Where Has The Quality Gone?

[KoolHndLuke]

 Do you like chewing on a burger from that fast food place you like that is smaller and more expensive than it was just several years ago? Do you like buying a piece of furniture that is beautiful, but will not last more than a year or so before needing to be replaced? Do you like buying a new plastic- use one time and throw away- piece of shit for everything in your life? Do you sometimes feel like you are a good little obedient consumer that will buy shoddy craftsmanship because that is what we do?

 

 I am here to tell anyone that this is NOT how things used to be!!! Believe it or not, there was a time when you could expect to buy a product or service at a reasonably low price- that was of reasonably good quality. There was a time when manufacturers and producers took pride in providing quality service or products at a reasonable price. There was a time when you could expect to buy a product and not only not have it fall apart within the space of a month, but have it last a lifetime!! This has disappeared in the today.

 

The question is will affordable quality ever return?

[Guest enip]

Not until our economy gets fixed and sky rockets. Until then, expect more bad quality service, products and companies that fire their employers to hire a small company to come in to do the job instead so they don't have to give job benefits.

 

[nutsnuts]

Increased competition in Markets, And the lure of cheap products, thats what happening in India though. anyone have any idea to getting better quality products in this time line? Any thoughts?

[KoolHndLuke]

The only way it will change is for consumers to demand it! And if there is one thing that people are good at- it is complaining.

[Uncle64]

Best thing is to stop buy the crappy stuff, do get the good stuff. And it will last longer.

 

[Dragoonhentai]

the problem is that the poor people can only afford the cheap stuff and so...there is alot more poor then rich sooo you get the idea. 

[KoolHndLuke]

Best thing is to stop buy the crappy stuff, do get the good stuff. And it will last longer.

THAT is the problem. You can still buy quality if you don't mind handing over the deed to your house!! I said reasonably priced products and services. The current trend is for greedy corporations to lower quality in products and services while keeping prices somewhat affordable or even raising them! A big fuck-you to the average consumer. Just because you think you can afford to pay much more for quality doesn't mean that you should! Paying inflated prices fucks everyone else!

[Jazzman]

Whatever you do, don't eat the fuckin' burger! (sperm saying)

[Content Consumer]

The Captain Samuel Vimes "Boots" Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness:

 

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

 

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

 

[Guest]

yes these days its all about built in obsolescence & conditioning

society to obsolescence because mothefuckers dont have

the nuts to go all out and put out the best something 

can possibly be- and that is why I fuckin love- LOVE!

New Japan Pro Wrestling & Thee Elite

 

if something is quality they have me as a loyal customer

[Captain Cobra]

Outsourced to China lol

[27X]

Those days won't return until the singularity is a very real thing and things like capitalism are not only redundant but a hindrance to further progress.

 

That won't be happening until such time as people being born right now are on their death beds at the current rate of progress.

[KoolHndLuke]

 

The Captain Samuel Vimes "Boots" Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness:

 

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

 

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

 

Well the problem is not that people buy quality products. The problem is that people will buy quality products at inflated prices- just because they can. So the price can soar on those boots until only the wealthy can afford them. But that was probably the plan all along. So long as rich idiots will pay any price, nothing will change.

[---nikoli]

 

The Captain Samuel Vimes "Boots" Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness:

 

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

 

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

 

 

Dammit...  Now I'm going to have to reread the Diskworld series again.

[darkconsole]

five guys burgers or get out

[Poet Olette]

Same with games. Can't expect things to work anymore. Usually when you buy a 60-100 dollar game you gotta wait for the devs to put out countless updates. 

Or just expect some shady business somewhere in the real or development of the game. 

[nonusnomeni]

eaten by profit

 

[Guest enip]

The only way it will change is for consumers to demand it! And if there is one thing that people are good at- it is complaining.

 

Complaining isn't enough. It doesn't stop Bethesda from releasing ridiculously bugged out games.

 

[Vuulgar]

I worked for an international manufacturer of safety equipment and have seen the same thing in many businesses I deal with and that is a loss of priorities. The staff at my place of work was divided into specific departments, all quite normal by name, purchasing, quality, engineering....each being assigned by corporate a very specific list of goals. Managers were basically forging numbers to make each of their departments look as good as possible with no thought toward customers or any other department. Quality had become a myth (my job was verification of quality by comparing print to part and I took my job seriously...and rapidly became a very unpopular "roadblock" by telling them many of the parts being shipped to us were out of spec. Much more than half the time the items I spent hours checking and finding out were ultimately used to prevent shut downs in production. Did I mention these were safety devices and not something like space shuttle parts, these are items each of us encounter daily along with the families and friends of those who sold out. After many years of doing a job I believed in what I saw disgusted me, I sat my ID in front of my PC and walked out the door. Almost every item you buy now is not made with your satisfaction in mind now, it is made to be the cheapest possible.

 

A specific example...our purchasing/ materials department were setting records for defects per million parts ordered and this had gone on for several months even as the quality team I was with were writing notifications on as many if not more parts. At one point the reported 5 dpm for a month and corporate had begun pressuring to remove some of the quality departments jobs since things were going so well. A friend, engineer and not even at risk, went through the system on his own time to make a detailed report showing the actual dpm for that month to be over 55,000 instead of the amazing 5. No one lost their job from my team but the cheating started back up almost immediately though to a much lesser degree for now.

Oddly even though numbers never matched from department to department, there were never questions why. I assume the higher up the chain you went the less they cared as people became less accountable with lower level scapegoats and really as long as they looked good it made their boss look good too.

 

I have no idea how to fix this loss of honor in our society but I fear its is going to get much worse before it gets better.

[Uncle64]

the problem is that the poor people can only afford the cheap stuff and so...there is alot more poor then rich sooo you get the idea. 

I one of them that have not that many coins. But it is not one issue. The problem is that there are so many products out there that are crap and should not been sold. Those products are made for those who cant afford quality. And they get what they pay for. Instead of one mixer at home that last 20 years you get one that gives up after 2 years. What is the point of that, you have not saved anything.

 

 

Best thing is to stop buy the crappy stuff, do get the good stuff. And it will last longer.

THAT is the problem. You can still buy quality if you don't mind handing over the deed to your house!! I said reasonably priced products and services. The current trend is for greedy corporations to lower quality in products and services while keeping prices somewhat affordable or even raising them! A big fuck-you to the average consumer. Just because you think you can afford to pay much more for quality doesn't mean that you should! Paying inflated prices fucks everyone else!

 

Yea, you can find good stuff at decent prices. And as you say, they lower the quality to get the prize down. You can see that all over in what ever country you check.

 

My self tend to think that if I get one thing I see it as one investment, actually checking prizes and quality, and saves up cash for it, you get what I thinking?

If I cant pay in in cash then no deal. I dont do any good by getting credits and guilt.

 

Sorry for spelling.

Outsourced to China lol

They have lower wages then other, but they have also started to outsource stuff. Since their wages have gone up.

I worked for an international manufacturer of safety equipment and have seen the same thing in many businesses I deal with and that is a loss of priorities. The staff at my place of work was divided into specific departments, all quite normal by name, purchasing, quality, engineering....each being assigned by corporate a very specific list of goals. Managers were basically forging numbers to make each of their departments look as good as possible with no thought toward customers or any other department. Quality had become a myth (my job was verification of quality by comparing print to part and I took my job seriously...and rapidly became a very unpopular "roadblock" by telling them many of the parts being shipped to us were out of spec. Much more than half the time the items I spent hours checking and finding out were ultimately used to prevent shut downs in production. Did I mention these were safety devices and not something like space shuttle parts, these are items each of us encounter daily along with the families and friends of those who sold out. After many years of doing a job I believed in what I saw disgusted me, I sat my ID in front of my PC and walked out the door. Almost every item you buy now is not made with your satisfaction in mind now, it is made to be the cheapest possible.

 

A specific example...our purchasing/ materials department were setting records for defects per million parts ordered and this had gone on for several months even as the quality team I was with were writing notifications on as many if not more parts. At one point the reported 5 dpm for a month and corporate had begun pressuring to remove some of the quality departments jobs since things were going so well. A friend, engineer and not even at risk, went through the system on his own time to make a detailed report showing the actual dpm for that month to be over 55,000 instead of the amazing 5. No one lost their job from my team but the cheating started back up almost immediately though to a much lesser degree for now.

Oddly even though numbers never matched from department to department, there were never questions why. I assume the higher up the chain you went the less they cared as people became less accountable with lower level scapegoats and really as long as they looked good it made their boss look good too.

 

I have no idea how to fix this loss of honor in our society but I fear its is going to get much worse before it gets better.

Sadly that happens in all country's. It is all about the short term cash.

Stuff that was made in what ever country back at 60-90 did have higher quality then we have now. It is terrible.

Yes we have progress, stuff gets better, but where did the quality go?

[pinky6225]

People don't want electronics that last a life time

 

When they first came out i brought a tom tom 300 sat nav as i'd taken a job in a different town and didn't want to look at maps, this was about 2000

 

17 years on and numerous cars later it still works so i still use it yet i have to explain why i'm using ye olde sat nav to everybody that gets into my car without fail with the inevitable question - "ahhh when you gonna get a new one?"

 

As i have what must be the best built tomtom 300 ever for it to have lasted 17 years (which included a car crash or two which i'm sure should have caused some impact damage - hurt me enough) why would i want to replace it?

 

 

[KoolHndLuke]

Outsourced to China lol

This is one of the main reasons for a decline in quality of some products. China has been flooding the market for the better part of the century so far. I have yet to see anything they build well.

 

@ Vuulgar I have worked in manufacturing most of my life. One thing I can say is that some companies are far less concerned with quality control then others. You meet your quota no matter what.

 

 The thing I am looking at here is not faulty products that seep into the market, it is more products that were poorly designed in the first place. And what I mean is they are intentionally designed to only last so long before needing replacement- a transparent ploy by companies to sell twice or three times what they would normally. China is the most visible culprit in this regard. A long running series on ABC's World News has focused on basically boycotting chinese products in favor of buying domestic products. I am not sure how effective this was. I try to buy more products made in my country- if I can find them. It must suck living in China.

In the global trade battle, you cast a vote every time you open your wallet. The decision? Whether you spend your money on products made in America or overseas. In the coming weeks, "ABC World News with Diane Sawyer" is launching a groundbreaking series, "Made in America," focusing on American manufacturing and our economy. The facts show that our nation is addicted to imports. In 1960, foreign goods made up just 8 percent of Americans' purchases. Today, nearly 60 percent of everything we buy is made overseas. On air and online, we'll tackle the key questions: Is buying American-made more expensive? What staples are no longer manufactured in the U.S. at all? And what difference would it make if everyone promised to buy more American-made products? There's no question that manufacturing still has a major impact on our economy and on the nation's workforce. The United States has fewer manufacturing jobs now than we did in 1941, but if every American spent an extra $3.33 on U.S.-made goods, it would create almost 10,000 new jobs in this country.

Take our 'Made in America' Challenge

So as we launch our series, we want you to join us in the challenge, and we want to hear what you learn along the way. What products are you purchasing or have purchased in the past that are Made in America? How are they different from what you bought before? And what's it like to pay closer attention to where your groceries, clothing, and other goods are coming from? Write us to let us know, or better yet, document your experience and send us the videos. Send us photos and videos of products in your home that were made in America to "Abc.worldnews@abc.com". Write us with your information below, and we may contact you during our series.

 

[Nazzzgul666]

 

Outsourced to China lol

This is one of the main reasons for a decline in quality of some products. China has been flooding the market for the better part of the century so far. I have yet to see anything they build well.

 

That's only partly true. A lot of chinese factories produce the same quality like any other factory anywhere else would, maybe even better because by now they have the workers with experience, not we. They don't have that much of a choice because the building plans, machines and everything comes from western countries. And sometimes they produce some more and sell the same stuff as noname for 1/5 of the price you pay for a brand. Of course they also produce cheap poisenous stuff and everything, but that's not the point. Many products wouldn't be any better if we'd produce them at home, just more expensive.

And sometimes it also works the other way around. Especially when it comes to shoes like sneakers or something, i usually buy some cheap ones. The expensive stuff may be a bit more comfortable, but in my experience i can't wear any of them for ten years. It's rather a question if i'm willing to pay 120€ for some fancy shoes from a fancy brand, or 20€ for something that serves just as well (and long), but isn't fancy. 

Imho the bigger problem is that price & brands don't tell you anything anymore about quality. More often it's just as good or bad as a cheap noname product, but you pay additional for fashion and status, something i don't give a shit about. And that's even true for burgers. I would pay for quality, but when it comes to fashion i'll buy pretty much anything that is straight black, in this case except burgers. But straight black is not something where i say "Oh, that's great art, half of the price has to go to the designer."

[KoolHndLuke]

 

 

Outsourced to China lol

This is one of the main reasons for a decline in quality of some products. China has been flooding the market for the better part of the century so far. I have yet to see anything they build well.

 

That's only partly true. A lot of chinese factories produce the same quality like any other factory anywhere else would, maybe even better because by now they have the workers with experience, not we. They don't have that much of a choice because the building plans, machines and everything comes from western countries. And sometimes they produce some more and sell the same stuff as noname for 1/5 of the price you pay for a brand. Of course they also produce cheap poisenous stuff and everything, but that's not the point. Many products wouldn't be any better if we'd produce them at home, just more expensive.

 

If those same products were made in your country, and not outsourced to China, then you and your country benefit. You may indeed pay more for the same things, but overall, your countries economy would be that much stronger for it. Plus any defective or plain bad products could not be blamed on a company that produces it halfway around the world. Companies producing products in the same region where you live could be held somewhat more accountable I think. They way they do it now is just bad all the way round imho.

[Nazzzgul666]

 

 

 

Outsourced to China lol

This is one of the main reasons for a decline in quality of some products. China has been flooding the market for the better part of the century so far. I have yet to see anything they build well.

 

That's only partly true. A lot of chinese factories produce the same quality like any other factory anywhere else would, maybe even better because by now they have the workers with experience, not we. They don't have that much of a choice because the building plans, machines and everything comes from western countries. And sometimes they produce some more and sell the same stuff as noname for 1/5 of the price you pay for a brand. Of course they also produce cheap poisenous stuff and everything, but that's not the point. Many products wouldn't be any better if we'd produce them at home, just more expensive.

 

If those same products were made in your country, and not outsourced to China, then you and your country benefit. You may indeed pay more for the same things, but overall, your countries economy would be that much stronger for it. Plus any defective or plain bad products could not be blamed on a company that produces it halfway around the world. Companies producing products in the same region where you live could be held somewhat more accountable I think. They way they do it now is just bad all the way round imho.

 

That's another topic (or even two), and again it's not that simple. I honestly don't give a shit about the economy of my country or any other country if me - and the population in general - doesn't profit as well. Economy should serve the people, not the other way around. And here comes the problem: Even chinese companies started to build or by factories in western countries because it's cheaper to produce where they sell. Wages don't matter that much anymore, because they don't pay much people, even in China many factories are half or almost fully automated. It's shit that trickles down, but money doesn't.

And i've never seen that somebody says about in a flaw of an iphone "Oh, bad Foxconn, aren't able to produce good stuff." They blame Apple, and it's right that they do so because Foxconn doesn't make any decisions. They build what they shall built the way they are told to built, not much more than a horse pulling a plow. But people prefer fancy brands over quality, and that's why nobody cares about quality and those who do often can't survive.

 

It's the customers who decide what is sold. As long as fancy shit sells better than plain quality, you'll have hard times searching for quality. When i compare the sold copies of Deus Ex 1 vs CoD1, i could cry. (ya, not same release date and CoD1 wasn't that bad, but still...) But i can't blame any company for that.