Does Consistency Matter?

Consistency:  conformity in the application of something, typically that which is necessary for the sake of logic, accuracy, or fairness. (dictionary.com)

Why DO we go to our favorite places to shop or to eat?  I think it’s because there is one or many things we can count on about how they do the things we like.  Whatever these things are, they’re important to us.  It doesn’t matter if others disagree with us about those things unless others will be with us when we go.  This includes sometimes only going to specific sites.

These places consistently perform in a way that is satisfying to us.

In fact, we have a mental rubric upon which we grade them. If the grade starts to slip, we’ll chalk it up to a bad day. We may even make up an excuse for the slip, e.g., someone is out, there is a change in management, or there is a bad attitude. However, if the grade continues to slip, we’ll stop patronizing them. And more often than not, we will not tell them that we’re leaving.

This is why some people shop only on Amazon, at Target, or Marshall’s. This is why some people only drink McDonald’s fountain Coke or eat their fries, drink coffee from Starbucks, or only eat donuts from Krispy Crème.  These places consistently produce whatever our desired result is.  They have created and satisfied our expectations.

This is why having a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is important, and more so, having a documented SOP. They can help you and your staff achieve consistent productivity and aid customer expectations.  

Some will balk at writing down how they do what they do.  The preferred process is to tell someone how to do it.  Granted, this may work with simple tasks.  (Bear in mind that the definition of simple is to the beholder.  What is simple to one person may not be considered so to another.)  If it is more than two or three steps though, someone will need to take notes,  plus remember what they meant and their importance.  Have you ever written down what you thought were good notes only to go back and strain to read what you wrote, much less understand what you meant?  I know I have!  For example, what about a phone call where the person on the other side of the phone, trying to be helpful, gave instructions where you eventually had to say, “Wait a minute.  Let me put you on speaker and get a pen and paper.”  (Or let me open my Notes app.)

Understandably, long handwriting or typing is often not preferred.  Even when we watch each other, we should do it several times to confirm understanding.  However, with all that is going on in our minds on any given day, most don’t catch and retain information that fast.  All of this takes time. 

Consistency requires understanding the answers to the procedure's interrogatives: how, why, what, when, where, or who.  For example, I have a favorite coffee place.  They hit it out of the park for me 98% of the time, which is near perfect.  I believe I can tell when a new person fills my coffee order.  How?  Because my coffee is cool instead of hot when I receive it at the window.  Why?  I think it’s because they first put the coffee in the cup and added sugar and crème.  When done in reverse, the coffee is (my preferred) too hot to drink and must cool down a bit before the first sip.  (I have the burned taste buds to prove my haste for that first taste, because I forgot.)

A documented procedure provides a referral point in training and coaching sessions. These are opportunities to field questions specific to the steps and provide direction and clarity.  Again, this is a chance to help someone think through how the procedure is done and why.

A lack of consistency, especially in customer interactions, is enough for a business to fail.  Word of mouth or internet/social media reviews can affect businesses positively or negatively.  This is not to say that a business cannot mess up, but consistently performing in a manner that your customers or your would-be customers feel is poor is damaging. 

Lastly, it’s worth noting that sometimes, to achieve consistency, collaboration with your staff is necessary. Remember, those who perform the actions regularly may also see what can be changed to improve the procedure, thus creating efficiency.

I encourage you to take the time to document your standard operating procedures.  This increases the chances of error reduction, clarity of understanding, and maintaining or even increasing your customer base.

Please drop a comment. Do you REGULARLY shop or eat somewhere?  If so, why? What are they consistently getting right in your eyes?