comparing todays corp.s to a Cherry pie!

Originally Posted by SteelMill

Olddude, I believe greed is human nature. Aside from that, you will see that the corporations that don't cut corners end up on top. Yeti coolers, Everlast welders, Makita tools, and even Google are known for quality and good service. Those are the companies with good reputations. McDonalds and Wally world have poor reputations because that's what they earned. I have no idea why anyoone would ever eat at MickeyD's but Wally world is just plain handy.



I Co-own a large construction company and I assure you that cutting corners is not something any sensible company does in the name of profit. It is not saving a $100 here and $200 here that brings in the revenue. It's quality and consistency from job to job, contract to contract. If I did shoddy builds, I wouldn't have the reputation I do and thus I wouldn't have the contracts that I do. Cutting corners is simply not economical.

Yes, greed is human nature but there was a time when it was not the only thing on the list. That has changed for the most part. There are, of course, exceptions but they are becoming harder to find every day. Your cites are interesting but I don't think they are truly valid. You are, IMO, comparing apples and oranges. You are in the business of producing a custom product and service while most of the large corps are producing mass produced product. In your line, any quality slashing would likely be evident fairly quickly. I can look around a room and tell you a lot about the construction practices of the builder. But when you are buying packaged products that look pretty in the box, you don't how good it is until you get it home and use it. Of course, even in custom building there are really large players that do cut corners and build based on financial decisions. The get away with it because of their strong marketing departments. My wife worked for a national builder for years as the assistant to the division President. I am well aware of how they operated and frankly the lack of quality was always evident in their homes. I will not mention the name of the company for legal reasons but let's just say they are a huge player in the industry.

Having beat this horse for a while I do want to commend you for having integrity in what you do. Being a contractor myself, I understand the difference between fast and cheap and quality workmanship designed to last a lifetime. There are far too few in this industry that truly still care about the product they create. they talk a good story until someone comes up and tell them how they can save $10...

I absolutely agree with your philosophy SteelMill. I do exactly the same. Noting irks me more than to buy junk. I would much rather spend a bit more and get something that will last. I see this as an extension of the way you do business, but this is a consumer mentality issue rather than a business mentality issue. The are connected but not the same. You might say that a poor business mentality will kill off your customer base, but, if that were true, Walmart would have been gone long ago. This is a perfect example of a company that sells junk at a low price and people keep streaming into their stores. Those of use who appreciate value more than cost are a dying breed I believe. Sometimes this results out of necessity (poverty) but more often it is greed based (it is my money and you can't have it). Perhaps my terms are strong but that is how I see it. Anyway, it is still good to know there are some folks left that care about what they produce as they do about their bottom line.

And on that note, I think I will retire for the evening...