Editor’s Desk: Should a product’s price tag dictate its lifespan and durability?

The more you spend on an item, the more you should expect it will last.

Am I kidding myself with that belief, or should the price tag of something have a direct correlation to its lifespan and durability?

I have a bit of retail rage creeping in of late, with two separate examples of new, relatively expensive items (a bag and a watch), bought locally, which only lasted mere weeks or months before breaking.

The bag lasted about six weeks. The watch stopped ticking about two months after purchase.

I know these things can happen, but it seems money doesn’t necessarily buy quality these days.

The issue of getting them repaired has been a complete saga.

The bag was returned two-and-a-half months ago. No word from the retailer during that time, except once, to confirm it couldn’t be repaired and needed to be replaced and they should have a replacement by that weekend. That was a few weeks ago.

The watch, well and truly still under warranty, had to be sent back to the manufacturer. The jewellery store I bought it from couldn’t even check the battery for me to see if that is the problem. This happened about a month ago, still no update. And to make matters worse, if it needs repairing, that could take up to three months. No breath will be held on hoping for a speedy resolution to that one.

I’ve tried to keep a lid on my retail rage. I’ve been patient, understanding and accommodating. But given these things should not have malfunctioned in the first place, you would think the retailers would be bending over backwards to solve the problem. Not leave it unresolved for months (maybe hoping I’ll forget about it altogether).

Surely a big part of customer service is communicating with your customer. At least you would expect it is.

I have a special respect for people who work in retail. I couldn’t do it. I have nowhere near the patience required for a career in customer service, I am the first to admit it.

This is not an unfair dig at workers just trying to do their jobs.

But surely there’s a basic level of customer service, especially when customers are paying top dollar for what are supposed to be premium products.

Maybe I’m expecting too much. I just don’t think waiting for months for an issue like these to be resolved cuts it (unless it’s something rare or uniquely technical and needs to be sent overseas).

Asking for a refund from the outset would have been much easier on my sanity. And in future maybe it’s worth sticking with the budget buys.

So as I continue to wait, I begrudgingly admit that my parents are right, yet again: they really don’t make things like they used to anymore.