*The spoon:*
>
>
> *A lesson on how consultants can make a difference in
> an organization.
> *
>
> * Last week, we took some friends to a new restaurant,
> 'Steve's Place,' 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 observed that 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
> 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 waiter's fly.
> *
>
>
> *Looking around, I saw that all of 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 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.'*
>
>
> *A lesson on how consultants can make a difference in
> an organization.
> *
>
> * Last week, we took some friends to a new restaurant,
> 'Steve's Place,' 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 observed that 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
> 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 waiter's fly.
> *
>
>
> *Looking around, I saw that all of 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 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.'*
