Random Photo-The coffee cup

Season 2, Photo 2

Take a look at this coffee cup and tell me if you see something wrong…I’ll give you a minute or two.

Ok, did you get it? The seam is lined up with the spout. What happens when the seam and spout are lined up? It drips! The seam offers just enough disruption to the seal that coffee sneaks past and drips onto your hand, or worse, your clothes.

There may not be a way to make a cup seamless, but there is definitely a way to solve this problem. 

How many times have you gotten upset at an employee for doing the job wrong? I’ve done it, you’ve done it, we’ve all done it. Think about all of the things you have done wrong in your life. Usually, when we do something wrong, at best, someone is embarrassed, at worst, someone gets hurt. Now think about how many of your errors could’ve been prevented by someone having been clear with you about the expectation and the reason why. 

Back to the coffee cup–I would guess most people doing a job don't desire to do the job poorly. Instead, they are probably lacking information. I can’t tell you how many times a barista, at any given coffee shop, has handed me a cup with the seam and spout lined up. No one wants to hand me a cup of coffee that will leak on my hands, or clothes; almost certainly, they had no idea it caused a problem. Sometimes when this happens, I’ve said to the barista: “did you know this cup will leak when the cover is put on like this?” The response is always the same; “wow, I never knew that.” 

Clarity of instruction goes a long way toward making sure our employees do things the right way. Instructions shouldn’t just include how to do something, but also why. 

“Hey, always make sure the spout is on the opposite side from the seam of the cup.” vs “When you put a cover on a cup, make sure the spout is always on the opposite side from the seam. If they’re on the same side, the coffee will drip onto the customer's hand, or clothes.”

“Hey, can you hang this new towel dispenser in the bathroom?” vs “Will you please hang the new towel dispenser in the bathroom. Make sure it’s at least 12 inches above the counter top, so there’s room to pull the towel out.”