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Make a Great Product

We recently bought a new van. Ok, it's not really "new", but it is new to us. We needed some thing bigger that had more space. On the last Ume tour our van broke down. The computer blew after getting a new engine. The whole experience made it exceptionally clear how important quality really is. I'm never going to buy another Dodge.

The new van is a Ford, which I still have some reservations about. That said, it is a diesel, which means there are some essential aspects of the engine that require quality, so it seems like a good decision.

One of the things that hit me was that everyone wants to take shortcuts. I was concerned the engine shop was trying to take some short cuts to fixing things and everything I read about dealerships enforced the idea of getting something for nothing. This whole time it seemed clear that the lack focus on great products makes the entire system faulty. While supply and demand are technically meeting in the middle, the real problem is that of quality.

If dealerships and auto makers put customers first and tried to make great cars, the idea of a pushy sales person and dread at the dealership would most likely slip away. I truly think this mentality is throughout our entire economy. People are trying to make a buck and they are willing to sacrifice quality to make more money. The result is poorly made products that don't meet customer's needs and ends up making things difficult for everyone.

I'm convinced that if a business focuses on making a great product they can be successful. I know that is who I'd buy from. It doesn't take much to convince a person that it is a huge waste of time and money buying crappy products. There are definitely ways to save money, but rarely is it through buying a product that is less than ideal. Likewise, if you want to make money, selling off cheap products can only be a short term solution.

I'm probably being somewhat idealistic, but I still think the idea of a great product is where the future is. Too many industries seem to be collapsing from the weight of bigger gains while reducing quality. I just want to be treated with respect and pay for products that are woth the money I'm paying. Pretty simple.