Quality

I was watching something on The History Channel, and a commercial for American Restoration came on…

Quick side note: American Restoration is one of my favorite shows. I didn’t even know I was a fan of antiques until I started watching Pawn Stars. I guess I just love seeing old stuff made new again. But I digress…

So anyway, when you watch American Restoration, the first thing you’ll hear is Rick Dale asking “Remember back in the day, when things were made by hand, and people took pride in their work?” Yes, Rick. I remember those days, and they’re long gone. Nowadays, things are purposefully built NOT to last. Things here are built to be easily replaced. You can’t make money by selling one thing; you make money by selling the same thing over and over again. You know, kinda like the pharmaceutical industry… they don’t look for cures to things like cancer or other diseases. It’s much more profitable to find a “drug therapy” for someone rather than a cure… I mean, drug therapy… that’s a customer for life, literally!

So, yeah, things aren’t built to last… and the really sad part? We’ve become such a consumer nation, we don’t even care that things don’t last (well, most people don’t). We expect things to break, and we don’t even question why things aren’t made with more quality. For manufacturers, the priorities are to make as many as possible for as cheap as possible. Nobody gives a shit about quality… and if you do, then you’re crazy, because that eats into the bottom line. It’s just sad. And manufacturers and higher-up business types will tell us that it’s just not as profitable to make one thing right the first time, and they’ll say it’s because you won’t get repeat customers that way. What a bunch of baloney. Look at the Dyson guy. He worked on one thing (a vacuum). He charged what he thought he should charge, and people were pissed! “I’m not paying that much for just a vacuum!” But you know what? It’s a quality vacuum, and it’s worth the “outrageous” price. You get a good value for your dollar! And sure, I may not buy another Dyson, because mine is still going strong… but I will recommend this thing to everyone who asks. THAT should be worth something to manufacturers. THAT should be something to strive to get. Word of mouth can be so much more powerful as an advertising tool… basically, by making something that works well and lasts, by making a quality product… Dyson has made me and every other satisfied customer into a salesman for their company. THAT’s how things should get done.

But then again, what do I know? I don’t have a business degree, and I’m certainly not rich. I must not know anything. Heck, some would even go so far as to say I’m just some angry dude cuz he’s poor. And they might be right…

… but at the same time, you can’t tell me that you don’t wish that things were made better. That you don’t wish that people took pride in their work. Everybody wants better shit, right?