The weather has been hot days, but really cool nights for the past week in Dayton, Ohio. So, instead of running the central air, I have been opening the windows at night and running fans to circulate the cool air.
The past several years, you may have noticed that appliance makers have been putting shorter and shorter cords on things, presumably to save costs. I’m sure if you did the math, you might discover that a manufacturer could save million — maybe even billions — just shaving an inch off the cord. Who would notice! The problem with this kind of thinking is the next quality team that comes in trying to save a buck a year later would shave another inch off the cord, save more millions until finally the consumer is left with a cord that is exactly 33 inches long and just barely reaches the wall plug.
I guess the next step is to make the assumption that all consumers have extension cards and they can supply their own cord from the fan motor to the wall. After all, I only paid $19.99 for the fan!
I tell you this so the following makes sense. I hit my personal quality nexus this morning, the point where cheap cost and quality meet. I was attempting to redirect the fan with a fresh cup of coffee in my hand. When I went to turn the fan, the cord did not follow and pulled the fan, dumping the hot coffee all over me. If the cord had been a foot longer, this would not have happened and the fan would have moved easily.
Our advice: When looking to increase profitability for your tournament, be careful what you cut into. Make sure that you don’t start shaving off the core things that make your customers attracted to your event. If it is critical to the operation of your tournament (like a cord is to an electric fan) leave it alone.. or better yet, figure out how to provide more functionality with the same or fewer resources. Don’t just cut inches off your cords; they are the lifelines to your success.