Efficiency Experts
Corrine shows us how the efficient way isn't always the best way.
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Remember this when you go out to eat at a nice restaurant:
A timeless lesson on how consultants can make a difference for an organization.
Last week, we took some friends out to a new restaurant, and noticed that the waiter who took our order carried a spoon in his shirt pocket. It seemed a little strange.
When the busboy brought our water and utensils, I noticed he also had a spoon in his shirt pocket. Then I looked around and saw that all the staff had spoons in their pockets.
When the waiter came back to serve our soup I asked, "Why the spoon?"
"Well," he explained, "the restaurant's owners hired Andersen Consulting to revamp all our processes. After several months of analysis, they concluded that the spoon was the most frequently dropped utensil. It represents a drop frequency of approximately 3 spoons per table per hour. If our personnel is better prepared, we can reduce the number of trips back to the kitchen and save 15 man-hours per shift."
As luck would have it, I dropped my spoon and he was able to replace it with his spare.
"I'll get another spoon next time I go to the kitchen instead of making an extra trip to get it right now."
I was impressed.
I also noticed that there was a string hanging out of the waiter's fly. Looking around, I noticed that all the waiters had the same string hanging from their flies.
So before he walked off, I asked the waiter, "Excuse me, but can you tell me why you have that string right there?"
"Oh, certainly!" Then he lowered his voice. "Not everyone is so observant. That consulting firm I mentioned also found out that we could save time in the restroom. By tying this string to the tip of you know what, we can pull it out without touching it and eliminate the need to wash our hands, shortening the time spent in the restroom by 76.39 percent.
I asked, "After you get it out, how do you put it back?"
"Well," he whispered, "I don't know about the others, but I use the spoon."
posted by Tramp at
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
6 Comments:
This makes perfect sense to me. By implementing process improvement, they are not only improving support to the customer and eliminating waste, but also adding additional flavor to the product.
i was gonna say "eeewww", but after readin john's comment, i think i'm gonna make it a double!
This is why I prefer a rural restaurant to an urban micromanaged hellhole.
I had one of these so called efficiency experts contact me at my business and explain how he could improve efficiency. I told him I could accomplish the same thing by getting off of the phone with him and going back to the work that needed doing.
I didn't wait for an answer.
Oh, the best part of this efficient idiot. He said, and I'm not making this up, that he could double productivity while slashing costs by one third (with a magic wand, I imagine).
So I went out in the plant and asked the guys, "If I cut your pay by one third, will you work twice as hard?"
Anyone want to guess the answer?
Tramp,
I TOTALLY agree. This is why a refrigerator lasts
5 years instead of 30.
Same thing with vehicles!
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