One of my favorite things to do in Austin, on any given day, is to eat lunch at Whole Foods Market and then walk over to Bookpeople and spend the rest of the day browsing magazines and books. Bookpeople has a sort of Austin charm, in that they have really embraced the whole “Keep Austin Weird” mantra. I’ll sometimes spend as much as six hours inside Bookpeople, scouring through their multi-story haven of books. So, it’s no wonder that I’ve been known to make several trips a day to their restroom facilities. Gross! Why am I telling you this?
For almost six months now, Bookpeople has had a sign over the urinals telling people, “Do not flush urinals more than once!” And every week for six months, they have had to replace the sign with a new one, because by the end of the week it is riddled with graffiti and various prepubescent one liners. For months, I took offense to this sign because it was telling me what to do, as if I had no say in the matter. I even considered writing on the sign. I would have gone for something along the lines of, “While urinating, Chuck Norris is easily capable of welding titanium.”
No one likes to be told to do something. I can remember growing up as a kid and doing the opposite of what I was told to do, simply because I wanted to have my own free will. Why is it that we think telling someone what to do is the best way to communicate what we’d like to see done? I’m guilty of this all too often, but have seen a much different side of people when I ask for their help, rather than tell them what they should do for me.
So, I went to the Bookpeople management and suggested that they merely put the word, “Please” in their next toilet message. Well, I’m happy to say that sign has been up for almost three weeks now and guess what? There’s not a marking on it and I would imagine that people are only flushing the toilet once. If nothing else, less people are flushing the toilet a hundred times, just to spite that damn sign!
The next time you want someone to do something for you, whether it be an employee, boss, parent, child, co-worker, friend, wife, girlfriend, etc. Why don’t you try asking them as a favor, rather than telling them as a command. I’d be willing to bet that the responses you receive will be to your liking and I’d love to hear your stories. Sure, it may seem like common sense, but this is something we all too often forget. Have someone difficult in your life? Kill them with kindness and then report back here.
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