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Question:Mandy, manager of a cafeteria at a large corporation, purchased a new freezer for kitchen. It operated at a temperature a few degrees above the setting. Is the freezer merchantable? Why or why not?Consumer ProtectionConsumer protection takes the form of laws, regulations, government agencies, and independent groups that seek to ensure that buyers are able to make the purchases that they expect to make. Without this network of protection, consumers would not be able to determine whether a product will meet their needs. In a market system, this results in falling price levels that ultimately drive honest producers out of business.Answer and Explanation:Merchantability is a legal term used to describe a type of implied warranty. Essentially, any item that is purchased is legally assumed to meet "reasonable expectations." This protects a buyer who goes to the store to purchase a toaster, only to find out that it's just a plastic box. Even if the seller claims that they have no responsibility because the buyer did not explicitly question if the toaster would actually toast bread, the toaster is assumed to be merchantable and thus the seller is responsible. (Note, however, that a seller can specifically state that an item is not merchantable, which places the burden of a potential bad deal back on the buyer.)In the case of a freezer, one might reasonably assume that it will freeze food. Many industrial freezers are kept well below freezing, as this helps food to freeze faster. If the setting is at 0 degrees F, but it's really operating at 2-3 degrees, ultimately the freezer is still doing its job and operating within reasonable expectations. But say that Mandy wants to set the freezer specifically to 32 degrees (the freezing point of water) because she doesn't need the food to freeze quickly, or she plans on retrieving some of the food soon. If she sets it to 32 degrees, but instead it's really running at 34-35 degrees, then the food won't freeze no matter how long she leaves it in there.If the freezer doesn't freeze when it should reasonably be expected to do so (such as when it is specifically set at the freezing point), then the item cannot be considered to be merchantable.
Based on the explanation provided, if the freezer does not freeze when it should reasonably be expected to do so (such as when it is specifically set at the freezing point), then the item cannot be considered to be merchantable. Therefore, if the freezer is not freezing food when it is set to 32 degrees as expected, it would not be considered merchantable. Therefore, the answer to the question "Is the freezer merchantable?" would be false (F) in this scenario.
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