Robert Krughoff, ’67, 1942-2023
Robert Krughoff, founder of Consumers’ Checkbook, dies at 80
Not long after he pulled out of a Prince George’s County auto shop for the third time in two weeks, Robert Krughoff realized that his car was still not fixed. Soon, he knew, he’d have to go back a fourth time — or, better yet, find another shop.
“There ought to be a way to find who does good service work, not just what the good products are,” he later recalled thinking.
Mr. Krughoff, then a 29-year-old federal official, had always liked to find a deal. He was, he acknowledged, the kind of person who would get estimates from a half-dozen companies before buying lumber, installing carpeting or waterproofing the basement of his townhouse on Capitol Hill.
If Consumer Reports could test and review products nationwide, he figured, there was no reason a local publication couldn’t review area stores and services, helping readers avoid the kind of fiasco he had encountered while trying to get the engine of his Opel Kadett coupe fixed.
Four years later, in 1976, Mr. Krughoff brought his shopper’s guide to life, putting out the first issue of Washington Consumers’ Checkbook, an ad-free, semiannual magazine released through a nonprofit organization that he led on K Street NW.
Long before the creation of websites like Yelp and Angie’s List, the publication served as an indispensable resource for readers looking for recommendations on service providers ranging from plumbers to funeral homes to dentists.
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