Are you too trusting with brands?

Reclaimed Pressure Treated Lumber

I recently visited a couple reclaimed lumber yards looking for some great barn wood or other material for a table I'm building. I came across these boards that are close to perfect for the look I'm going for except there is one major problem. They are loaded with arsenic! Making a kitchen table out of this material would expose people to some serious health risks. Fortunately for my customers I know what I'm looking for and quickly walked away from this find. However, what about people who don't know what this material is or worse yet, someone who doesn't care? So this got me wondering why I always assume the stuff I buy is safe?

Trust in our manufacturer's is something a lot of us take for granted. I do everyday! Even in the wake of some pretty serious problems like the not so distant Melamine laced baby formula and lead painted toys. So why do we do it? I don't have that answer because I'm not a psychologist but there is something you can do about it. Ask more questions! Ask companies where they manufacture. If it's off shore ask them where? Where do the materials come from? Are they sustainable? Who's making sure it's safe?

Asking yourself these questions will put you into a different mindset when you look at packaging labels on consumer goods. Much in the same way we are retraining ourselves to look at food labels. Consider that when companies talk about building consumer trust it's almost always based on marketing ploys or gimmicks. Here are some hit points from two different blogs about building consumer trust.

1. Stop being a cold impersonal business and start being a warm, personable business.
2. Be truthful.
3. Spell out your guarantee.
4. Make it easy for customers to complain.
5. Build on your successes.

None of those points have anything to do with ethics or doing the right thing. I'd be impressed with "Be Truthful" but it's about being truthful in advertising. FAIL!! Besides, all of those points made should be a standard part of doing good business. That fact that people in business have to be reminded of that makes me cringe.

A Gallop poll published back in 2008 asking what's the top thing companies can do to increase your trust level revealed the following: 67% of Americans want increased disclosure of the origins of food, medicines and the like. Behind that was to certify that products being sold are safe. We care about these things but largely don't question them when we buy. Most businesses are still focused on how to convince you to trust them rather than proving it.

So my message is ASK BEFORE YOU BUY! If they can't answer your questions confidently and quickly . . . buy from someone else!