The collapse of Quality = anti progress
A good discussion on why society is breaking down from shoddy quality, the attack on our health, etc

My neighbour has a property management company on the mountain (Ski Resort). Has 100+ properties under management.
His dad is officially retired but is his appliance maintenance officer. This company is growing rapidly with employees and properties. They are Swiss and run the business like Swiss Rail.

When they take on a property they give the owner a package explaining what needs to change to obtain the best nightly rental rate. It is important to have well maintained appliances or a breakdown can cost the owner loss of income.

The majority of the properties are under 20 yo but have been rented out extensively. I believe they have a supply of new appliances on the mtn that can be replaced in 24 hours. Dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers are the typical ones that break down due to use or misuse. I was over at the Dad’s home helping him fix something that required more hands.
I noticed in his workshop he had a 5 gal bucket of copper coils and other copper wiring. Where did they come from???
Most were from failed dishwashers. Told me that most fail in 5-10 years as most are low-end cheaply built units.
Once a chip board fails it is more economical to junk the unit and put in one he has researched in advance. He then strips the unit for recyclables that have “scrap” value and then carts the rest to the Muni Scrap Metal dumpster at the Refuse collection station. He even sources some parts from the used units.

He is a trained mechanic and more, so he can fix and install almost anything. Old school tradesman.
Unless you buy high-end appliances that are not too complex, it is deemed to fail in 5-10 years of heavy use.
I was shocked but it is the economics as a loss of two days rent in Winter could buy a new machine.

When I had a new kitchen installed a couple of years ago, the cabinet maker asked for the specs on my new appliances.
I told him we are only replacing the stove and matching hood as we want a gas range but with simple analog controls. All of the appliances are approaching 25 years and only the Microwave crapped out but I bought and installed the equivalent model myself when it did. All were higher end and purchased by the previous owner. We maintain them.

We have taken to peruse re-use stores like Value Village as you can pick up older well built stuff for a fraction of the crap sold today. Years ago we gave an antiques dealer a list of kitchen gadgets that were made in the USA from the 50’s. He went to Estate sales all over New England and made some amazing finds. I believe those days are over. They are a bit battered but built like a tank and reliable. No plastic.

Most items I need to buy today are so shoddy that I pass on their purchase. I look at what can go wrong. No quality.

https://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/2024/11/anti-progress-breakdown-reset.html