We moved into a new house about 11 months ago, and there are still things we are learning about it. Even before we closed, it became apparent that prior owners didn’t maintain it well. We have happily replaced almost every primary system in the house, like the windows, roof, electrical outlets, and supply plumbing. 

Recently we had a little septic tank issue. (Is there such a thing?😂) I will leave it at this; suddenly, our plumbing drainage wasn’t performing correctly. When I had the septic service company come out, they informed me that our tank was installed backward. The repercussions of this error have probably haunted this house for the last 20 years with poorly functioning drainage. 

It got me thinking, who was the first to realize this fact? Surely it cannot be me after 20 years have passed. Did the company that placed the tank realize it as they finished the installation? There is some evidence they should’ve discovered it even back then since a pipe doesn’t fit inside as it should. I can imagine the conversation, “crap, the tank is backwards and we already have everything connected, what do we do?” “Well, the machine that can lift it is gone and we have to get this job done, let’s just leave it as is, it’s not our problem anymore.” If they had realized it back then, they could’ve saved 20 years of issues by redoing a little work. 

A Website Story

In a recent website build, near the end of the work, we realized that we wanted to test and switch hosting before launching. The tools we were using were good but not great. So we embarked on three days of testing. The thing is, we were already running behind on our delivery due to various technical issues. But we decided to bite the bullet despite the delay to save time and pain later for everyone. Once we launched, switching hosts would become a much bigger deal. 

The point is that the earlier you can fix a problem, the better off you are – even if you won’t directly benefit from the fix or no one will know. If they took an extra day and went slightly over budget to fix the tank when it was installed, they would’ve saved all future homeowners years, and dollars, of additional service. If the first homeowner realized the issue and had it fixed, they would’ve saved themselves and future owners’ pain. When we switched hosting, we disappointed our client with a further delay, but we could tell them we chose to do it now so it wouldn’t be a problem later. 

The sooner you can fix a problem, the better. Most of the time, issues don’t magically resolve themselves. Even if no one will see the fix, even if you don’t benefit, or maybe you lose time or money, doing it right as soon as you identify a problem is a matter of integrity. 

Takeaway:
Fix problems as soon as possible; they only worsen over time.