People Share The Companies That Have Super High Standards, Here Are The 30 Most Unexpected Ones
We all know that certain items are simply of better quality than their counterparts. Generally, the more you pay for something, the longer it will last, but there are cases where companies decided to do the right thing and make the product better than it has any right to be.
Someone asked “What companies have extremely high quality standards for products that people might not realize?” and netizens gave their best examples. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote the examples you agree with and if you have any similar ones of your own, feel free to share them in the comments.
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Bush's Baked Beans. I've never worked at another facility where quality was focused so much more than actual production. The line stops all the time over anything remotely impactful to quality to make sure that the product is safe, and the standards are met. I've seen them shut production down for 3 days while they diagnosed and solved an issue *that they could have ignored and just let the filters catch*. Oh and they continued paying their employees through the downtime. Absolute amazing company.
Nintendo's former president willingly took a 50% salary cut due to poor sales of the wii u so he wouldn't have to lay off staff, this keeping morale high and quality top notch.
Some people may know, but Lego. Lego has EXTREMELY tight manufacturing tolerances, aiming for around a precision of ±0.01mm in dimensions to ensure consistent and reliable interlocking of pieces across different sets. That's why pieces made years or decades apart snap together like they were all made yesterday. There really isn't a competitor that comes close.
There manufacturing quality process operate at what is known to be a 7-sigma rate, which boils down to 1 non-compliant piece in every million escaping in to the wild. No other manufacturer can claim that.
Fiskars. Scissors and branch loppers.
I broke a set of loppers and I was pretty sure it was my fault because I was cutting a branch that was WAY too big and I twisted the loppers. I did this many, many times over the years. Finally it broke the blade.
I sent them an email asking how much to get a new lopper blade and explained that it was my fault. They said "no worries" and sent me a new blade for free. And a whole new set of loppers for free.
I only buy Fiskars for scissors and loppers now.
I LOVE my Fiskars rotary fabric cutter. That thing is seriously sharp and maneuverable.
Most people probably realize this, but Toyota has insanely high quality control down to the individual parts. There's a reason they last forever.
Owned Toyotas for 30 years, nothing goes wrong with them - we get them regularly serviced yes, but (touch wood) never had an issue
I've had one since Oct 2005. Regular service is the key.
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I remembered their commercial which basically said thatvif you see a broken down toyota on the road, it's a trap. I thought thay was very clevwr.
My first car was a Corolla. It was older than I was, but it got me almost through high school. Almost.
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Toyota wrote the book about quality control. The "six sigma" concept that gained mythical status in the USA after it was popularized by Jack Welch at GE was basically a dumbed-down version of the quality assurance processes developed in the 1960s for the TPS (Toyota Production System), specifically the Kaizen approach.
I love TPS. I got certified in it years ago and still use the principles at all my jobs since.
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The reason they were the only car manufacturer that still was shipping cars during the COVID supply shortage was because they were the only one with the foresight to realize it would be smart to have their own in house integrated circuit manufacturer for the computers in the cars.
When I was little (In the 80s and 90s), my dad had a two- door Corolla that went over 400K miles and *still ran* when he finally got a newer car and gave it to a family friend!
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I love Toyotas! Been selling auto parts for 35 years. Toyotas, Hondas and Nissans paid for two houses and put three kids through college. Also two 2007 Saturns that are still going strong. Keep making those parts eaters!
Ran a service center for 30+ years. Loved to see those things roll in. VWs and Audis too. You want to know why mechanics recommend them so much? It's because they can smell the money every time they come in. Cha-ching!
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This falls into the category of 'myth with some truth to it'. Yes, Toyotas are generally good but many equivalent brands (Mazda, Honda etc.) are just as good, if not a little better. Toyota has also had issues with DPFs on Hiluxes, cracking dashboards (even on low-kilometre examples) and delaminating trim on Crowns, disintegrating interior plastics in Lexus IS models etc. etc. They're far from the fault-free vehicles Toyota marketing would have you believe they are.
That sounds like cosmetic issues rather than mechanical. The car will still run with a cracked dashboard.
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Got my drivers license in 1986 in the Toyota Corolla we bought brand new in 1974!
After reading the comments, it seems the older ones are better.. problems with the new ones. Considering they're manufactured in the USA, does that mean our plants aren't keeping up on standards? Personally, I drive a 1999 Camry XLE V6, over 200,000 miles and still hella reliable
I have a toyota less than a year, and I wish I could go back to my 12 year old Honda, the car is medocre as best, doesnt handle well, etc. Oh sure it doesnt break down, but the the Camry is a piece of junk, and I didnt even get the base model, and it was a waste of money I regret. I wish I could get back my 2012 Honda. That was a quality car
I remember a neighbor of the family had one brake lock up on him on his Toyota when he swerved to miss something in the road. Not only was his Toyota replaced, but Toyota also did a brake replacement of that year of that Toyota. It turned out only two Toyotas of that year had faulty brakes due to a power outage at a plant. Toyota made sure that never happened again!
I owned a '07 4 cylinder Camry. Aside from the accelarator/floor mat issue, it started burning oil at 65k. First, not bad but progressively worsened. To the point it was a quart every 500 miles. Received 3 letters from Toyota that there possibly was a problem. The letters advised to take it to a dealership to be evaluated for oil consumption due to piston ring issues. After taking it to the dealer, I was told my car didn't qualify for the possible needed repair due to the date of manufacture. I used to LOVE Toyota vehicles, but after my experience I will never own one again.
When my family's toyota Matrix finally broke down, it was because one of the structural components had started to rust through, after years of driving.
Does no one remember when they hid a design flaw that caused numerous fatalities. All to save money. Never forget when companies prioritize money over destroying families.
I'm driving my 3rd Toyota now. If I had the money, I'd go buy my fourth.
The Yaris of my sister is 20 years old. My Prius 14 years old. No issues for both, just regular maintenance.
The Toyota Production System (yes, that's what Office Space is referring to with TPS reports!) really works. They do occasionally screw up, and sometimes the design turns out to be a flop (see: 07 to 09 Camry models), but they get it right a lot more than they get it wrong. My old 01 Camry is still going strong, as is my wife's 98 Corolla.
The only and only happening I have had with my Toyota's: Rubber ring in the petrol oline disintegrated due to E10. Build like a Tank, drives like a car.
My mom had a 1996 Corolla that she drove until around 2019. It was still running like a dream she just wanted a new car. The only issue she ever had with it was one of the plastic door handle broke.
I inherited my mom's 88 Toyota Corolla. Has been sitting untouched in my moms garage for the last 10 years. Changed battery, 2 gallons of gas, changed the alternator, a little cleaning and is running smoothly. Got to change the cassete player thou
Yep. My baby is 12 yrs old and running fine. Gonna hit 100,000 miles this year!
My brother bought a used 1983 Toyota to replace the bakkie (small pickup) that was stolen in Hillbrow. He had that car for 20 years and people were forever trying to buy it. Then my dad gave him my mom's 1995 Toyota when Mom's arthritis got too bad for her to drive, and he *still* has that car. And guess what? People keep trying to buy it!
Toyota parts are manufactured at 130% threshold. Basically the part can withstand forces at 30% above what the vehicle can create, this is why non-consumable parts do not wear out provided the vehicle is maintained correctly. To give you an idea of how superior toyota are, the big 3 US domestic vehicles, ford, gm, Chrysler all have parts manufactured with a tolerance threshold of 104%
I owned many American vehicles and then inherited a Camry with my wife when I got married. The difference between the Camry and all those mediocre/bad American cars was night and day. I'll be buying Toyota from here on out.
I have a toyota yaris. Old enough that it diesnt have a computer screen. Uoscaled to BMW , with maps, rear camera, etc. The Toyota is more ergonomic ( even factoribg in the steering wheel controls on bmw). The only plus for bmw is better in snow/ cold de 4wd and heated seats.
An incredible advantage Toyota has is that they own so much more of the supply chain. The bane of the US car industry in the '80s was a LOT of the cars was manufactured by crappy 3rd-parties. The drawback to Toyota is that they can charge absolutely ridiculous amounts, and screw you over so hard and so often. I had a Ford that had an alternator go; the charge to replace it was $155. I had a toyota that had a simple wire, couldn't've cost more than a dime to manufacture, and required virtually no labor to get at (It monitored tire pressure and alignment). Cost $380 to replace. Hardware front door lock on my Ford? $5. Remote entry on my Toyota? $450. F**k Toyota.
I don't think you can blame the remote entry on Toyota. Remote entries are ridiculous on every brand. Toyota parts are stupid expensive. Fortunately they are common enough that getting aftermarket parts is easy. I'm preparing to replace the intake cam phaser on my Corolla. Toyota part ~$400. Aftermarket Dorman part ~$80.
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I've driven Toyotas for thirty-five years. Nothing ever needed beyond maintenance. I drove almost all of them well over 275.000km. And they drive wonderfully well.
I’m not sure how true that is anymore - I had an Auris a few years ago. I picked it up from Enterprise at about 8pm and by 11pm it had a slew of warning lights because the motorway was a “bit wet” - turns out the water had got into the electrics and the power steering.
My first car was a Toyota. Loved it. It was already 14 years old with 100,000 miles on the clock when I brought it and it was still going strong when I sold it two years later. Passed both MOT'S during that time with no issues and I never had to take it to the garage for repairs. Definitely would recommend.
I miss my 2004 one. Most things you could change/fix easily. Best part: everything that broke was accident related. Still hate the dude that totaled it on the first day of lockdown. The modell was discontinued 🙄I could fit a whole fridge in it. Ugly as sin but great car
Look up "kaizen", it's the methodology they use to build that reputation
Who is this arsehole who downvoted ALL the posts with positive comments? I upvoted to keep the balance.
Not unexpected. Miles ahead of Ford - one of the lowest quality big brands if not THE lowest..
Yup. My grandfather always said never buy a Ford, the few my friends and family have had were terrible. My husband bought a new Ford truck that had to have the whole engine replaced not even two years in. Thankfully it was under warranty.
Load More Replies... Boeing adopted the Toyota quality process called Kanban for years. Until they merged with McDonnell Douglas.
no... thats literally the point of TPS. You can use the method anywhere and get the same results. My toyota truck was made in Indiana. lasted 24 years and almost 300Kmi
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IKEA toys for children currently have tougher safety standards than what all the global laws requires.
For any line of product, Ikea follows the thoughtest safety standards available worldwide (that usually is just the CE standards). Their real trick is that they do not take the supplier's word for the products being compliant, but they go through a ferocious supplier's qualification process, and periodically run a lot of test -even destructive ones- on production batches.
Mars.
I'm talking about the candy company. I used to work in their pet food division and we had a blank check from corporate to make sure there was never a recall.
Our marching orders were to do whatever it took to make sure "Mars Inc." and "Recall" were never in the same headline.
I know for a fact I cost the company tens of thousands of dollars in lost production and product waste during my time there, all to prevent any possible problems making it to market. When a customer would send us a complaint, those details would make it all the way to the facility floor for an investigation, even if they were clearly b******t.
I've since moved on to other industries, and it still blows my mind how the people making dog food and candy had stricter quality assurance than aerospace manufacturers.
KitchenAid. My food mixer is 25 years old, is used 2/3 times a week and looks and operates like new.
Well worth the investment if you like to cook and bake. I use the grinder attachment when I make sausage. I don't agree with the price spikes when a new color comes out, but who am I to argue about the law of supply and idiots.
Most people know that Zeiss makes really good glasses.
What some folks may not know is that they also make the ultraflat mirrors used in ASML's EUV lithography machines - the ones that make every high end computer chip in the world.
Why mirrors and not lenses? The light used passing through a lens of any material, regardless of how perfect, is too disruptive. How flat are the mirrors? To the atomic level. If the mirrors were scaled up to the size of Texas, the largest imperfection would be less than two millimeters tall.
Yamaha musical instruments. Their guitars often get overlooked but I have never played a bad anything by Yamaha.
I've never been disappointed by pens created by Pilot or Mitsubishi Pencil Co. (who created the Uni-ball pens).
I used Uni-ball Deluxe Roller Pens exclusively when I used to write sheet music by hand. Sometimes I miss it just because of how good the pen was, but I can’t beat the efficiency of using notation software now.
This thread made me think of zippo. More for their free repairs and replacement on authentic lighters. all you have to do is mail them the lighter. in this day n age thats incredible. they dont even care where you got the lighter just as long as its a real zippo.
Good thing you added this day and age. Been using a Zippo since I joined the service back in the late 70's, and while they still beat most of what's out there, they ain't anywhere near as good as they were. I used to be able to light a butt with the window down while driving. Not anymore. Same thing when fishing now. Wind is stronger right off the harbor, but used to be no problem. Now it takes a few shots to get them fired up. And the lids get so loose now much more quickly. Still happy enough to continue using them, but the older models were much better.
Victorinox Swiss Army knives. It was founded back in 1884 and when you think of a Swiss Army knife, you’re basically thinking about Victorinox. The level of quality of these knives is top notch. There are knives from WWII that still function properly.
Otterbox phone cases. I’m an idiot with my phone, and this case has kept my crusty a*s iPhone 7 damage-free lol.
King Arthur flour. They've rejected multiple train cars full of unprocessed wheat, because the protein content was off by a few hundredths of a percent, contravening the requirements set forth in their Commodities contract.
It put them behind in production, and pissed off their suppliers. Most other flour producers would have accepted it with a variance sign-off, and moved on.
King Arthur is the only flour I will use. I first thought all flour would be the same but after baking hundreds of loafs there really is a difference.
Obvious Bic reference. Aeronautic tolerances under a cheap af pen.
Kong Dog Toys - the red rubber stuffable toys. The rubber is a precision made compound with such high quality control to always be the same whether it is being made for a small size kong or the red kong frisbee. Because it is a ubiquitous item available at many pet stores worldwide, shelf stable and always smells the same to the dog, it is used in detection dog programs for security, police and military around the world. They cut up pieces of kong into incredibly small shavings to train the dogs to find before moving onto other target odors, as well as using the kongs themselves as a reward toy.
The one exception to the “red kong material” is the red kong keychain. For whatever reason Kong changed the formula for that one, so it can’t be chopped into pieces and used in place of other kong rubber.
Tabasco. Their factory on Avery Island is the most immaculate industrial facility I've ever seen. The grounds are beautiful and the people are great. The "Disney" of hot sauces.
Ball the jar company. They make satellites.
Quite a jump there. A bit like Lockheed Martin also making beer coasters
OXO brand cleaning supplies. I buy the scrubbers and scrub brushes for home use and they hold up way beyond anything else I've ever tried.
Honestly, their kitchen stuff is really good too. They actually listen to customer feedback to improve their products, and their stuff LASTS. We have a peeler that's... uh... 25 years old? Still works, though the old design wasn't the best. But they improved it, and the new one is maybe 15 years old, and still looks and works like new.
YKK zippers. The best.
LOOK AT YOUR ZIPPER RIGHT NOW! Like 90% of zippers in the whole damn world are YKK. If you are wearing a pair of pants with a zipper or a jacket with a zipper, I can guarantee it is stamped YKK. It's crazy how big they are and all they do is zippers.
Stanley thermos flasks.
Yeah I know they became a big Tiktok craze. I don't know how that model holds up. I do know that my regular Stanley's have been solid as a rock. I have one that I got from my grandmother's house which is (I am pretty sure) older than I am. It still keeps my drinks hot for 10+ hours at a time. Despite now looking like it was dug out of a fallout shelter.
Edit:
Honestly I don't even care if they're everywhere. Stanley trucked along turning out sensible quality products for 100 or so years. If they invested in some fresh R+D, found a smart marketing guy and in response genX 10x their sales - well good on them. At least the fad chasers end up with a decent thermos. Likely better than whatever influencer branded tat Tiktok will latch on to next.
Thermos flasks are a con. They're supposed to keep cold things cold and hot things hot, but I put a cup of tea and some ice cream in there, and neither survived...
Most Kirkland products from Costco.
It's because Costco partners with brand name labels to sell under the Kirkland brand. For example, their Kirkland vodka is made by Grey Goose. So, the quality is the same as the name brand, but for a fraction of the price and under the Kirkland label.
They’re super expensive, but Herman Miller chairs.
I sit in mine for several hours every day and it is by far the most comfortable, least back pain chair I’ve ever had.
In terms of temporary adhesives, anything 3M. Especially post-it notes and command strips. Somehow their materials science is so far above every other sticky note company that it’s barely comparable, and I don’t know if there’s any alternative to 3M command strips.
Last year, 3M was ordered to pay $10.3 billion to settle claims of PFAS contamination in soil and water around the US. Good sticky stuff, though.
Totes umbrellas have a lifetime warranty. You can return them back to the manufacturer and they'll send you a brand new one.
Uniqlo.
A friend of my wife manages material supply chains for Uniqlo across Asia. While almost every single economy company chooses the lowest bidder, Uniqlo will always choose density, familiarity and quality over cost every time. The standards they post are extremely strict.
Through this, most Uniqlo products maintain consistency across the world and generally the same reliability.
Sure, it would be a push to claim that Uniqlo is a "buy it for life" brand with colours that don't eventually fade, but as a mid-tier basics brand it's generally a really reliable, high quality choice.
Electronic products from IKEA. They use good quality components and have good electrical separation of the high voltage side and the low voltage side.
Search the bigclivedotcom channel on YouTube for teardown videos of IKEA products. For example, the [IKEA SMÅHAGEL](https://youtu.be/lOJbxhA0E3E) USB charger.
(He also does teardowns of dodgy electronics products that will straight up kill you. Those are always exciting!).
In the tool world/construction it’s hard to beat Hilti but they are expensive.
The old saying, "you get what you pay for" definitely applies to Hilti.
Note: this post originally had 41 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Boars head meats. Their attention to detail and quality is insane. A truck falls a few degrees under what's safe even for a few minutes and it's disposed of. Quick to pull distributor licenses if they don't follow safety and presentation rules. They do surprise inspections. Even their trucks have actual gold leaf on the side.
Love their cheeses as well. The white american is not plastic and melts beautifully.
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It's sorta sad not to see Sears here. Back in the days before K-Mart, Sears' niche was finding the absolute best-built products and sticking their Sears, Craftsman or Kenmore label on them. A shopping mall wasn't a shopping mall without a Sears. And ironically, they OWNED the world of shipping to your home: before ordering from a computer existed, you could use a phone to talk into (gasp!) and order whatever you could find from their GIANT catalogs. Somehow, they gave up on home shipping right as the internet was taking off, and lost out to a used-book reseller named Amazon.
Sears also was discriminatory towards women. For decades they wouldn't allow women to have their store credit card unless a man was on the account. Women were the main shoppers of Sears, except for the tools/automotive. This backfired spectacularly. Do not p**s off the women.
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Gerber knives. They have a lifetime no questions asked replacement policy similar to craftsman tools. Just broke a 20 year old gerber machete recently, sent a pic in an email to customer service. Turned out that model was discontinued but they sent me the closest they had, which was actually an upgrade. Free.
There are a few brands that I would have suggested, but sadly they've moved to cheaper quality, Chinese production and their new stuff is just not as good (AEG, Bosch, Karcher, Rivers clothes). It's actually become necessary to double check products every time you buy just to make sure they are still made to the standards you're used to. Probably the only ones that I could still wholeheartedly recommend are Stihl and Husqvarna. Even then, I'd probably double check before buying to make sure they haven't been taken over by one of the big power tool conglomerates and rendered c**p.
Same when PYREX went pyrex and switched from borosilicate to tempered glass
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Krups, my mom got a Krups toaster in the early 2000s and it has been making toast/bagels almost everyday since, no problems
Kitchen Devil knives. I bought one when I first left home in 1990, my mother told me I'd never need to buy another, and she was right - still just as sharp as ever.
Zojirushi. I've had both their rice cooker and their bread maker for over 20 years. I've used them A LOT in that time and they're both still going strong. It's kind of cool because I bought the bread maker just before my second kid was born and now he is using it almost weekly to make homemade pretzels, bread, and pizza.
The "old" Avaya. They essentially built the physical internet of the first world. Problem was, their stuff rarely broke. You could bury a switch and 20 years later it still works. They went bankrupt because once you build something that doesn't break, you have nothing left to sell. They came out of bankruptcy last year and don't do any of the old things they used to do.
I think a lot of this depends on the division and if that manufacture has sold the rights to the brand. I bought a huge brand's ice machine figuring I couldn't go wrong. It was c**p. Turns out they sold the right to put their name on someone else's product.
Bang & Olufsen audio equipment. I bought a CD player in 1985 and they made sure I had all the right cables for it to work with my 1970s tuner and turntable. Unbeatable sound quality too.
Fender and Gibson guitars. BC Rich Guitars. But, especially Jackson. Even their cheap lines tend to be pretty darned good
Shoei motorcycle helmets. I change mine every 5 years (as recommended by Shoei), which can be as much as 250,000 miles for me, and they're still fully functional and in good condition at that stage. Not cheap but good value nevertheless.
My husband loves Shoei helmets, but I can't get one to fit properly!
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Lakeland. They used to take anything back without quibble, but I think they had to stop because people were taking the pisd.
Boars head meats. Their attention to detail and quality is insane. A truck falls a few degrees under what's safe even for a few minutes and it's disposed of. Quick to pull distributor licenses if they don't follow safety and presentation rules. They do surprise inspections. Even their trucks have actual gold leaf on the side.
Love their cheeses as well. The white american is not plastic and melts beautifully.
Load More Replies... It's sorta sad not to see Sears here. Back in the days before K-Mart, Sears' niche was finding the absolute best-built products and sticking their Sears, Craftsman or Kenmore label on them. A shopping mall wasn't a shopping mall without a Sears. And ironically, they OWNED the world of shipping to your home: before ordering from a computer existed, you could use a phone to talk into (gasp!) and order whatever you could find from their GIANT catalogs. Somehow, they gave up on home shipping right as the internet was taking off, and lost out to a used-book reseller named Amazon.
Sears also was discriminatory towards women. For decades they wouldn't allow women to have their store credit card unless a man was on the account. Women were the main shoppers of Sears, except for the tools/automotive. This backfired spectacularly. Do not p**s off the women.
Load More Replies... Gerber knives. They have a lifetime no questions asked replacement policy similar to craftsman tools. Just broke a 20 year old gerber machete recently, sent a pic in an email to customer service. Turned out that model was discontinued but they sent me the closest they had, which was actually an upgrade. Free.
There are a few brands that I would have suggested, but sadly they've moved to cheaper quality, Chinese production and their new stuff is just not as good (AEG, Bosch, Karcher, Rivers clothes). It's actually become necessary to double check products every time you buy just to make sure they are still made to the standards you're used to. Probably the only ones that I could still wholeheartedly recommend are Stihl and Husqvarna. Even then, I'd probably double check before buying to make sure they haven't been taken over by one of the big power tool conglomerates and rendered c**p.
Same when PYREX went pyrex and switched from borosilicate to tempered glass
Load More Replies... Krups, my mom got a Krups toaster in the early 2000s and it has been making toast/bagels almost everyday since, no problems
Kitchen Devil knives. I bought one when I first left home in 1990, my mother told me I'd never need to buy another, and she was right - still just as sharp as ever.
Zojirushi. I've had both their rice cooker and their bread maker for over 20 years. I've used them A LOT in that time and they're both still going strong. It's kind of cool because I bought the bread maker just before my second kid was born and now he is using it almost weekly to make homemade pretzels, bread, and pizza.
The "old" Avaya. They essentially built the physical internet of the first world. Problem was, their stuff rarely broke. You could bury a switch and 20 years later it still works. They went bankrupt because once you build something that doesn't break, you have nothing left to sell. They came out of bankruptcy last year and don't do any of the old things they used to do.
I think a lot of this depends on the division and if that manufacture has sold the rights to the brand. I bought a huge brand's ice machine figuring I couldn't go wrong. It was c**p. Turns out they sold the right to put their name on someone else's product.
Bang & Olufsen audio equipment. I bought a CD player in 1985 and they made sure I had all the right cables for it to work with my 1970s tuner and turntable. Unbeatable sound quality too.
Fender and Gibson guitars. BC Rich Guitars. But, especially Jackson. Even their cheap lines tend to be pretty darned good
Shoei motorcycle helmets. I change mine every 5 years (as recommended by Shoei), which can be as much as 250,000 miles for me, and they're still fully functional and in good condition at that stage. Not cheap but good value nevertheless.
My husband loves Shoei helmets, but I can't get one to fit properly!
Load More Replies... Lakeland. They used to take anything back without quibble, but I think they had to stop because people were taking the pisd.
