Experts say COVID-19 causing appliance shortage
We all rely on appliances.
The machines are designed to make our lives so much easier and are often taken for granted. But if yours breaks now during the pandemic, you could be left hanging out to dry.
"It's sitting in Dallas and we can have it in 2 to 3 days is turning into 6 and 8 weeks and sometimes more."
David Reinbold, general manager of Circle N Appliance, is sailing the same ocean as many others during the pandemic. Not enough product available, and it began in April with freezers.
"By the end of the week we had sold 63 freezers from Saturday to Saturday," said Reinbold. "A normal freezer month for is in April is about maybe 6 to 10."
The locally run store has a showroom with empty displays and sticky notes that say sold, but Reinbold says while most of the appliance assembly is done in the states, parts needed from foreign manufacturing plants slowed things down.
"I just feel bad for the people that had a freezer like mine in the garage that's 30 years old and it's full that is possibly going to fail," said Reinbold.
"We just don’t have a solution for them. We’ve sold refrigerators to people to put in their garages just for the freezer capacity."
But it's not just freezers. Stoves washers and dryers are all facing a shortage, and looks don’t matter. Only function.
And though folks are understanding 2020’s reality is far different than 2019’s, Reinbold says frustration is setting in.
"It seems like consumers are getting a little more impatient they understood it at first but we can’t get locked in promise dates. I don’t know how long we’re going to be away from that day of yeah we can have it here in two days," said Reinbold.
Now Reilbold says a sense of normalcy is beginning to emerge in the appliance industry but with so many items on backorder to the tune of millions of pieces of equipment, there's no telling when stores will be fully stocked.
