A Chink in the Armor

          For those of you following these posts I will tell you that we are now on our third new toaster within a one-week period.  When our toaster of several years finally gave up and died we went out and bought a new one.  The toaster itself weighed less than half of our original toaster, and when we tried it we discovered it only toasted one side of the bread, and even at that it was not an even toasting.  It was a gradual toasting, going from not quite warm to a dark burnt.  We packaged it up and returned it.

          The second toaster, also weighing just a little more than the toast itself had the same flaw, burnt to almost warm, and only on one side.  We gave this toaster a second chance, taking into consideration that we could have a faulty loaf of bread.  The second trial ended with the same result.  We repackaged it and returned it to the store.

          I understand that for those of you who may not be morning people, breakfast food is hardly worth this blurb, however, consider this:  The global manufacturing industry, in its most competitive mode, has turned our cast iron Buicks into lightweight, energy efficient, ecologically friendly, mostly plastic vehicles, which is a good thing.

       The problem, as I see it, is that toaster manufacturers have done the same thing but shouldn’t have.  It is a TOASTER - HELLO.  Make it from steel; give it the quality it deserves.  Test it while it is still at the factory.  Run it through its paces.   I do not care if there are crumbs in the crumb tray when I take it out of the box; at least I will know it has been tested and that it works. 

          I recall the movie, A Knight’s Tale.  At one point in the movie, the hero was given armor that was a thinner gauge steel, much lighter and yet just as strong as the armor worn by his opponents.   

          In today’s manufacturing environment, Knights would have a life expectancy of four minutes.  With the competition between armor makers to cut costs, conserve resources and keep prices low, Knights would not only be killed quickly in battle, but die hungry as well, for the Royal toasters would burst into flames at first use.

          I have avoided identifying the various makes of these useless toasters, as I have also not mentioned the stores in which they were purchased.  I do not want to sway your future purchase decisions, as your particular experience may be all together different.  I only wish to voice my concern that technological issues in one industry may not necessarily be issues in another.

        I can tell you that the price range we found in today’s toaster market ranged from $19.00 to over $300.00.    Needless to say, we did not test the $300.00 model.   

     No one should be that much of a morning person.