Shifting quality strategy from China

It is the "wallmartization" of America. Lowest price allways wins, quality take the hindmost, and don't even THINK about repairing anything - because IF the parts are available they (the smallest or cheapest part) will cost nearly as much as the selling price of the unit requiring repair. We have exported the manufacturing jobs, not to be fair we have to make sure thare are no service (repair)jobs left in north america either. Eventually we'll all be earning minimum wage working for WallMart.

Sounds like your complaint is with the local retailer, and that is certainly under your local control. Just don't buy there, tell your friends to not buy there. But the lure of low initial prices ala Harbor Freight, Walmart, Costco, and Sam's club seems to be irresitable to the majority of the poplulation. In my mind, if you shop at Walmart, you are part of the problem.

Your Pep Boy's issues could be permanently solved if the local TV investigative reporters decide to run a story on the practices you describe. Making the 10:00 PM news about how you are ripping off the customer tends to make quick changes in policies. Ditto for a visit from the attorney general's office. The other alternative is that the stores get closed or bought out (none of our local consumer grade auto stores have the same owners as they did 3 years back.

As for the Chineese, the quality improvements seen coming from Mainland China in the last 10 years have been dramatic. High tech items like TV's VCR's. IBM (now Leanvo) etc are really top of the line products for uniformity. Granted, we still have the terrible quality issues with things like the 4x6 bandsaws but what do you expect? The price of those has not changed in 20 years, they still sell for $150 or so on sale.

I have a friend that imports various built to order mid tech items from Ch> This note may appear to be off topic, but it is not. Please read. >

You bought something from pep boys?

Dave

---snip for brevity---

Yes... but you must look at me. I'm an old gray hair and years ago Pep Boys was a quality outfit standing behind their products for years. I have not had any reason to buy a machine until my son said he needed a generator and I started looking. The unit Pep Boys advertised in the Sunday paper was exactly what he needed, so we bought it without looking twice at the fine print which was not fine print at all, but all over the box. I was blinded by past performance of a once great store.

Wayne

Was the purchase made with a credit card? If so, call the card company and request a chargeback. The cc companies are biased in favor of the consumer ( I know, I'm a merchant) and I bet they don't care what the store's warranty policty is.

I'm a little unclear on the consumer protection and warranty laws, but I don't think a store can say returning a product overseas on your dime is your only option to get a warranty repair. They should replace the product or send it out for repair.

Ed

Thank you Ed. My problem with Pep Boys is unbelievable to most people. Almost every response in this and other newsgroups has been that I should simply get an exchange, or get my credit card company to void the transaction once I take the machine back.

And this is the prevailing way to do business. But it is changing!

My credit card company refused to intervene because on the box the generator came it is clearly stated that all warranties and problems must be handled by the manufacturer. So Pep Boys have washed their hands and since we bought the unit under those terms, the credit card company simply cannot come in and help. We, the buyers, agreed to the terms. Had we known there was no factory repair facility anywhere near us... or even far from us as of today... as of today we still don't have a clue where the factory is nor their repair facility...

They have us by the proverbial balls and this is why I've posted this note warning others of the changing business practice becoming more and more prevalent in our country. This is a shift in paradigm. We American consumers are so used to great service such as from Costco, Wal-Mart, Sears and the like, that any known brand name store should offer the same service. They don't.

The Pep Boys manager would not reveal the local service shop by claiming he did not know of any. The factory telephone number simply answers the phone and says yes, yes... of course... yes... will be mailed... you must wait for the mail... and on and on and on. I don't believe there is a factory repair facility in the US. I think they will simply wear me down to the point where I will trash the 400+ unit and buy another. If this is the case, I will take them to court. And this is a terrible termination of what has been for years and years a wonderful relationship. I went to Pep Boys because I have been a loyal customer of theirs for over thirty years when they opened their store on Broadway in Chula Vista.

Let the buyer beware is returning to our economy.

Wayne

That doesn't matter. The Uniform Commercial Code applies (assuming you don't live in Louisiana). The merchant has a warranty obligation.

Most people misunderstand those pieces of paper in or on the box, which are NON-warranties, not warranties. They're taking away warranty rights you have by default.

I have initiated communication with my Chula Vista DA and Small Claims Court. My credit card company refuses to come to our help because they are simply powerless to do a thing and that this particular kind of problem is overwhelming them. So, as stated sometime ago, this is a paradigm shift in customer relations and business strategy.

Here's how the little label is placed on the box:

I agree with Richard, the UCC grants implied warranties of fitness for purpose and merchantability that the vendor is obliged to honor unless he makes a clear and prominent disclaimer. It seems doubtful to me that a little yellow sticker with some vague language about returns qualifies as such a disclaimer. I think you're on the right track contacting the DA, but I'd also talk to whatever state agencies you have that deal with consumer issues.

Ned Simmons

I just bought a water heater that was branded GE from Home Despot with a similar marking. It's not surprising that the "GE" water heater was a Rheem - The paperwork inside had no mention of GE, but there was a GE sticker on the tank. Hecho en Mexico... I don't think that GE makes anything smaller than a CAT scanner anymore.

Bob

If all else fails return it "freight collect" at night. Doors? What doors?

OK, I've read through this whole thread, and really don't see what all the crying is about. Just what exactly is so terribly wrong with that genny that you can't just grab some tools and fix the damn thing yourself? I'll bet you invest way less energy doing that than bitching about how you got back-handed by PePBoys. BTW; HF would exchange that gen in a heartbeat, no questions asked. PePBoys, et all, defer the warranty for the simple reason they can't get them serviced either. You pay for, and tacitly accept the risk in the lower price of the unit. JR Dweller in the cellar

who doesn't shop at PePboys, Costco, Walmart, etc. anyway

Wayne Lundberg wrote:

I don't know if Wayne is right in general about the trends in quality, but if he is, I think he has a good point. Thanks to SPC and all of the other quality-management techniques that got kick-started by the Japanese ('though not invented by them), we had a hell of a positive thing going in manufacturing. If extremely low labor costs are upsetting that apple cart, it's not good for manufacturing anywhere, especially in those countries where it has really taken hold.

We shouldn't have to exchange things because they don't work from the get-go, not in 2007. That went out about 1980.

-- Ed Huntress

Wayne,

I just wonder if, when wee buy stuff like that, we shouldn't just start the thing up, right there in the showroom, and see if it works. Check for defective, before we take it to the register. About a couple of those on a Saturday morning and I'd bet Pep Boys would have a slightly different slant on that "warranty".

Flash

On Wed, 14 Feb 2007 05:45:43 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm, "Flash" quickly quoth:

EXCELLENT idea, Flash!

Make it happen.

- Interpreted Interpolations Done Dirt Cheap. -----------

A-MEN!

The card companies want people to think that they grant this to consumers, but in reality it was forced onto them by the federal Fair Credit Billing Act of 1974, which obligates card issuers to work on behalf of consumers in case of disputes and is summarized on the back of every paper credit card bill (not always completely or accurately). But to protect one's rights under this law, complaints usually have to be filed in writing and delivered within 60 days of the first bill listing the charge to the special address reserved just for billing problems, and it's better to complain before paying the bill. However complaints that fall under the Special Rule For Credit Card Charges (have to be for at least $50, made within 100 miles of the billing address or within your home state, but in the case of mail orders the location of the transaction is your computer, mailbox, or telephone), the complaint doesn't have to be mailed to the special address and can be made to the merchant instead of the card company. However it's still best to file in writing with the card company. Also it's the card issuer's responsibility to make good on any billing problem (about anything is a billing problem -- overcharge, bad merchandise, nondelivery), even if it can't collect from the merchant, although few card companies will admit this.

Check the credit card books written by attorney Howard Strong, especially concerning the word "accept", which he said has a different meaning from everyday useage. Just because you take physical possession of something doesn't necessarily mean you accepted it. Also Pep Boys brags about a guarantee of satisfaction (in their advertising, maybe even on the back of the receipt), and it's obvious that you weren't satisfied with that generator.