Overheard a customer say 'appliances are junk now' and it got me thinking

I was swapping a control board on a 3 year old Whirlpool washer in North Dallas last Friday and the homeowner goes 'they don't build them like my old Maytag from 1995.' It made me wonder if we're just fixing disposable machines now or if there's still quality out there somewhere. How do you guys explain the shorter lifespan of modern stuff to customers without sounding like you're making excuses?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane_clark1mo ago

Yeah 'they don't build them like they used to' really changed my mind on this one.

jamief671mo ago

Wow seriously?! The fact that someone actually said that with a straight face is wild to me @shane_clark. I mean my dad's old Craftsman tablesaw from the 80s still runs perfect with no issues but my neighbor just had to replace his new Dewalt after like 2 years because the motor burned out. The plastic parts and cheap switches on modern tools are such a joke compared to the cast iron stuff they used to make.

nguyen.angela1mo ago

The 80s was actually like 40 years ago, not 30.