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Rant/ Why do replacement items cost so much, etc
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W-K 666 Send message Joined: 18 May 99 Posts: 19047 Credit: 40,757,560 RAC: 67 |
If you wondered why I have posted quite a bit in the last few days, it is because I am stuck in awaiting deliveries. 1st Rant] Why does a replacement battery for a landline DECT telephone cost so much? My, now old phone, was not holding its charge. Only managed 40 min call before it cut out, so I looked around for a replacement. Best price I could get for the lump of plastic with two pin plug was £12.99, for what probably was 3 * AAA cells. When on the same shops site I could, and did get a new phone with claimed 20 hr talk time on 2 * AAA 550mAH cells, for £17.99. Do they honestly think I believe a new phone without battery costs £5. 2nd Rant] Similar tale. Why do replacement door seals on a fridge freezer cost £130 + delivery. When I can get a new, more efficient model for £220 delivered free and take the old one away. 3rd Rant] I, and eldest son drink tea, copious quantities, therefore we use a kettle frequently. I have 2 old kettles, still work, but not used for differing reasons, one is probably 30 years old and the other is over 14 years old. But in the last 5 years we have had 6 kettles fail, 2 replaced while under warranty. Why cannot they build quality these days? Or is it because everything is made in China? [/rants] |
Мишель Send message Joined: 26 Nov 13 Posts: 3073 Credit: 87,868 RAC: 0 |
3rd Rant] I, and eldest son drink tea, copious quantities, therefore we use a kettle frequently. I have 2 old kettles, still work, but not used for differing reasons, one is probably 30 years old and the other is over 14 years old. Some consumer products are build to break pretty much after the warranty expires. Forces you to buy new versions, keeps the consuming going. |
W-K 666 Send message Joined: 18 May 99 Posts: 19047 Credit: 40,757,560 RAC: 67 |
1. Commercial greed. One of the onew that failed in the warranty period was a Russel Hobbs, and not their cheapest either, was replaced with more expensive model, (for free) and that failed just after warranty expired. Check the Which reports for quality and value for money. I gave up on Which after a few of there reports differed from my personal experience. 40 minutes on a single phone call??? Don't yak so much then!!! If you simply have to then buy the twin handset DECT phones and switch to the other one. If I need to spend more than 10 minutes on a call I will arrange to meet the person face to face, or do a Skype call for free. I didn't initiate the 40 min call, it was about a subject where the County Council Official wanted to make decisions by the end of next day and she was >300 miles away. My old DECT phone was twin model, the seldom used handset was the first to have battery problems. N.B. Rechargeable batteries lesson 102, it is not recommended to trickle charge NiCad or NiMH batteries to maintain full charge. |
Bill Walker Send message Joined: 4 Sep 99 Posts: 3868 Credit: 2,697,267 RAC: 0 |
Speaking from the point of view of someone who has spent 40 years in product development and testing, I blame a lot of it on short sighted accountants playing to short sighted consumers. [rant] Modern western consumers are totally driven by up front price, and nobody knows how to (or cares to) consider life cycle cost. In other words, the consumer wants a cheap kettle, when what they should be asking is what gives me the cheapest pot of tea, averaged over the life of the kettle. The answers to these two questions are usually very different. When the accountants see people buying more and more of the cheap kettles, they drive down unit costs any way they can. Time and time again I've seen the accountants/managers set arbitrary cost reduction goals, without any concern or understanding of what that does to the product. It is all well and fine to cut the fat in your product cost, but after you have cut the fat, and the annual cost reduction goals keep coming, you have to cut muscle and bone. This has nearly killed the Big Three North American car manufacturers, and allowed the longer thinking Asian manufacturers to steal their lunch. The modern accountant/manager is trained in modern business schools to consider the quarterly returns, and has absolutely no concept of or concern about product quality or utility, or consumer happiness. The engineers making the product do, and it breaks their hearts to turn out the crap we all buy today. I am so glad to be out of that rat race. [/rant] And as for the cost of replacement parts - it all comes down to quantity and convenience. Of course you pay a lot to go pick up one battery, off the shelf, at a local supplier. If you ordered a million batteries at a time, with deliveries spread over several years and your factories located close to the battery suppliers (like an OEM does) it would be a LOT cheaper. |
anniet Send message Joined: 2 Feb 14 Posts: 7105 Credit: 1,577,368 RAC: 75 |
Ooooooh you guys KNOW your stuff!! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I SOOOOOOOOOOOOO AGREE!!!!!!!!! I trained as an accountant - family pressure - then refused at the final fence (board exam)and NEVER returned to the profession. Sanity restored and I could look myself in the eye again. Inside info - BLEUCH! The high street repair shop is DEAD!!! And you haven't mentioned washing machines AAAARGH and VACUUM CLEANERS where no matter how long it takes and hard it is to source the correct replacement drive belt - IT DOES NOT SUCK UP ANOTHER THING BUT WILL EAT A 36 X 6 inch section of carpet and THEN SET FIRE TO IT AND ITSELF (quick tea-break and lie down in order soon I think) And when I trawl local retailers for something to help me mend that teeny weeny bit of tiny plastic that is apparently crucial to the appliance ever TURNING BACK ON - I am looked at with blank astonishment bordering on fear. I can go on but I won't. Off to find something TO BITE grrrrrr Otherwise - how is everyone today? Happy? oh...and did we say we like humans too? Well we do :) |
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