Grumpy Website

 

Here's how Siemens describe themselves: "Innovations that improve life. For business, for society and for each individual. This is Ingenuity for life."

Here's how Siemens applies that to microwaving your food:

1. Press open. Wait up to two seconds before the microwave opens.

2. Press on/off to turn the microwave on. No, the fact that the screen is already lit and displays time doesn't mean the microwave is on. Yes, you have to wait another 2-5 seconds watching Siemens logo. You know, for business.

3. Yes, we highlight the numbers that are not controlled by the knob. Yes, the knob controls the numbers that are not highlighted. See? It's innovation!

4. Also see the ingenuously placed the start/stop button. As far as possible from the knob where you set your values. Even farther from the on/off button.

What amazes and scares me is that there was a whole chain of people who thought, "well, this is ok". The designer. The manager. The materials team. The quality control.

What amazes and scares me even more is that there are still people who buy these (and other similarly horrible microwaves and other appliances) in bulk to equip various offices.