Эксперт призывает вернуть простоту в бытовую технику и сервис, осудив современную сложность

Hollenbeck: Bring back simple When I got my first automatic washing machine, I thought I had gained an extra day in my week due to the time it saved from all the hassle of using my old Maytag wringer washer. The new washing machine was quite simple to use with only controls to set the level of the load; hot, cold or warm water; and an on-off button. That automatic washer served me well for a good forty years after which I got a new washer and dryer. Do you remember the comment about someone being as lonely as the Maytag Repairman? This was due to the fact that those good old Maytag washing machines, whether they were the wringer type or the new automatic ones, were basically built to last and rarely broke down. Gone are those days. In the last ten years I went through two new sets of washers and dryers. Hopefully the new set I got this past summer will last as long as my laundry days remain. These newer machines are for the most part made in China or other foreign countries, and although they can be repaired (if you can find a repairman), the parts are sometimes unavailable, or the costs of repairs are nearly as expensive as buying a new machine. Everything one buys today seems to go the same route as my washing machine experience, whether it is vehicles, machinery, furniture or small appliances. Remember when a headlight on your car went out, you could get a new headlight for around ten dollars and replace it yourself? I recently had to replace a headlight, which had to be done at a body shop due to the sensors and structure of the modern ones, for a cost of $1600.00. Vehicles and tractors are now made with so many computerized components that the folks that used to be able to fix most anything can no longer do so and those items have to be serviced by trained technicians with sophisticated equipment. Even coffee pots have been replaced by what is called “coffee makers” that rarely last one year before having to be replaced. My 50-year-old sewing machine, which has been well used, finally broke down this summer and just like my old Maytag, the repair parts are no longer available and I was advised to just buy a new machine. The new machines are horribly expensive, plastic, computerized and only available in large metropolitan areas. Oh sure, they have lots of bells and whistles, but I do not need any of that and figure that is just more stuff to go wrong. I’m fortunate to have a couple good old black Singer straight-stitch machines that will work just fine and understand why they are in such high demand. Then what about “simplifying” your shopping experience? Not so many years ago, you would purchase a repair at the parts store, or sack of chicken feed at the feed store, where the clerk would hand-write a slip with the cost, you would write a check for same, and were on your way. Then the stores became more “efficient” by becoming computerized. That same purchase requires the clerk to attempt to type your name into a data base, mailing address, your check number, amount, and bank data, and then you wait for a printer to hopefully function enough to spit out an invoice so you can finally conclude your purchase. What is worse than trying to do business with today’s “modern efficiency” is attempting to do business over the telephone, such as reserving a motel room. No longer do you get to talk to an actual living human but rather an A.I. voice machine, who eventually will hook you up with a reservation specialist that has difficulty understanding or speaking English. Gone are the days of just calling the motel to make your reservation. I’m old, and certainly could be considered a bit “simple” myself, but at least I’m old enough to remember days when life was indeed simple and wish we could bring back some of that simplicity.