My mom's new Kenmore microwave died after less that 2 years. This in and of itself is unusual, given that microwave ovens tend to last for years, even decades.
Nonetheless, it completely packed it in; no power, not even a time display. So we trucked it into the appliance department at Sears, Fairview Mall, to get it repaired under warranty. The very helpful and polite staff informed us that this model is no longer available and asked if mom would like to select a suitable replacement. This naturally begged the question from me, "Don't you even try to have it fixed?". I was told, "No, they don't fix microwaves." It would seem that repairs are more expensive than they feel they are worth. The fellow told me that it would be over $70 to have it looked at and then who knows about the parts. I understand this. In today's world of cheap, disposable, made-in-Idunno electronics, it really is often cheaper to replace rather than repair.
But here's the thing: I know for a fact that that microwave oven has a simple, common 20A fuse on the power supply board inside. I know, I checked. I will admit, for the record, that the fuse was not the problem.
However, this was not checked by anyone at the store. They labeled it as "scrap" and cut the power cord off to ensure that it was scrap. What's so appalling about this is that they just sent a nearly new microwave oven to landfill for the sake of what could have simply been a blown, 25 cent fuse. A repair that could have easily been effected by my 12 year old son.
Possibly they feel that keeping a technician on staff to repair or even assess returned appliances is too expensive. But today, they gave away a new microwave oven and, hopefully, payed a disposal fee for mom's oldish one.
Nonetheless, it completely packed it in; no power, not even a time display. So we trucked it into the appliance department at Sears, Fairview Mall, to get it repaired under warranty. The very helpful and polite staff informed us that this model is no longer available and asked if mom would like to select a suitable replacement. This naturally begged the question from me, "Don't you even try to have it fixed?". I was told, "No, they don't fix microwaves." It would seem that repairs are more expensive than they feel they are worth. The fellow told me that it would be over $70 to have it looked at and then who knows about the parts. I understand this. In today's world of cheap, disposable, made-in-Idunno electronics, it really is often cheaper to replace rather than repair.
But here's the thing: I know for a fact that that microwave oven has a simple, common 20A fuse on the power supply board inside. I know, I checked. I will admit, for the record, that the fuse was not the problem.
However, this was not checked by anyone at the store. They labeled it as "scrap" and cut the power cord off to ensure that it was scrap. What's so appalling about this is that they just sent a nearly new microwave oven to landfill for the sake of what could have simply been a blown, 25 cent fuse. A repair that could have easily been effected by my 12 year old son.
Possibly they feel that keeping a technician on staff to repair or even assess returned appliances is too expensive. But today, they gave away a new microwave oven and, hopefully, payed a disposal fee for mom's oldish one.
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