Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Nothing Gets Less Attention...

A guy walks into a Peet's Coffee first thing in the morning wearing gray slacks, black shoes, white shirt, jacket - no tie. He orders a medium coffee with room for cream. (sounds like the opening to a joke...)

Who is going to remember this guy 10 minutes later?

No one. His presence is unremarkable and routine.

Unless the barista ignores him. Pretend like he's not there and, if I know coffee addiction - soon he's racing around the dining area upsetting tables and pitching chairs at the espresso machine. (I may be exaggerating, but it helps my allegory)

The same with routine maintenance. Send a contractor to put a coat of paint on a railing or replace a square of sidewalk, and your unremarkable action may be completely unnoticed.

Why? Because even when paint is wearing thin, signage is fading, and community mailboxes are not closing just right - they are still unremarkable.

But wait until they start pitching a fit, and suddenly they get some unflattering attention - and so do you.

Take a moment today to notice the guardrail system ordering the medium coffee with room for cream. Take note of the light poles wearing a white shirt and dark jacket. They may need your attention. Ignore them and they will soon be wandering around the dining room pitching chairs.

I've played out this analogy as far as I dare...And I still haven't come up with a punch line for the joke.

Alas, don't count on me for humor, but you can count on UPSI for help with both the routine maintenance and also the deferred maintenance which has started giving you trouble.

Solving Problems: Engineering Solutions

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