Scrooge might be the most well-known Christmas curmudgeon but he’s not the only embodiment of dyspeptic holiday spirit.
Public officials in the northern Maryland town of Thurmont are “threatening to publicly identify residents who are behind on their electric bills if those same people put up power-soaking Christmas light displays” this year, says an NBC report.
According to the story, some households in Thurmont are way behind on their utility bills but still put up holiday lights, which will only add to their delinquent payments. Bah-humbugging Thurmont officials apparently want to shame people to pay up before they light up.
If you’re looking for ways to reduce how much you’ll spend to power your holiday display, read “LED Lights Are the Bright Choice for the Holidays” and watch our video (right).
Written by larrylarr on December 6th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on news.
What it means. The word reliable typically means someone or something that’s dependable, but in the scientific realm, it applies to experiments that, according to Merriam-Webster, give "the same result on successive trials." Combining those two notions, reliability implies both quality and consistency, making it a core element of the work we do at Consumer Reports.
Why the buzz? When economic times are tough, reliability becomes an even more important part of people’s shopping habits. "Reliability may not be the sexiest thing, but in today’s environment, people are wondering if a company is going to be around for the long term," says Darcie Meihoff, managing director of public relations at CMD Agency, a marketing firm in Portland, Oregon. "Everybody has that fear, and so knowing that a company is going to back up its products and its warranties is at the forefront of people’s minds."
Of course, saving money is key as well, but it doesn’t trump reliability. "A person may trade down to a lesser-price brand but not if it means sacrificing reliability or quality," says Stanley Stasch, a professor of marketing at Loyola University Chicago.
What this means is that manufacturers will have to work harder to win over consumers. "While this is a very difficult time for everyone, it’s also a moment for leadership," says Raphael Bemporad, founding partner and principal at BBMG, a branding and marketing firm based in New York City. "Brands that see the multiple dimensions of reliability—which include not only price and quality but also character, relationship, and trust—will be best suited to weather the economic storm and thrive long term."
Consumer Reports‘ evaluations of ranges, refrigerators, and many other products include details on how they performed during our extensive in-lab testing. For many product categories, we also report on how individual brands have measured up over time in real-world conditions, using data from the hundreds of thousands of responses to our Annual Product Reliability Survey of subscribers. The experts in the Consumer Reports National Research Center analyze the results to come up with the brand repair histories that accompany many of the product reports in our magazine and on ConsumerReports.org. This potent combination of lab testing and brand analysis allows us to paint the most complete possible picture of product reliability.
Let’s look at upright vacuum cleaners, most recently reviewed in the October 2008 issue of Consumer Reports. Several Hoover, including the Tempo Widepath U5140-900 (shown), scored very good overall. But Hoover is the most repair-prone brand of vacuum cleaner, according to the more than 135,000 reader responses about vacuum cleaners to our annual survey. So you might be better off buying a model from a brand with a better track record.—Daniel DiClerico
Essential information: Not sure whether your appliance should be fixed or nixed? Use our repair-or-replace information to determine the life span of more than a dozen products, including ranges, refrigerators, and washing machines. Check out our ever-expanding roster of Buzzwords.
Written by larrylarr on December 6th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on news.
