Some clocks have a timing adjustment (a fast-slow control). When the owner compared their wall clock's time to the reference time, they noticed that their clock was too fast. Consequently, the owner could turn the timing adjust a small amount to make the clock run a little slower (frequency). If things work out right, their clock will be more accurate than before. Over a series of weekly adjustments, the wall clock's notion of a second would agree with the reference time (locked both in frequency and phase within the wall clock's stability).