[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

More and more firms are outsourcing maintenance to save costs. This can lead to deterioration in service.

Very true!

Airtel, an organisation which i always held in high esteem for their responsiveness has also gone this way, with falling service standards. For my broadband connection not working at home, i had to wait close to 10 days, and an escalation to the highest level for someone to come and check the issue. Finally, it was resolved in 15 mins, after waiting for 9 days, and being initially promised an SLA of 12 hours to resolve the issue.

[sgiitk]

I hope this is a passing phase.

With choice, the consumer is likely to vote with his feet. With the very poor service experience of a friend (described in the AC thread) I will not be even looking at Samsung for any future purchases. On the other hand I have had good service from LG so that will be preferred of the two.

Once they realise that good service pays - like they seem to have in the auto industry, things should improve. Remember the local mechanic is a quasi skilled poorly paid chap. Only when the skill levels go up will things become better. It will then be worthwhile for them to provide 2/4 wheeler with proper equipment. Of course we will have to pay more.

[lohithrao]

Folks need some inputs on microwave.

it would be mainly used for heating, cooking maybe on rare occasions.
i have a budget of 5-6k..

Would like to know about the brand/model and anyother info which i need to keep in mind before making the purchase?

thanks

[RaguHolla]

Originally Posted by lohithrao

Folks need some inputs on microwave.

it would be mainly used for heating, cooking maybe on rare occasions.
i have a budget of 5-6k..

Would like to know about the brand/model and anyother info which i need to keep in mind before making the purchase?

thanks

We took MW last month. Here is a review and buying process. Most brand sell things what you don't need. Hence price is always at higher side. I was stumped to see that there is only one model per Brand with Solo option! Usually either they are out of stock or they are smaller in size (22 ltr). At 6K you have small choice of Solo Models. We never considered IFB, Morphy Richard and other brands due to their service record. Onida is most cost effective with many feature for price. But quality is usually low. Samsung base models won't come with Ceramic coating.

If you need conventional model you may need to stretch the budget. your requirement doesn't states what type if cooking (Cakes, cookies needs conventional. If you need Grill (for non veg) you may need Grill model).

Most current WM have craze for touch screen (which aren't durable either). I would loved if they have nob type selection. Even Godrej has many conventional MW with better pricing. Not sure about their quality.

[sgiitk]

I do not have an idea of pricing. Go for 800-1000W. Also, if you contemplate a grill built in then look for one with an Infrared one (i.e., quartz). heats up fast!

[Mustang.101]

Thanks for all the help guys.

I bought a samsung RT54EBTS 455L refrigerator and a samsung front loading WM. I was getting a sweet deal from my relative on the siemens WM but ultimately decided not to go for it because of service costs/ less warranty etc.

Got a 5 year motor warranty on the WM and 2 years on all other parts. Plus they also took my rusty 14 year old IFB WM for 5000 INR.

Damage done :

Refrigerator : 40000/-
WM (Samsung): 20000/-
WM IFB sold :-5000/-
grand total : 55000/-

[sgiitk]

Mustang - fingers crossed. They may charge you for everything else if ever there is warranty call. They did it to a friend - AC Compressor packed up, they charged, for gas, clips, etc.etc. and wanted payment in advance before returning the AC!

[Mustang.101]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Mustang - fingers crossed. They may charge you for everything else if ever there is warranty call. They did it to a friend - AC Compressor packed up, they charged, for gas, clips, etc.etc. and wanted payment in advance before returning the AC!

No issues, I have contacts in samsung service department and also the manufacturing & assembly plant located in noida. That was one of the reasons i went for samsung.

[benbsb29]

Yesterday the IFB guy came over and replaced the 'folded pipe' made of rubber for my washing machine. Total cost including labor was 470 bucks.

All seems to be well as of now.

[omishra]

Originally Posted by lohithrao

Folks need some inputs on microwave.

it would be mainly used for heating, cooking maybe on rare occasions.
i have a budget of 5-6k..

Would like to know about the brand/model and any other info which i need to keep in mind before making the purchase?

thanks

This is the same thing I was looking few days back. After looking at many features and brands, I came to this conclusion -
1. No brand declares details of Magnetron which is microwave generating element.
2. Customer looks at nice finish, touch buttons.
3. General warranty is 5 years Magnetron and 1 year other material+Labor.

Things to look -
1. Capacity:
family of persons v/s liters
3-4 <------> 20-22 Liters
4-6 <------> 22-27 Liters
6- more <--> 25 Liters and more

2. Buttons/User interface:
Actually rotating mechanical are better but they come with only solo models. Advance models have push button, touch button or rotating digital sensors. If heated then touch/sense kind of buttons are more prone to damage.

3. Operating Modes: (We are vegetarians)

• Solo : MW only and good for reheating and cooking purpose. Select power and time with judgement of food + weight.
• Convection: Uses Fan to circulate hot air in cavity. Good for browning - making biscuits, cookies etc. For bread I find toaster is better than this convection.
• Grill: for baking. Here I find for cake and pizza it is good. But for Sandwich I find dedicated sandwich maker is better.

Other- Combinations of MW+Convection and Grill+Convection.
MW + Grill wont work because grill is metal piece, so not provided.

Features - All cooking menus set for auto selection. You have to select menu(food type) and weight. Mode, power and time will be selected automatically.

Brand: I don't think anybody is better or less. They are same. Only feature and designs make differences in prices.

For reheating purpose - any solo will do. price range 2.5-5K. Think how many time you made biscuits in past and when you will make in future. Then buy convection. Think if you plan to make pizza or cake then go for grill. Otherwise its wastage of money.

Fiber body will not heat up the electronics, make less noise and looks good.

Originally Posted by RaguHolla

Even Godrej has many conventional MW with better pricing. Not sure about their quality.

Yes I bought this 20 Liters recently for 7K. (Model: GMX 20CA2 FIZ) It has convection and grill. Metal body which I think safe wrt microwaves inside cavity. Build quality: ok - average. Metal body makes more noise but cools faster after use. Only take care to cool it after use and close the door. Otherwise electronics will have short life.

[vina]

Originally Posted by omishra

This is the same thing I was looking few days back. After looking at many features and brands, I came to this conclusion -
1. No brand declares details of Magnetron which is microwave generating element.
2. Customer looks at nice finish, touch buttons.
3. General warranty is 5 years Magnetron and 1 year other material+Labor.

Things to look -
1. Capacity:
family of persons v/s liters
3-4 <------> 20-22 Liters
4-6 <------> 22-27 Liters
6- more <--> 25 Liters and more

2. Buttons/User interface:
Actually rotating mechanical are better but they come with only solo models. Advance models have push button, touch button or rotating digital sensors. If heated then touch/sense kind of buttons are more prone to damage.

3. Operating Modes: (We are vegetarians)

• Solo : MW only and good for reheating and cooking purpose. Select power and time with judgement of food + weight.
• Convection: Uses Fan to circulate hot air in cavity. Good for browning - making biscuits, cookies etc. For bread I find toaster is better than this convection.
• Grill: for baking. Here I find for cake and pizza it is good. But for Sandwich I find dedicated sandwich maker is better.

Other- Combinations of MW+Convection and Grill+Convection.
MW + Grill wont work because grill is metal piece, so not provided.

Features - All cooking menus set for auto selection. You have to select menu(food type) and weight. Mode, power and time will be selected automatically.

Brand: I don't think anybody is better or less. They are same. Only feature and designs make differences in prices.

For reheating purpose - any solo will do. price range 2.5-5K. Think how many time you made biscuits in past and when you will make in future. Then buy convection. Think if you plan to make pizza or cake then go for grill. Otherwise its wastage of money.

Fiber body will not heat up the electronics, make less noise and looks good.



Yes I bought this 20 Liters recently for 7K. (Model: GMX 20CA2 FIZ) It has convection and grill. Metal body which I think safe wrt microwaves inside cavity. Build quality: ok - average. Metal body makes more noise but cools faster after use. Only take care to cool it after use and close the door. Otherwise electronics will have short life.

excellent response, and I don't have much to add, just a few things:

1. I own an LG (Rs15000/- in 2005) , my father a Koryo (Rs. 3000, three years ago) and I bought an Onida for a close friend (Rs, 6000/ in 2007) All working (almost) perfectly except that front panels invariably go bad and the easiest (And cheapest) to repair are the rotary nobs (and I have never seen those go bad to begin with)
   
2. Always clean it after use - especially if you have cockroaches in kitchen. Almost the only way you can damage the magnetron is by having an insect enter it.
3. MW is almost solely used for reheating - not very good for anything except the basic cooking
   1. 1. If you plan to bake/grill, get a proper oven (preferably gas oven), that + MW will still be cheaper and FAR better
4. You probably are better off with a small rotaty nob based MW oven.

[d_himan]

Got the same model today Hitachi R-S32SVND for 38000/- at Vijay Sales, Mumbai. The missus was swept away by the build quality.

Originally Posted by pnredkar

Hi,

Just to inform that we recently bought a new refrigerator - Hitachi R-S31SVND for Rs. 40700/-. Details can be found at:
3 Door Refrigerator, 3 Door Fridge: Hitachi Home & Life Solutions (India) Ltd

We were looking for bottom-freezer models. Hitachi was a recommended one as few friends have this model. I searched and found that all Panasonic models and about three Samsung models have bottom-freezer. Checked out the Panasonic models: good quality panels and good looks but two doors. Could not find any shop with Samsung ones on display. From net, I found that Hitachi service may be a suspect.

But still on personal recommendations and the advantage of the most compact external dimensions, we decided on the Hitachi mid-model.

Important features:
- Inverter control
- Compact dimensions
- Center vegetable drawer accessible standing upright
- Auto ice maker (My kid loves this)
- Door open warning buzzer
- Silent operations (I find it very silent but really my only other benchmark was a very noisy 11 year old Godrej)

We have had this fridge for the past two weeks. Completely happy as of now. (However, real test would be after about three to five years of operator)

[Raccoon]

Our IFB Neptune Dish Washing is acting up agian.

The story uptil now, in a nutshell - The original machine worked well for only a month or so. Dozens of visits by IFB technicians could not rectify the problem, so after much coersion and delays (long story), the machine was replaced with a new one. We were in the intervening periods left with a dysfunctional machine for months.

Now, less than a month of the expiry of warranty, the replacement machine has also gone kaput. Its worthwhile to note that this replacement machine has been very sparingly used... like once every 10 - 15 days (just to keep it functional). Technician vists several days late from the promised day and says PCB needs replacing. Estimated cost - about Rs. 4500/- (excluding service contract)

Other things aside, readers can gauge the quality of the product from this brief description. What else but an extremely poor quality PCB can go bad with such minimal use in such a short time? We have high and low voltage protection at home. Further, no other appliance has been damaged... so it cannot be voltage fluctuation. Further, experiences mentioned on the net mention failure of PCBs as extremely common for this IFB product.

So IFB seems to have a very lucrutive business model. First, sell very low quality products, and then keep the costomer captive by selling exhoribtantly priced spares, service contracts (which they aggressively push) and consumables. They actually benifit selling low quality stuff.

Now the scariest part is that even if the amount asked is shelled out, there can be no gaurantee that even if PCB is repaired it will last even one day. Besides the PCB, it may well be the pump or motor or whatever else that can give up the ghost anytime. So they want us to shell out few thousand more for a service contract. And I am against service contracts (esp. when they are so pricy)!

We are just not inclined to spend so much for a fairly new machine that has been so sparingly used. But if it is kept in non-usable state, other parts may conk out and the machine will very have to be just junked. Not the most delightful proposition considering that it has cost about Rs. 30k plus plumbing, stand, etc.

I would strongly advice any potential buyers to reconsider their buying decision for such a product. Even though it does wash well when it works, its durability and quality is very poor and you will patronising a company which will put you in a trap as it has put us. In any case even maids are more reliable than this machine.

Does anybody know if there is any chance of getting a dishwasher anywhere else in Pune? Just not inclined to spend this kind of money (almost a third of the cost of the machine) for this kind of product and company. And if we don't we will have some expensive junk on our hands.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Yesterday the IFB guy came over and replaced the 'folded pipe' made of rubber for my washing machine. Total cost including labor was 470 bucks.

All seems to be well as of now.

Blistering barnacles! Looks like i spoke too soon!

The machine still leaks some amount of water during the washing cycle. I am fed up of this machine now, and have decided to put up with this leak till it aggravates. I cannot have the IFB guys come house-visiting every alternate day!

[sgiitk]

I think IFB have been going downhill ever since they lost the Bosch link. This way in the new open regime they may be confined to the dust heap soon.