Being disabled, I am grateful for remote-controlled apparatus. But do they have downsides as well?
Years back, I bought a Philips electric fan that had a remote control. A year or so later, the remote control went kaput. That was traumatic so I opted to avoid buying another until I saw one made by Kolin. Same story, before long it was kaput. But at least, both fans continued to work even if their remote control features were history.
Even farther back than the time I got the two electric fans, I bought a National (now Panasonic) aircon unit with a remote control. It was working well until two days ago. I had pressed the off button of the remote control but I could still hear the aircon humming along. I asked my husband to turn the aircon off manually but still we could hear the motor running. Wishing to save on power costs, I asked my husband to pull off the plug.
Though yesterday was a holiday, I was pleased to hear the service center take my call. I was happier still when they sent their men to check the unit. There was nothing wrong with our aircon, the men said. Problem was with the remote control. Yippee, I thought, it won't cost so much to have it repaired then. I was out in the sala while the men were in our bedroom.
After they left, I entered the bedroom. Aircon was on but the room wasn't cold, not even cool. My husband said the men couldn't fix the settings beyond Automatic, 18. I thought automatic meant it would cool at some point but it never did. The aircon was on for hours but there was no cool air forthcoming. I asked my husband to turn the unit off and bring in the fans. My optimism refused to get the better of my not getting cold/cool air but paying Meralco for the power running the aircon which wouldn't cool.
So now it's one open window and two electric fans in the room. I pray God will spare us from respiratory ailments from the lack of aircon coolness. So far, so good. God has been kind.
Meantime, I called the service center. The lady referred to as Ma'am Rio said she'd call me regarding feedback on my remote control. I called a second time, she no longer took my call but the girl who answered me said Ma'am Rio would call me up. She didn't.
Time to complain to the dailies?
Moral of the story: if one has to buy a remote-controlled apparatus, make sure it has a manual feature as well. Will make sure the next time I do, otherwise, I'll simply get the manually operated model. arrghhhhhh
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2 comments:
And to think that appliances with remote controls are more expensive!
When I bought my aircon so many years ago, I wanted to buy one with a remote control. I was lucky the school electrician was in the appliance store at that time and he advised against buying a unit with remote control. He described an incident in school which was exactly like yours. He said if the unit comes with a remote control, just one drop and your remote control goes kaput.
guess what? the remote was repaired and so I don't need to replace what I have. Repair cost me P350. Thank God. I hope it stays all right for a long time to come...
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