Quality Control: A thing of the past!

treeguy64

treeguy64

Hari Om, y'all!
Location
Austin, TX.
I cannot believe how, these days, you can buy a new appliance/gadget/whatever, and have it fail, right out of the box! What is wrong with companies? Do they not believe in quality control, anymore? The most troubling thing to me, along this line, is that food is also "failing" from the time you open a package and use it.

Case in point: I eat oatmeal, old-fashioned, organic type, for 98% of my breakfasts. The last three weeks, I thought I was losing my mind: I'd cook the oatmeal the way I always did and yet it was still rough to the tongue, the flakes were not getting creamy, as they previously did.

I figured I was going nuts, or that the company that churns this stuff out, simply forgot to check its quality before blowing it into its tube package. Sure enough, just as I reconciled myself to the fact that oatmeal was no longer going to get creamy, upon being cooked, I cooked up a new bowl, from a new tube. Voila! Creamy oatmeal, just the way I like it.

Obviously, the two other tubes I went through blew right on by QC without ever being checked. Makes you wonder about everything else you eat and the meds you may take.
 

When you eat one product for a long time , you CAN tell the difference from batch to batch and there IS a difference ! I found that out myself . I'm glad you posted this because I thought I was imagining things ! I used to eat these certain crackers all the time. One box would be perfect , the next had so little seasoning on them ,,,then the next box would make you gag because of the spice. These big companies push out the product so fast ,the quality control bar has been lowered so much , there isn't much quality left.
 
We have a small refrigerator that we bought for our son for use in his dormitory. That still works after 37 years. We bought a new refrigerator Thursday to replace the 4 year old LG stainless steel double door that failed. The compressor if that was the problem was warranted for 10 years. The catch was for repair the manufacturer had to be contacted. Contacted the manufacturer which was a nughtmare trying to understand. Obviously english is not the primary language.




After about 5 min of struggling to understand it came down to having to pay a $125.00 deposit for a service tech to come out to assess the problem. If the compressor wasn't the problem parts & labor to repair were additional. That was bad but to wait until May 8th. with no refrigerator because that was the earliest a tech could be scheduled totally unacceptable.


Glad we have the money to replace things like this overnight.
 

Knight said:
After about 5 min of struggling to understand it came down to having to pay a $125.00 deposit for a service tech to come out to assess the problem. If the compressor wasn't the problem parts & labor to repair were additional. That was bad but to wait until May 8th. with no refrigerator because that was the earliest a tech could be scheduled totally unacceptable.
Click to expand...

And then...When a service tech Does show up, the odds are at best 50/50 that he will know what he is doing. In most locales, the manufacturers contract with a service company which handles hundreds of makes/models of appliances. The odds of getting a tech who is familiar with your particular appliance are slim. The couple of times I've called for service in recent years, the tech spent more time on his laptop trying to "learn" something about our unit, than he did actually working on it. I've fixed a couple of appliance problems myself since....look at a video on the Internet, and go for it. We've got an old Montgomery Ward chest freezer in the basement that is almost 45 years old, and still working good....they don't make them like that anymore.
 
I called for service on an old Sears refrigerator that wouldn't go into its defrost cycle. The tech who showed up spent his whole time talking about the girl who just broke up with him. He was unable to fix the refrigerator, after tinkering with it for ten minutes, but still tried to charge me for the call. I refused to pay, he left, and then I pulled the line diagram from the back of the unit, replaced the defrost cycle sensor with a part from a nearby electronics store, and that refrigerator hummed along for another seven years, before the compressor failed.
 
I agree Treeguy, QC has deteriorated a lot over the years, very few employees and managers seem to care anymore. All the automobile recalls is just one example. I wanted to buy a window air conditioner today from Best Buy, after seeing they had the model I wanted (small and simple, no digital or remote control), I clicked on the chat assistant that popped up to see if it was in stock for purchase at my local store.

After a few minutes he assured me that they had that model in stock to buy today. Went there, nope, they don't have it and they don't have it either in any of their stores. Bad part was, no apologies, the guy didn't seem to care one bit. I made the purchase at Home Depot instead.

I tried to buy the same conditioner from Best Buy online late last summer, ordered online and had delivered to my house. It arrived with the box in perfect condition, the conditioner itself was crushed in along one complete edge, so it was obvious that it was packed in that condition. :rolleyes: Don't expect much, and you won't be disappointed.
 
I found that happens with beer, too, and that's why I hardly ever get it any more. One batch tastes great and the next tastes sour!
 
SeaBreeze,
Same thing happened to me with Best Buy, called to make sure item I saw online was in their store. He assured me it was, got there and 2 different guys working there acted so puzzled. They said they've never seen that item in the store before. Told them I spoke with someone and they basically admitted they just do that to get people in the store.
Never went back!
 
CindyLouWho said:
SeaBreeze,
Same thing happened to me with Best Buy, called to make sure item I saw online was in their store. He assured me it was, got there and 2 different guys working there acted so puzzled. They said they've never seen that item in the store before. Told them I spoke with someone and they basically admitted they just do that to get people in the store.
Never went back!
Click to expand...

I gave up on Best Buy, long ago. The turnover there is horrible, and that means that most of their salespeople have no idea where products are or what those products actually do. I'm amazed that they are still in business.
 
treeguy64 said:
I cannot believe how, these days, you can buy a new appliance/gadget/whatever, and have it fail, right out of the box! What is wrong with companies? Do they not believe in quality control, anymore? The most troubling thing to me, along this line, is that food is also "failing" from the time you open a package and use it.

Case in point: I eat oatmeal, old-fashioned, organic type, for 98% of my breakfasts. The last three weeks, I thought I was losing my mind: I'd cook the oatmeal the way I always did and yet it was still rough to the tongue, the flakes were not getting creamy, as they previously did.

I figured I was going nuts, or that the company that churns this stuff out, simply forgot to check its quality before blowing it into its tube package. Sure enough, just as I reconciled myself to the fact that oatmeal was no longer going to get creamy, upon being cooked, I cooked up a new bowl, from a new tube. Voila! Creamy oatmeal, just the way I like it.

Obviously, the two other tubes I went through blew right on by QC without ever being checked. Makes you wonder about everything else you eat and the meds you may take.
Click to expand...

My opine

It’s highly driven by the now world economy
Known brands, household names, have, in large part, sold out, keeping the name.
Beats closing shop

Economy…inflation (that scary word last century) has made it an easy choice.
Some started their own factories in Mexico, China, India
I dealt with some of those
At first, quality was numero uno
Corporations sent their own to establish, watch over things
Then
Quality control itself, along with inventory, become ‘too costly’
Just in Time (JIT) became something to do
Building quality in, instead of inspecting it in, became a no brainer

Thing is, some brands dictated from afar
Can’t do that

Right about here folks get all incensed, indignant, saying ‘we should still make things in our own country!!!’

You just don’t have enough money

Happily, China, and other countries, still have some confidence in the USD


Some

The only reason …..they are the seller

It IS a world economy
Brands, even trusted names like Stihl, have sold out
Technicians?
Count yerself lucky to get one
Offer him refreshments
perhaps a bowl of oatmeal


made a poster awhile back

xC50g57.jpg
 
Gary O' said:
Snip
Brands, even trusted names like Stihl, have sold out
Snip
Click to expand...

Stihl? Yeah, you got that right, and I know better than most. In my profession, guys still hang onto it, because it was a top-quality brand, back in the day. I learned to let it go, and never regretted it. Having gone through Huskies and a few other brands, Echo has served me very well for the last six years.
 
treeguy64 said:
Stihl? Yeah, you got that right, and I know better than most. In my profession, guys still hang onto it, because it was a top-quality brand, back in the day. I learned to let it go, and never regretted it. Having gone through Huskies and a few other brands, Echo has served me very well for the last six years.
Click to expand...

Right now I'm married to a Husqvee
the 455 rancher
Not totally unhappy with it...yet
but aggravated with all the plastic
and I'm just a home user

Echo, aey

heard this the 2nd time now
 
Where did you get the idea that STIHL sold out? Stihl a family owned company,and unless they sold in the last few months still are.
Are you maybe angry with them because they came out with a light duty lower priced homeowners line that is not the equal of their professional equipment?

Stihl makes a fine machine ,but like John Deere and Kubota, I am not so sure that the quality hidden in that green or orange paint is worth the premium they charge for it.

I have a little better than 200 trees on my lot. I do not need pro grade equipment. I have an old Poulan Pro that has served me for many years.
 
"That was bad but to wait until May 8th. with no refrigerator because that was the earliest a tech could be scheduled totally unacceptable."


IMO...a big part of the problem here is the change in society....That being too many young'ins believe they just must go to college, as blue collar work [a vocation]...is beneath them . As such the few there are , are very busy.

But...I do think it is starting to change....slowly.
 
Robusta said:
Where did you get the idea that STIHL sold out? Stihl a family owned company,and unless they sold in the last few months still are.
Are you maybe angry with them because they came out with a light duty lower priced homeowners line that is not the equal of their professional equipment?

Stihl makes a fine machine ,but like John Deere and Kubota, I am not so sure that the quality hidden in that green or orange paint is worth the premium they charge for it.

I have a little better than 200 trees on my lot. I do not need pro grade equipment. I have an old Poulan Pro that has served me for many years.
Click to expand...

Stihl sold out only insofar as they started producing in foreign plants, including the US, and the quality of their products plummeted. In 2008, the newest Stihl production facility opened in Qingdao, China. Need I say more?
 
applecruncher said:
Once in awhile when I get a great product or excellent service it's such a pleasant surprise.
Click to expand...
How true, and how sad! In my youth, I can remember getting lots of things that worked just as they should, and salespeople who seemed to actually care about my satisfaction as their customer. No longer.
 
I bought a dishwasher at Best Buy. It was a Bosch; the price wasn't discounted but they offered free installation. A good deal by my way of thinking, so DH wouldn't feel the need to install it. The installation guy was nice, professional, and cleaned up when he was finished, as well as offering some tips. Best dishwasher I've ever owned by far. Bought a new front door at Lowes, a real purty one, and also had them install it. Hubs insisted he could do it, but I figured it would take a few days and a whole lot of cuss words. The young man who came to install it was very nice, and did an excellent job in a couple hours. He was polite, never cussed, did an excellent job, and cleaned up after himself. Even hubs admitted he was glad to spend the extra money for installation. So I have to say my last few experiences with service people have been stellar. Maybe it's a Texas thing, y'all.
 
Most of you are confusing quality control with service after the sale. As for Best Buy I bought a TV many years ago that had a large green spot on the screen so I returned it. A couple weeks later I got a call from a guy that told me he opened the box for his new TV only to find my name and number on his warranty card. I told him my story. I was filling out the card when I discovered the problem with the et so I repacked everything and returned it. So Best Buy rather than return the set to the manufacturer simply restocked it and sold it again.

On another occasion I asked one of their sales reps if the TV in question had "Volume Sensor Control" and he said it did. Then I asked him what it is and he had no idea. I never do business with them.
 

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