Revelation of another sort

Before I traveled over seas a couple of years ago, I purchased a set of good luggage. Well, what I thought was good luggage. The expandable handle snapped in the tube in London on my way home. I can tell you that having a broken handle on the larger of your two bags can make navigating a subway and airport rather difficult. More recently, the zipper snagged and broke on the main compartment of another suitcase while on a biz trip. Fortunately, I was in New York and no matter what you might possibly need can be found on your way home. I purchased a luggage strap and all of my things made it home safely. Had I been anywhere else, I would have been screwed.

Upcoming travel finally forced me to look up a certified luggage repair shop and take my two limping suitcases in for repair. Unfortunately, the "Lifetime Guarantee" on my Travelpro luggage doesn't seem to cover much. In fact, it only seems to cover "defects" not lame craftsmanship. The repair costs won't be too bad but that's not the point. For those wondering, yes, I've already written an email to Travelpro tell them, in no uncertain terms, how disappointed I am in their weak-ass product. I won't be buying Travelpro again.

The repair man told me Travelpro's flimsy guarantee is precisely why he doesn't carry that brand in his shop. It was then that I had my revelation: from now on, before making a big ticket purchase, I'm going to a repair shop to ask what's the best. What needs the most repair? Who has the best warranty? What do you recommend? Think about it, who would know better than the poor guy dealing with disappointed customers which product to recommend? Of course, letting me in on the best products won't help business for him much. The luggage repair shop repairs hand bags among other things. I could always take something in for a small repair then drill for answers. It's a bit manipulative but I sure do wish I'd talked to that luggage repair man before I bought my luggage.