Consumer Reports voodoo

For various reasons, I have never been a big fan of Consumer Reports. While I feel they fill a legitimate niche in media, I’ve always thought their closely watched ranking system was the product more of voodoo than scientific, controlled analysis.

The June issue is a prime example. In ranking washing machines, the top-ranked LG SteamWasher scored 83 points, while a certain Samsung washer scored 77 points. This placed the Samsung washer nine places below the LG in the ranking chart.

The questions arise when you look at the individual categories that are scored and presented in the table. Each machine scored very good or excellent in every category, with the exception of gentleness (LG=”very good”, Samsung=”excellent”). In another category, LG scored better by virtue of the fact that the normal cycle time was five minutes shorter.

I don’t know why Consumer Reports does not give more information regarding their scoring methods, and precisely what aspects of a machine they analyze. In my opinion, they hurt their credibility be being so secretive.

I don’t question their assertion that the LG SteamWasher is the best washer on the market. Rather, I question their method of reaching that conclusion, and the methodology of their ranking system.

While working the sales floor at my first retail job, I always dreaded the Consumer Reports Shopper. She (or he) had the magazine or book in hand when she walked through the door, and consulted it religiously. The problems arose when I would say something that contradicted the magazine (“No, capacity in the dryer is important”), or when I did not have a model on the floor listed in the book (many times, by the time the book hits the shelves, the models have changed). And I just LOVE how the editors tell their readers to “insist on a dryer with a moisture sensor”… as if I would really try and talk her into a model that didn’t have one.

I’m not trying to disparage those who choose to read Consumer Reports. What I am saying is to take what Consumer Reports says with a pound of salt, and include the magazine as just one (small) part of the decision making process. After all, this is the same magazine that rated the Calypso #1 for how many years, and look how that turned out.