arbilab
Well-known member
Some may have noticed, my ~30yo Hoover Spirit bombed days ago when the powernozzle brush seized. I got probably the last brush assembly within a hundred miles, used, for $20 and the machine is good as new or at least better than it has been for 5+ years.
But at the repair store I saw a snazzy Electrosuck cordless that got me thinking that the Hoover dated back to Reagan and I might as soon disremember that. On closer inspection the Electro was a fine, powerful floor machine but the motor/battery module heavy/fatiguing to maneuver as a hand machine-- half the job. I'd be pissed if I spent $240 for something I didn't actually NEED, then actually NEEDED that $240 and didn't have it. So let's look around.....
A 'major' non-chain local/legacy retailer was just down the block and my sinuses woke me up early so I drove over. First impression, the entire window front was occluded with poster-pictures of appliances. We'll get back to that shortly.
In the foyer was a Maytag squaretub wringer. Well that was worth the trip. I asked the salesman to show me vacuums. He said "We don't sell vacuums. Only appliances for the home." A real snappy response came to mind but I stifled myself and just said "OK if I look around?". What he meant of course, was 'we don't sell to apartment trash'. And what I was going to hit him with was 'why'd you build a store in the apartment-trash side of town?'
Oh, the building-length obscured window? Behind that was a building-long line of salesman's desks. NOW we know where we are.
I waltzed around the laundry displays. Prices from $900 to $1600. Per each, not per pair, natcherly. Among the brands/models, scarcely a nickel difference besides knobs and displays. Same looks, inside and out. Same parts, same decals. As if they were all made by the same company. Like 80's Chev/Pont/Buik/Olds dealers. And the prices, identical within feature tiers.
The brands themselves, only worth naming in passing. Maypool, Whirltag, Generic Electric. One Electrosux, derivative of the above. And Speed Queen, least derivative. Another anecdote to affirm what we already highly suspected. That the appliance industry is only competitive in terms of buzzwords and bygone brand names, none of which are worth a fastfood frenchfry upgrade to onion rings.
But at the repair store I saw a snazzy Electrosuck cordless that got me thinking that the Hoover dated back to Reagan and I might as soon disremember that. On closer inspection the Electro was a fine, powerful floor machine but the motor/battery module heavy/fatiguing to maneuver as a hand machine-- half the job. I'd be pissed if I spent $240 for something I didn't actually NEED, then actually NEEDED that $240 and didn't have it. So let's look around.....
A 'major' non-chain local/legacy retailer was just down the block and my sinuses woke me up early so I drove over. First impression, the entire window front was occluded with poster-pictures of appliances. We'll get back to that shortly.
In the foyer was a Maytag squaretub wringer. Well that was worth the trip. I asked the salesman to show me vacuums. He said "We don't sell vacuums. Only appliances for the home." A real snappy response came to mind but I stifled myself and just said "OK if I look around?". What he meant of course, was 'we don't sell to apartment trash'. And what I was going to hit him with was 'why'd you build a store in the apartment-trash side of town?'
Oh, the building-length obscured window? Behind that was a building-long line of salesman's desks. NOW we know where we are.
I waltzed around the laundry displays. Prices from $900 to $1600. Per each, not per pair, natcherly. Among the brands/models, scarcely a nickel difference besides knobs and displays. Same looks, inside and out. Same parts, same decals. As if they were all made by the same company. Like 80's Chev/Pont/Buik/Olds dealers. And the prices, identical within feature tiers.
The brands themselves, only worth naming in passing. Maypool, Whirltag, Generic Electric. One Electrosux, derivative of the above. And Speed Queen, least derivative. Another anecdote to affirm what we already highly suspected. That the appliance industry is only competitive in terms of buzzwords and bygone brand names, none of which are worth a fastfood frenchfry upgrade to onion rings.
