what we learn from the  famous 'Zen and art of motorcycle maintenance' book is that the answer to the question "What is quality" is very difficult, but you WILL find the answer as a side-effect to trying to find the answer, though formally you will never find it. 

So keep trying . and asking the question and thinking deeply about it now and then. And if you can hear faintly the nickel-and-dime clatter of a Harley engine, then you're on the right track...