In 2001 while hiking the AT I had to buy a new pair of boots. See after hundreds of mile of hiking my shoe size actually changed. So on a trip to Blacksburg VA in a rental car with Closer and Lumber Jack (their trail names of course) I bought a pair of Garmont hiking shoes.
Two years ago (2010) I retired those shoes. Thousands of miles had been seen with them. They did take me further than I ever imagined. The logo on the tongue of each shoe told me so. Today’s title was inscribed on each one. They did what they said.
Quality seems to be a rare thing these days. In the 4 years I’ve been in business I’ve had two multi-thousand dollar printers totally fail. The HP Z3100 died in 1.5 years, and the Canon IPF8300 made it 2 years and 2 months. Name brand light stands have fallen apart in under a year of service. And my last pair of Garmonts didn’t survive a year. They literally fell apart, and I should have known. The inscription wasn’t on the tongues of the new shoes as they were with the old.
I have to ask, does anyone else miss quality products? Am I really getting so old that I’m doing the “In my day…….” And no, I never walked uphill naked in snow storms to get to and from school. But I do remember and value every quality product I’ve ever had. And when I’m in the market for good stuff I remember those manufactures until they cheapen their quality like Garmont did. I’m no longer their customer.
As I’ve conversed with other folks in my industry I’m finding folks are sacrificing quality for price. And I have to wonder when doing that, will consumers remember the experience and product fondly? Or will they find another vendor / service provider who still offers quality products? I know how I shop, but I also know I’m not a typical consumer.
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And don’t forget packaging. How much ice cream in a 1/2 gallon container, or how much coffee in a one pound bag? Have you looked at the bottom of a peanut butter jar recently? And why are candy bars now on a cardboard tray within the package? Itt never ends.