Now here’s a real ‘paradigm shift’ topic.  As a society, we have largely forgotten the real meaning of the word Quality.  Yes, we all know what it means, but we’ve been so oversold on false quality, quality in name only, that we can no longer recognize it, or perhaps more importantly, can no longer recognize when it is absent.  The wise words, “You get what you pay for”, bear testimony to what we have lost.  We have been trained to look for low price over all.  In so doing we buy things that break within days of their warranty expiration.  (How did you think they determine the warranty periods in the first place!)

Our landfills and city dumps are full of things bought cheaply which lacked quality.  We are drowning in a sea of toasters, microwave ovens, blenders, irons, and all sorts of appliances which, despite our advances in manufacturing and technology, do not last as long as their predecessors did.

Turn this around in your life.  Re-learn what quality is.  Look for it in everything you buy.  Demand it of manufacturers.  Let them know you demand it, and will not buy shoddy products from them any more.  When something you’ve bought breaks prematurely, make sure you return it for a refund.  Take your case to the manager so that the chain of command gets the message.

Subscribe to Consumer Reports, a magazine devoted to finding quality among the fields of consumer goods.  Or simply refer to it in the library.  Most libraries subscribe to it.