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Quality Control

890-1Errors make me cringe.  My first job out of college, I realized very quickly there was no room for error.  I was a consultant and clients were paying me to think.  I triple-checked my work, then sent it on to a colleague to check it again before I forwarded it to my manager.  Without fail, she would find something wrong and shake her head as she returned my work to me with a bunch of red marks.  As much as I hated that job, it set the groundwork for my career.  All entry-level consultants were expected to go to grad school.  And to this day, I really try not to make mistakes.  I’ve noticed I make more and more grammatical and spelling errors these days which I’m attributing to old age.  But I’m trying!

Let me share an email response I got back from an esthetician. 

Hi Catherine, I have treated a lot of Brides getting ready for their wedding day.  If we can I like to start off with a consulatation so that we can I get a good look at your skin and make a plan to that will work with your timeline before you wedding.  Typical treatment options for hyperpigmentation are in the area of pigmentation chemical peels from light-medium strength, sometimes combined with microdermabrasion.  Once the pigmentation is cleared up the Oxygen Infusion is a huge favorite amoung brides!  It’s amazing.  It will plumg, lift, and tighten your skin and can be done the day before you wedding if need be to get your skin to reallly glow:)

Isn’t that embarrassing?  So unprofessional.  I understand that she’s not an editor.  She works with skin, I get it.  But she did go to school, yes?  I think it’s such a shame that people aren’t instilled with quality control instincts.

The other day, someone kept sending me work that was wrong.  Each time, I sent it back to her.  There’s an error in your spreadsheet.  She was obviously frustrated and asked, “Can you just tell me all the mistakes instead of sending it back each time?” 

I was furious.  I wanted to scream, “It is your job to check your work.  Doesn’t it embarrass you that I’ve already caught one mistake?  Next time, wouldn’t you be compelled to look at it 10 times before sending it back?”

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02.20.10

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Comments

  1. She'sWrite

    January 11, 2013 at 6:59 pm

    Stopping by from SITS. I can relate to going over and over and over something because you want to make sure it’s correct. I’m a journalist and am always going over things I’ve written to find the hidden mistake or typo.

    I think that as we get more digital and our language transforms (i.e. texting) and we are inherently getting be weaker spellers because of spell-check, there’s a lot more errors in the written word.

    🙂

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Welcome to my site, derived from an advice column I wrote while getting my MBA. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I give helpful, opinionated advice based on my own experience and from the expertise of my extensive network. For more, click here.

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