Partly the customers are at fault. The non electronics person in general has an impression that electronics goods can be made very cheaply no matter what the application or quantity.
Now as you say some was cribbing over adding transient protection. But to lay person unlike missing seatbelts of an automobile, the missing tranzorbs are not a visible issue till problems occur.
The customers really need to realize that safety aspects is not my fussiness but an integral part of the design.
Another impression is that since obsolecense in electronic goods occurs at a very high rate who needs reliability -- A common confusion between reliability and long life.