It was like when you've left the caps lock on in Word, only it was streaming across the touchscreen on my kitchen range. Err loctUrnoff sUrfacebUrneRs accompanied by frantic beeping. I expected a dAanger wIll rObinson any moment.
My stove had decided to turn on its kiddie lockout function and could not be convinced to change its mind. Totally freaked by the commotion I turned off the power at the breaker, called the repair shop and sat down to wait.
For a week.
Nancy Leson had a bad experience with her previous range, a BlueStar. But in the triumph of hope over experience, she bought another and couldn't be happier with it. After listing all the virtues of her second BS she gloated, "And best of all -- so low-tech. There's no buttons, no gizmos, no nothin'."
Sure, I'd had qualms about the digital controls on the GE Cafe gas range when I bought it. But the salesman assured me they were as reliable as mechanical controls if not more so. And I've been very happy with everything about this range, had zero trouble with it for the two years I've owned it. Right up to last week when it suffered a mid-meatloaf nervous breakdown. I called for help and...
A Week Later The Repairman Cometh
And "lo," sayeth the Repairman, "Truly thou hast banjaxed thy control board and must wait again, even unto the week to come, for its replacement's arrival." Seeking the comfort of the familiar I cradled my Toastmaster waffle iron in my arms. Already 10 years old when we bought it a garage sale for $5, it's the simplest appliance imaginable and still going strong 20 years later.
"Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability." – Edsger Dijkstra
