I was at the local home center, with a contractor, yesterday. Naturally, the store did not have exactly what we wanted, but did have a 'make it work' accessory. The clerk was quick to say the work-around was 'cheaper.'
Let's look at that mentality. The store's first response was: It's cheaper. Not whether it was right, or it was better- but it was cheaper. The second response was: it will take two weeks to get the right stuff. All of a sudden, it was MY fault I wanted something that they didn't stock.
My reply? I pointed to the contractor, as I told the clerk: If I wanted 'cheap" I'd just send this guy home and save even more!
I get some of this grief whenever I hire a real contractor: gee, they're expensive. Let's see: $20/hr to get it done right in an hour, or $10/hr for four hours, and a job that is still wrong? Which is really cheaper? Someone who KNOWS what he's doing, or someone who's guessing?
Those few who visited Japan years ago were struck by the Japanese ethic of constantly striving for perfection in everything. The result of this continual parade of tiny improvements was, ultimately, Toyota pushing aside ALL of Detroit. Detroit had, by the '70's, been take over by "business" and "numbers" types ... long gone was any striving for excellence.
So, here I sit, in the poorest county of the poorest state. I have to wonder: is this "cheaper" ethic the result of the local poverty ... or the cause of it?
