Would You Find It Strange If.....

[RayMac]

the same dudes who made your smartphone or DVD player also made your refrigerator? I did at first but it appears to be working well.

A few months ago my 9 year old fridge started to give us problems. A repair guy was called in and gave us a repair estimate equal to the price of a new fridge (Yeah, right.)
This was a well known brand that shall remain nameless (Maytag.) My wife was not anxious to buy the same brand again and I didn't blame her.But we needed a particular size to fit into a rather limited space in the kitchen. After we shopped around it looked like our best choice was a Samsung unit. It still seems odd to think of Samsung making refrigerators but there you go.

We got a good deal and so far we've been happy with it. It's a compact model but for its size it is very spacious. The bottom freezer is HUGE. The upper part has double doors and the LED lighting works great and saves space. The compressor is quiet and has a special variable speed design to save electricity. It keeps the beer cold.

I haven't needed to dial 9-1-1 or use a Tapatalk "like" button on it but otherwise...

[CamB]

I got a new Samsung Fridge last year. I'm pretty impressed with it but with whitegoods longevity will be the ultimate measure.

[Teeritz]

Yes, and yes. We had a Bosch refrigerator that served us well for 4 years and nine months before it packed it in. I spent a week buying bags of ice before a repairman was able to come over and give us a diagnosis. Eight hundred bucks for a new motor and it would take another week before he could come back to repair it. Screw that. We bought a new fridge, made by a company that just makes whitegoods.



That's how I prepared the old fridge for the delivery guys, who would take it away to be scrapped. And worst of all, NOBODY at Bosch HQ ever offered an apology for the fact that our fridge had broken down. If they had, I would have probably gone ahead with the repair.
And the paperwork! I had to explain the problem on a form and had to re-explain it when I got an email from somebody else at the company who had clearly not read my first explanation.

Some brands are great at making a variety of products, but they are often let down by their after-sales. But then, I'm always a little wary of brands that branch off into other products that they are not usually known for. Despite how well-made Mont Blanc watches are, I have such a strong notion of them being a pen manufacturer that I just can't buy their watches. And don't even get me started on Omega's after-shaves and colognes.

[Seriously]

Trouble is a lot of electronics are badged nowadays , manufacturers do it just to get into a corner of a market they're not really in..

So you never know if the brand is the manufacturer or not. (true there are some that do actually make a huge variety of stuff though like Sammy)

As it happens I bought a fridge last year from a company who also manufactures cranes amongst other stuff!! (Liebherr http://www.liebherr.com/en/deu/start/start-page.html )

Bosch have fingers in sooo many pies too

[CamB]

Yikes I looked at a Bosch fridge as well- I have a bosch dishwasher that has been brilliant. They certainly don't make things to last any more thats for sure.

[gnuyork]

I've worked in the appliance industry for many years (and still do), and I thought it strange at first, but I am quite numb to it now. LG and Samsung are quite innovative with their appliances. I think Samsung came out with a statement refrigerator several years back that had a built in LCD screen that you could watch TV on your fridge... but as you said in the end... as long as it keeps your beer cold.

That being said... even though I see the coolest stuff, I am not into it. I want old fashioned knobs and no frills. I don't need a washing machine that can interact with my smart phone, or listen to music on my fridge with bluetooth speakers. I just want stuff that's solid and works.

For example, our range is a really nice KitchenAid with nice beefy grates and burner knobs, really looks the part, but the oven compartment is controlled with a digital display that now will not allow us to turn off the oven.There's something malfunctioning in the module. We have to trick it by using the cook duration by putting in 1 minute, then it will auto shut off. Had it been a simple twist of the knob (old school), I am sure I would not have this issue.

I really dislike innovation for the sake of it. Sometimes I think we go backwards just for the latest whizz bang, and sometimes it's pitched as making life simpler, but it's really adding unnecessary complexity.

[RayMac]

The problem in Canada and probably in the US too is that there has been such a brand consolidation that you now have the Whirlpool group (Whirlpool, Amana, Maytag) and the Electrolux group (GE, Frigidaire, Hotpoint) and the two Korean giants - Samsung and LG. Even brands like Sears Kenmore are made by Whirlpool. So it looks like a lot of brands out there but there is not that much choice at the end of the day. Add to that the facts that we live in a smaller town (limited shopping choice) and we are restricted in the size we can buy. Basically our choice came down to Whirlpool or Samsung.

[Teeritz]

Yikes I looked at a Bosch fridge as well- I have a bosch dishwasher that has been brilliant. They certainly don't make things to last any more thats for sure.

How many of us grew up and saw the same fridge or washing machine work day-in, day-out for 25 years without a hiccup? This modern built-in obsolescence is really becoming a drag.

I've worked in the appliance industry for many years (and still do), and I thought it strange at first, but I am quite numb to it now. LG and Samsung are quite innovative with their appliances. I think Samsung came out with a statement refrigerator several years back that had a built in LCD screen that you could watch TV on your fridge... but as you said in the end... as long as it keeps your beer cold.

That being said... even though I see the coolest stuff, I am not into it. I want old fashioned knobs and no frills. I don't need a washing machine that can interact with my smart phone, or listen to music on my fridge with bluetooth speakers. I just want stuff that's solid and works.

For example, our range is a really nice KitchenAid with nice beefy grates and burner knobs, really looks the part, but the oven compartment is controlled with a digital display that now will not allow us to turn off the oven.There's something malfunctioning in the module. We have to trick it by using the cook duration by putting in 1 minute, then it will auto shut off. Had it been a simple twist of the knob (old school), I am sure I would not have this issue.

I really dislike innovation for the sake of it. Sometimes I think we go backwards just for the latest whizz bang, and sometimes it's pitched as making life simpler, but it's really adding unnecessary complexity.

Exactly. Car mechanics these days need to have an IT degree, just about.
It's becoming increasingly difficult to find appliances that aren't all computer operated. I turn the knob on the washing machine for a three minute cycle, that's exactly what I'll get. These push-button, beeping monstrosities are just one more thing that can go wrong. Rolls-Royce released a car back in the Eighties that had push-button gears. Drivers hated it, saying that it took away from the experience of driving.

[RayMac]

It hasn't been a good fall for me appliance wise.

In Canada when it gets very cold, the humidity builds up inside the house if you have it well insulated. You need some sort of fresh air exchange. We have a unit called an HRV that exhausts the humid air, draws in fresh air, and acts as a heat exchanger so it's more efficient than opening the windows.

Great when it works. This year it got cold and the windows misted up and the HRV didn't function. I tried rebooting the controller but without success. When our furnace guy arrived he checked the motor and pronounced it dead.

Now you can't just replace the motor. The whole motor and fans assembly is one unit so that all has to be pulled out and a new one installed. Basically the HRV is a metal box with the fan, a heat exchanger block and a computer control board. It works fine now after a $500 bill and a service call.

[Rob]

I had a professor almost 20 years back who had a friend who programmed computers for a major appliance company. He said the computer was taken to "a special team" after it was programmed so that the manufacturer could program bugs and flaws that would force people to either pay outrageous cash for new parts or buy another one.

He said that the thinking was "solid state parts will never fail and we'll be out of business".