Things can only get so cheap before they become dangerous. They were made by LG.
Sears recalls 800,000 Kenmore Dehumidifiers After Fires
- Thread starter tomturbomatic
- Start date
Help Support :
danemodsandy
Well-known member
I Have Never Understood....
....Why American corporations with a century of consumer trust behind them would risk their reputations by putting their valuable brand names on stuff made by the lowest bidder in a nation 8000 miles away.
....Why American corporations with a century of consumer trust behind them would risk their reputations by putting their valuable brand names on stuff made by the lowest bidder in a nation 8000 miles away.
Answer: Profit over everything.
How many of you are willing to pay for a well-made american appliance? Used appliances don't count as most consumers want new. Most consumers buy based on price and style.
I am not questioning the greed factor, but Wal-Mart and K-Mart changed the game some years ago. We continue to race to the bottom in our quest for cheap goods. The problem is that we're then somehow surprised that those goods don't last.
I am not questioning the greed factor, but Wal-Mart and K-Mart changed the game some years ago. We continue to race to the bottom in our quest for cheap goods. The problem is that we're then somehow surprised that those goods don't last.
mrb627
Well-known member
Ha Ha!
The first thing that went through my mind was that these were probably an LG blunder. Poor Sears....
Malcolm
The first thing that went through my mind was that these were probably an LG blunder. Poor Sears....
Malcolm
danemodsandy
Well-known member
Tom:
"Answer: Profit over everything."
Immediate profit, perhaps.
But also perhaps, ultimate ruin. There's only so low you can sink before a desirable customer will have nothing to do with you. Sears is already finding this out; I don't think sourcing from LG is going to do anything but accelerate the process.
And this was once the single most valuable brand name in America.
"Answer: Profit over everything."
Immediate profit, perhaps.
But also perhaps, ultimate ruin. There's only so low you can sink before a desirable customer will have nothing to do with you. Sears is already finding this out; I don't think sourcing from LG is going to do anything but accelerate the process.
And this was once the single most valuable brand name in America.
Even Henry Ford understood that if he paid his workers enough to be able to afford one of his cars, they would buy one. Economies improve when workers are paid enough to aspire to afford nicer things by seeing themselves able to advance in the economy, not when they have to buy the cheapest because they cannot afford any better.
Tom,
Henry Ford had it right, but the world is totally different now. We now have excessive corporate greed and a huge problem with abuse of social welfare programs. I don't have the answer, but I don't think that just raising wages will fix this.
Henry Ford had it right, but the world is totally different now. We now have excessive corporate greed and a huge problem with abuse of social welfare programs. I don't have the answer, but I don't think that just raising wages will fix this.
No, raising wages alone won't help, but employing people in this country building the things that are made in China and other places would put people to work here at higher wages than fast food joints pay and might help people build lives in ways other than being fund managers and lawyers, you know upward mobility like we used to have. You can't have a value-added economy without a strong manufacturing base. People can afford things made in a first world economy. People buy things made in Germany and other Northern European countries. As more people make them in this country, more people will be able to afford them, especially when they are not paying so much for health care.
dustin92
Well-known member
Ours is one of the recalled ones....
dustin92
Well-known member
You know, the more I think about it, the madder I get... They want us to take the model stickers off, cut the cord, and send it (the cord and stickers) to them in an (at least) prepaid envelope, and they will send a $75 k-mapart or sears gift card, plus $25 towards a new dehumidifier (from sears or k-mapart only of course). I can tell you this right now, our dehumidifier was far more than $100 (50 pint capacity, electronic controls), and had it not been for their shoddy quality, would still be working fine. They expect us to go spend more money at their stores to replace the dehumidifier that could have burned our house to the ground and/or killed all of us (it was always left on when we left or went to bed, and I don't know how many times I fell asleep to the buzz of the compressor running in the basement, directly below our bedrooms and any hope of exit in case of a fire) , with another one that will likely have the same recalls a few years down the road. Who knows if we will be lucky with the next one or if that one will actually catch fire? Whatever happened to using things for years until they just flat gave out? Now it's use it for a few years until enough of them catch fire to warrant a recall, and scrap it for another one that will have the same problems a few years from now. Am sure sears will be getting an email before this is over.
LG-they make dehumidifiers that catch fire and washers that SPIN-SPLODE!!
arbilab
Well-known member
Anybody notice how shoddy the WUSA/Gannett report was?
Know how I went from 6-figure engineer to a HUD poorhouse? It started when Gannett bought the TV station I worked at in 1987 and replaced all the skilled staff with burgerflippers. I estimate I was one of roughly 15 million laid off for being too competent in the post-Reagan economy.
Perfect storm. We could no longer afford anything better than LG unless like myself we had very rational cost structures and could afford WCI versions of Electrolux designs. Which in turn betrayed us at the turn of the millenium. Shortly later Maytag did. And GE. I'm not sure when Whirlpool went south, but I'm sure they DID.
So it goes. Or so it went. Maybe we learned something from it. But I wouldn't count on that. The last 25 years taught me a lot of cynicism.
Know how I went from 6-figure engineer to a HUD poorhouse? It started when Gannett bought the TV station I worked at in 1987 and replaced all the skilled staff with burgerflippers. I estimate I was one of roughly 15 million laid off for being too competent in the post-Reagan economy.
Perfect storm. We could no longer afford anything better than LG unless like myself we had very rational cost structures and could afford WCI versions of Electrolux designs. Which in turn betrayed us at the turn of the millenium. Shortly later Maytag did. And GE. I'm not sure when Whirlpool went south, but I'm sure they DID.
So it goes. Or so it went. Maybe we learned something from it. But I wouldn't count on that. The last 25 years taught me a lot of cynicism.
Arbilab-you aren't the only one-worked At WPGC AM and FM-when owners and format changed I was bid goodbye.Now I work for a Gov't SW broadcasting agency-The plant hasn't been closed YET.
News in the US is alll around shoddy-NBC,FOX,CBS,ABC,CNN--ALL OF THEM--INCOMPETENT reporting and news gathering.US news is the WORST in the world!!!Go with BBC and someone else.
Good thing I am making MORE at where I work and have better benefits.
News in the US is alll around shoddy-NBC,FOX,CBS,ABC,CNN--ALL OF THEM--INCOMPETENT reporting and news gathering.US news is the WORST in the world!!!Go with BBC and someone else.
Good thing I am making MORE at where I work and have better benefits.
arbilab
Well-known member
Yes Toli, like I said we were among roughly 15 million caught in that downsizing. The most competent were the first to go. We were the most highly paid so we 'stuck out' to the beancounters who came to rule the universe.
My brother was also in radio at a much higher level, so-called talent at mid 6 figures. Then the old "format change" and for 3 years he was at ZERO figures until just lately when he got reemployed at mid 5 figures and considers himself lucky.
Anybody considering a career in broadcasting today, consider a career in french fries.
My brother was also in radio at a much higher level, so-called talent at mid 6 figures. Then the old "format change" and for 3 years he was at ZERO figures until just lately when he got reemployed at mid 5 figures and considers himself lucky.
Anybody considering a career in broadcasting today, consider a career in french fries.
Whew! Glad I purchased a Frigidaire dehumidifier made in the good ol' US of Mexico!
This is yet another nail in the Sears coffin that will undoubtedly have "Satisfaction Gauranteed or Your Money Back" stitched into the headliner of the lid.
We have an LG dehumidifier, about 2 years old so while not affected by the recall, this is still unsettling. I bought it at an estate sale this spring, used only one season. I've been happy with the performance and it is markedly quieter than the 12 year old Frigidaire it replaced. I guess there is little more we can do than hope it won't burn down the house?
Anything bought today is somewhat of a crapshoot if it is made in China like the Kenmore dehumidifiers or uses components made in China (nearly everything). Until the consumers demand better value and expect to pay more for it, we'll most likely just have to live with it. 795,000 units in this recall. Makes you wonder what Sears would do if every customer rolled them back (or carried the charred remains) into their local Sears store and demanded a full refund.
www.cpsc.gov
We have an LG dehumidifier, about 2 years old so while not affected by the recall, this is still unsettling. I bought it at an estate sale this spring, used only one season. I've been happy with the performance and it is markedly quieter than the 12 year old Frigidaire it replaced. I guess there is little more we can do than hope it won't burn down the house?
Anything bought today is somewhat of a crapshoot if it is made in China like the Kenmore dehumidifiers or uses components made in China (nearly everything). Until the consumers demand better value and expect to pay more for it, we'll most likely just have to live with it. 795,000 units in this recall. Makes you wonder what Sears would do if every customer rolled them back (or carried the charred remains) into their local Sears store and demanded a full refund.
Sears Reannounces Recall of Kenmore Dehumidifiers Due to Additional Reports of Fires, Burn, Low Consumer Response Rate
Consumers should immediately turn off and unplug the dehumidifiers and contact the Recall Fulfillment Center to receive a Sears gift card for either $75, $80, $90 or $100, which may be used at any Sears or Kmart store or at Sears.com or Kmart.com. The gift card amount will depend on the capacity...
"Makes you wonder what Sears would do if every customer rolled them back (or carried the charred remains) into their local Sears store and demanded a full refund".
I think they'd ship their pants!
I think they'd ship their pants!
