deertrout
Well-Known Member
Expecting things to just work is silly. The cheap heavy business model and the light expensive business model are both viable. Expecting the products to perform the same way is the expecter's fault, not the business.
I couldn't disagree more with this post. I've worked in manufacturing for 20 years as a Quality Manager and will try to keep the jargon to a minimum but there are some basic concepts at play that are being violated here.
First, when a consumer buys something from a manufacturer, regardless of whether its a $300 climbing stick or a $50 stick, they are expecting to purchase what was advertised/promised. If they don't get what is advertised/promised, the manufacturer violated their part of the purchase agreement.
Second, product realization 101 starts with a concept, then verification and validation that the concept works, then manufacturing process design and verification, and then you start building/shipping production parts. Doesn't matter what the industry is, these basic steps apply. To skip any of this or rush it through before production is a recipe for quality or productivity issues which lead to reduced profits and customer dissatisfaction. Outside of their saddles and some accessories, Tethrd has now crossed over into the realm of this kind of thing becoming a trend vs an isolated incident. A spill like this happening once, or even once every now and then might be forgivable if they did their due diligence up front, but take their saddles out of the conversation and this kind of thing has happened more than it hasn't on their new product launches. That's a giant red flag in their business model and points to weak quality processes. And it's unforgivable on products where user safety is a consideration.
On a completely different note, don't throw Chinese made products completely under the bus. It's not 1980 anymore and China has mostly caught up or has exceeded us in some areas of manufacturing. I've personally toured multiple manufacturing facilities in China and dozens of plants in the USA, and unfortunately, made in the USA doesn't mean the same thing it once used to.