Q is for Quality Quickie

Note: I'm throwing my hat into the A-Z Blogging challenge sponsored by Tossing it out! What you will be reading via the letters A-Z will give you a glimpse into my world and what I do when I'm not here - blogging.

Yup...I had a feeling that would get your attention.

After going for a ‘run’ through “O” and taking a detour through “P” to take care of some awards I needed to hand out and to throw high fives to some very deserving blogsters, I’m back! 

Now that we’ve got that out of the way…are we feeling like having some fun!

Are you wondering where I’m going with this quickie...hmm?

If you’re a dude you’re thinking give it to me baby and if you’re a chickadee then you're thinking maybe I’m going to learn a little something special here at Pearson Report - the site of intrigue and mystery.

See how easy it is to fill a page with suspense…

On occasion I am required to do a service at work that must be done fast, with extreme efficiency and attention to quality. It must be done as quickly as possible to get a client in and out before their meter expires or their luxury cruise ship sets sail to greener harbours.

When you’ve been buffing and polishing hands and toes (faces too) for as long as I have you incorporate a system that is like a high performance turbo boosted limited edition car - like the one my friend Lola (the only person on this planet that I outright envy) drives.

Yes, I’m that limited edition precision human you encounter when you need a service done in record time; you didn’t plan your day well, and now the pressure is on me to set your world right and I say - bring it on, baby.

It’s my adrenaline rush, what I live for...well...that was until “the accident”…

So much has changed since “the accident” - now, it’s called breathe, relax, chill, pull back on that tall cool drink and realize you are now in “the Jenny zone” - a place where you let go of time, park your problems (or luxury cruise ship) at the front door and for the next few hours you are in a wee bit of paradise. 

My studio is now a “no rush” zone; I no longer pull out the stops and rev up my engine anymore - those days are long gone. 

Oh, I’m still accommodating and all - but no more speedy gonzalez - come prepared to be pampered, to feel the peace and tranquility and the quiet - a mini vacation in the middle of your day - that’s me - that’s my business - slowing you down.

But, this brings me to the unfortunate position I find myself in -  getting a little quality service, done quickly, just for me, out in the Big Bad World. It is near impossible. I am extremely intolerant with what I receive in the guise of quality - something I would refer to as mediocrity.

Then there’s the ‘quick’ part of this 'quality' package I’m about to receive - I don’t ask for anything to be done quickly now-a-days. That’s a sure-fire guarantee of getting a half-baked bun! (read it with a slight profane twist and you’ll get my drift) 

Quality and Quick no longer hang out together. In fact, they are now divorced and are still fighting over their kids - Unrealistic, Disastrous, Disappointing and their youngest - Atrocious. We've all met them - they run rampant and without restraint throughout our lives. 

I often wonder who sets the bar on quality these days…

I chose not to make it a question, I’m hoping you’ll figure it out on your own. 

Okay, here it comes, the answer!

 We do! (refer back to my “C” post for the 411) 

We allow mediocrity to disguise itself as something great, even grand, when in fact previous generations would be rolling over in their graves because of our complacency with the diminishment of our standards.

Can something be done quickly and have the same high quality it would have had had the time not been reduced? 

Short answer - Yes! One just needs to know what can safely be taken out of the equation to help reduce the time spent but not compromise the overall quality of the end product.

The one thing I have never done is compromised the integrity of my work because someone can’t set aside the right amount of time for a service. Trying to do a one hour service in thirty minutes is at best pushing it - but if all the frills are removed and the bare bones are done to perfection the task will be a success, albeit a quickie.

My motto, these last twenty-seven years, has been, “If it must be done quickly the quality cannot be compromised.” 

A quality quickie is about speed, efficiency and high standards - great when done right, a disaster when not. No ancestor of mine is rolling in their grave, just yet!

When you’re in a rush is the quality compromised because it’s a quickie?

Until R...