Honest opinions about how to buy Appliances and Lighting.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

The Best and Worst(Repair)

No pictures today(I have an arsenal for the remainder of the week), but a pretty valuable post for appliance shoppers. In 2006, Yale completed 15,000 service calls under warranty.

As I have posted previously, there are also very similar products available. Thus, service records can be similar as controls are outsourced, and the same products can be packaged with multiple labels. Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag and Amana have an identical refrigerator with...an identical service record.


However, with such a large database, you can also see deviation between good and ..not so good. We will look at both.

The Best: Miele

Not surprising at all. When you manufacture the product and outsource nothing you can expect quality(or somebody will be fired). This company is so fanatical that all customer complaints are logged in New Jersey. The problem is then traced by serial number to the factory, the line and the people responsible. Imagine that.
Of course, without cheaper outsourcing(and the strength of the Euro versus the dollar), Miele is also expensive.


Not So Good: LG

First, I like this company. LG has become a major force in the appliance industry almost overnight as a brand. The product is innovative and stylish, but this result is hardly surprising as well. If the goal is to sell as much as possible quickly, then invariably product quality and customer satisfaction will suffer. Typically fast growing companies will outstrip their support capabilities(like parts, customer service, technical support, warehousing and logistics), and this is the case. You should still consider LG as a brand, but just find out if there is a repair agent in your local area.

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