The shocking truth

Why don’t Thai manufacturers take a little pride in their products?

I refer in particular to one item, which is called in Australia an extension cord (a plug, a cord of two, three, five or ten metres, and a number of sockets in a plastic block at the other end).

The problem lies in the fact that manufacturers are too niggardly in their choice of material used to make electrical contact with the pins of the plugs with which they come into contact. By the time a socket has been used and reused a few times, the elasticity, the springiness, of this metal is so poor that the plug no longer makes good contact. Often it just falls out. I have no idea how much this metal costs, but I am sure it is a tiny fraction of the total cost of the device. Yet it is the most important component of all.

Once its elasticity is gone you can throw the whole thing away. This can happen in a few days. What a false economy! If a reader can recommend a brand that does not skimp, please do.

A good, reliable, but basic item is all I, and doubtless many other readers, are looking for, not one with electronic circuit breakers, anti-surge mechanisms or anything else superfluous — just one that works.

The manufacturer may think that instant obsolescence is good for business, but it is not. When you find a good product, you stick to it. I am still looking.

Thai made toasters and electric kettles have proved to be equally short-lived. My current kettle is an Electrolux, cheap, utterly reliable and well engineered. (I have had to throw out three defunct Otto’s)

GEORGE CUPPAIDGE