Any serial reader of this column knows that I have a somewhat negative outlook. Everything could be at least a little better. People are naturally evil creatures and inevitably falter on the path to righteousness. I should probably be a little lax, accept things with a grain of salt and bask in the fact that despite the bumps on the road, everything is pretty much working out.
I should, but I won’t. What irks me now is product quality in our disposable society. In an effort to make my quaint room a little nicer, I purchased a few goods. To be specific, I bought a printer, a rug and a mini-fridge. All these purchases were made within the past month. Here is an update.
The beautiful rug purchased at Wal-Mart is already fraying. By fraying I mean that it is rapidly becoming more of a hassle than a foot warmer.
It is hard to believe that so simple a thing as woven string on the ground could be a hassle, but it is now the sole thing preventing me from walking around my room without tripping.
Thank you, Wal-Mart, for giving me another reason not to want to shop with you above and beyond your flagrant disregard for worker’s rights and local merchants.
The mini-fridge seemed like a nice purchase. Mini-fridges are not really anything of necessity, but having a cold beverage or some produce nearby is something on which I have become quite reliant. Not a month has passed, and the thing no longer works.
I observed all the requirements stated in the owner’s manual, namely keeping it plugged in and its vents clear from obstruction, and still it has gone kaput.
I’m now using it as a storage facility, but the chill factor is roughly the same as the room in which it sits.
The printer was a mistake. I ordered it from an eBay auction without reading the fine print saying the darn thing was broken beyond repair.
But the company could have had the decency to remove the shards of glass from it before packing.
Why elucidate my travails as a consumer? I doubt any of you care about what I am purchasing right now. The reason is these examples show how slip-shod and hastily made things are these days.
As a culture we no longer appreciate workmanship or durability. There is no real concern for making, say, a high-quality rug because the consumer has access to an infinite number of cheap ones. There is no need for long-lasting mini-fridges when the company can slap a warranty on the box and just ship more of them until one accidentally works properly. EBay sellers can continue to peddle beyond-repair printers because – truth be told – their advertisements say their printers are offered as is.
In the modern world of extra-value meals and two-for-one deals, the actual product is secondary to the marketing strategy placed upon it.
Big companies can sell second-rate products because we’re expecting them to be second-rate products at second-rate prices. Somewhere along the way, we as consumers forgot to expect craftsmanship. Nowadays we actually have to sift through product ratings to see how good or bad a product is.
And God forbid, when we find that computer or cell phone gets a 6 out of 10 rating – a failing grade in the academic world – we jump on the bandwagon, hand over our money and sweat if it will break before or after the warranty runs out.
 
Lake is a history senior. Contact himat [email protected]