Your typical foreign car (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, etc.) is almost always classified as being “well-made”or reliable. On the other hand, the quality of your average American car tends to be looked down upon. But why? The idea that American cars are unreliable or poorly made has no real facts to support itself.
In my opinion, the notion that “Perception is Reality” is the main reason why this rationalization exist(and maybe the Ford Pinto lol). Supposedly, we each make our own realities through our own perceptions. Quality can be categorized as either perceived or objective. Objective qualities include performance, usefulness, responsiveness, etc. Perceived quality is directly related to how satisfied the customer is. For instance, some may think a Cadillac is more stylish than a Lexus or that a Ford truck has more use than a BMW SUV, therefore more “quality” in their eyes.
Obviously, if a company wants to become a profitable organization their product or service must cater to the needs/desires of their consumers. Additionally, consumer expectations tend to all stem from various personal needs, popularity, word of mouth, and past experiences. In actuality, two average priced vehicles, American or foreign, usually perform about the same. Many of these foreign cars also happen to be built in America. BMW has invested $4.83 billion in its sole U.S. assembly plant located in South Carolina and Toyota has several plants across the nation. Don’t get me wrong, I personally love foreign cars.
The formal definitions of quality include: product -based(measurable attributes), user-based(better performance), value-based(quality vs. price), and manufacturing -based(conformance to standards).
I believe quality is considered to be subjective because what may be a quality product to you may not meet the standards or needs of someone else. With that being said, do you think that companies should always strive to exceed consumer expectations or just consistently meet them (in terms of product quality)? Do we each have our own idea of what we consider a “quality” product or service?
Each person definitely has their own standard and idea of what a “quality” product or service is. Rather than exceed or consistently meet standards, I feel that companies need to know who their target market is first. From this point, I feel that they may then always aim to exceed their client’s standards. Knowing your target market, and who ends up buying your product or service is extremely important in deciding what “quality” is. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
This is a very interesting post; I have had very similar conversations with family and others. My father used to tell me ‘ignorance is bliss’ – if you don’t know something better exists, you will be happy with what you have. What we consider to be ‘quality’ is based on OUR current standards, and is most certainly subjective. Companies should constantly expose us to new & better products, and do so in a way that makes their product a ‘need.’ Businesses should always be raising the standard of what is ‘quality.’
I think everyone has this conversation, I know I have. When getting everyone’s opinion they say something along the lines of a European car is better quality, but when you ask why they don’t have a legit reason, its just oh because its made in Europe. In reality like jennifery301 mentions in her comment everyone has their own standard and idea of what a quality product is. Everyone company should make sure that their products and services are the best and that they are giving the costumer the best. If you do not give the best of your services and products then your company can potentially lose money and customers.
I definitely agree with you in the sense that quality is not defined by every individual the same. What one might think is high quality; another might not even look twice at. Also, to answer your question, I believe companies should exceed consumer expectations in terms of quality because that is what will make them come back. But then again, consistency is also very important. If its possible to consistently exceed customer expectation-you can’t compare to that!
I agree with Jennifer, knowing your target market is key here. By understanding what your client wants, you can meet and exceed their expectations. Quality is definitely subjective, but if you understand your target market, you can come close to providing the best quality possible to the customers. Because I believe it is almost impossible to cater to a broad market when it comes to having the best quality. There are too many opinions and critics to be able to please all of them.
As a somewhat savvy shopper, I often try to weigh my percived values of product against the actual quality that it posses. For example, in the grocery store, I will often be comparing products to the generic brands. While I do assume that I will recieve a great quality by purchasing some brands (like Jiffy Peanutbutter or Tide detergent) I will quickly buy the generic brand of basically any pharmacy needs, like pain killers. While none of my opinons represent actual value, I time and time again will purchase based on this notion of what’s “better” and what is “just as good”
Everyone has a different perspective on the quality of a product or a service. A quality car to a wealthy business man would be a new Lexus or a new BMW, while a quality car to a poor family would be any car that works. Therefore everyone has their own view on the quality of something. Meeting or exceeding the quality of the product, I think, depends on mostly the reputation of the company that’s selling it. An example is BMW with their luxury sports cars. They would try and exceed customer expectations because of the hefty price tag that comes with their best cars. Honda, however, will sell their Civics to meet their customers needs and not too exceed their needs so it has a lower price.
You’re absolutely right! I guess I had never thought that quality is subjective because we usually make friends or our families hold similar standards that we do. But as consumers, we should try to remember that big names aren’t always equal with the best quality.
You brought up a really interesting point however, it is quite debatable. In my perception, quality is the performance, efficiency, luxury and the look of the car. In my opinion, I think foreign cars especially Japanese cars are far better than American cars. The reason behind this is that I have owned both of them. Japanese cars in my opinion are far more efficient and have great performance. They are also very reliable. You are right when you say quality is subjective because for another person, quality could mean space or size but then again these factors can also be found in foreign cars.