So a while back, I was on the freeway in the fast lane on my way home from work. In my rear view mirror, I saw massive red truck coming up on me fast. It was being driven by a man who was about 35 and who was not happy with me only going 80 in a 65 MPH zone. He whipped his truck into the carpool lane and tried to speed past me, but instead was met with the various cars that were already occupying that lane. Seeing that he was not going to make it in front of me, he slammed on his breaks and through his arms in the air like it was the fault of the driver in front of him.
At this point he could have gotten back in my lane and gone around me the other direction, but this was not his plan. Instead he wanted ME to slow down in order to let him in. He was stepping on and off of his gas peddle, aggressively trying to force his way in front of me. This must have angered or spooked the driver in front of him since the driver quickly slowed down. Well, you can imagine how mad and reckless this made the man in the red truck. So he did the last thing that he thought he could to help him achieve his goals… He put his hand out of his sunroof and and flipped me off.
Now, this isn’t strange to me. I come from Utah, a state full of the nicest people in the world and the worst drivers in the country. What was strange though, was what I saw on his back window and he tore off down the road; it said “Nate’s full service landscaping: There for you when you need us” … Now, let me ask you, if you owned a business and paid for a sticker to be on your vehicle, wouldn’t you then consider that vehicle to be a potential advertisement? And if so, wouldn’t you Not want that advertisement to offend and/or jeopardize the lives of your potential clientele?
Well, a few months ago, a class mate and I started to talk about a business she had and I told her that I once owned a lawn care business. She was actually excited to hear this and told me that her mother needed someone to mow her lawn and asked me if I knew anyone who could do it this summer. My mind quickly jumped to my old freeway companion Nate so I said “Yes, does she only need her lawn mowed? Or does she need someone to flip her off on the freeway as well?” She looked at me confused, so I held my ground and followed up by saying “Sometimes they do both… I hear.” She said “I don’t think she would like being flipped off at all.” “Ohhhhhhh!” I said, “Then the guy that I am thinking of would not work out.”
Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that your actions, no matter how small, are simply forgotten about. And if you are going to own a business, be professional in all things dealing with your business… Or at least don’t act like an asshole in your company truck.
As Random As Random Gets 