don't make 'em like they used to

[kaysixteen]

When I moved last summer, I had to switch over my cable, and Comcast gave me a new box and remote (old one was from the dark ages, 2009).   I  rent both as part of the fee.   So I had been using the brand-new remote since last Sept.  Over the last couple of weeks it was clearly crapping out, and it died completely this morning-- it was just blinking, no ability to do anything with it, etc.   Now as I said I rent the thing, so I decided to stop off at the local Comcast office and get a new one.   I walked in, prepared to have to explain the situation to the service rep.   He greeted me and asked what he could do, and I took the old remote out of my coat pocket.   As soon as he saw it, he said 'oh, you need a new remote', and grabbed a new one out of a box below his desk.  Said it was no problem, and I thanked him and walked on out after he gave me directions to set it up (very simple).  But as I was leaving, I got to thinkin'-- 'they expect these things to break all the time, and customers to come back looking for a new one'.  The last remote I had from them lasted (although not everything on it still worked) for 13 years, but, well...

[Hegemony]

Are you sure that the problem with the old one wasn't just that the battery wore out?

I'm wondering if meanwhile they had updated the design of the remote, and so the clerk, seeing yours was an old design, automatically switched your old one for a new one. Low-paid clerks are not much known for sustainable thinking. But I'll note that all my remotes are still working fine, the old ones and the new ones, as long as I replace the batteries from time to time.

[clean]

What is the turnover on cable accounts these days? 
I use Direct TV, and have for over 20 years.  I dont remember how old my boxes are now, but they finally upgraded me after I refused to upgrade my account to HD.  I dont have a huge TV (just 32 inches), and plain was fine with me, and I wasnt going to pay an extra $10 a month for HD.  Eventually, they sent me a bunch of emails that my old equipment was no longer going to work after X date because they were no longer going to support the old technology, but that they would not charge me for this equipment (or the HD upgrade) until I updated this equipment. 

Anyway, I know that I am a fluke and that many are cutting the cable and such, so it may be cost effective (as who wants a remote that is used, or had babies drooling on it, or ... well all sorts of yucky things.    So it may be cost effective to just keep a box of new ones, bought in bulk, in a box at the front desk. 

[kaysixteen]

I had thought the battery might be dying, and was going to buy some more batts today, but this morning I could not get it to work at all, but it was blinking, constantly, and that presumably would not occur if the batteries were dead?   The service rep did give me a new one, and it is exactly the same as the 2022 model I had before (which was clearly also new when I got it).  So 'these things are extremely cheap/ low quality' seems the answer to me...

[Hegemony]

In fact if you do a search for "remote control blinking," you will discover that blinking is a sign of a low battery. When batteries are low (even if they are not completely dead), the remote will not work on the TV or other equipment. So ... I think this is a case of jumping to a foregone conclusion.

[kaysixteen]

Then why do you suppose the service rep was so quick to change out the remote, without being asked to do so, and clearly had a large box of new ones right under his desk?   

I of course have no owner's manual on the thing, and it never would have occurred to me to google why the lights were blinking, which just smacked of 'broken'...

[Hegemony]

Then why do you suppose the service rep was so quick to change out the remote, without being asked to do so, and clearly had a large box of new ones right under his desk? 

You seem to be implying that the rep giving you a new remote indicates that the old remotes are always broken. But consider that it's probably the case that most of the ones he sees are broken. Not because most remotes break quickly, but because the ones that just need new batteries, most people don't bring in. They just see that the light is blinking and replace the battery. He figures you were knowledgeable enough to have tried that simple fix already.

[kaysixteen]

Hmmmm... I was actually going to replace the batts yesterday before it started blinking, because the batteries clearly were on the wane.  But when it started blinking I assumed it was broken, and decided to return it, lest I buy new batts that would not have done any good.   It would of course have helped them to provide some sort of owner manual.

[clean]

Customer drives all the way to the storefront.  Would the customer be happy to have the rep change the batteries and hand it back?  Perhaps the customer would feel better about the company to get a new remote.  Who knows what else may be wrong with the remote to make the customer make the drive?  how expensive are batteries?  You may be surprised but sometimes the batteries are more expensive than the item. 

[Hegemony]

It's also funny to me that remote controls can be the subject of a theme of "They don't make 'em like they used to." As if 19th-century remote controls were the real hardy ones — no doubt made of iron, and powered by shoveling coal in the back.

Actually the way we "used to" control the TV was by getting up and physically turning the dial on the set. All remote controls are new-fangled devices.

[ciao_yall]

Hmmmm... I was actually going to replace the batts yesterday before it started blinking, because the batteries clearly were on the wane.  But when it started blinking I assumed it was broken, and decided to return it, lest I buy new batts that would not have done any good.  It would of course have helped them to provide some sort of owner manual.

Owner manuals are now online.

That said, I still have printed ones from items long gone.

[kaysixteen]

I just assumed it was broken.   The blinking light= decaying batteries thing really is new, or at least newish.  I have had older remotes with dying batts before, and none of that.

[Juvenal]

Why is my vision fading in and out?  Do I have batteries to replace?  Is the battery port in a decent place when I go to put in replacements?  Who knew that remote control life could be such a vexation?