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From: briand@tekig4.UUCP (Brian Diehm)
Newsgroups: net.rec.photo
Subject: Free Markets and Product Quality
Message-ID: <298@tekig4.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 3-Oct-85 14:48:44 EDT
Article-I.D.: tekig4.298
Posted: Thu Oct  3 14:48:44 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 6-Oct-85 06:21:04 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR
Lines: 36


The first paragraph applies only to Oregon, and is a reply to a local issue.
The remainder is of general interest (if you like philosophy!)

The "place in Eugene" that burned Tom Beach is probably Dot Dotson's (though
the spelling may be off).  Tualatin's Oregon City Photo does, or at least did,
indeed use them.  I also do not recommend this outfit.

HOWEVER, I am getting to the point where I cannot recommend Kodak any more,
either.  The implications of this are pretty major, but it seems that big
yellow can't be counted on to not mar negatives, etc.  I wonder if this is a
side result of increased competition from the Japanese - Fuji, and company.
You might give this sort of thing some thought the next time you buy a roll
of Fuji.  Not only does this mess up our balance of payments, but if the
product isn't CLEARLY superior (and I question that at least in Fuji's case)
then the side effects may be unexpected.

The point is, that for the last half century or so, Kodak has been unmatched
in process quality control, not only in processing but in "soft goods" and
chemicals.  You KNEW when you bought Kodak exactly what you were getting, even
if it was arguably not the ultimate product.  To contrast, I have had photos
ruined by bad batches of developers, boxes of papers with sensitivity anomalies,
and many other things that made the slight superiority of the product not worth
the risk.  But you could always count on Kodak.  Now, it seems at least in
photofinishing this is no longer true, and I worry that this malaise will
spread to the other parts of Kodaks's empire as well.  And that makes me wonder
as to the cause, which leads me to postulating about increased competition from
foreign producers.

Now don't flame me for being anti-competition or protectionist.  I'm not, but I
am tired of the terminally trendy buying foreign because it's perceived to be
the thing to buy, and never really analyzing whether it's really a better pro-
duct.  Or what the other free-market effects are.

-Brian Diehm
Tektronix, Inc.


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