Automatic egg peeling and why you should use an outside vendor.
In downtown, historic Fredericksburg VA there is an old style soda fountain. You can sit up at the counter and have a phosphate (whatever that is;-) or malt. They also serve a light lunch menu. One of the most popular items on their menu is the egg salad sandwich. Sitting at the counter a few weeks ago with my family, we chatted with the ladies behind the counter about the amazing talent they have by learning to peel all those eggs. On an average day, they peel between 4 – 5 dozen eggs for the fresh egg salad.
For those of you that are business travelers, or even observant at the deli counter in Publix or Giant, you are now thinking, “why would they take all that time to peel the eggs?” You can purchase expertly boiled and peeled eggs bulk from many wholesale food suppliers. You find them cello packed at the deli – or in a big silver bowl at the complementary hotel breakfast.
There are two ways to take this story:
1 – What is the technology that allows for the mass peeling of all those eggs? Readily available hard-boiled eggs are a recent luxury. Was there a new invention? Is it an adaptation of an old technology? If this is your interest – go here… http://www.sanovogroup.com/products/egg-processing/hard-boiled-egg/
2 – Why in the world would the soda fountain not use the pre-peeled eggs in their egg salad? While the eggs do cost more than regular uncooked and unpeeled eggs – the labor savings more than make up for the difference.
I pulled on the second string and asked my new friends behind the counter. Their explanation was one that I hear quite often in some of the law firms that I work with. The storefront opens early. They have plenty of time prior to the lunch rush and plenty of help for all the preparations, so the labor is really “free”. In other words, if they were not peeling the eggs they would just be standing around.
I get it. I understand fixed labor and variable labor and internal and external costs. I understand that the life-blood of a law firm is the billable hour. The reality is, better clients understand technology in review. Their in house counsel know what is possible and what it costs. Knowing all that, I firmly believe that if you continue to ignore the fact that using an outside vendor to better understand your electronic data is like peeling a hard boiled egg with both hands tied behind your back.
If you are unsure how Lit & More or another quality litigation support vendor can assist you in your processing and review of electronic data, have a conversation with us. I promise you the end result will be a more complete review of your data for your client and less over all expense for your firm.
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