Pride of workmanship meant things lasted longer

A lightbulb in a San Francisco firehouse has been burning since 1910. Since it’s the only lightbulb that has lasted this long, it’s attracting visitors from all over the world.

It’s hard for us to imagine something like this old technology lasting this long. Most gadgets today last barely a year. Take toasters, kettles and even washing machines and tumble dryers. A year and they start giving us trouble. The filaments of toasters and kettles are the first to go and the drum of washing machines and dryers begins to wear down.

And not just electrical goods. Even some high-end mobile phones, for instance, often come with faulty motherboards. I’ve had two such high-end devices that were bought together and both had problems simultaneously. I have a tablet from a brand that’s well known for its laptops. From the moment I bought it, it’s had problems with the touchscreen being slow to respond. I even reset the tablet to how it was when I first bought it but even that didn’t help.

Just like in 1910, which was a long time ago, even as recent as in the 1970s, things were built to last. Sewing machines, radios, even television sets lasted for years. Today anything and everything has a very short lifespan. In the old days things were built to last for a reason. Manufacturers took pride in their workmanship and one of the ways in which they showcased their product was by making sure that buyers could rely on it for as long as they wanted. The only way they achieved this was by making sure things were robust and didn’t break or break down so easily and quickly. I still have the very first Nokia phone and despite its dilapidated condition it still works. I still have the old Blackberry phone and, thank God, that still works too and is my second phone.

Today even a chair can break if you sit on it too much, regardless of your weight. Even the leg of a badly made table can wobble if you moved it. A new shataf or showerhead can start to leak after a couple of uses and you’re not even manhandling it. Even a bath can crack and those things are meant to withstand a lot of weight given that people come in all shapes and sizes.

Ever notice how your bathroom sink gets repeatedly clogged for no reason? The bathtub and shower drains tend to get blocked because you’re washing your hair in them but why a bathroom wash basin? You’re not washing your hair in that. It’s the design that’s causing the issue. Some bright spark decided that having a U-shaped pipe right under the sink would be a fabulous idea to catch small valuables that might have fallen down the plughole. But that U-shaped pipe has a flaw. If some hair does manage to get down there, over time, more hairs build up and get trapped in that U-shape thus obstructing the water flow and making it impossible to use a plunger or wire to clear the filling sink.

Why do things break down so quickly and easily? Historically manufactures wanted to show pride in their work by making things last. Customer satisfaction was a priority for their reputation. Of course making money was important too but not as much as not upsetting customers with their goods breaking down in a short period of time.

But I feel capitalism changed everything.

Committees comprising business owners and their representatives met and decided that every manufactured item needed to have a limited lifespan. This meant that when something broke down, parts would be very hard to come by and the customer would then be forced to buy a replacement. This kept their profits from diminishing.

Pride of workmanship reminds me of those ancient artisans of the Far East. They took their time to make something with their hands using old-fashioned tools. The one single item they fashioned took months to make and it lasted a lot longer. They weren’t interested in the money but the look on the customer’s face upon buying it. That is priceless.