What were they thinking?

[Wes Bucey]

Every so often, I pick up and examine tools and gadgets for sale at stores which are intended for the "casual" user (versus the professional.) These are obviously inexpensive copies of professional grade tools and implements. Even so, while not expecting such products to meet NIST standards, I would expect them to be serviceable for casual use.

Such is rarely the case. In the past week, while visiting friends and acquaintances and some business establishments like saloons, restaurants, dry cleaners, a lawyer's office, I came across the following examples of things these folks were using in their homes and businesses which were either very shoddy or actually unsafe.

The list from just this week, with my comment in parentheses"

• stainless steel kitchen scissors (held together by a plain steel rivet which had rusted to the point the scissors wouldn't work)
• screwdrivers (tip hadn't been hardened and was chewed up and warped)
• desk stapler (with sharp metal edges - owner admitted having been cut, but hadn't thrown it out)
• stainless steel kitchen knife set (all rivets in handles were plain steel and were severely rusted)
• drill bits (plated, with plating chipping off, not hardened, bendable with hand pressure)
• padlocks (rusting badly)
• stainless steel tea kettle (knob on lid held on with plain steel rivet which had corroded badly)
• spatter screen for stovetop cooking (plain steel mesh and frame badly rusted from water vapor from cooking)
• unbranded plastic party cups (brittle plastic, cracking open with little hand pressure while gripping one full of beverage)
• metal forks at a restaurant (stamped from soft stainless alloy which hadn't been completely deburred or which picked up nicks in use - able to injure diners' mouths)

 

[Ronen E]

Every so often, I pick up and examine tools and gadgets for sale at stores which are intended for the "casual" user (versus the professional.) These are obviously inexpensive copies of professional grade tools and implements. Even so, while not expecting such products to meet NIST standards, I would expect them to be serviceable for casual use.

Such is rarely the case. In the past week, while visiting friends and acquaintances and some business establishments like saloons, restaurants, dry cleaners, a lawyer's office, I came across the following examples of things these folks were using in their homes and businesses which were either very shoddy or actually unsafe.

The list from just this week, with my comment in parentheses"

• stainless steel kitchen scissors (held together by a plain steel rivet which had rusted to the point the scissors wouldn't work)
• screwdrivers (tip hadn't been hardened and was chewed up and warped)
• desk stapler (with sharp metal edges - owner admitted having been cut, but hadn't thrown it out)
• stainless steel kitchen knife set (all rivets in handles were plain steel and were severely rusted)
• drill bits (plated, with plating chipping off, not hardened, bendable with hand pressure)
• padlocks (rusting badly)
• stainless steel tea kettle (knob on lid held on with plain steel rivet which had corroded badly)
• spatter screen for stovetop cooking (plain steel mesh and frame badly rusted from water vapor from cooking)
• unbranded plastic party cups (brittle plastic, cracking open with little hand pressure while gripping one full of beverage)
• metal forks at a restaurant (stamped from soft stainless alloy which hadn't been completely deburred or which picked up nicks in use - able to injure diners' mouths)

Good point.

While I agree that some instances are indeed examples of bad design or bad quality practice/mindset, there are at least 2 logical reasons I can think of for creating products that might seem substandard:

1. Sometimes articles are intentionally made to not last for too long, as to encourage replacement purchases. Once upon a time items were designed and engineered to last as long as possible - see the VW Beetle for example - but then people needed to buy new ones much less. Today cars are designed to only last so much and that's it. If a modern car that is not top of the line lasts more than 20 years, it's quite an exception (but then most people also don't want to drive cars designed 20 years ago...)

2. Sometimes it's a matter of being fit-for-purpose vs. cost. The padlocks could be an example. Some products are offered in different variants for indoor use only (minimal weather protection), for "mild" outdoors conditions (eg galvanised or zinc-plated) or for extreme weathering (eg good quality stainless steel). Of course, prices vary accordingly. In such cases it's mostly up to the consumer to pick the right one for the use (and many times they just don't). To see a product consistently performing well there needs to be a quality-driven process in place at the manufacturer's side, but there also needs to be a similar process (albeit not a conscious one) at the customer's side, ie understanding upfront what the requirements are and what's necessary for satisfying them.

Other than that, sometimes you come across "scams" - a low grade product is made in a large quantity at very low costs, not intending to last in the market. One batch (or a few) is made and sold, and by the time customers have realised that it's a bad product the (large) profit has already been made and the product is already retired. And on we go to the next bad quality alternative...

 

[somashekar]

They were thinking of making quick money .....