I eagerly paid the $315 bill this morning, and set out to wash my car, dirty after a week of sitting at my mechanic's. Unhappily, I discovered two new, big scratches on the car that weren't there prior to my dropping it off, and upon my arrival home, I smelled coolant leaking out. As you might expect, if you spend $1,500 in auto repairs on your car in two weeks, the last thing you want to see is: a.) body damage, and b.) a new problem that threatens the state of your car's operation and possibly your safety.

Understandably, I was... severely unimpressed. I discovered that the mechanics left a loose hose clamp that was allowing coolant to spill out, so there wasn't a grave problem; I was able to resolve the problem by making a tool (I'm sure that the liberals reading this blog will want to recall Dian Fossey from the dead to confirm that Koko the Gorilla MADE A TOOL, a first in evolution) to hold the loose hoseclamp in place while I tightened it with a screwdriver. Problem fixed, and repair confirmed after a long road-test.

You're probably asking yourself, "Why didn't Koko take the car back for them to correct the issues?"

Why? If this garage couldn't see fit to pay enough attention to the detail of (the SECOND repair, natch) tightening a hose clamp, not carrying tools carelessly around my car, or insuring that the fender protector didn't have a piece of gravel on it that would scratch the fender, then how would I assume that they'd be able to do any better on their third try?

This raises a question that I feel is pertinent: Are you paying attention to the details in your job? Are you forced to work at such a pace that you miss critical details about your assignments that put customers, your employer, your students, citizens at risk? Are you really paying attention to the little things at work? You should know that it's the little things that matter - what if the security screeners in Boston and D.C. on September 11, 2001 had been a little more careful about the box-cutters that slipped in under their radar? Maybe 2,973 Americans would be doing the goofy, mundane things that people do, instead of moldering in the grave.

Why is the amount of production in this country so greatly valued above it's quality? I couldn't care less if you produce 10 tons of feces daily; I'd rather you produce 10 good products or services. I'm patient. I could have waited another day for these hose-heads to make my car truly ready for me to pick up. Are you sure that your customers, fellow employees, and your employer can't wait just a little longer for you to check the quality of your work?

Are we really that much in a hurry here in the U.S.?