Rowenta steam iron.

In message , Tim Lamb writes

OK chaps. Problem solved.

There are a couple of lugs to prize apart and then the connector assembly unplugs.

regards

Well if its anything like their toasters, you tend to find that everything falls into a heap and won't go back together due to broken bits of plastic and metal tongues that break off! I wonder why they do not make things get atable these days. after all, its not going to make a huge difference to cost. I suspect the old chuck it and buy another, syndrome, but I reckon you are more likely to feel charitable and buy the same companies product if you fixed it once, than if you had to bin it for a daft problem. Oh I forgot, we are not supposed to be able to put the right three wires in the right holes any more are we.. grin.

Brian

and these lugs did not fall apart, good grief, must have been a faulty lug!

Brian

The trick is to make it s***ty so that it breaks often and you buy another, but not quite so s***ty that you expect a competitor's product to be any better - hence you'll keep coming back for more.

If you happen to have a brand or company name that once signified quality, even better.

cheers

Jules

Brand names are little more than a label now. Many names appear from time to time - to attract niave buyers. Probably 90% of irons are made in the "Peoples Songbird Factory of Xian" (or similar. Designs are made and are offered to retail chains or "brand owners" at rock bottom prices for a large qualtity. Next doo is the Toaster factory.

Have you notices the "cosy old" brand names appearing on TVs in the stores. Recently seen "Bush" and "Polaroid" as badges of convenience.

I would say, the trick is to make it just durable enough to break if it's used longer than it would normally have been in use for before it got consigned to the back of the cupboard or disposed of. That way, the majority of users never have one actually break on them and they have the notion that it was 'quality' or 'value for money'. I'm amused that I can buy a product made 30 or 50 years ago that didn't have a design life, as such, but will quite likely last another half-century before it breaks. However, I'm under no illusion that if the prediction and modelling tech was available back then, the same companies wouldn't have used it.

That's a huge plus, but it must be handled carefully. Bringing out a product that actually fecks up within a year of purchase is a negative. Like Breville kettles.