costco, etc. set the parameters for the product. Hoover couldn't get low enough on the price per unit making them here, couldn't get low enough doin' it in Mexico and now the Mexicans are worried about China. even Whirlpool and Fridgidare are outsourced. Annie, for a stove, I'd look at those two, true, they're probably outsourced, but they seem to have their QC a little better in hand. We replaced all our kitchen stuff a few years back and added a dish washer, saves my poor dishpan hands. They're all either Whirlpool or Fridgedare, no Maytags and I get discounts fer buyin' Maytag. Our stove is a glass top Fridgidare. got it at Lowes, $327, if I remember correctly. Think there were a few priced under it in the same brand, might be worth a look............Buck

[Joyce (AnnieLee)]

I just noticed Forty Rod's almost comment on packaging so am now seeking my "happy place" and humming ... "Don't start, AnnieLee, don't start, don't go on a rampage about packaging, just breathe.... "

[Forty Rod]

Packaging engineers and everyone involved in approving, purchasing, and manufacturing their designs should be stricken with crippling arthritis and poor eyesight, and forced to get every single product they use from their own packaging.  No outside help allowed and no exceptions.

Someone poisoned Tylenol many years ago and we are still suffering from "tamper proof packaging", just like someone highjacked some airplanes and crashed them onto buildings and we're suffering from "airport security."

Well BULL  SH..!!!!

[litl rooster]

Lets see, this has gone from product to profit to packaging....Have we forgot poor customer service....

[Scattered Thumbs]

Lets see, this has gone from product to profit to packaging....Have we forgot poor customer service....

I was just going to say the same thing.

The "human" end of the business hasn't improved over the years (to say the least)

[Joyce (AnnieLee)]

Customer service:

I'd been going to a particular Sears to buy my work dresses for nearly ten years. One day I went there, picked out my potential clothing, and went into the dressing room. The place was a mess, boxes stacked in all the rooms. Wondering why they decided to put storage in the dressing room area, I chose the least cluttered one and started trying on dresses. The door to my room was not solid, it was slatted.  When I was putting on the last dress, I heard someone else walk into the area. The lady called out: "Is someone in here?"
"I am," I replied.
"What are you doing in here, the dressing rooms are closed!"
"I'm trying on dresses, and there wasn't any sign saying it was closed."
The voice was closer. "Yes there was."
"Where?? No place where a customer could see it and I'll be done in a minute."
The voice was closer still and I could see a shadow through the slats and a sound as pressure was placed against the door. "There was a sign and you shouldn't be in here." Her voice was irked, my reply was startled.
"What are you doing!?! "
"I'm trying to see you!"
"GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR YOU PERVERT!"
She moved away. "The dressing rooms are closed!"
I was a quick change artist then, got back into my own clothing, and went to leave the dressing room area. The clerk had pushed an entire rack of clothing in front of the doorway to the dressing room, barricading me inside there. The "closed" sign was far off to my left, pointed toward the left. Anyone approaching the dressing rooms from straight on or the right would not see the sign.

I pushed the rack aside, called the clerk a perverted peeping Tom and went to find the manager.

The clerk at the perfume counter was busy on the phone in what was obviously a personal call. She was annoyed when I interrupted her to ask for a manager. He showed up ten minutes later. His attitude was clear; he didn't care. His bearing and tone were devoid of compassion.
"What's the problem?"
I went into my rant, told my side of the incident, then asked if it was Sears' policy to hire clerks who peeped at their customers.
"Well, what do you want *me* to do about it?"
"You're the manager! It's your job to do something about it! Make sure signs are posted correctly and don't hire perverts! What do you mean, 'what do you want me to do about it'?!  I came in here to spend over three hundred dollars on clothing, just as I have for the passed ten years. Now I am ticked off and you are this close to losing me as a customer. Hire decent clerks who don't peep!"

"Well, if that's the way you feel... "
"It's not about how I feel, it's about your clerk sticking her face to the door of the dressing room so she can look at me. I've been a customer of yours for a long time, and you obviously don't care. I'm done. I'm not your customer anymore."

His reply?

"Ok...."

I haven't set foot in that Sears since. They don't care. For every person like me who leaves, some other sucker will walk in and not care about their treatment.


Grrrrrrrr....

AnnieLee

[Forty Rod]

I haven't spent a cent in Sears in nearly fifteen years.

J. C. P. is almost as bad and a scan of their catalog will show you why China's economy is booming.

Nothing can entice me to shop at K Mart, Mervins, Target, etc.  The big box stores absolutely offend me with their 'who gives a damn' attitude.

The big GP hardware and builders supply store don't seem to want my business unless I'm a contractor and spend a LOT of money there.

Major grocery chains have totally done away with customer service (What wouldn't I give to find someone...anyone...who can still properly bag an order.)

I tend to frequent Ace Hardware stores, locally owned and operated markets and lunber yards, smaller clothing stores, etc.

I spend more, but I get treated a lot better, too.  Saving a small percentage isn't nearrly as important to me as being treated right and getting what I want instead of what some store buyer wants to push.

BTW, Nordstroms, even with higher prices, is a pleasure.  They care about the customerr (or at least fake it well.).

[El Peludo]

Pards, I hate to say it, but we're dinosaurs; pert'near extinct.  And the reason them folks in charge of the stores act the way they do is that they probably don't know any better.  They are just young enough, that to them this is the way things have always been.  Some thirty or so years ago, business owners had to stop demanding good performance from their employees, because that sort of attitude was considered to be unreasonable and abusive.  Now, society is reaping the rewards of that attitude, and unfortunately, most of society doesen't even know that there is any other way.  There are so few who will demand good service and quality anymore, that those of us who do are dismissed; our rant won't even make a dent in the bottom line, and that is all that matters.  So, we just have to do the best we can, and suck it up and try not to get too wound up over the rest of it; gettin' wound up will hurt ya worse than getting thick hided and putting up with it.

[Joyce (AnnieLee)]

I just got off the phone with Home Depot. They have a guy at the pros desk who is actually good at customer service. He wasn't there. NO ONE was at the pros desk. All the managers are in a meeting. NO ONE is working the lumber section.

So, what I was just told was, in so many words "Tough, we can't help you, call back at six."

I said no, I'd call Lowes. I cut the guy off as he was saying...

"Ok..."

[litl rooster]

Dinosaurs?


I do most of my shopping on line via cataloge. However when I go to Lowe's Wal-Mart I have an Ideal what I'm looking for before I get there, god knows the employees don't. As for gorceries, I hate shopping for them, but it is something I have to deal with every few weeks.Especially when I am down to just condiments.

[Curley Cole]

I liked the part about the can openers. We have bought about 5 can openers (electric) and none of them have worked. the most recent keeps falling apart. Put it back to gether and hope you can get a can into it.

and then there was that little rechargable "gizmo". Cute name! nice shape. really fit the palm of my hand.....just before I threw it out the back door.

I feel ya'lls pain...

lets start a "movement"
cc