• Appliance Anxiety – Replace It or Fix It? – Perhaps economic conditions are leading people to different tradeoffs about repair vs. replace, although the company support for parts is ridiculously poor. Reminds me of the appliance client we had years ago that wanted to design great products that would move people to "want in" instead of the traditional "wear out."

Tags: appliance, consumption, parts, repair, replace, unconsumption

6 Responses to “ChittahChattah Quickies”

Interesting read on appliance repair frustration. BUT… RT @steveportigal @ChittahChattah:ChittahChattah Quickies http://tinyurl.com/m79l9g

Comment by trx0x (Carl Acampado) 12.31.69 @ 11:59 pm




Interesting read on appliance repair frustration. RT @steveportigal @ChittahChattah:ChittahChattah Quickies http://tinyurl.com/m79l9g

Comment by trx0x (Carl Acampado) 12.31.69 @ 11:59 pm





Aside from economy, in general, we are becoming more conscious of the environmental impact of the throw-away vs repair mentality. People now question energy efficient and recycling aspects of products as well. I will say that the economic condition is misfortune for now, though I hope this situation changes the way many people think about and value the luxuries created to make life easier.

Personally, I feel products that evolve without giving a sense of becoming “obsolete” are the better products for us. Upgrades resulting from a consumer’s need outgrowing a product’s capabilities, I find, makes more sense. Also, it gives the consumer a better feeling about the brand and confidence in the craftsmanship, which is something to talk about. — Otherwise your consumer is probably chatting with friends and family about the shoddy appliance that broke within a couple of years and that a representative of the product said “It’s worthless.” Everything needs maintenance, even a car, but the throw-away mentality is something that can bite back at us in time.

Comment by Jennifer Quigley 05.29.09 @ 12:22 pm





I should also mention there is a website called Fixya which helps people find repair solutions or technical information about a product. — I’ve even found corrections to misprints in manuals there.

http://www.fixya.com/

Comment by Jennifer Quigley 05.29.09 @ 12:25 pm





Jennifer – that’s great – I’ve looked at Fixya before but haven’t had success with it, so glad to know you have a better experience. I’ll keep trying!

Comment by Steve Portigal 05.29.09 @ 12:49 pm





Thanks for cluing me in to that, Steve! I actually did my entire masters thesis on product repair, and peoples’ experiences, attitudes, and perceptions of it.

The article touched on a few similar points as I did. Basically, it is a ripe time for corporations and third parties to rethink how repair services are provided and how warranties are framed, with a lot of opportunity for supporting people to do it themselves and teach each other.

A synthesized visual doc of my thesis is available in PDF or Issuu form, if anyone is interested in reading about people and repair in more depth.

Comment by Greg Burkett 05.30.09 @ 2:44 pm