It’s really easy to get in a rut, even when searching the internet for answers and items. We don’t even think sometimes, we just keep forging ahead and beating our heads on the wall.
Within the last 2 days I’ve had 2 occasions where I could not find the answer with Google and Bing had it near if not at the top of the 1st page.
The first problem happened looking for a part for my dishwasher (I will NEVER, EVER, EVER buy another Sears Kenmore product so help me God, actually it’s manufactured by Whirlpool so cross them out too). Sears has still not grown past this mentality.
I needed a small $5 seal that due to a very poor design, when it leaks (only after 2 years – 1 year warranty), corrodes a $45 servo so bad it has to be replaced. They (who knows who “they” are anymore, who actually makes these things, multiple brands seem to use the same parts) no longer sell the seal by itself, instead they force you to buy a $60+ assembly.
I ordered the $45 servo from Amazon because it arrived in 2 days with free shipping vs. a week and no other shipping options available from Sears.
After searching I found a discussion that actually listed the part number for the seal and then I Googled the part number and landed on Sears Direct Parts website. They showed it as “in stock”. But when I landed on the checkout page, it had a note that said it was no longer available. Great… so I hit the “chat” link and the Sears person on the other end check and said that it was definitely in stock. So I placed the order.
The next day, I checked the status and the order status shows that the order will be refunded. I checked the actual item and it shows in stock! So I hit “chat” again and this time was told that no, it was not in stock. I asked how long it would be before my money was refunded and was told 7 to 10 business days. I complained to no avail. (I will NEVER, EVER, EVER buy another Sears Kenmore product so help me God).
So, back to searching for the elusive part. Every appliance part website shows this seal as being out of stock and no longer available. I went 8 or 9 pages deep in Google.
Then I finally thought to try another search engine to see if there would be any difference.
Bam!
I pasted the part number in to Bing and the first or second result had it in stock! This site even shows how many they have in each of their locations. They had a total of 8 of these seals so I ordered 2. I think they may have the last 8 in the country!
So now we’re at Google 0, Bing 1
Day 2
I’m repairing a PC and have an odd error message. I’m keying the error message into Google and not finding anything that is helpful. After the parts issue I quickly go to Bing and copy and paste in the same error message and the 1st item has a sub item with the word “solved” so I click it first and find the little tweak I was looking for.
So now we’re at Google 0, Bing 2
Keep this in mind, Google has a mental monopoly, but they don’t always have the best search results.
Until next time,
Fred
P.S. This Sears / Kenmore dishwasher was manufactured in 2015 by Whirlpool. It’s the biggest piece of junk I’ve ever worked on (I prefer to fix my own stuff: cars, appliances, house, etc.). If I worked for either of these companies I’d be embarrassed. It was a $400 to $600 dishwasher ( I think we bought it on sale for $450ish I don’t really remember). The door is so thin it’s like it’s made from aluminum foil and you can bend the door at the bottom when sliding the dishwasher in and out as you’re installing it. I’ve had to reinforce the front lip of the tub to keep it from leaking because it would flex and create a small gap. I’ve had to bypass the electrical connectors on the main wash motor because they’re so cheap they don’t maintain good contact (all the electrical connectors are this way). And now this seal, that probably cost 25 cents, leaks and causes a huge mess damaging other parts and my floor: I don’t mean a drip, there was a stream of water leaking. I don’t think one should have to pay $1000 to almost $2000 to get a dishwasher that’s built out of quality parts and with solid design (and that cleans well which this one does not). I can tell you the main parameter this product was designed to meet: don’t break until after the warrant period. In other words, it was designed to last a year.
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