From time to time I need to rant about companies getting on my nerves. Today I have three.
Honda: I just crested the 36,000 mile mark on my Honda Accord. I’ve loved this car. I bought it at the beginning of 2008 and paid it off 11 months later. But at 36,000 miles the basic warranty expires. Thursday, at 36,500 miles, a warning light came on. Upon further investigation I learned it’s an SRS warning. This could be anything from a faulty seat belt sensor to a broken air bag system. There is a lifetime warranty on seat belts, but they may but just for the belt itself. Either way, taking my car to the dealership is a pain in the arse. I’m either going to pay out the arse to fix this dumb thing that broke RIGHT after the warranty expired, or be lucky enough to have it fixed for free. But don’t worry, if they fix it for free, I’m sure they’re going to find SOMETHING that costs $500 to work on that isn’t covered. Things like this make me want to have my next car only have enough electronics to run air conditioning and start it. I’ll report back if my anger towards Honda is justified, or if it was just a strange coincidence.
Apple: I have been a proud owner of an iPhone for a while now. For those that know iPhones, I have a 3G. I don’t go out of contract to upgrade every year for the new iPhone, but I am looking forward to getting an iPhone 4. For the record, I’m waiting on white so the wifey can upgrade too. But in the mean time, I did update my phone to a new software release. And boy was that a mistake. This is has bogged down my phone so much that I can hardly do anything on it anymore. On top of that, the battery life drains faster. I bought an iPhone because I wanted a smart phone that I know would always work. Apple prides itself on making stuff that just works. For them to actually release software that is buggy or slows things down is a sacrelige. I was getting very close to considering a Macbook for my next computer, as my Dell netbook has been having issues. But not now. Sure I could upgrade to the new iPhone now and be fine and dandy, but I won’t I’m going to wait until they acknowledge a crappy software release, and either fix it or officially offer a downgrade. Or I’ll switch to an Android phone.
Shoppers Food Warehouse: This is a grocery chain in the DC area. Every time I go to one of these stores I’m confronted with overpriced produce with a quality that makes me long for Walmart. Their produce selection is terrible, expensive, and always a day away from being bad. How they manage to do this when just down the road is a Whole Foods that charges LESS. Forget you Shoppers, we’re done.
 By The Weakonomist |
The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing I say can be construed as financial advice. |
