The String and the Spoon

[mywifeknowseverythin]

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 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 Price Waterhouse Coopers 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 are 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 trip right now."

I was impressed. I also noticed that there was a string hanging out of the waiter's fly.

Looking round, 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 can 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."

[CK1999_400ex]

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