Month: October 2015

I had always thought that Famous A was a great product.

I had the best Famous A phone.

The Famous A warranty is only a measly 1 year. There is a good reason for this. Manufacturers know that for well known brands, people will buy them even if the warranty is short. They have the trust that the product is of good quality. This is a reputation that the company had built up over the years, producing goods that last.

The Kill Switch

Companies realized that if they produced goods that last, the happy customer will not return to buy the goods again, because his product is still in working condition. This results in reduced sales and profits for the company.

The Finnish company Nokia produced high quality durable phones that could last for several years. Unfortunately, it went into financial trouble.

It is a well known strategy that companies will program a kill switch to render obsolete the product after the warranty period has passed. They carry out surveys to ask the man on the street how long they think a product can last. This will be a reasonable time frame to activate the kill switch or for the product to biodegrade and self-destruct. Yet another product destined for the dumping ground China.

Most people don’t think about it. They are unhappy for a while, buy a new product, and toss the old product into the bin. Out of sight, out of mind. With the Great Firewall of China in position, there is little that people know or care about what happens in China.

It is not just China. Other Third World Countries are being exploited as dumping grounds. Even responsible First World Countries are running out of dumping space.

I come from a generation that values conservation of resources. We know that things can be designed to last, because we have experienced it before.

Many young people have a “I don’t care” attitude. It is OK if people don’t care who people love. I believe this is the saving grace of the pop song “I love it, I don’t care”. It is not OK if you do not care about the destruction of Earth.

There is a solution. Conservation of resources has to make economic sense. Governments have to play a part to introduce artificial incentives to encourage companies to make products that last.

A possible measure is to keep track of statistics of how long a company’s products last. This could be managed by the government in order to prevent abuse by jealous competitors.

Let the consumers decide. We can see for ourselves which companies are producing lasting products. This would attract new customers, resulting in increased sales and profits. The happy customer with a good old product in hand does not need to buy another one.

MAN – Line cartoon video depicting the evolution of humans and our relationship with the natural world.
youtube.com/watch?v=WfGMYdalClU

Update : I visited the Famous A service centre and was happy to know that I had purchased the extended warranty. Praise God ! My Famous A phone is still within the two years warranty.

Update : I just received my brand new replacement Famous A phone on the house. I ❤️ Famous A !