Brands and companies that have gone down in quality

[mvd]

IMO:

McDonalds - when I was a child, it tasted great

Red Lobster - same here. Now it's greasy IMO, and I've gotten underdone baked potatoes (yes, there's an e when plural.)

Denny's

Perkins

Green Giant

[Wwagsthedog]

1. Whirlpool appliances

Used to be quite dependable IMO but 2 of the ones (dishwasher & clothes washer) I acquired a few years ago were toast within months of the 5 year warranty expiration. Won't consider them again!

[physioex]

4. I agree...

Their products are crap. We had the main seal on our dishwasher go bad only after 5 years, it turned out cheaper to buy a new one. We also had lots of problems with our stove. Went to Maytag, I think their products are a bit better...

[Syrinx]

2. Playboy

I had a whole thread about that a few days ago.

[physioex]

3. HP....

Ever since that skank Carly Fiorina came from Lucent and screwed up HP things have been downhill. Not to mention that screwed up merger with Comapq which merged with another loser company DEC. I remember HP products were always admired and had the best quality.

[belladonna]

7. You got to it before I did

One of my first PC's was a Hewlett Packard and I LOVED that thing. My daughter got one about a year ago and that thing has been nothing but trouble from day one. Oh, and their tech support SUCKS :grr:

[physioex]

9. LOL...You should have asked me first...

:hi:

[salvorhardin]

23. Digital Equipment Corporation ... Loser company?

First time I've ever heard that. Granted they didn't see the transition in the market from mainframes to micros but neither did IBM. However, the PDP and VAX computers were simply awesome. The VAX's instruction set I think will go down in the books as the very definition of CISC. VMS is still one of my favorite operating systems. The DEC Alpha processor remains to this day a great CPU.

As far as your comments regarding HP, Carly Fiorina and Compaq I wholeheartedly agree.

[physioex]

25. I agree the Alpha was a good processor.....

They got to 1GHz long before Intel. But their products never had any commercial success in the latter years. I can agree with what you said..

[proud2BlibKansan]

33. HP does suck

When I tried to call them about a problem, they wanted $25 before they would answer any questions.

[wellstone_democrat]

5. Yeah, Red Lobster used to be good

Now it all *tastes* canned and reheated---yes, I know it probably always was but no it is inescapable.

Oh, and at the beginning, Olive Garden was a good experience even for a chain restaurant as well. Now? Tastes like Franco-American makes the meals.

[stavka]

40. YEAH! You used to be able to get "Fresh Catch" fish there

now it's like all fried crap and shrimp combo's. I remember getting lobster, snapper, lake perch etc as a teen.

[theoceansnerves]

6. a few

zenith, went to the bottom of the barrel
philips, magnavox
albertson's
jc penney

[No Mandate Here.]

8. Just about any brand at MallWart is lower in

quality to the same products at other stores. They get seconds or, more likely, since they shake down their suppliers, the products are actually differesnt and chintzier.

[NMDemDist2]

10. CNN since Turner sold them

they used to be a good news org, now they are RW shills and stink

[No Mandate Here.]

19. That's for sure...

They used to be proud of the "non beautiful" people who read their news and were their correspondents. Now they all look like Faith on Murphy Brown- just for show. And they sure slant the news. Bring Ted back.

[ForrestGump]

11. The United States of America, Inc.

[mvd]

14. Good one

Fortunately, we have say in turning that one around. :-)

[ForrestGump]

17. Oh yeah? All shareholders are not created equal.

:D

[DS1]

12. Metallica

Gateway computers

[name not needed]

27. Yeah.

Hopefully their next album will inlcude recordings from the Presidio sessions, which were much apparently much better than St. Anger.

[Doctor Smith]

13. Kmart, Singer, Xerox, Polaroid, Kodak, Sony

[theoceansnerves]

24. damn

you're right about polaroid. the sx-70 was the peak and since then it's all been plastic crap.

[Nite Owl]

15. Agree on Red Lobster.

Got a gift certificate for Christmas and looked forward to going again. Very disappointing.

Volvo. Used to make a great car. Solid, safe, lasted forever. Ford bought them and they are now terrible. All kinds of problems and poor service, and Corporate headquarters could care less.

[PartyPooper]

16. Levi jeans

30 years ago they lasted a lot longer than they do today.

:-)

[ForrestGump]

18. That's true. They used to be totally indestructible.

Though of different quality in different countries. Last time I looked, I was also overhwhlemed by all the numbers, a proliferation that I don't recall from before...most seemed pretty interchangeable, too. Not bad, having such choice, just a tad confusing.

[No Mandate Here.]

20. They were US union made then.

I think they closed the last US plant several years ago.

[ForrestGump]

22. All right! TeamsterPants!

That was always one of the big things about them, that they were made in the USA.

Haven't worn jeans much in the last decade (they were a staple before then) because cargo pants better suited my needs and climate, but I just bought a new pair a bit earlier this year...Calvin Kleins. I'm so 20 years behind the trend. Then again, back in the '80s I'd probably never have bought CKs because of how ragingly trendy (and overpriced) the marque was. Got 'em at an outlet store, too, so handily took care of the 'overpriced' bit. They're proudly made in...let me see...oh...Mexico. At least it's North America, I guess...

[hayduke1]

39. YES

10-5 years ago they lasted longer, held up better, ect...

Goldpanners and Roustabouts everywhere unite!!!

[Ksec]

21. Levis, Black and Decker, Avon, Craftsman, Hoover..

most of the ones who outsourced also. Quality goes down the toilet with outsorcing, service and product..

[Lydia Leftcoast]

26. All airlines

No explanations necessary. Flying coach class in the 1960s was halfway to the current level of business class.

[ForrestGump]

31. That's true

US flag carriers suck most heinously, most of them. Reducing the allowable baggeg weight (aka lowering the threshold at which they can charge for excess) and switching from providing increasingly sparse meals (quarter-ounce bag of pretzels per 1500 miles traveled) to providing overpriced menu options were the last straw. I'll always fly non-US carriers to and from the US and elsehwhere, whenever possible and cost-effective, and I just wish that some of these other airliens operated domestically in the US.

[Karenina]

28. Converse

I have about 15 pairs made in the U.S.A. none younger than 10 yrs old. My first pair of "Jerry Buss purple" ones that I wore while pregnant with my now grown son are in the original box in the back of the closet. The new "outsourced" LEATHER pairs I've been given as gifts cannot stand up to the canvas ones I bought at the "irregular" outlet in Huntington Beach. I REFUSE to spend 75 EUROS for a pair of canvas sneakers made in an Asian sweatshop. What IS this world coming to when a girl can't find reasonably priced CONVERSES?????? :wtf:

[devilgrrl]

29. Converse canvas sneakers are crap these days

I bought a pair of Converse this past fall, the last time I had a pair was way back in the 70's. The canvas they used then was MUCH THICKER than it is now and the soles were better too!

:wtf:

[greatauntoftriplets]

30. Everything?

:shrug:

[lpbk2713]

32. Magnavox TV's and VCR's

I used to buy nothing else but.

[ThomWV]

34. Sear's Craftsman Tools

Their hand tools used to be as good as any you could buy anywhere. Now they are simply junk. Expensive junk too.

[UrbScotty]

35. The Republican Party (TM)

75 years ago, I would have been a Republican, bowing down to new President Herbert Hoover.

Then came October 1929. FDR and the New Deal later followed. By then I think I would have been a Democrat.

[SmileyBoy]

36. Pepsi, namely Mountain Dew.

MD used to taste better back in the early 90's, IMO. I think they altered the formula.

[galadrium]

37. Sony

They used to make great stuff... but the last few sony products I have bought have not lasted very long at all.

[quinnox]

38. coca-cola, carnation breakfast bars, Van de Kamps fish fillets

I swear coca-cola did change their formula even after they said they went back to 'classic' coke when everyone complained about the new coke way back when. It used to taste better.

And don't get me started on Carnation breakfast bars, I loved those things and then they had to change the bar and made it taste terrible.

Also, Van de Kamp used to make their fish fillets out of Halibut, and then changed it to a cheap fish and now you have to pay a lot more if you want the halibut one.

One last thing, there used to be a really sour lemonade that was only marketed for a short time, it was the sourest lemonade I ever tasted and I thought it was great, but they stopped producing it and that also pissed me off. I forget the brand name though.

[Berserker]

41. Dell, Hp, Gateway and most all

off the shelf computers now come with pre-installed garbage that NO one needs.

[Taverner]

42. McDonalds hasn't changed the *flavor* since the 70's

Early 70's at that...they go through great lengths to chemically keep the same flavor they had in 71

[Dees]

43. Zenith, Pioneer, Curtis Mathes, Technics, Kenwood.....nt

[Earth_First]

44. The North Face & Lowe Alpine

I will never purchase outdoor equipment from either...

It's Mountain Hardware or Sierra Designs or bust...