The letter of the week is “Q”, so I thought I would talk about Quality.
Many years ago, there was a consumer electronics company called Zenith Electronics. Their slogan was “The quality goes in before the name goes on.” Unfortunately, the company did not survive the turn of the century, going out of business in 1999.
At one time, America was known for the quality of its manufacturing. Over the years, the cost of making anything went up and, after time, the quality went down. Japan, with their government, labor and business all working together instead of against each other, overtook the United States in manufacturing and quality, costing many jobs in America. Over time, the cost of manufacturing in Japan went up, but demand for low prices continued (especially in America) and manufacturing moved to China. Today, although there are some good products made there, there is also a lot of junk.
I am reminded of a story about a guy who was shopping to buy a bike for his son. At the store, he saw two bikes. One was a well-known name brand that had a good reputation for quality, but was $70. The other brand he had never heard of, but the price of the bike was only $30. He really liked that $30 price, so that is the bike he purchased. After about 3 weeks, the chain broke. It was still under warranty, so it cost nothing but inconvenience to repair. A few months later, however, the handlebars broke and he had to pay $15 to repair them. Two months later, the frame cracked and it would have cost $25 to repair or get a new frame. At that point he said enough is enough, and went out and bought the $70 bike.
What he learned was the difference between the price and the cost of something. The man’s son rode the $70 bike for 8 years, meaning that the cost for the bike was less than $10 per year. The cost of the $30 bike was already $45 and would have been more, all in the first year.
Very simply, if you can’t afford what is quality, don’t waste your money on something that is of poor quality. Wait until you can afford what you really want instead of just getting something now that will be tossed aside in a few month.
