Maggie Rants [and Raves]

Another Word on Quality Control

by Maggie Franklin | July 12, 2010 | Bookmark +

Speaking of stuff I spend good money on, let's talk packaging. No. Not packaging like who has good packaging, who has cheesy packaging, how packaging affects product costs, or even how packaging affects our decision to buy certain products ... I'm talking about packaging that just plain makes me want to shoot someone.

 

I am all about pretty packaging. I'm a sucker for good marketing material, and companies that put the extra effort and money into putting their products into fancy, shiny containers definitely do get my attention — and often my money. It matters not at all that, intellectually, I am fully aware that I am not buying the pretty container that my acrylic powder or gel polish comes in, I'm buying the product inside that container. But trust me, if that product is inside an attractive bottle I'm all the more likely to pick it over the product with packaging that is merely functional.

 

But I've got a few products now that make me wonder why companies aren't thinking ahead to how their products are going to be used in the field. Are they clueless? Do they know what it is they are making? Do they know what it is they are packaging? Or is the person who's in charge of choosing the packaging just the boss's kid who's never done nails in his life and gets to sit down in front of a catalogue and simply points to a picture of a pretty jar and says, "OOOOOOOOH?"

 

Because, for instance, some of my gel polishes come in pots instead of polish bottles (and definitely instead of squeezy tubes) and some of those pots are quite pretty to look at. But did it occur to the company that those pots would be full of gel? Gel is a sticky mess. And I guarantee you that not all of the people using that gel are as anal-retentive as I am about keeping their little pots clean. That means that for many techs, their little pots of gel are going to require some extra effort to open as the lip of the jar gets coated in sticky, gooeyness. All the more reason to think these things out ahead of time when you're choosing your packaging! Your fancy little jar should not be made of two separate pieces that come apart rather easily when you attempt to unscrew the lid. If it does that when you open the pot for the first time, imagine what it's going to do after it's been used a few times!

 

Especially when I just recently did the "gel polish versus polish from the same company" price comparison in my head and realized that the gel costs maybe eight to 10 times more than the polish! The pot is very pretty, but pretty doesn't matter when you can't open the dang thing to get to the stuff inside. That just results in a lot of frustrated techs throwing away a very expensive pot of gel amid much cursing and deciding that they will use a different line altogether.

 

I already find myself conveniently "forgetting" to mention that I even have these gels to choose from.

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