The True Value of Reliability

Reliability is a fundamental asset in both personal relationships and business operations. For a brand to gain customer loyalty, its products must consistently demonstrate quality, dependability, and, above all, reliability. Failing to maintain these standards can have serious consequences.

Consider these three real-world examples:

The End of the Mercedes of Carpet Extractors

Since the 1990s, a particular U.S. company gained fame for their exceptional carpet extractors. These machines were used daily worldwide in residential, educational, and commercial settings to clean carpets. The company sold thousands of units annually.

Their extractors earned the nickname "the Mercedes of carpet extractors” due to their outstanding reliability. Despite the premium price, customers willingly paid more because they valued the well-engineered, trustworthy, and dependable performance these machines delivered.

However, in the 2000s, facing market pressures, the company relocated production from the U.S. to an overseas manufacturer. From the beginning, the imported machines showed significant quality issues. At the worst point, 80 percent of extractors manufactured abroad and imported to the U.S. had to be returned to the foreign manufacturer. They had too many flaws.

Although quality, dependability, and reliability improved within a year, the damage was already done. The prestigious "Mercedes of carpet extractors" reputation was lost, and the company suffered an irreversible decline in market share.

Circuit Board Failure: A Reliability Lesson

A telecommunications company developed an innovative product designed to enhance digital communications with greater speed and efficiency. The system underwent multiple rounds of testing at the company's manufacturing facility, performing flawlessly each time.

Confident in their product's readiness, the company invested substantially in marketing campaigns.

The initial market response was excellent. Many customers purchased multiple systems for deployment across their global offices and service centers. However, a critical flaw emerged within months of launch.

While the equipment had been thoroughly tested, these tests failed to simulate extended operation periods. Many customers ran the equipment continuously (24/7). This constant usage led to widespread solder joint failures. A solder joint is the connection between electronic components. It’s failure proved to be the system's critical vulnerability.

Customers quickly recognized the equipment's reliability issues. Although the manufacturer moved swiftly to address the problem by replacing the defective joints with circuit boards, the damage to their reputation was irreversible. All the resources invested in product development and marketing yielded no return. Ultimately, the company discontinued the product entirely.

Restroom Reliability

As we can see from these examples, reliability means consistency and dependability. It describes something that performs as expected every time, maintaining quality without failure.

Thousands of our customers in North America have installed our Waterless urinals. What they have found is that our urinals exemplify reliability. With their simple design, they efficiently remove liquid waste from men's restrooms—quickly, hygienically, and odor-free—every single time. And in the process, they save millions of gallons of water each year in facilities all over the world.

These urinals also eliminate common problems like plumbing issues and flush failures. When it comes to urinals, Waterless urinals mean reliability.

-Klaus