When people say you learn more from your failures than your successes, William Seavey is the first to agree.

How failure can make you a better customer

When people say you learn more from your failures than your successes, William Seavey is the first to agree. He bought a Samsung top-loader washing machine, recommended by Consumer Reports, at Sears. “It turned out to be a lemon,” says Seavey, a consultant based in Cambria, Calif.