Good Better Best

Commercialism is a double edge sword. Since the dawn of time mankind has devised a way of obtaining the goods that were deemed necessary to survive, and to prosper in life. We would trade berries for meat, animal hides for stone arrows, and today we have built almost all of our entire existence on commerce. Our daily lives are built around the buying and selling of goods and services.

In today’s economic world we need to exchange money for goods and services in order for the world to keep turning in the manner with which we have become accustomed. However, and this is a big however for me, we need to think about the quality of the goods and services that we are purchasing.

So the question that I want to put out there is the good, better, or best question. Is a product or service good? Is it a better service? Or is it the best product?

The quality should weigh heavily on the scales in the decision making process, for each and every purchase that we make or with each service we obtain. Most of us will not go back to a place of business when the service that we purchased was not to our satisfaction. If the mechanic shop that changed our tires or performed maintenance on our vehicle does not complete the work to our satisfaction we will find another auto shop with which to conduct business. We will most likely search out the shop that fits in the better or best category. We will do the same for a hair dresser, a dentist, or a veterinarian for our beloved pets, and so forth.

When we are looking for a business or medical clinic that provides a service that will directly impact our health we generally lean towards the better range of quality, if not the best option that we can find in our neck of the woods.

On the flip side when it comes to some of the goods that we purchase daily, monthly, or yearly we have a tendency to lean towards the good range of quality. We think that the products in this or that such and such category are good enough for the price we would pay, so we purchase the couch that is just good enough, because we do not want to spend any more dollars on a new couch. We think that we are saving money by putting up with poor quality. But low and behold that couch is only built to last two or maybe three years. It was manufactured to be disposable. It looks good when you first bring it home but the wood frame is really just partical board and the upholstery is smooth and soft the first few months but the fabric is of low quality and quickly becomes rough and matted down. Before you know it you find yourself couch shopping again in the hopes of finding something you like that will last longer than your last purchase.

In a ten year span you have purchased three and a half couches that have cost you $650 to $1,000 dollars each for a total spent of upwards of $3,500. So what does this tell us? My first thought is that this is a lot of wasted dollars on a product that did not last. So in order to counter this waste of our dollar resources we will be making the choice to spend more money up front to save money in the long term.

The second and almost more important thought that passes through my mind is that these 3.5 couches weigh heavy on the earth’s resources. Our earth has a finite amount of resources and an ever growing human population; I am not sure this earth can take much more abuse and waste.

So next time you and your family are making the choice for the next purchase in your life, large or small, ask yourself the good better best question and is it useful, will it last, and finally do you truly need that product, that thing in your life.