Product failure

Parent Cafe
1

<p>This morning, the medicine cabinet broke. It has a very heavy door/mirror, which is held on by two huge monster hinges, very complicated, I’ve actually never seen hinges like that before. One of the hinges broke. There is a metal plate that lies flat against the inside of the door which attaches by two screws. The metal tore and the door was hanging crooked only by the other hinge. S2 helped me hold it and tape it securely closed, taped to the wall, until I can find a solution.</p>

<p>This medicine cabinet was purchased from Restoration Hardware 4 years ago, for $450. I called them to ask for replacement hinges or a replacement cabinet. Their initial response: there is not a lifetime warranty on this product, normal wear-and-tear, etc. I told them that this wasn’t acceptable. I was then told that they didn’t carry the cabinet any more. I pointed out that it was right there on their website. Finally she agreed to find out if they could get replacement hinges.</p>

<p>[Traditional</a> Medicine Cabinet](<a href=“http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1552009&categoryId=search]Traditional”>http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1552009&categoryId=search)</p>

<p>Do you think I am unreasonable to expect them to do something about an expensive product that failed after 4 years of normal use? Medicine cabinets usually last for years and years! </p>

<p>I may just get another one without such a heavy door. I don’t want this to happen again. I like this one better, but the sizes don’t quite match:</p>

<p>[Kensington</a> Recessed Medicine Cabinet | Pottery Barn](<a href=“http://www.potterybarn.com/products/kensington-recessed-medicine-cabinet/?pkey=e|medicine%2Bcabinet|17|best|0|1|24||1&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-]Kensington”>http://www.potterybarn.com/products/kensington-recessed-medicine-cabinet/?pkey=e|medicine%2Bcabinet|17|best|0|1|24||1&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-)</p>

<p>The one I have was not my first choice - I got it because it was available quickly.</p>

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<p>It’s worth a try. I wouldn’t hold your breath regarding replacement parts, however. </p>

<p>You might be able to find the hinges, or similar ones, online somewhere else, if they don’t help you.</p>

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<p>I doubt that replacement parts are available, therefore my hope that they would send me a new one.</p>

<p>I don’t know if I would be able to find these hinges. They are really complicated and there would need to be holes at the right place. If RH can’t get the parts and won’t send a new cabinet, then I think I will start over with something else - with a normal weight door.</p>

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<p>Are they Eurostyle hinges like this?
[Stanley-National</a> Hardware Concealed Cabinet Hinge in Plain Steel-BB8180 CAB HNGE FLUSHPST at The Home Depot](<a href=“http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stanley-National-Hardware-Concealed-Cabinet-Hinge-in-Plain-Steel-BB8180-CAB-HNGE-FLUSHPST/203880382?cm_mmc=shopping-_-googleads-_-pla-_-203880382&skwcid&kwd=&ci_sku=203880382&ci_kw=&ci_gpa=pla&ci_src=17588969#.Umfy-BAliJ0]Stanley-National”>http://www.homedepot.com/p/Stanley-National-Hardware-Concealed-Cabinet-Hinge-in-Plain-Steel-BB8180-CAB-HNGE-FLUSHPST/203880382?cm_mmc=shopping-_-googleads-_-pla-_-203880382&skwcid&kwd=&ci_sku=203880382&ci_kw=&ci_gpa=pla&ci_src=17588969#.Umfy-BAliJ0)</p>

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<p>Companies seem to think it is OK for their products to fail just because the warranty is up. To me, that attitude translates to them saying the life expectancy of their product is only the length of the warranty, and I now use that info when evaluating my purchases. </p>

<p>We had a problem with our very expensive GE refrigerator failing after 6 years. Now, I realize that 6 years is a while, but I also feel like a fridge should last longer than that. Our last one, which we only replaced for energy efficiency reasons, was a good 20 years old and working fine. Turns out that there had been a voluntary recall because of the computer failure, but that had expired by the time ours failed. </p>

<p>One thing you can try if you are not happy with their response is to post your issue on their facebook and twitter pages. Somehow when it is a very public complaint in a place that they are trying to use for marketing purposes, they get a bit more helpful. Good Luck to you!</p>

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<p>mathmom, they are nothing like that hinge! They’re like that hinge on steroids - many, many moving parts.</p>

<p>parentofpeople, I have found that applicances, in general, don’t last nearly as long as they used to. I had a washing machine fail badly after about 7 years, and I learned to my surprise that Consumer Reports recommends replacing washers if they break at that point. I’ve been lucky that my “new” washer has lasted for 10 years. </p>

<p>I would like to post something on facebook or twitter - do you know exactly how to do this? I have accounts with both but barely use them.</p>

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<p>contact the manufacturer and see if they will sell you a hinge … although it will probably cost a ton if they do this for you</p>

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<p>NYMomof2 on facebook

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<p>Once on the page, there is a box that says “reviews” and you will be able to type your complaint or request for help there. It looks like there are some customer service complaints on there already.</p>

<p>On twitter, I guess you could just create a tweet from your account and put @RestoHardware in your tweet.</p>

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<p>It’s part and parcel of companies seeking to shave off as much profit and reduce their liabilities as possible. Especially on low margin products or those which go through rapid model changes.* </p>

<p>This race to the bottom has meant most companies…especially in low margin industries and/or ones with rapid model changes feel the need to cut corners and add restrictive limited warranties of short length focusing mainly on manufacturing defects rather than wear & tear or incidental incidents to account for that. </p>

<p>To some extent, it’s also aided and abetted by a consumer culture which has increasingly preferred disposability over quality/longevity in many products…especially low-mid-end consumer products. </p>

<p>*I.e. Computers & consumer electronics</p>

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<p>Completely agree with this. While I don’t tweet (I do have a twitter account but don’t use it), D1 has tweeted after being very unhappy with services and/or products and usually has gotten very quick responses from the offending companies (after trying the traditional route of customer service).</p>

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<p>Cobrat, that is more acceptable to me for a product that I spend a few hundred dollars on but one that costs thousands, I expect a little more. </p>

<p>In the computer and consumer electronics the market changes so frequently I agree that a 6 year old product is almost worthless. Even if it is working as good as when it was new if it is no longer compatible with software that I currently have to run it is past it’s life, but a fridge? Unless it is for style which is on me, I don’t think one that is keeping food perfectly cold needs replacing just because it isn’t the latest and greatest.</p>

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<p>You could always try taking the hinge out and bringing it to a local hardware store to see if they’re familiar. Or take a picture and post it on Gardenweb or some other homeowners forum.</p>

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Yes - I think this would be an unreasonable expectation. This is why there are limits on warranties and you can’t expect a manufacturer to warrant whatever they produce forever (or multiples of the warranty period) simply because you expected something to last forever. </p>

<p>There was a somewhat related thread from someone about an expectation for a vehicle manufacturer to fix some things that went wrong with the car past the warranty period simply because she thought those particular things shouldn’t break (but they obviously did).</p>

<p>However, I don’t understand their response to you which as you wrote it here, implies a certain rudeness and unwillingness to help. They should at least try to help including possibly contacting the manufacturer to see if they might be able to provide a replacement hinge. It doesn’t look like this company is an actual manufacturer - just a seller.</p>

<p>One option - if you can determine who the manufacturer is and especially if the manufacturer is in the USA you could contact the manufacturer yourself and see what can be done. If the manufacturer is in China though - forget it.</p>

<p>Outside of dealing with them, ‘RacinReaver’ has a good idea of contacting some hardware stores, especially something other than a big box store, to see if they might have some ideas on replacing the hinge. Even if the exact one can’t be found (which I suspect is the case), they may have some good alternatives that can be used as replacements - even if some holes might need to be drilled.</p>

<p>They other alternative might be to see if the broken hinge can be repaired by welding it back together, welding a strengthened piece on it, or something. You’d need to talk to someone handy and who can weld.</p>

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<p>Also if you can find a good carpenter/handyman (easier said than done I know!) they might be able to refasten the door with some completely different kind of hinge.</p>

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<p>One alternative is depending how it sheered, you might be able to get a place that does welding to fix it (that all depends on how it sheared, the material, etc). </p>

<p>If restoration hardware still sells the unit they should be able to get a new hinge for you, among other things, they have to have them if they fail during the warrantee period, unless they are totally dumb it would be idiotic during the warrantee period to replace a whole unit for a hinge…at worse, they should be willing to sell one to you at a reasonable cost. </p>

<p>Unfortunately, in this day and age of low price trumps everything, etc, manufacturers forget about good will. I have a toyota camry that about 4 months after the bumper to bumper warrantee expired, had its nav computer, a 2500 buck item, die. I hadn’t been using the car much, went to drive it to upstate NY, and it stopped working. Toyota replaced it because the car had so few miles on it (literally had a couple of thousand miles on it) and they wanted to keep the good will. I have dealt with other companies like that, who understand what that good will can mean, but frankly most don’t any more, and with foreign manufacturing they often don’t even have the stuff available to make good. Appliances are classic examples, they basically are built to break, they use low cost materials, washing machines have plastic drive mechanisms that shatter and can’t be replaced without replacing almost everything, refrigerators have compressors with cheap plastic parts, they use circuit boards manufactured overseas using components that are marginal assembled by unskilled labor, and it is a recipe for disaster. Not even going to discuss repair, we have an older, high end fridge, I called the factory authorized service, and it was like 120 bucks just to come out, and 45 bucks each 15 minutes diagnosing the problem (I told them where to stick it)</p>

<p>Problem is, people’s expectations have so been lowered and people so love the idea of ‘lowest price’ they don’t think that that 2000 dollar fridge will die in 6 years and they will be shelling out another 2 grand or more then, they just say “look what I got for 2 grand”.</p>

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<p>If you really do want to look for the hinges elsewhere, try a company called hardware source dot com. I needed some solid bronze gate hinges and found them there. Their home page says they have 4,000 kinds of hinges in stock.</p>

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<p>I follow the Consumer Reports rule: if it’s electronic, broken and 7 or more years old, buy a new one.</p>

<p>I do dread the day our built-in Sub Zero fridge (installed by the previous owners of this house) dies. I don’t know what other model could fit in that space, but I do know I’m not paying $4K for a box to keep the food from spoiling.</p>

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<p>^^^I don’t know how old your fridge is, but we installed one when we built our house, and when we sold last year after living there for 15 years, it was still going strong. :)</p>

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<p>NYMom - $500 from Restoration Hardware? Yeah, you should be PO’d. Many retailers would get your medicine cabinet repaired. Based on reviews for the RH in our area, your (poor) experience is typical. Sorry.</p>

<p>But down to cases. You need to know that hinge manufacturers typically make millions of each hinge type. You simply need to find a knowledgeable supplier who can match the hinge. Installation of a replacement hinge is generally a simple matter. </p>

<p>Before replacing the cabinet, I’d suggest first asking the local RH retailer to locate a hinge for you. If that fails, contact RH Corporate and tell them your story. If you get not satisfaction there, try a local supply house. Might be a good mini-project for your son!</p>

<p>BTW, Craigslist is a good place to find oddities. There’s a $50 MC listed in Overland Park that might work for you.<br>
[Restoration</a> Hardware Medicine Cabinet](<a href=“http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/fuo/4096206090.html]Restoration”>http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/fuo/4096206090.html)</p>

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<p>I work in the fitness industry. We have had pieces of equipment break and I’ve had the manufacturer tell me they considered the piece obsolete. Then last year I had a bike break and needed a part for it. When I called that company, I was told they no longer made the part or supported that particular bike. It was only 6 years old…</p>