that's correct Sir.. I worked in the retail industry for many years and today their parts are not durable.. some remain metal but that's typically structure.. and yes.. years ago there were lifetime warranties.. then they moved to limited lifetime, now it's mainly 1 year only..

and today.. KitchenAid, Maytag and Westinghouse (to name just a few) are all manufactured by the same company.. and relative to my point earlier that companies are buying their competition while keeping the name brands separate, thus they create their own competition with all profits going to the one (or mother) company now..

Dammmm..... never thought of that. Clever way to monopolize on the money

clever yes.. but deceptive none the less.. the quality has changed on each.. you're only now paying extra for the NAME.. sadly.. so I'd suggest buying a lesser brand, as you'll get the same quality as the known brands, without the hefty 'brand' price

What ever happened to " Customer service"
Instead of being greeted by a human voice, you're greeted by a phone prompt, then connected to someone in another country who doesn't speak English, who then connects you to another company that doesn't service the product you called about.....Go Figure

that's a bone of contention for me as well..

the reason you're talking to "foreign" workers that barely speak English (if at all) is cuz it costs way less to use their services than to use North Americans.. most companies prefer paying $2/hr for a rep as opposed to paying $15-18/hr (the minimum wage) in the states/Canada instead ..