Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This used to be a good product and, on paper, it still is. Sadly, I lost my previous one, which I had used for two years. Now I have ordered three in the last week or so, returning them day after day, because they have all been defective. Mostly, the problem is with the cap. The cap has two parts: a plastic inside, which is where you can pour your beverage and drink out of, and a metal outside, which you see pictured. These are manufactured separately and are then glued together. It seems that, in the recent batch, the two parts of the cap are not being glued together properly and are coming apart in a number of units, as another reviewer has noted. My guess is that Amazon is receiving a lot of returns if this is a common problem. How Thermos stuck the cap parts together before, I do not know. But whoever is doing this task at the factory needs to be disciplined or dismissed, or a stronger glue needs to be used. More seriously, whoever does quality control needs a good reprimand. Or perhaps there is nobody doing quality control. There are other problems too. On one of the bottles I received, the cap would not screw in all the way, leading my coffee to leak out. Problems with the paint peeling and heat rentention diminishing have been noted before but I think the cap problem is more serious. I am now sending yet another bottle back and am hoping that the one I receive in return will hold together. But I am not optimistic. I like the design of this bottle but if they cannot make it properly, I will no longer buy it. Placing new orders and preparing returns is a time-consuming process. Sadly, we are discovering this with so many products these days. Many great brands, which could once be trusted to produce sturdy products for daily use are losing value because the search for cheap labor and materials has led to inferior parts being put together hurriedly. Nowawadays, a lot of products do not last very long or, as is the case here, fall apart after first use, or no use at all. This is a shame because Thermos was one of the classic brands of the modern era. Rest in Peace, dear Thermos. UPDATE (13 February, 2013): Yet another lid has failed! Sending my fifth one back now! There is a major quality control issue at the Thermos factory. Hopefully all these Amazon returns (and I know I'm not the only one), will precipitate an investigation. This is very frustrating, time consuming, and disappointing. ***************************