It's my cell phone! And it sure came in handy when I was recently shopping with a friend who is setting up a new household.
She needs everything, but on this particular day we were in Bed Bath & Beyond just zeroing in on kitchen stuff. Piling things like mixing bowls, measuring cups, and wooden spoons into a shopping cart came easily to my friend. She went with the classics most of us have and grew up with.
But when we hit the appliance aisles, her confidence was clearly shaken. There were 10 toasters to choose from. Sure, they were all out on display to inspect—bright shiny red models, pristine white ones, gleaming stainless steel, and slick black. Some had two slots, others four. Some had extra-wide slots made to accommodate bagels. And prices ranged from $50 to $14.99. That's a huge gap.
But which one made the best toast? That's all my friend wanted to know—and that's where the cell phone comes in. As a ConsumerReports.org subscriber, I called up the site on the spot, punched in my password, and typed in "toasters." Turns out the $50 Kitchen Aid topped our tests, but the $30 Cuisinart CP7-160, a few models down, was also recommended, scoring very goods in all the tests, and was $20 cheaper. So into the cart it went.
Next stop: an entire wall full of kitchen knives, which made my friend's eyes glaze over. But after choosing a high-scoring Wüsthof set, she felt a lot more empowered.
And so we worked our way up and down the appliance aisles of the store, checking out the expert recommendations before putting anything in the cart. And now my friend has a kitchen that should really work well for her.
And I'm never leaving home to shop—for anything—without my cell phone. Here's info on how to subscribe to the mobile service.
