Don Canney

Remembering when things we bought could be repaired and were built to last

I recently read a story focused on the younger generation and how many are blaming baby boomers for the environmental disaster we now face. Boomers, like everyone else, certainly contributed to the problem, but back in the day, boomers produced products that were repairable and that lasted a very long time.

I would argue that a big part of the reason our landfills are overflowing is because we now live in a throwaway society. Very few goods today can be repaired and are indeed designed with planned obsolescence in mind.

When I was a kid, I had one, maybe two, pair of shoes (always had to have one pair “for best” as my mom would say, or for those rare times we really needed to dress up for a party, wedding, or funeral). And if I wore a hole in the sole of a shoe, or the heel wore down to a point where the shoe wasn’t usable, did I throw them away? Not on your life! Those shoes went to the “cobbler.” Good old Mr. Panagoulias on Main Street, would affix new heels, add brand new soles, give them a great polish and those babies would be good for at least another two years. I never really thought much about fashion or having the latest styles back then. If shoes wear out today, what do we do with them? Of course, throw them away and buy another pair! Most shoes today are designed such that they cannot be repaired.

When was the last time you called a TV repair man? Probably never. They no longer exist, and Geek Squad doesn’t count. Back in the day, long before HD, 4K and Smart TV, if our TV went “on the blink” we’d simply call a TV repair man who would come to the house to fix it.

If a TV fails today, it’s pretty much a done deal that it ends up either at the dump or in the recycle bin. And not 100% of the item can always be recycled.

The same goes for laptops, phones, iPads, amplifiers, and most of today’s technology and other devices. If you do opt to attempt to get support, get ready to press 1 for, press 2 for, press 3 for… or, “Sorry your call cannot be completed as dialed, please try again.”

I have a refrigerator in my garage that is about 27 years old. It’s been running fine since day one. It’s not pretty, but very functional. We bought a new refrigerator about five years ago. It ran about one year before it became problematic.

The good news is, we can still call someone to repair a refrigerator, but after five repairs on that particular one, we surrendered. Hopefully, it was 100% recyclable.

The same goes for washers, dryers, ranges, microwaves (although they admittedly rarely break down) and dishwashers.

I had a dishwasher whose motor failed exactly three days after the one-year manufacturer’s warranty expired.

And when is the last time you bought ANY major appliance (or vehicle) where the sales rep didn’t try to sell you an extended warranty?

I always have an uneasy feeling when a salesperson attempts to force an additional warranty on me. Not only is it an annoying experience, and typically close to 100% profit, but my first thought is always, “Why do I need this?” “Wasn’t this product designed and built with quality in mind?

“Will it only last the one year of the manufacturer’s warranty, then fail?”

And the pitch is often something like, “This extended warranty will save you money when (er, if) the product fails.” Huh? But it’s costing me an additional $300-$1,000! How is that saving money? I guess I need to retake my Economics 101 class.

Perhaps part of the answer to the current environmental crisis is to make things that last longer than a year and that are repairable when they break down, as well as recyclable! What a novel concept!

Oh well, sorry, gotta go. My phone is ringing. I don’t want to miss today’s extended warranty offer on the car I traded five years ago

Don Canney is a freelance writer and professional voice artist. He was born and raised in downtown Nashua with great interest in Nashua history circa 1950-1970. He now resides in Litchfield.