Brand Conscious

I was shopping for an electric fan recently to replace the air cooler I bought half a year ago.

The air cooler I bought was of the Dowell brand and was quite pricey compared to the other brands. I bought the more expensive brand, thinking that it would be of better quality. However, I ended up having to send it for repair every month. The unit would either stop working after a week of being repaired, or would work but would be too noisy (sounded like it was going to break down) once I turned it to level 2 or 3. The noise was really annoying, as I couldn't sleep with the drill-like noise.

I told the folks at the establishment where I bought the air cooler (Abenson, Market Market) that there was obviously something wrong with the unit and if they could just replace it, but they said that they could only repair. Well, I couldn't possibly bring it for repair every month. It was under repair more time than I could use it in good condition (1 week in good condition, 2-3 weeks under repair). So I finally gave up bringing it back to the store.

I asked my brother if he wanted it, and my nephews were only too happy to have it. My brother found a way to muffle the noise.

Anyway, so I was buying an electric fan (not in Abenson, which I've already sworn off), and the salesmen kept showing me a Dowell fan, when we overheard another lady shopper say something like, "Why do you keep insisiting on Dowell when it's a poor brand?"

So there. Abenson and Dowell are two stores/brands I'm crossing off my list. I've had a bad experience with Abenson before. I don't know why I even bought there again. I've heard a lot of negative comments about them, too -- even from their employees. They seem to have a reputation for being quick at selling but really slow at replacing damaged items.

Just to compare, I recently bought an AVR from Ace Hardware, and it got busted after a few days. When my brother brought it back to the store, they immediately replaced it! Why can't it be that easy with Abenson?

The next time you purchase, you might want to reconsider where and what brand you buy. =)