Disappointed with Maytag quality

[Joseph Meehan]

Yes. nylon I belive.

[HeyBub]

I have it on good authority that Maytag tested the little plastic thingy that activates the door-closed switch. They opened and closed the door over

100,000 times, measuring the wear and deformation of the thingy every 1,000 openings. They subjected the thingy to extremes in temperature, vibration, gases, sunlight, and the chemicals normally found in the washing environment (soap, bleach, etc.).

You evidently have a cat that gnaws on thingys. They did not.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Therein lies the problem. Are subscribers a statistical cross section of the population? Are subscribers biased?

[Commodore Joe Redcloud©]

They have been unable to get their testing methods certified as scientifically valid by the U.S. Government after endless years of trying. The real truth is that Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports is a front for an environmental lobbying organization. They don't accept advertising, but they DO accept donations!

Commodore Joe Redcloud©

[Bob G.]

==================== Lol.... Think about your statement.... Then pick up a book on statictics... Much too narrow a sample group...and usually a biased group at that...

Bob G

[Andy Hill]

Apples and oranges. The CR product reviews are, at best, one data point if you're shopping for something. They usually at least detail their testing methods -- if you disagree with their tests on a particular product, you're free to laugh long and loud and move on.

OTOH, they're probably the best source of product reliability data available to Joe Consumer. Not perfect, but still damn useful.

[Travis Jordan]

Which organization?

[Travis Jordan]

Don't need to pick up a book - I've taken statistical courses and have the diploma to prove it.

CU screens automatically when the number of respondents are below the required sample size. In this case they will put "Insufficient data" in the compa fields.

What do you mean when you say the sample group is biased? Are you implying that CU subscribers automatically prefer one brand of car, appliance, hotel, etc. over another, or that they are biased towards filling out surveys?

[Gazoo]

Consumer Reports is bad science.

[CJT]

Those aren't exactly unbiased reviewers.

[Travis Jordan]

This is the best part of one of the critcal reviews:

" A study on American Honda owners found that most cleaned their garage floors on a regular basis...they appeared to be meticulous about maintenance. Could that affect reliability? (Courtesy Bob Meyer, who says the article is available under 8/27/97 at the Detroit News). "

....grasping at straws here...

[Art]

You could ask the same thing about drug trials when drug companies test new drugs. Consumer Reports explains that their survey subjects are their subscribers. Once you know that it doesn't matter that they are not a perfect reflection of the population.

[Art]

The funny thing is that if CR produced subscribers with prejudice when filling out reliability surverys, how do the critics explain the fact that the PTCruiser from CHrysler is reported to be very reliable when most other Chyrsler cars are not. Same thing about Toyota.... Consumer Reports indicates most of their models are the most reliable cars on the road but a couple suck. Their critics can't explain that.

[Art]

I have a NEptune gas dryer. I like the big door but my parent's cheap electric Kenmore does a better job getting the wrinkles out of clothes.

[Art]

I remember having a old whirlpool washer and the thingy broke but the thingy back then stopped the washer when you opened the lid and wasn't required to keep the washer going so no one cared back then if the thingy broke. I replaced it with a screw head.

[djh7097]

Yeah, this really pisses me off, like the integrated plastic refrigerator shelf support that is so prone to failure that they introduce a repair kit and then charge stupid amout of money for it! As far as I am concerned this is really a design defect that they should fix for free.

We have good and bad experiences but unfortunately for Maytag it takes many more than 1 good to cancel a bad.

Our Neptune washer and drier have been awsome after the mold issue was fixed in the first 6 months. Unfortunately it took a chance discussion with a service tech to be informed about this upgrade. Maytag weren't exactly forthcoming. 6 year on and 5+ loads per week they are still going strong.

Now the side by side refrigerator. That's a heap of crap. Buckled liner, 8 weeks to replace under warranty. Water dispenser mysteriously turning itself on, new control board. Water dispenser mysteriously turning itself on again, yes another new control board. I bitched enough about this second failure that they reimbursed me for both control boards. Cheap plastic crisper drawer support breaking, $15+S&H for a stupid little piece of replacement plastic. Coolong failure in refrigerator, adaptive defrost control board replaced.

Dishwasher (6yrs) has been OK.

[Ignoramus607]

They knowingly use inadequate parts, my guess is to charge for replacements and to save a bit of $$s. as someeone said, it is a race to the bottom.

i

[Edwin Pawlowski]

The problem with any survey that requires people to answer is the people themselves. In a month's time, we are given the opportunity to fill out a survey at the restaurant, the doctor's office, my wife just got one yesterday for the ambulance ride she took last week. When things go well, we tend to ignore them, but when we have a problem, we jump on the opportunity. Right there, you have a stastical abnormality.

Keep in mind, every brand I buy is good and reliable because my judgment is better than anyone else's, but all of you that choose other brands got the bad stuff. Given that statement, I'm not about to admit I bought a second rate product, right?

Every brand makes an occasional lemon and when they do, we hear about it loudly. Just look at the postings here that scream "my Brand X appliance is a piece of crap" and it is the same one that thousands of satisfied customers never mention. It happens.

[Anonymous]

Understandable.... BUT

When you've put out $700+ for the refrigerator, and its a piece of crap, and you can't get any satisfaction.....

They don't want to repair or replace "that piece of crap" because it would represent a loss for that sales transaction. ....and that might affect this quarters bottom line.

BTW Try to track down who makes a Magic Chef refrigerator..... ( they won't even admit to it )

[Travis Jordan]

Sure they do.

Home Appliances

The Home Appliances segment represented 94.4 percent of consolidated net sales in 2004.

The Home Appliances segment manufactures, sells and services laundry products, dishwashers, refrigerators, cooking appliances and floor care products. These products are sold primarily to major national retailers and independent retail dealers in North America and targeted international markets. These products are sold primarily under the Maytag, Amana, Hoover, Jenn-Air and Magic Chef brand names. Maytag also licenses certain home appliance brands in markets outside the United States. The Company has increased its emphasis on its in-home service business, which services major appliances manufactured by the Company and by other manufacturers. The segment also services floor care products manufactured by Maytag.