The Stupid Way

When I do a job, I do like to do it right.  When I work at my job, I like to perfect it.  Unfortunately, doing my job to perfection is nearly an impossibility.  It is not that my job can't be done that way, but it is that the others I work with do not care to do it that way.  They also don't seem to understand why a job should be done a certain way and not another.

I'll take an easy example.  At one job I had, it was part of our job to deal with public events; sporting events, musical events, meetings, conferences, pays, rehearsals, etc etc..  On days when the weather was inclement, we were required to put out extra runner mats so people would not slip on the floor.  This would seem simple enough, but not paying attention to detail can make for a lot more work and less safety than it has to be.

This process really starts at the previous event and how you roll up the carpet.  If you leave he top up and roll the carpet up, it is the easiest at the moment.  It is not the easiest overall.  later you have to roll the carpet back out.  It seems easiest that the wrong way it was rolled up is is just rolled out.  Here is the problem, when you roll it that way, it causes the ends to curl up which creates a tripping hazard to the public and opens one up to lawsuits.  So, then you have to crawl around and tape the ends down.  When you remove the tape it leaves residue on the floor which then has to be cleaned up with a special cleaner.  It costs extra time to do the job, and extra costs such as the tape and the cleaner.

the proper way is to flip the carpet over first, then roll it up so the top is on the outside.  It is an extra step that only takes a second, but it saves the other costs and hassles.  The ends of the carpet naturally lay flat when unrolled from the proper roll. 

The problem is that some people don't seem to understand these points.  They either don't care or it goes over thier heads.  When you try to explain it, they cop an attitude with you.  So, you end up having to deal with doing things the stupid less cost effective way that creates more work.  Frankly, it drives me nuts.  Why do you WANT to make more work for yourself and open up your empoyer to legal woes?  I don't think they want to, really.  I just think they don't think.

Because I had to deal with such people, I was forced to deal with it.  I had to do things the stupid way because I just could not get others to see the proper way to do the job. 

I've thought about this a lot, and what I come up with is that this is the result of pride.  I guess that they felt I was questioning their intelligence by suggesting another better way to do the job.  Maybe they felt that their own importance was greater than it was, resulting in the angry response of, "you're not my boss".  If they don't really care that much about the details of their job, why does it bother them that someone else does?

Proverbs 10:4
He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.