Here’s a quick common sense tip for people who have their business’ name and/or phone number printed on their vehicles — don’t drive like a jerk!
My area is not known for friendly drivers, but it surprises me how many people who are driving company vehicles drive foolishly — cutting people off, tailgating, using obscene gestures, etc…. I see this at least once week.
Just keep in mind that when you print your business’s name on your vehicle and drive like a jerk, it does two things:
- It provides a negative impression of your business to those driving around you.
- It gives the people you enrage an easy way to contact you (or your employer).
I used to work for a printing company 15 years ago and we had an incident where one of our drivers was tailgating someone on the highway. The woman called the phone number on the truck (it was a big 20 foot truck) and asked to speak to the company president. The president came down and gave the shipping manager an earful (I was in the shipping department at the time) and the driver got reprimanded.
Now imagine you own a landscaping business and you’re driving around in your truck with your name and number on it. Resist the temptation to drive on the other side of the road to pass the slow person in front of you. Also, resist the temptation to catch up to the jerk in the BWM that cut you off without signaling to give him the middle finger.
This holds true if you’re somewhat of a public figure (news anchor, politician or community leader) or someone recognizable in the community. Just let it go and move on with your life. If the person causes an accident, does a hit and run or appears to be driving under the influence, then call the police and have them deal with it. It’s not worth the anger, stress or your business’ reputation to get somewhere a few seconds quicker or to get revenge on someone who drives like a jerk.
James Feudo owns the Boston Web Design Agency JVF Solutions and loves blogging about personal development and communication in his spare time.