Quality going downhill

[supersurgilator]

As we have seen with practically anything made these days the quality just isn't there like it used to be. Now I have been wondering what is it going to be like in another 10 or 20 years? Are they going to find other ways to even cheapen the cheap stuff of today? One thing that has struck me is box fans are like half the width they used to be and now need feet so they don't topple over. Like I mentioned in my AC thread the new AC's you can now practically see through the entire unit just looking through the vents.

 

[ptcruiser51]

Then & Now Prices

When I look at the POD's, I often note that the prices of machines from long ago are not far off from the cost of a similar machine today. In order to manufacture a 2009 item at 1970s prices obviously requires cost-cutting in some area, be it raw materials, parts, or labor. I'm not making excuses, the quality of some things is abominable. Yet, I purchased my 1987 Whirlpool 16 cu. ft. fridge for $500, replaced it (still worked fine) with a 21 cu. ft. model in 2005 for $600. I'm pleased with how it works so there must still be some "quality control" out there.

 

[autowasherfreak]

My roommate just bought a couple of Haire 5,000 btu window ac's. They are nothing but plastic. The cool air is blown out of the top instead of the front. When you look down into it you can see styrofoam the blower is a plastic squirrel cage. I guess we might get two maybe three years out of them, if were are that lucky.

 

[autowasherfreak]

Today's box fans suck! I lost the feet to one of our, it don't fall over, but it move across the floor when set on high. I finally put a couple of clay bricks in the front and back of it to keep it on one place. Most of the time it's in a window except when it's raining.

This is the best fan I have ever had, it's close to being 10 years old and not a single problem with it. It's a Patton that I bought new off of eBay. When it's on high feel's like a tornado is going through the house.

 

[launderess]

You Are Forgetting To Adjust For Inflation

An item purchased in 1987 for $500, would cost $901.33 today once inflation is factored.

L.

 

[danemodsandy]

It's Gonna Be Hard...

...But the next frontier in conserving energy and resources is going to be product longevity. It's becoming clear to even the most oblivious consumers that shoddy goods are highly wasteful, even if they do offer the illusion of energy savings when new.

What's going to be difficult about changing the situation is that current business models are tied to growth that could not be sustained if products were to be made longer-lasting. Yet, if we're going to get our energy consumption and carbon emissions under reasonable control, we are going to have to address the problem. Many products, like automobiles, use more energy to produce than they will consume during a normal life cycle, so frequent replacements are not going to be as feasible in the future as they are today.

 

[whitekingd]

Kenmore box fan!

I found a 1950's Kenmore box fan, with thermostatic control, at a thrift store for $2.00 a few years ago. Man, does it move the air around! The difference I see is in the blades. This has three blades that are really really curved in. The new fans today have five blades (or so) and are barely curved in. You can stand in front of a new box fan on high speed and barely feel any air flow at all!!! My Kenmore has two oil holes on the motor, and I oil it yearly. I bet it will last my lifetime. Now, that's quality!1

 

[jmm63]

Ugh.... aren't todays fans just the worse. Even from a couple of years ago, they are even cheaper than before. I just bought a stand fan to replace one that went out after 4 years. Its the same make and model and I could really tell how much cheaper made the new one is.
Heres a pic of my daily drivers for other parts of the house. They move an incredible amount of air, are fairly quiet, and have been used every season since new in 1964 and 65. The one of the left was my grandmothers and I remember laying in front of it as a kid on hot summer days in Michigan before anyone had A/C.

 

[jmm63]

.

 

[cadman]

Jim, excellent side by side shot that happens to show cheapening-up (by 60's stds) right there with elimination of the internal shroud on the unit on the right. Both built like tanks I bet : )

 

[hydralique]

Both those fans are superior to today's offerings in another respect: all that beautiful turquoise! Sure beats cream or black plastic.

 

[batterymaker]

What's build quality going to be in the future?

Balsa Wood and Silly Putty.

 

[whirlaway]

Quality

I run 24hours a day for my dog an Emerson Junior fan from 1940.I stop it once a week and put a drop of oil in each hole its quite and runs cool.It runs about 5months a year for the last 12years for both Beagles. Couldnt do that with todays crap!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[scott55405]

Those old metal box fans are a "hot" commodity on Ebay, that's for sure, and I can see why. I'm actually ok with the little narrow box fans because they sit on my narrow bedroom window ledge, but that's all I use it for. I have one similar to the Patton on a swivel stand for the living room. It's great. I have an old GE oscillating fan I found at an estate sale in Minneapolis once (along with a Hoover Convertible no less!) now that's a fan!

Unlike the old days, window air conditioners sold today are throwaways, once they've gotten through their couple season or whatever they're going to do. Do any of the major appliance manufacturers even offer window units anymore? A friend back in Minneapolis has a newer Sears that works pretty well, but I'm almost positive it has nothing to do with Whirlpool, as did the one I purchased back in the 80s.

Whirlpool, btw, seems to be about the only manufacturer that gets passing marks on refrigerators these days.

 

[maytagbear]

Oh, and don't get me

started on service.....

Had to call AT&T/Ohio Bell today. If I hadn't had a headache before, I would certainly have one now.

Between the automated phone tree, and being bounced from live rep to live rep....each one with a less intelligible accent (wanted to ask the last one how things were in Mumbai today......)

It wasn't *THAT* long ago when there was an Ohio Bell office downtown, round the corner from the Ohio Edison office, which was across the street from the East Ohio Gas office......and a person could buy a new refrigerator from Ohio Edison, and a new stove from East Ohio Gas.......

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[iheartmaytag]

It's not just quality of tangiables, but service as well.

We recently had a big hail storm, do you believe that my insurance company American Family Insurance. Has their major Catastrophe claim office in Malaysia.

American "Freaking" Family Insurance--Claims call center Malaysia. What's this world coming to?

Now I get calls like this:
"Hi, I call and tell you that you have add*just-or." "I tell you he has name." "He's name is Br'n" "If you need talk to him, you call him."

And for this I pay $1,598 per year on the house alone.

Will have to say when Brian did come to the house, he was very nice.

They guys on the cars were very nice and polite as well (even though they totaled them both).

Still haveing problems with Malaysia though.

 

[jmm63]

One nice thing about the house I'm in now is that the windows are big enough that the fans actually fit in the windows. On a not too humid night I put one in the window upstairs blowing out and open all the windows downstairs and the air it pulls through the house is incredible... try that with one of todays box fans !

 

[wringer_clean]

I have to chime in.
The topic of this thread really hits home for me.
I absolutely can't stand how flimsy products are in today's market.
Just recently moved into a new place as I'm ending a prior long term relationship.
Had to somewhat start over which resulted in alot of shopping.
It is sooooo hard to find everyday products that are made with consistent quality.
Everything is "Made in China" and ment to be replaced in short order.
What amazes me is how complacent people are with their purchases.
I've seen so many people loading their shopping cart with piles of "new junk" and they seem perfectly content.
Once a person has cultivated an interest in vintage stuff, you begin to look at the world with a more critical eye.
Every thing is incredibly chinsy, breaks easily or doesn't work as it's suppose to and can't be repaired or is incredibly expensive to repair.
Very frustrating to recognize this state of affairs in today's world.
And as was mentioned earlier, what will products be like in 10-15 years??? .... a really scary thought.

And yes, service in general just sucks.
Very few people know what customer service means, especially amoung the younger crowd.
Often times it's like they're being "put out" when asked to do what they were hired for .... not good.
Enough of my rant.

Jim, your place looks very nice.
Your whole house ventation routine is fantastic.
I have siblings who have put large whole house fans in the ceiling of a hallway to cool their home following the same routine you use .... works fabulous!
I'm an avid lover of fresh air.
AC is needed when it's really hot but living in refrigeration is not normal, fresh air is.

Now that I've said my piece, ya'll have a great day!!
Pat

 

[danemodsandy]

Priorities Will Have to Change:

Pat, I feel your pain. I'm surrounded with a lot of vintage stuff, and when I use other people's new stuff (or the few new things I own, like my cell phone), I'm struck by how cheap and nasty most things are nowadays.

For things to get any better, a lot of things are going to have to change. People are going to have to get used to the idea that there's only so much of everything to go around, and that things are going to have to cost more. As resources become scarcer, it will not be as easy to do things like remodeling, because costs will be so high. You'll have to do what people did sixty years ago - bite the bullet on cost and figure you're only going to get to do it once. The "vanity" remodelings of the past decade, where perfectly good kitchens were ripped out and redone simply because they weren't the personal vision of a new owner, will become a thing of the past.

People are going to have to get back to forming relationships with their stuff, having stuff repaired and taking care of it so it will last.

Companies and their stockholders will have to learn that not every year is a growth year - and they're going to have to learn that the growth figures they're accustomed to are no longer sustainable.

And people are going to have to learn to distinguish between what's good for them personally and what's good for the planet. Trust me, it's not always the same thing, no matter what advertising claims would have you believe. I have a friend with a Prius, and he's after me to get one; he goes on and on and on about how much "better" his car is for the environment than my Taurus is. What I cannot get him to understand is that my car is driven perhaps 25 miles per week, if that. Given that I am such a low-mileage driver, and given that building a new car takes more energy than the car will consume in its working life, my retention of the Taurus is actually better for the environment than selling it to another owner and adding another car to the road. But people don't think that way yet.

It'll happen. It has to. But it's going to mean a lot of changes, and a lot of people are going to have to be dragged into those changes kicking and screaming.