Never having cable in my house was not a problem. It did
become a problem when the three channels I usually watched
began to come in fuzzy. It was hard to watch the news without
experiencing the television flickering, and sometimes going
blank. The reception just was not good, so I decided to order
cable.

I was not home when the cable man came. One of my family
members was there. The cable technician did a very sloppy job.
When I came home expecting three rooms to be cable ready, there
was only one. A long black cable extended from the living room
across the fireplace, around the corner and into one bedroom.

It
went over the desk, around the bookcase, and finally into the
small television in that room. What a sight!

It was not at all what I had envisioned, so calling the cable company,
I explained that I was completely unsatisfied with the installation.
Fortunately, the company had a well mannered representative. The
young man to whom I spoke was very conciliatory and said he would
schedule another installation time to fix the problem.

This time I remained home to make sure everything would be the
exact way I had wished. The technician who came this time was not
the same man. Rather, he asked me what I wanted, and got down to
work immediately. The whole task took approximately four hours.
Not only did he go outside, trace the lines, provide new outdoor
cables, but he drilled, pounded, and made the three outlets I desired.
He was of few words, but his work spoke for him. It was cold that
day, and I saw him shake it off and put his hands into his sleeves.
Not knowing how long it would be, I just sat there watching his
truck and waiting.

When he was finished, the job was done exactly as I had envisioned.
I told him I was totally unsatisfied with the other technician’s work.
He concurred that it was done in a very unprofessional manner. He
told me that it didn’t matter how many house calls he had that day,
he would do the job right. “I will take my time and do it right.” he
said. He told me there was pressure on him to get so many installations
done in a day, but he said doing a job right was more important to him.

The young man made a very deep impression on me. He was what I
call a perfectionist. There are very few in our society today. Work
ethics and doing a job right is just as important today as it was yesterday.
It is my opinion, that a job well done does not to be redone.

That day I was happy to see a young man who was a professional in
his field. The Bible says,

“Whatsoever a man finds to do, do it with all
his might.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

If everyone in our society would execute
their job, whatever it may be, in a professional manner, taking the time to
do it thoroughly and well, what a difference it would make.

I stood watching a student beautician once. She, too, was a perfectionist.
Taking her time, she transformed the head of her patron into a thing of
beauty. Yes, it took time, and yes, others were waiting, but the end product
was worth the effort. The difference, I concluded, between a professional
and a non-professional is the time, energy, care, and most of all the love of
knowing one has performed a job well done.