Mtanga Tc
JF-Expert Member
- Oct 1, 2010
- 235
- 84
A lesson on how consultants can make a difference in an organization.
Last week, we took some friends to a new Indian restaurant, 'Muthu's Place,' and
noticed that the Indian 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 observed that he also had a spoon in his shirt pocket. Then I looked
around and saw that all the Indian staff had spoons in their pockets. When the
waiter came back to serve our soup I inquired, 'Why the spoon?'
'Well, 'he explained, 'the restaurant's owner hired Andersen Consulting to
revamp all of 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 replaced 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 Indian waiter's fly.
Looking around, I saw that all of the Indian 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 the Indian waiter lowered his voice. 'Not everyone is so
observant. That consulting firm I mentioned also learned that we can save time
in the restroom. By tying this string to the tip of our 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%.'I asked quietly, '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.'
Last week, we took some friends to a new Indian restaurant, 'Muthu's Place,' and
noticed that the Indian 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 observed that he also had a spoon in his shirt pocket. Then I looked
around and saw that all the Indian staff had spoons in their pockets. When the
waiter came back to serve our soup I inquired, 'Why the spoon?'
'Well, 'he explained, 'the restaurant's owner hired Andersen Consulting to
revamp all of 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 replaced 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 Indian waiter's fly.
Looking around, I saw that all of the Indian 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 the Indian waiter lowered his voice. 'Not everyone is so
observant. That consulting firm I mentioned also learned that we can save time
in the restroom. By tying this string to the tip of our 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%.'I asked quietly, '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.'
