This article is the archived version of a report that appeared in the May 2009 Consumer Reports Magazine.

They say, you say

The promotional copy from appliance maker Fisher & Paykel says: "We imagined the ideal dishwasher ... and the concept of the DishDrawer was born." Here's what you, our readers, say: Ha! A quarter of the Fisher & Paykel dishwashers you bought over five years had serious problems and/or had to be repaired.

That's the kind of information that anyone shopping for an appliance needs to know before plunking down hundreds or thousands of dollars.

More than 112,000 of you told us about your dishwasher in last year's Consumer Reports Annual Questionnaire. That's just the tip of the iceberg; altogether, online or on paper, more than a million of you checked the boxes that tell the truth about how well products have held up. Or haven't.

Road worrier

Chrysler boasted that its Sebring Convertible "delivers what no other convertible on the road can." Owners of those 2008 Sebrings told us that what that car delivers is a fistful of mechanic's bills. Readers' reports on its reliability put it dead last among all vehicles that year. An average car from that model year had 14 problems per 100 vehicles; Sebring Convertibles had 59 per 100 vehicles.

Hear us now

You also help us rate customer service. Sprint says it has committed to "revolutionize the customer experience one customer at a time." Better hope you're next in line. Consumer Reports carried Ratings of cell-phone customer service in the January issue; your responses to our last survey gave Sprint the lowest mark in four out of the seven customer-service categories.

The Consumer Reports 2009 Annual Questionnaire will be hitting your mailbox or In box in April. If you wonder whether your answers really count for anything, just consider how relieved you are not to be reading this in an auto mechanic's grubby waiting room, clutching a cell phone with dodgy service, and fretting about the lifeless dishwasher at home.

We know what manufacturers say. Now what do you say?