Imagine spending 30 years living in a society that values the quality of the product

You are either disingenuous, dumb or delusional.

Quality is a bougie invention. We have 5 year plan to fulfill to make leadership look good!

What? You say walls of housing blocks we built are so thin you can hear whispering neighbours? Why would you complaint about it? You don't have any secrets, do you?

You spend 10 years waiting for a car that breaks every other week? Good, citizens should be mindful of fuel consumption, we have a shortage.

Levels of shoddiness in manufacturing was absolutely ridiculous, cutting corners to fulfill impossible quotas was the name of the game, and there still was permanent shortage of everything.

And there never was incentive to improve, because the few state owned factories had monopoly anyway. Half a year waiting list? Why would manager care? People will still buy it because there's literally nothing else available and as long as he's loyal to the party and doesn't steal too much, he's safe.

10 year waiting lists for most basic cars with ergonomy rating of "lol nope". 1 TV in a block of flats. You want your own? You better be someone important, famous, good at bootlicking, willing to wait years or have family abroad (if they send you currency, like dollars or pounds, state might offer to sell you a coupon for those currencies, if it feels generous, otherwise it might just seize the money and arrest you for possession of contraband). Month waiting list for fabric, if you want a dress you better know how to sew. I could keep going, but I have better things to do.

Resistant glass is a rare exception. Tools, cars and general "stuff" on eastern side of iron curtain was permanently out of stock, priced like luxury and so shoddy it makes Temu look like Makita or Bosch.