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WolfAtTheDoor · 08-10-2009, 09:22 AM

12: Self-Assembly

I remember the good old days where you bought things and they arrived looking exactly the same as how you saw them in the catalogue/shop. I've recently had to refurnish my bedroom and all the furniture in the Next catalogue that looked at least half decent was self assembly, whilst all the shitty furniture was pre-prepared. Why? Why not have everything pre-prepared? It feels like the manufacturers are laughing at you as you attempt to make sense of the brief assembly manual that comes with every purchase.

Whatever way I look at it, I have been conned out of my money. I have been sent what are basically a few pieces of nice looking wood in a box along with a few nails, and now I'm all on my own with what to do with it.

And that's not even the best of it.

I set up my new computer desk late night, which surprisingly wasn't as hard to figure out as some of the other items I've had to deal with (I'm looking at you, wardrobe). And after I sat back admiring my handiwork, I noticed that there was still one more instruction left - getting the desk fitted to the wall. Included in the box was a couple of straps in a bag and some washers, but no fucking screws.

That's right. They had literally gave me a bag full of everything to attach this piece of shit to the wall, bar the screws. So now, until I can get to a DIY shop and get these screws, I have a computer desk sitting in the corner of my room that is literally on the verge of breakdown. It wouldn't bother me that much, I mean, a trip to a DIY store is hardly a massive ballbreaker, but it's the fact I paid so much for something that I had to do all the hard work for and doesn't even come with all the requirements for me to properly use the fucking thing.

If there's one thing that people love to do, it's buying stuff. It should require minimal effort to go to a shop and just get new stuff. It's a brief and fleeting pleasure in a consumers otherwise tiresome life. We work hard to spend our money easily. So why the fuck are shops making the experience increasingly difficult?

08-10-2009, 09:22 AM	#39 (permalink)
WolfAtTheDoor ironing your socks Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: I'm in a rocknroll band. huh. Posts: 396	12: Self-Assembly I remember the good old days where you bought things and they arrived looking exactly the same as how you saw them in the catalogue/shop. I've recently had to refurnish my bedroom and all the furniture in the Next catalogue that looked at least half decent was self assembly, whilst all the shitty furniture was pre-prepared. Why? Why not have everything pre-prepared? It feels like the manufacturers are laughing at you as you attempt to make sense of the brief assembly manual that comes with every purchase. Whatever way I look at it, I have been conned out of my money. I have been sent what are basically a few pieces of nice looking wood in a box along with a few nails, and now I'm all on my own with what to do with it. And that's not even the best of it. I set up my new computer desk late night, which surprisingly wasn't as hard to figure out as some of the other items I've had to deal with (I'm looking at you, wardrobe). And after I sat back admiring my handiwork, I noticed that there was still one more instruction left - getting the desk fitted to the wall. Included in the box was a couple of straps in a bag and some washers, but no fucking screws. That's right. They had literally gave me a bag full of everything to attach this piece of shit to the wall, bar the screws. So now, until I can get to a DIY shop and get these screws, I have a computer desk sitting in the corner of my room that is literally on the verge of breakdown. It wouldn't bother me that much, I mean, a trip to a DIY store is hardly a massive ballbreaker, but it's the fact I paid so much for something that I had to do all the hard work for and doesn't even come with all the requirements for me to properly use the fucking thing. If there's one thing that people love to do, it's buying stuff. It should require minimal effort to go to a shop and just get new stuff. It's a brief and fleeting pleasure in a consumers otherwise tiresome life. We work hard to spend our money easily. So why the fuck are shops making the experience increasingly difficult?