Instruction Manuals
I try not to let the failings of contemporary capitalism get to me but such a mindset is very hard to maintain. From time to time it does just piss you off and you know damn well that there’s nothing you can do about it. So to begin this tale, at the end of November, our Indesit washer/dryer gave up the ghost after a valiant twelve year lifespan. As a result of this household appliance’s stirling work, it was decided to buy another from the same manufacturer. Their website informed me that the model that had just broken was no longer being produced. However, it recommended two newer appliances that had comparable specifications and more importantly the same size. This washer/dryer had to fit into a fitted kitchen unit. To cut a long story short, a model was chosen, purchased, delivered within 48 hours and installed. The broken predecessor was subsequently taken away. The wonders of modern consumer culture!
The aforementioned process all sounds very good, doesn’t it? Broadly speaking it is. All that there was left to do was to come to grips with the operation of the new washer/dryer. However, there was one small thing that proved to be a major impediment to this process. We didn’t get a physical manual with the appliance. It would appear that getting any printed instructions with white goods nowadays is a thing of the past. To put this succinctly, that is a fucking nuisance. A manual is immediate, by which I mean it is close to hand and can be quickly perused. It is also wholly independent of any other requirement. You just need hands and the ability to read and think, to use it. Sadly, the time, effort and cost it takes to produce a printed manual has been deemed far too excessive and the ruination of the bottom line according to big corporations. So they have been dispensed with.
If you find yourself sans manual for the device you’ve just purchased, fear not. You can always go to the manufacturers website and download a PDF version. All you require is a phone or PC with internet access along with some PDF reading software. You also need to know what the fuck you’re doing. Because all the aforementioned steps come with an assumption of knowledge, experience and a willingness to use technology. Something that a substantial number of customers may not wish to do, or be able to do. Now in my case, I sought out an appropriate PDF version of the instruction manual which I then printed out. Mrs P who is the primary user of the household washer/dryer for “reasons”, doesn’t warm to technology based solutions. Hence presenting here with a printed (and stapled) manual was a step forward in addressing this problem.
Most modern washer/dryers come with a wealth of bespoke washing cycles for all sorts of situations and scenarios. Have you spilt sancerre on your cravat? Do you need to get blood out of your chinos after dismembering a corpse? Are you having to do an emergency wash of whatever your grandson was wearing to get god knows what off his clothes? That sort of thing. However, most households tend to use two or so washes at most, for their daily requirements. The thing is this becomes quite difficult to determine, if the PDF instructions are poorly written/translated and also have graphics missing from the PDF. Graphics that represent the appropriate buttons on the sodding washer/dryer. Oh how we laughed (we fucking didn’t). We managed to guess some functionality but ended up having to watch a YouTube video by a helpful engineer. He had a regional accent.
Let it suffice to say that after an online search, it would seem that a lot of other people who bought the same make and model of washer/dryer, were equally pissed off by the lack of a manual and the utterly shit quality of the PDF instructions. One person was attempting to rewrite and share them online but had been told to “cease and desist” by the manufacturers. The mind boggles. Having online resources is fine in principle, as there are always people who are happy to use their phones. However, online resources should not be the only means of providing instructions for a product. Not everyone uses their phone in such a fashion. Not everyone is familiar with PDF files. Not everyone wants to search for the answers via YouTube. But untrammelled capitalism is self-serving and cuntish by nature. Unless legally compelled to do something it seldom does so by default. Hence my and others desire for printed manuals is ultimately irrelevant. “Grr”. Shakes fist at clouds etc.
