The document discusses the costs of quality and categorizes them into four types: external failure costs which are costs associated with defects found after customer receipt; internal failure costs which are costs from defects found before customer receipt like rework; inspection costs which are costs to determine conformance like testing; and prevention costs which are costs to prevent poor quality like training. It argues that the true cost of quality is not creating a quality product or service since that leads to costs from rework and defects.