I know I have brought up variations of this topic before, but I can't help but get a bit fired up when something you spend good money on so clearly does not match what was promised in the sales pitch!
Then I get doubly annoyed when it breaks and it's impossible to repair it.
This is not written as some kind of finger-pointing exercise, but sometimes I can't help but wonder whether we have reached some slightly sick and twisted point in human history where we are simply immune to offers that don't seem to offer us a Rolls Royce for the price of a Ford Escort.
Metaphoricaly speaking...
To be honest, I'd rather have does what it says on the box any day, even if that's limited to "solid, and it works" without all the fancy bells and whistles, and flashing lights.
Earlier this evening, I found myself in one of the local service stations... and it was surprising how little the shop actually offered that had anything to do with cars. You've got this whole mini-mart setup, and there's one little shelf with a couple of types of motor oil and antifreeze.
Maybe I'm just getting old, but that's not what I think of as a service station. But I guess they aren't that, any more. There may be a Shell or Chevron logo outside, but they are basically convenience stores that happed to sell a couple of things for cars.
Ironically, my supermarket carries more automotive products than the service station.
So yes, I was able to buy a container of antifreeze, but I had to buy a bag of plastic cups so I could use a knife to convert one of the cups into a funnel... such is life.
I guess people don't actually work on cars, anymore... and with EVs gaining traction, we really don't get to work on cars, anymore...
It being "Cyber Monday" and all that rot, I decided to take a browse on computer deals — speaking of "Does it match what it says on the box" — and soon realized that those "70% off deals" aren't so great, because you have to add a bunch of upgrades to get something actually functional, at which point $379.00 (yeah, I can AFFORD that!) quickly becomes close to $1000 by the time you add a few things + tax + shipping... which I cannot afford.
Have we just come to expect too much? Or has the generally quality standard of many things declined so significantly as a result of people holding expectations that they should get "something" for practically nothing?
I remember several decades ago, people complaining about what was then referred to as "planned obsolescence." The underlying and unspoken) idea was that a product didn't need to be particularly well made because it would become obsolete more quickly than it would break.
I suppose what offended me about this particular strategy was the assumption that people should just blindly accept buying a new product, whenever the old one stopped working.
What about those of us who just want to repair the product we already have?
I'm glad we at least have a couple of old fashioned repair shops in town, one for computers and electronics, and one for small engine repair like lawnmowers and chainsaws and such. The only thing we're missing is a shop that works on household appliances, from ovens to washing machines.
Of course, that doesn't solve my need for a new computer... the one I am currently using has already been rebuilt/upgraded once...
But I'd better stop my kvetching and get back to working on creative things to sell at this weekend's holiday fair!
Thanks for stopping by, and have a great remainder of your week!
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Created at 2024.12.02 22:43 PST
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Don't forget sales jargon and buzzwords that mean absolutely nothing, but are piled on to make something mediocre sound impressive.
We all love flowers and plants and I especially like purple plants and they have many health benefits.