What is Quality?

Quality workmanship, quality product, quality service. What does it mean? What should it mean?

Today a one yard piece of ‘Big Ten’ flannel came across my desk. Trademarked fabrics always cost more per yard. This one was over 14.00 per yard. I’ve worked in independent quilt shops and know good fabric and good service. The fabric mentioned above was exactly 36″ stretched tight! No room for error. The quilt shop always allowed an inch or two more ‘just to make sure’ it was cut long enough for the customer. The flannel piece mentioned had 4 noticeable printing imperfections that would show up to anyone no matter how it was cut. How could you make a gift for someone from it?

The quality investment had been lost.

1. The fabric was inferior quality
2. The price was too high for the quality
3. The printing was inferior quality
4. The yardage cut was minimal
5. The manufacturer shipped inferior quality fabric
6. No one inspected it carefully enough to say, ‘this piece is not worth someone’s money’
7. The seller knowingly sold inferior quality fabric

Now the buyer has been forced to either keep it anyway, or go through an inconvenient return process. The buyer has to either reorder from someone else or plan a new gift idea.

1. Time and money were lost because the quality was lost.
2. Trust is lost. That company will not be purchased from again.
3. Resources were wasted by making an inferior product that will probably be discarded.

Let’s hold ourselves to high standards, doing the best work we can using the best materials available rather than make something inferior.

Not only will we raise the bar for ourselves, but it will raise the bar for others.

Quality. What does it mean to you?