Details are important even if you’re into the “bigger picture” and don’t care about the particulars. Although the technicalities may be boring, attention to detail is necessary at work. In event planning, for example, the specifics must be accurate for a smooth and successful event.
I was coordinating transportation with a charter bus company for an upcoming customer event. All the documents they sent me had an incorrect pickup address. One would think that’s an important detail.
I asked the account manager to correct it. He sent me an updated document, but it was still wrong, so I asked him to fix it again. My second request was met with, “You’re a stickler for details. It’s just a typo. It’s not like we wouldn’t have found it.”
Why did asking to fix it again bother him, and why did his response piss me off? Maybe I’m overreacting, but his reply came across as unprofessional, dismissive, and rude.
If I am a stickler for details it’s because details are important. Accurate details are imperative, especially in a contract or agreement. Regarding the details of the customer event I was working on, their driver needs the correct address to pick up our guests. Between a wrong street number, a misspelled street name, and a wrong street altogether, the address was incorrect, and was different on each of their documents (cover letter, acceptance letter, and invoice). Even if you can ‘figure it out,’ wouldn’t it save time and possibly frustration if it were accurate from the start?
The account manager updated the address a second time, and it was still wrong, so I put the correct location directly on the acceptance letter as he suggested. I later wondered if my request somehow triggered him, and made him a little defensive. Even if that were true, it doesn’t excuse his rudeness.
