Customer loyalty is a sign of a bad product. A business that thrives on repeat customers is a business that has failed to provide a permanent solution. This is a truth that many companies hide. These companies hide this truth behind loyalty programs and rewards points. The paint store in Boulder is a good example of this truth.

Erin manages the paint store. The store is located on a busy corner. The floor of the store is gray concrete. The concrete has many colorful spills. Erin wears a blue apron. The apron has her name on it. Erin looks at a computer screen on Monday morning.

The computer screen shows a list of the top twenty customers. These customers spend the most money in the store. Most of these customers own old houses. These houses have wood siding. These customers buy stain every April. These customers buy stain every May. Erin calls these people her best customers.

The Victory of the Inactive Account

Erin notices a name is missing from the list. The name is Bill. Bill owns a large house in the hills. The house has cedar siding. Bill usually buys forty gallons of stain. Bill has not been to the store in two years.

Erin looks at the notes in the computer. A note says that Bill re-sided his house. Bill no longer needs stain. Bill no longer needs Erin. Erin marks the account as inactive. An inactive account is a loss for the store. An inactive account is a victory for Bill.

I tried to open a jar of pickles this morning. The jar was made of glass. The lid was made of metal. I grabbed the lid. I turned the lid. The lid did not move. My hand slipped. My grip is not as strong as it was ten years ago.

This failure made me think about maintenance. Maintenance requires a grip. Maintenance requires a ladder. Maintenance requires a body that does not fail. Many homeowners do not have a body that can climb a ladder every three years. The paint store does not care about your grip. The paint store cares about the sale of the stain.

The Restain Treadmill

The paint industry relies on a cycle. This cycle is called the restain treadmill. You buy the stain. You apply the stain. The sun hits the house. The sun is hot in Colorado. The UV rays damage the wood. The wood cracks. The wood absorbs moisture.

The moisture causes rot. The stain peels. You go back to the store. The store manager greets you by name. You feel special. You are actually a victim of the business model.

Lessons from the Phoebus Cartel

In 1924, a group of men met in Geneva. These men represented the largest lightbulb companies in the world. They formed the Phoebus Cartel. The cartel decided that lightbulbs lasted too long.

Some bulbs lasted 2,500 hours. This was bad for sales. The cartel ordered the engineers to make bulbs that failed after 1,000 hours. If a company made a bulb that lasted longer, the company paid a fine.

“They called this standardization. It was actually planned obsolescence. The paint store works the same way.”

The stain is designed to look good. The stain is not designed to last forever. If the stain lasted forever, Erin would have no customers. The business model creates the incentive. The incentive shapes the product. If a company makes money when your house needs work, that company will never sell you a way to stop the work.

They will sell you a better brush. They will sell you a more expensive stain. They will not sell you a house that requires no stain.

Bill’s Escape: The Engineered Board

Bill found a way to stop the cycle. Bill chose a different material. Bill looked at his cedar siding. The cedar was gray. The cedar was soft. Bill removed the cedar. Bill installed Composite Siding from SlatSolution.

This material is made of wood and polymer. This material is called WPC. The material does not rot. The material does not mold. The material does not need stain. The material comes in ten finishes. Bill chose the Brazilian IPE finish. This finish looks like wood.

The finish stays on the board. The sun does not peel the finish. The rain does not wash the finish away. Bill also used the shiplap boards for his porch ceiling. The porch ceiling is now the same color as the walls. The lines are clean. The lines are horizontal. The fasteners are hidden.

Bill does not need a ladder. Bill does not need a brush. Bill can use his hands to open jars instead of holding a scraper.

The Architecture of Chores

The store in Boulder is full of people who are not Bill. These people stand in line. These people talk about the weather. These people talk about the UV index. The UV index is high today. A high UV index means the stain will fail faster.

The customers do not see the failure as a problem. The customers see the failure as a chore. They accept the chore. They accept the cost. They accept the loyalty points. Erin likes the loyalty program. The program gives a discount after ten gallons.

This discount keeps the customers coming back. The discount is a tether. The tether keeps the homeowner tied to the store. The store is a hub of recurring revenue. The revenue depends on the decay of the wood. If the wood does not decay, the store does not grow.

Precision vs. Chaos

Nova V. works as a clean room technician. Nova knows about precision. Nova knows that a clean room must be sealed. A clean room must stay the same. The environment must be controlled. Wood siding is the opposite of a clean room.

Wood siding is organic. Wood siding is chaotic. Wood siding changes every day. The wood expands in the heat. The wood contracts in the cold. This movement breaks the bond of the stain. The stain flakes off.

The flakes fall to the ground. The homeowner sweeps the flakes. The homeowner goes to the store. Composite materials provide control. The polymer in the board provides stability. The board does not expand like raw timber. The board does not contract like raw timber. The finish is part of the board. The finish is not a layer of oil on the surface. This is the precision that Nova understands. This is the precision that the paint store fears.

The paint store has a shelf for cleaners. The cleaners remove mold. The cleaners remove mildew. Wood siding grows mold in the shade. Wood siding grows mildew in the rain. These organisms eat the wood. The homeowner buys the cleaner. The homeowner scrubs the wood.

The wood is now clean and wet. The homeowner must wait for the wood to dry. Then the homeowner buys more stain. The store sells the problem and the temporary fix. SlatSolution boards resist insects. Termites do not eat polymer.

Wood-boring insects do not live in the composite substrate. The house stays solid. The house stays quiet. Bill does not hear the wood pecking. Bill does not see the sawdust on the deck. Bill is happy. Bill is an inactive account.

I looked at my house after I failed to open the pickle jar. The siding on my house is old. The siding is wood. I see the gray patches on the south wall. The sun has won. I will need to buy stain soon. I do not want to go to the store. I do not want to be a loyal customer. I want to be an inactive account. I want a house that does not require my grip.

The Aesthetic of Arctic Oak

The architectural trend is moving toward clean lines. The shiplap profile is popular. The shiplap profile creates a shadow. The shadow defines the house. People want the look of timber. People want the look of Arctic Oak. People want the look of Rose Walnut.

These people do not want the work of timber. They do not want to sand the Rose Walnut. They do not want to seal the Arctic Oak. The SlatSolution range offers two grain programs. The Enhanced Grain looks like real wood. The All-Weather system is smooth.

Both programs use the same substrate. A builder can use both. The builder can put the grain on the front. The builder can put the smooth boards on the ceiling. The look is consistent. The performance is consistent. The store in Boulder does not sell this consistency. The store sells a liquid in a can. The liquid is a promise that expires.

Managing Assets, Not Customers

The arithmetic of loyalty is simple. A customer who buys once is a lead. A customer who buys every three years is an asset. The paint store builds its budget on these assets. The store tracks the age of the houses in the neighborhood.

The store knows when the cedar will turn gray. The store prepares for the spring. The store stocks the shelves with Cedar finish. The store stocks the shelves with Peruvian Teak finish. The store waits for the assets to arrive.

If you want to break the cycle, you must change the material. You must stop buying the liquid. You must start buying the board. The tax is paid in money. The tax is also paid in time. The tax is paid in the health of your hands and your back.

Bill sits on his porch now. The porch is finished in Brazilian IPE. The color is deep. The color is rich. Bill has a glass of lemonade. Bill does not have a brush. Bill does not have a bucket. Bill is no longer on the computer screen in the Boulder store.

Erin has forgotten his face. This is the goal of home improvement. The goal is to be forgotten by the people who sell the maintenance.

We often think that buying the best stain is the solution. We search for the best brand. We search for the most expensive oil. We think this will save the wood. This is a mistake. The wood is the problem. Natural timber is a living thing.

A living thing dies. When the timber is on the side of a house, the timber dies slowly. The stain is a cosmetic for a corpse. Composite siding is a different philosophy. It is an engineered solution.

It is a way to have the beauty of a walnut forest without the decay of a walnut forest. It is a way to have a contemporary facade that stays contemporary. It does not age. It does not weather. It stays.