The idiom, ‘the devil is in the details’, is more often heard by some of us than the original phrase, ‘God is in the details’.
The former means that even minute details can have a big, often negative, impact or that mistakes are usually made in the small details of a project. Usually, it is a caution to pay attention to avoid failure.
This is the second part on Excellence is detail-oriented.
Mistakes are bad— in any job; for the organization and the employee. There are several cases where mistakes on the part of employees or other members of an organization have harmed the reputation of the organization. Employers want someone who will get it right the first time! So employers are less likely to employ someone who has a track record of carelessness and small mistakes.
At an organizational level, paying attention to detail minimizes costly errors for companies.
I began a checklist on basic operational lapses. The checklist continues pictorially first.
-Maintenance matters
-Outside Oversights
-Cleaning Calamities
Culinary catastrophes
- Hot food that’s not hot or cold food at room temperature
- Hair or foreign objects in food
- Half-melted ice cream
- Overcooked/mushy vegetables
- Inconsistent taste
- Inconsistent portion sizes
- Food spilled on the rim of plate
Beverage blunders
- Serving the wrong drink
- Cold drinks without a coaster or napkin
- Offering drinks with nothing to nibble on
- Tepid tea water
- Foreign object in beverages
- Lemon slices too thin to squeeze
- Improperly chilled beer or wine
Attitude errors
- Uncovered head in the kitchen
- Staff chewing gum
- Whistling or singing with the background music
- Inability to speak basic English
- Sleeveless tops
- Ignoring and not thanking guests as they leave
- No response to guests/customers’ complaints
I am sure by now you are beginning to compile your own checklist and or add on to the checklists presented here so far.
This article continues next week with bonus points!
Solution for past riddle: What book was once owned by only the wealthy, but now everyone can have it? You can’t buy it in a bookstore or take it from the library. What is it? Telephone book
Riddle for the week: What question can you never answer “yes” to?