PhMJ

I’m a BSI certified ISO 9001 standards auditor. Nothing makes me cringe more than a company representative (official or not) coming up with an excuse not to do something that improves the customer experience and service delivery. A company rep should never use a sentence like “You don’t need new tools.” Ever. There simply isn’t any justification, logical or practical, for that statement.

I hate deleting anyone’s log. Probably more than anything else in geocaching (well, except the hypocrisy of calling something “guidelines” but enforcing them as rules, but that’s another bone to pick for another time). But once in a blue moon, I’ve had to delete someone’s log because it’s pretty obvious they didn’t visit the location of an Earthcache or sign the log if it was a physical cache. And as a certified ISO 9001 standards auditor, it irks me to no end that there is no explanation space provided for a CO to justify their decision to delete a log. Having a required space to include a short explanation why a CO decided to delete a log helps both the CO explain their actions and facilitates a possible audit in case the user whose log was deleted decided to appeal. It would shorten the appeals process immensely, since anyone tasked with attending an appeal request can see the CO’s line of thinking stated; which in turn helps in the decision making process of the person processing the appeal. It also creates a paper trail for all log deletions, though I doubt there has ever been an independent audit of Groundspeak’s appeal processes given my checkered experience with appeals. It also lifts a burden from the CO if they can properly justify their actions. It’s a win-win for everyone, and all it costs is the time to come up with a few lines of code. I can’t believe this hasn’t been suggested in the past. But if it hasn’t, then that audit of processes is a lot more overdue that I think.

It is consecutive day 1897 for me, or just over 5 years and 2 months. Here's my tip: pace yourself. No matter how easy a cache looks or how close it is, just get one per day. Start as far away as you can, work your way to your home, save the closest caches for a rainy day. You will be tempted to get more than one or get those ones close to home. Don't. That's why most streaks don't last.