Skip to main content

Washing machine to Dishwasher - an urban adaption story

During our generation, our parents coped with the advent of the washing machine. Why washing machine and why not TV or refrigerator or Internet? Because the washing machine made them do a particular chore differently. Clothes which were hitherto washed by hand had to be washed by a machine. They were not sure if this was good or bad. There were rumours that clothes would be damaged by them. There were rumours that people died because of washing machines. There was of course proof that washing machines were not cleaning clothes as good their maids would.

All in all it was a difficult transition. Washing machines saved time. And also saved water - by and large - if used in the right load and configuration. But the quality of the work was still suspect. Most people figured that it worked and in a generation, people adapted it.

Now, this generation (as much as they consider themselves progressive as compared to the previous generation, like every other generation), is facing the same situation with dishwashers.

I for one, was surprised to hear that the dishwasher only consumes 9 -12 litres of water. Compared to manual washing - that is atleast 4 times lower is my estimate. But households are still not ready to adopt. It is happening. The early adopters were there a few years ago - this is now the middle zone in my view. And when I pitched this at home, I was faced with resistance (I still havent won) - thats how I write this post.

Like the washing machines - the early adopters are the ones who want to save time/money or have seen its effectiveness. Thus, dishwashers today are being adopted by the eco conscious (yay, it saves water) or the time conscious (I cant wait for the maid to do this tomorrow). This might be a bit of a mind-read, but the point I am trying to make is the transition.

This generation is the generation when the dishwasher will make it big in homes. In 10-15 years, every household in India that has a washing machine will have a dishwasher.

And then the next one, will do away with their dependence on maids- and move to robotic floor cleaners and dusters. And that is a story for the future!

Think how work cultures are also transforming generation to generation!

PS: This is all entirely anecdotal - and I havent bothered with the numbers. The washing machine part I am fairly sure, the dishwasher part is pure anecdote. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Be Civil. Make nice!

Popular posts from this blog

The power of jotting down ideas

 Long long ago, I always used to carry a small letterpad with me. To jot down ideas that might occur. Over the years, it has changed from a notepad to evernote to google keep, but the power of jotting down ideas is immense.  Small ideas go into keep.  Anything to be quickly typed goes into whatsapp as a self message.  Bigger or better formed ideas go into Google docs A few are still written, but I manage to copy them into a digital format sooner rather than later.  But the power of jotting down is immense. My google keep is an encyclopedia of ideas - most of which may never get implemented. 
Post a Comment
Read more

Why does elearning exist?

 Elearning is one of those niches that does not deserve to exist. Yes, it was a novelty 20 years ago, but not now. It cannot exist. But somehow it does. Disclaimer: I used to head a content team once upon a time. And I used to ask those whom I hired - tell me the last thing you learnt from an e-learning. The answer is - pretty much nothing (and this is a good decade ago).  Why?  If you want to learn a recipe, you go to Youtube, or Reels or something like that. If you are terribly old fashioned - as in, you read - then you go to a website and read the recipe and make it.  Most other things you learn by doing or learning on the job or asking an expert.  If you have to learn something in depth, then there are other ways.  So, where does e-learning fit in all this? E-learning is one of those products that the customer hates, but has no choice, because someone has decided it is the best way. For instance, you have to learn a new CRM or some other product - you w...
Post a Comment
Read more

And the unconference happened

 Most conferences have an agenda. No, not the stated agenda, but an agenda of marketing, airtime to sponsors, ensuring the past and future customers are invited, of ensuring that the "stars" of the industry are invited and attention showered of them. All in all it is a your scratch my back, I scratch your back syndrome. Some of these become cliques and claques and therefore the real point behind a conference is lost. And then there is the unconference - organised and run by the alumni of the ISABS ODCP program. And as the name suggests, this is truly an un-conference organised by the alumni, for the alumni. No funders - except the alumni themselves. No sponsors. Just the team.  I havent seen a more tastefully organised conference (yes, its an unconference).  To begin with - the location - not a typical star hotel, but an outdoorsy place. The food - simple. The welcome - personal. It was like a homecoming. The setting was warm and welcoming. It was a smaller conference. Ju...
Post a Comment
Read more