What Company Makes What?

[petek]

I take everything the salespeople tell you with a grain of salt. And always remember the chances that they've ever owned or used even a small percentage of the items they're selling is slim. Take Sears for example, they'll have 20 various dishwashers on display, how many of them has Mrs. Smith who works there part time ever actually seen or heard in operation, same with the washers and dryers. Probably zero.

 

[jasonl]

Kenmore fridge

How do I know which Kenmore fridge is a "true" Whirlpool and not a GE?

My house is going to be ALL Kenmore and I want all WP-made.

 

[appliguy]

LOOK FOR THE TAG INSIDE THAT SAYS KENMORE COLDSPOT

Jason, The easiest way to tell is to look at the tag inside the fridge...All Whirlpool made Kenmore fridges say Kenmore Coldspot on the tag where the model number is found. PATRICK COFFEY

 

[toggleswitch]

How do I know which Kenmore fridge is a "true" Whirlpool and not a GE?

Look at how a WP dumps cold air into the freezer. The Kenmore badged WP will be the same.

 

[panthera]

sears sales

Back in 2000 I had to buy my folks a new dryer and washer very quickly. Had to take what was in stock, no time to wait. So went to Sears - only place with appliances in stock that day (yeah, stupid but that urgent). Told the sales-in-duh-vi-dual NO WHIRLPOOL. So Mr. "The customer can't tell the difference" walks over to a Kenmore, sitting next to its identical Whirlpool twin. When he opened the Kenmore lid I opened the Whirlpool lid...I just stood there looking at him. He said Whirlpool was the best brand so I should buy it...After I drove to Denver and came back with a GE (thanks Franz!) we stopped in at Sears on the way back and showed the floor manager the receipt for the new dryer and washer we had just bought elsewhere and told her why. She sighed and said "I understand you. We no longer have the resources to train our sales staff properly - and they are under so much pressure to make a sale that they no longer see themselves as the customer's agent."
Bummer! Sears used to be the best in the area, when I am in the 'States today, I only buy there when I must. Someone ought to kick their management in the you-know-where.

 

[brisnat81]

Some Whirlpool is Crap, but you're generalising too much

Hi Keven,

I agree wholeheartedly with you, that low end whirlpool gear is rubbish. IE the cheap frontloaders/dryers, compact fridges, The euro dishwashers etc.

However, the Whirlpool TL washers and matching dryers are bullet proof, the Whirlpool S/S fridges have the lowest repair rating of all S/S fridges in AU.

If the Oasis is based on the F&P then that can be expected to have above average reliability as well.

They US and AU cooktops/ovens are long lasting, and the Duets/HE machines seem to as reliable as you can expect.

Your hatred of whirlpool seems to blind you to the good products that they make, maybe European whirlpool is Bad, I dont have the experience to know, however the Euro/US hybrid that we get in AU is pretty bulletproof.

 

[petek]

When you're at Sears looking at the fridges it's easy to tell just by looking at the interior appointments like the temp dial and air flow grills which are generally the same by manufacturer family regardless of who's name they put on it. I can never remember who makes what, heck some makers who make their own standard fridges outsource another maker for a different model.

 

[toggleswitch]

Sears is advertising for appliance salespeople, maybe I will

There was so much mis-information going around at Sears. The problem is that they can't manage their way out of a [WET] paper bag!

Bummer! Sears used to be the best in the area...

I SOLD APPLIANCES FOR THEM P/T after my real accounting day job. MGT ARE MORONS! My pay was commission only. I barely made minimum wage. We were hugely over-staffed, always. The sales-ladies we had had no idea what hard-wired meant or what questions to ask in terms of gas/ elecric or even prongs, outlets and configurations.

While I was there the Hispanic CEO had two visible goals- sell maintenance agreements and make the store Hispanic oriented /friendly. What about middle America that is your business core?

Sears succeeds in spite of itself, and the stupidity of management and the general internal politics that abounds.

One last point, IMHO any salesperson that is decent leaves for a better-paying job. The wages were insulting.

 

[bobbyderegis]

I was under the impression all refrigerators were made by only two companies: Woods, of Canada, and a US manufacturer that I can't remember. True or not true?
Bobby in Boston

 

[petek]

Woods makes a big share of the freezer market, not fridges.

 

[maytagbear]

Woods and Frigidaire

are the two companies who currently make freezers for North American labels.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[timborow]

Whirlpool or not?

My Kenmore washer says mfd. for Sears Roebuck in HOffman Estates, IL.
model 20922990
serial CJ4947022

Can anyone tell what year it was made?

Tim

 

[spinout]

Okay, here are two known prefixs for Kenmore:

Most WP built appliances will have the prefix 110. So a model # will follow the format 110.xxxxxxxx In many cases (prior to year 2000) the first 2 digits following the period were the model year; e.g., 110.73xxxxx means Whirpool built 1973 model. This date format was followed absolutely until 1970; after that date, they may not strictly adhere to the format, although I have never seen a deviation until 2000.

Similarly, GE uses the prefix 363.

Sorry, but I do not remember the others offhand.

Interestingly enough, the 209.22990 mentioned in the post above is a WP DD design. I don't know why it is a 209 prefix however.

Sears uses this same method of identifying the vendor/manufacturer throught all of their lines.

Hey, can someone tell me where the WP manufacturing plants are? And which are the W, M, and C that are in the serial numbers?

Thanks.

 

[timborow]

My mistake

Thanks Spinout for the info. I checked that number again. It does have a very small 110 before the 209. So I guess it is a Whirlpool made machine. Probably made in 2000. Thanks again, Tim

 

[drewz]

Trying to capture market share from Whirlpool?

Couple of interesting items;

GE started using RCA name plate on major's since they purchased RCA in 1986, and since has sold and dismantled a once great company. Using RCA did not bring up GE's sagging appliance market share, thought was that old timers would think is was the same as those great RCA Whirlpool appliances.
Later the RCA was dropped by GE in major's.

When still Radio Corporation of American, RCA wanted to unload their "Estate" appliance line and thus formed a venture with Whirlpool to market under the RCA Whirlpool label this helped transition all major's over to Whirlpool from RCA and thus RCA was out of the appliance business.

And let's not forget in Canada Whirlpool also marketed appliances under the "Victor" name in the mid to late 1960's, these are very rare, I have a brochure for a dryer and have been told that there are models with Nipper & the Victrola on the appliances. These are Whirlpool appliances under the "Victor" name not like those in Europe under the HMV name.

 

[Cybrvanr]

Big stores versus the little guy

One of the big factors that makes a small, locally owned appliance shop so much better than the big guys is very simple. In a small shop, the salespeople, Installation techs, repair techs, managers, etc communicate very easily, and it's all under the same roof. In many instances, people do double duty. For example, a sales rep may install the equipment too.

For example, when there is nobody in the store, the sales clerk may go in the back and chat it up with the repair tech. The repair tech may mention that they've seen a run on repairs on XYZ model machines. That is info that person can then take back to the floor with them, and give good information to a prospective buyer.

At Sears, the service departments operated out of a separate building than sales, and during the time I was there, the guys doing the tech work NEVER saw the guys doing the selling! Considering that Sears (and many other big box stores) hire salespeople based on different criteria...much of which does not involve technical knowledge...there is a total disconnect between what is out there and how it performs, and what the stores are pushing out the door.

 

[magic clean]

Timborow, your washer according to the serial # CJ49 was produced the 49th week of 1999. "J" was the designation for 1999, K was 2000 & so on.

Spinout, Whirlpool factories in the U.S and their serial # prefix I.D. are:

C=Clyde Ohio, all top load washers
M=Marion Ohio, all clothes dryers & thin-twins
F=Findlay Ohio, all dishwashers, except drawer models
W=Greenville Ohio, KitchenAid countertop appliances
E=Evansville Indiana, top mount refrigerators & ice machines
Q=Lavergne Tennessee, Built-in refrig, A/C's, dehums & HEPA air filters
S=Ft. Smith Arkansas, Side by side refrig, icemakers & compactors
X=Oxford Mississippi, Wall ovens, cooktops & KitchenAid ranges
R=Tulsa Oklahoma, Freestanding gas & electric ranges