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One of the remaining appliance repair shops struggles in a throwaway society where few things are made to last.
By RYAN MALDONADO
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 17, 2002
ST. PETERSBURG -- A collection of fans made in the 1930s, '40s and '50s are propped up, polished and restored on a wooden mantel, right above a similar display of antiquated gizmos.
In the 33 years Dick Hall has owned Keystone Electric, he has fiddled with just about every small household appliance, especially those that have been muscled off retailers' shelves, replaced by the newer, sleeker designs. The ancients include 15-pound blenders, toasters that toast only one side at a time and irons without steam.
He even has a vacuum cleaner that cranks up like a lawnmower, complete with a cord and a ring attached to it for pulling.
To Hall, it's a celebration of the past.
"Everything was made to last," Hall says. "If it's made to last, it's made out of metal and there's craftsmanship and good quality materials used to make it last."
But Hall says the days of durability are long over, consumed by America's passion for lightweight convenience, lower prices and hassle-free products. Keystone, his appliance repair shop that has sat on Central Avenue and 46th Street since 1953, sees fewer customers each day, some of whom Hall has to turn away because their toasters and blenders are irreparable or cheaper to replace altogether.
Keystone will have to close the business once he decides to retire. His shop could never last in a world where nothing is worth fixing.
"I won't repair it if it's not going to last," Hall said. "It's just not worth it the way they're making stuff today. (Consumers) have no recourse but to throw it out and buy a new one."
Hall and his wife Mary Alice have run the appliance repair shop since 1969, fixing everything from microwaves and juicers to Tonka trucks and VCRs. At one point, Hall had several employees refurbishing gadgets in his store, while retailers such as Webb's City drove up to his front door with truckloads of appliances that needed fixing, he said.
Hall even got away with a key duplicating machine from Webb's that still works today. He said at the height of his business, Keystone competed with more than 10 other local appliance repair shops between 10th Street and 49th Street. Today, he's one of the only repair shops in town.
Hall blames the extinction of electrical repair shops on a combination of factors beginning with megamergers in the 1980s, when companies began mass-producing appliances overseas, when plastic replaced metal. He said appliance-makers began using cheap single-component sections where if one thing broke, the entire section needed to be replaced.
"With chain stores like Wal-Mart, the cheap price is because they got cheap merchandise and everybody has to follow to be competitive," Hall said. "So the price comes down, but in the long run, the consumer gets inferior merchandise that won't last."
Hall said the new appliances were a lot less costly, but they broke easily, and requesting parts from foreign countries was more expensive than the price of the actual product. That's when he started having to tell customers the repairs weren't worth it. Even customers with products under warranty found it easier to buy new appliances, rather than having to go through the headache of returning it back and paying for shipping.
"How many people are going to put it in a box and ship it and be without it for how long? Most people won't do that," Hall said. "So think of the money the companies are saving, it's another reason the prices are down."
In 2000, 190-million small appliances were imported, according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers' Web site. A spokeswoman for the association said the throwaway society is the result of more consumer buying power and a surge in disposable income.
"Increased product features and new innovative designs encourage consumers to replace products when they reach the end of their useful life," said Jill A. Notini, director of communications and marketing at the Washington, D.C.-based association.
Kitchen Aid, known for making durable stand mixers, resonated with Notini's comments.
"A toaster is a good example: most people say it's not worth it" to get them fixed, said Christopher Hubbuch, a Kitchen Aid spokesman. "Even though the toasters are $100, with new ones, they have all this new technology, they see it's cheaper to just buy a new one."
But still, Hall sees customers with products, usually older models, that he can touch up. The gauge tends to be the cost and sentimental value of the appliance, how worn it is and its usefulness. And if parts have to be ordered, customers should be willing to wait weeks, sometimes months, for the repair.
"We take all these things into consideration and make a judgment to see if it's worth fooling with or just throw it out and get a new one," he said. "But people aren't looking at life expectancy, it's 'how much do they cost?' "
In a few years, when Hall and his wife decide to retire, no one, not even their kids, will take over Keystone. Hall was once approached by a local vocational school that wanted him to teach a class on small appliance repair, but he told them it was a "dangerous" idea.
"It's a dying business -- there's no future in it in this throwaway society" he said. "And I don't think it teaches our kids the right values either. You're taught why take care of something, you're just going to throw it out anyway."