The Good/Fast/Cheap Quandary Revisited

Making Choices Based on Which Criteria Matter

We never have to go too far to find life lessons worth sharing with family, friends and, for someone like me, regular readers of these weekly missives.

This week as we’re switching into fall mode, I’m pulling out an idea that’s been percolating in my “blog ideas” folder since May.

We’ll weave in some lessons from years gone by and even bring some social capital ideas into the mix.

Section 01

Moving Day Car Woes Nine Years Later

Back in May I moved my office from one downtown Montreal residential condo to another, about one kilometer away.

At the end of moving day, I was exhausted, even though the bulk of my efforts had been giving instructions to the four actual movers.

As I exited my underground garage, I became impatient with a driver in front of me and tried to go around them and ended up with a huge scratch and dent on my passenger door.

Nobody’s fault but my own.

My inability to take a deep breath and wait a few more seconds was now going to cost me money and time.

I later remembered that nine years earlier, on the day I moved into the former place, in my exhaustion and desire to get home, I also scratched my car leaving my parking spot.

Since this is my last office move, I won’t likely get a chance to learn from this lesson or need to worry about the third time being a charm.

Section 02

Body Work Without Using Insurance

Now I needed to find someone who could repair the damage relatively quickly because I was planning on changing cars soon, and that damage would’ve likely cut my trade-in value in half.

I asked my regular tire shop guy who could help me and he suggested a small shop a few blocks away that he’d heard good things about it.

That guy looked at my car and said he could fix it for $650.

“Wow”, I thought, I was willing to pay double that, so this sounds perfect.

“When can you do it?” He went to check his calendar.

Section 03

Back to the Social Capital Well

After my first attempt at getting a semi-warm referral had fallen through, I racked my brain trying to think of where else I could turn for ideas to find a small independent body shop who could repair the damage for cash, not rip me off, and do a good job.

I decided to go to the dealer where I get service, even though I already knew that they weren’t the solution.

The guy I speak with whenever I bring my car in seemed like the one to approach with my special request, and he did not disappoint.

Within 10 days the repairs were expertly completed.

It ended up costing me more than four times the quote from the first guy, but I could at least close that chapter and not be reminded of my self-inflicted wound.

Section 04

Good – Fast – Cheap: Pick Two

It struck me that this was yet another example of the sub-head above.

See The Good-Fast-Cheap Quandary in Family Enterprise.

When looking for help with something, whether it’s auto repair, professional services, or home renovations, it’s next to impossible to get good, fast and cheap together.

That blog from 5 years ago shares a story about my daughter’s experience with a medical clinic, but I usually write about families facing the challenge of transitioning wealth from one generation to the next, so let’s go there now.

When such families hire professionals, the smart ones are usually the ones who insist on high-quality competent people, because they don’t want something that isn’t good.

When thinking about the “fast” part I think that responsiveness is probably a better angle to look at this from, and when they reach out with a question or request, they insist on a fast reply.

Section 05

What You Get When You Insist on Low Price

Earlier in my career I had some clients who had difficulty affording my rates and I sometimes gave in a charged less.

When it’s simply case of not being able to afford me, that’s one thing, but now when people balk when they hear the price, I just see it as a sign that we are not a good fit.

If you want “cheap”, you need to give up on either “good” or “fast”, and I’m not willing to do that.