Much of the world today has turned into a throw away society. You know, in the United States, some 50 years or more ago, this was not the case! If something was broken the first reaction was to get it fixed. Take it to the repairman! Send it to the service center. Today, though, many broken items just get thrown in the garbage without even a second thought!
Lots of people complain about Global Warming, abuse to the Environment, etc., but many of those same people throw out items that don’t work any longer! I know, because that is how I operated when I lived in the USA too. It is rare that you would even think of getting an item repaired when it stops working! Oh sure, for big items like a car or something, repair is the way to go, but for a $20 item or whatever, it is often easier to just chuck it and buy a new one. How much better off would our world be if we took the time to repair items instead of throwing them out.
Environmentally, this is very wasteful. Lots of items are made with plastic today, and that is derived from oil. So, if you buy plastics, most likely you are using petroleum products in the process. When that item gets thrown away, it is like a throwing out a bit of oil. It is also creating a bunch of waste that litters the planet.
Here in the Philippines, throwing something out is the very last step, and not done quickly or in haste! If the TV is not working any more – there are tons of repairmen who can fix it! A while back I had a transformer that went out in a puff of smoke for a telephone, that can be easily re-wound and fixed by a repairman. Almost anything that breaks, wears out, or for whatever reason stops working can usually be repaired. Sure, everything comes to the end of it’s useful life and ends up in the garbage, but instead of that happening in 3 or 4 years, it might be 3 or 4 decades here! Even items that can’t be repaired can often be put to some alternate use, and you can bet that a Filipino will find a way to use almost anything!
Did you know that repairs are very cheap too? That’s true. I can remember having things like an electric fan repaired for just P200 or P300 in the past. TV repair bills are cheap too. I have a 43 inch rear projection LCD TV that needed some fairly major repairs last year, including some spendy parts, and I paid less than P4,000 for the job, as I recall. A minor repair would be much less than that.
So, if you have things that need fixing, get the job done! Don’t throw it away, save money, save resources, and give the repairman a little extra income! You’ll be happy that you did!
Hi Bob,
I agree with you on that, luckily I am able to fix most things myself so I am ready for the Philippines on that side of things!!
Phil
Hi Bob – wish it was "that easy" in the States.
For those of us with ten thumbs, finding a repairman for a broken item is an odyssey that usually ends in failure. 😕
If a repairman can be located, his/her first words are, "It's cheaper to buy a new one than pay to repair this one." (Of course, repairmen often double as salesmen!) 😯
If repair is still demanded, then other factors come into play, like locating and delayed shipment of necessary parts, astronomical cost for the repair parts (usually, items not normally stocked anywhere), and similar labor costs inflicted personally by the repairman. 😥
Sending something off to a depot or other repair station is another fantasy! 🙄
Gotta love life in the Philippines, where such distractions and greed encountered in the repair world of the States doesn't rear their ugly heads! 😎
How is it in regards to electronics in the Philippines?
Specifically…computers.
I am a Mac user and their computers seem to last forever although I am a computer whore so I often find myself buying the latest greatest.
Do you find yourself upgrading your computer or just buying a whole new one?
Hi Bob,
Now that is my kind of living . . . fix it first. Only 1 week to go before I arrive in Mindanao. Hope to meet you sometime but will make contact first to see how your time is placed.
Hi Phil – It sounds like you indeed are ready! For me, I have to leave the fixing up to the repairman, I am not much of a handyman myself!
Hi Paul – Yes, I understand that it is not easy to get things fixed in the States. The USA has moved on to a "throw away" economy where few things are fixed, and if something is wrong with an item you just buy a new one!
Hi PJB – I build my own computers, so generally, I upgrade them. When I am ready to get a new PC, I let mine roll down to one of my employees in my business, so none go to waste! There is plenty of computer repair here, though, if needed.
Hi Richard – I hope to see you soon, then!
Here in El Rio we have an electronics repair guy that comes around once or twice a week. He fixed the industrial floor fan we had for 60 pesos, it was a problem with the motor. So now that fan has a new lease on life and is working in our general store.
Hi BrSpiritus – Yep, that is exactly the kind of thing that I am talking about. I seriously believe that in the USA that fan would have probably been tossed out and a new one bought to replace it. Now, here for P60, $1.50, you got it all fixed and it's working for you again! Bravo! 😆
The whole system does seem set up that way. Even if they know that you will not be purchasing a new one from them, the cost of labor is so exorbitant that it makes it not worth it to fix.
A month ago I needed to get a digital projector fixed. The estimate for this several years old piece of equipment was almost the cost of a new one (and they are not cheap).
Hi Tom – Yeah, I know what you mean! One thing to consider – if you have friends or family in the Philippines, this kind of stuff can be shipped here in a Balikbayan box, repaired and put to use here! Or, on your next visit you can pick it up and bring it home for a backup unit. Repairs here are so cheap, that it would be foolish not to fix it! 😆
Hi Bob,
How true! Everytime Ken wants to throw out something because it's "broken" or it's old – or something, it becomes a tug-of- war between the two of us. I guess, coming from a Third World country, I still think that someone can put something to good use in the Philippines. What I end up doing is putting "stuff" in a BB box to send to the Philippines. My Mom distributes to whoever can make use of them – from old clothes, dishes, etc. I think Ken is starting to turn around, though, because he came up with an idea of sending unused wheelchairs to a rehab center in the Phil. Now, we both have desktops that are still in good running condition but are about 12 years old. One is "broken" because I played around with it and WNT doesn't work right anymore…I know I can send it to the Phil and someone can still make use of it but is it worth it? It's only got 13 GB HDD, PII, 500MB RAM. It's still sitting on my desk although I've been working off a laptop for over 2 years now. I have to make a decision soon. I just can't get myself to throw it out… HELP!!! 😆
Hi Tina – Feyma and I used to be like you and Ken. I would want to throw stuff away, and Feyma would want to send it to the Philippines. I couldn't understand why anybody would send broken stuff here, but she was right! No doubt about it.
Hi Bob , my father in law [ he is now 81 ] in iligan city does this for his job.
As long as i know him [ 25 years ] people bring him small items that are broke. [ umbrella , belt , shoes , glasses and more ]
When it is fixed , they bring it back and charge only a few peso.
So maybe he get 100 peso a day.
I allways wonder how he does it .
And then when we on holiday , bring him a electric tool , to make it easier for him. It is now 9 years ago that we provide electric in his
small house , that we built for them only 15 years ago , and least year on holiday finished it off with shower and toilet.
Yes! this is so true! My husband is really handy, so he has always tired to fix anything that broke, but here in the Philippines he can have someone else do it if it is too complicated. Most people have a 'suki' who they take stuff to to fix, and we have a great one! Recently he has worked on computers, monitors, an amplifier, a camera, an LCD projector (which he couldn't fix, it was too old) and a CD player.
On the other hand, trying to get something you bought repaired by the manufacturer because it is defective is another story altogether. We had a local brand blender with a blade the broke in the first week. No one could do a thing. We were finally told to just 'pabricate.' We ended up tossing it.
PBJ, we use Macs and get them fix in Manila under warrantee, with no problems. We have even had no problems packing them well and mailing our laptops when they have needed something. But as you said, they rarely needs repair. Ours are all old, but we just upgrade the system and keep rolling.
Hi Bob – I'm like Tina and Feyma too. I have to convince Jim that things that he thinks are of little or no use here in the UK will be much appreciated back in the Phils, whether they’re old or in need of repair. Old mobile phones, for example. Here in the UK, the majority (especially the young ones) seem to get new phones every Christmas and throw away the old ones because they’re not trendy anymore. Now Jim collects old mobile phones from colleagues at work in order to give them to my nephew who sells and fixes them for a living back in the Phils. Del Monte and Dole banana farm workers texting from the fields in Talakag is now a common sight.
Hi Anton – Wow, your Father in law is still working at 81! Amazing! And, like you say, he is doing valuable work and for only a low wage. I bet that his regular customers will miss him when he is gone!
Hi AmericanLola – It's important to have a Suki! The time you keep returning to that person builds up a relationship, and will come in handy some day. Very important! I agree with you about getting any kind of factory warranty service! I is hard to see that happen!
Hi Marilou – I was really thinking about how people in the West toss out cellular phones like they are disposable! I believe that somebody could make a successful business out of collecting used cellphones abroad, then shipping them to the Philippines, cleaning them up, fixing any problems and re-selling them. People abroad are throwing them away anyway! Amazing!
Hi Bob: As someone living in a neighborhood next to an amazingly thick row of auto repair shops (Banawe Street), I had a great time reading and relating to this article. "Getting it fixed" is so true of the Filipino mentality, and I think it's a reflection of the people's ingenuity and (necessary) penchant for recycling.
By the way, a happy, happy birthday to you! 🙂 (I found out from Feyma's column.)
Hi Tina… If the CD drive of your old desktop still works, you can try downloading linux on another computer and burn it on a cd. Linux flavors that would still work great on PII would be Puppy Linux, DSL (damn small linux), or even Xubuntu. You can just google these for their download sites or you can purchase them from those sites for a small amount. Those also work without touching your hard drive.
Hey Bob… happy happy birthday… may you be blessed a hundredfold more!!!
Happy Birthday Bob!!!
Hi Milper,
Thanks for the tip. I really would just like to get rid of this desktop (but not throw it out). It would be nice to have more space on my desk as I have this humongous monitor sitting on it, unused. The desktop is a Dell Dimension XPS500, 500MHz, 13 GB, 128MB RAM (sorry, I thought it was 512MB). It comes with a CD drive which still works, also a floppy drive. I also bought an external CD-Writer (HP) hooked to the parallel port. It also has speakers, mike and a subwoofer. I think I'll just put everything in a BB box and ship it. I'm sure someone will make use of it there.
As far as my hubby is concerned, he's got the same setup, except he wants to permanently format the hard drive (with a hammer). I think we can find a hard drive to replace it with there, don't you agree?
Hi Bob!
Happy Birthday!!! 27, right?? 😆
All the best to you!!!
Tina & Ken
Hii Bob-The root cause of our problems with regards to the throw away society that we live in today in the west is profit.
If the west adopted the way of the Philippine society to repair instead of discard we would go backwards in terms of technological advancement. Most of todays manufacturers are geared to produce in volume and if we all repaired the items when they broke we would need less workers and that means less demand and that would drive up the cost of the initial item purchase.
Unfortunately thats the way of the world that we live in today. Personnally I have no solution and being an engineer myself I would rather repair if economically viable than descard as I hate waste.
Some people rely on new products for a living as they know our society demands technological advancement on a continuous basis and that creates competition and therefore choice.
Nowadays there are no prototypes made of anything as most new designs can be created on CAD and tested virtually and manufactured within weeks unlike the past when a prototype of a new widget could take months if not years from Idea to design to the retailer.
Love it or like it its a sign of the times and to go back is not an option in the eyes of most western countries.
Hi again Bob- Happy Birthday from Marilou and me and by the way thats something that definately cannot be fixed as there is no cure for getting older. LOL
Hi Bob – Happy Birthday and may you have many many more birthday celebrations to come! ! !
Hi Migs – Thanks for the nice birthday greeting!
Hi Milper – Great idea for Tina! Thanks also for the birthday greeting!
Hi Eric – Thanks!
Hi Tina – Actually… I turned 29 this year! 😳
Hi Jim – That is an interesting argument that I had not considered. The throw away attitude in society is an economic and a technology driver. I believe you are correct on that. Thanks also for the greeting.
Hi Luz – Thanks very much!
Hi Bob,
It's totally the same here in Vancouver,Canada. What a waste to see electronics getting thrown out for simple defects and yes, repairmen here will suggest the same thing-it cost you more to get it fixed! I really missed getting stuff fixed and be used for another 2-4 years more…of course, speaking of global warming and the environment, it doesn't help. BTW, just yesterday, our provincial government introduced the carbon tax(2.4% per liter of gasoline) which will be added to our purchase each time we fill our tank. This is their own way of discouraging people to drive their cars, therefore reduce emissions. There's a lot of mixed reactions to it- considering our public transport system is nothing better compared to Asia.- Anyway, I'm throwing it there to share with your readers….
Hi Veechee – Yep, I think that it is really a worldwide problem, the throw away attitude. Thanks for sharing about the carbon tax!
Once I used to think of America as being the "throwaway country " but now here in Australia we are just as bad.With the cheap cost of consumer goods coming from countries where labor is cheap, and the high cost of a repairman at home might be double the cost of replacing an item, the obvious choice is we throw away, but we rarely pause to think "What is the cost to the enviroment?" I can sense the differece in attitude you have now because you are not living in such a throwaway society. ps, I love the sight of all the vulcanising shops on the roads in the Philippines as they remind me of a time when people used to FIX THINGS>
Hi Anthony – Yes, it is a trend that seems to be traveling all over the world now, I agree. I do think it is important to fix things when possible, and I think that the Philippines is on the right track! 🙂