One of my earliest memories is from when me and my dad went to Sears together to buy a fridge.  I don't know why I remember it, but I must have been 4-5 years old. 

They still have that fridge.  It doesn't work or look as good as it used to, but it's good enough to not have to replace it.  Same can't be said for 2 of their brand new appliances.

All of us have heard the saying, "They don't make things like they used to".   I didn't realize how true that was until my parents starting buying new shit.

First it was the washing machine.  Like the fridge, they had the same washer for 10 - 15 years before it took it's last spin cycle.  Because it was so old, it made perfect sense to buy a new one... until they bought a new one.   They purchased an everyday, middle priced, top-loader.  Nothing too flashy, but not cheap either... my dad is a quality kind of guy, like that.  Withing a week, on it's third-ever load, the motor burnt out.  Literally over heated and died..  It was under warranty still, so my parents weren't too worried about it.  After arguing on the phone with various customer service reps from India, they finally had it replaced.  This time it was the same model, different problem.   No matter how they loaded it, the thing would always go off balance and start bouncing around the laundry room.  I guess it shook so violently the first time, that my mom had to call my dad at work, for him to come home to turn it off.  Of course, when they called customer service again, they tried telling my parents that they were unloading it improperly, or were over loading it, and were essentially the cause of the problem.  They refused to fix, or replace it.  They're making due with it now.  My dad welded together a bracket-like support frame for it, and my mom has been really careful by only doing half loads.

Then it was the dish washer.  The one they had came with the house when we moved in, so it was hard to say how old it was.  Didn't look new that's for sure.   It started leaking one day during the winter, so my parents decided to replace it with a brand new one.   They got a beautiful, stainless steel, digital, energy efficient model. Under warranty, they had the company install it for them. 
First time they tried to wash dishes in it, water spewed out of the bottom.  It leaked way worse than the old piece of shit they just threw out.  So they called the store, who sent over a repair guy.   The guy took it apart and told my parents what happened.
Apparently, because of the crazy blizzards we were having in the week before, the washer froze, and some parts cracked.  There was supposed to be liquid in the pumps during transport... probably so gaskets won't dry up, or it can be primed upon delivery... either way, it froze and cracked.  He told my dad that even if he were to replace the pump, he would be chasing leaks all over the unit, and would have to replace pretty much the entire mechanism, and water system (guts, for the ill-mechanical folk).  So like anyone would say, my dad was all: "Well then, I'll call the company and have them replace it.  I don't want to have people in and out of here all the time, if it's all going to have to be replaced, one thing at a time."  The repair man agreed and left.
My dad called the company where the customer service rep explained that they weren't going to do anything about it because my dad listened to the repair guy and agreed that any repairs made would be pointless... and that it had to be replaced.   I guess that means that my dad refused repairs.   Dad tried to explain that he paid for a dishwasher... not the extra company of repair men coming to his house on a regular basis... especially knowing that he wouldn't be able to use the dishwasher until all the insides were replaces, part by part.  Eventually he replace it... with another dishwasher from another company.

Then my dad bought a car.   Brand new 2011 Chevy Cruze.  It was rated best car in Canada by a couple award organizations or some shit.  I would hate to see the model that took second place, because within two weeks of ownership my dad got a notice in the mail saying that the car was recalled due to a steering error.  The notice said that 2% of all of those cars had a steering malfunction that could cause the car to lose steering abilities while driving.  It asked him to bring it into the dealership to be checked out.  Not wanting to drive the possibly faulty car due to safety and insurance liabilities, he called the dealership who told him that "it's ok to drive the car in himself"!  Obviously he refused.  He spent two days on and off the phone with various customer service and dealership people, who refused to have it towed for him.  My dad had to pay to get it towed to the dealership.


Why don't they make things to last anymore?  And why is it that the customer is always wrong now... even when the corporations admit that they caused the problems?  Every single brand new anything my dad buys has something wrong with it, where he has to call the company multiple times before anything is ever fixed?

I don't think it's just because my dad has bad luck either.  I watched a news special on the subject that said that up to 1 in 3   new 2 door refrigerators need repairs within the first year of ownership.  It was a few months ago, so I forget the company names and exact model types.  But 1 in 3?   How the hell does a company stay in business when 1 out of 3 of their products are faulty?

The worst part is that people don't have a choice.  GE owns pretty much every company known to man, so even if you are buying different brands, there's a good chance that it's owned by the same gigantic mother company that simply doesn't give a fuck about it's customers, because they know that their going to see all of the profits associated to any appliance purchase through out North America.   It should be illegal.