Disposability
We know U.S. corporations have no compunction about firing workers in
order to further enrich their execs, and apparently they are the same
way about their products, too.
One of my computer printers is dying. A competent repair shop diagnosed
it and informed me a certain part needed replacing. The printer is a
couple of years old and parts are available, but the manufacturer will
not sell the part in question, even to its authorized service depots.
So I called the printer company Friday, and, after brushing off its
first line of defense, a barely English-speaking clown in India (I
asked, he told me where he was*), I got connected to a series of
U.S.-based service/technical folks.
At the end, the best deal I was offered was to buy a new printer from
the company at a "special price," which was *only* $50 more than anyone
could buy it for from any of at least 100 retailers.
The company I was dealing with used to have a stellar reputation. No more.
Anyway, this leads me to wonder if anyone is maintaining a list of those
U.S. companies that still provide good products and good service.
* I have nothing against India or people from that area, but when these
people are hired as the first line of service for U.S. corporations to
deal with U.S. customers, they ought to have decent facility with...English.
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