Be careful what you’re remembered for…

Betts, was a copywriter I met at a large San Francisco furniture store.  I was hired to expand their advertising department.  She was utterly uncooperative in working with any new people, of which there were a lot after my arrival.  She thought she was very sophisticated, worldly and above the others.  She had no plans to work with the new program and so became what is often referred to as “dead wood”, someone who brought nothing positive to a changing situation.  I would eventually wind up firing her because she went on her own personal strike and stopped writing anything that could be used without another writer having to “fix it up”.  

Despite all the machinations she went through just to be contrary I’ll never forget the thing I remember most about her.  We were in the ladies room at the office and she was wearing a black pencil skirt with a Channel style jacket in crayon yellow with matching heels.  Out of the blue she said to me “The janitorial service really needs to be changed, they aren’t very good”.  I looked at her and before I could say anything, she sidled up to me and said, “You know they don’t clean under the toilet seats, I always check”.  To this day, 25 years later, the image of Betts lifting the toilet seat and peering under, that’s what comes to mind when I think of Betts.  Luckily it’s not real often.  So be careful what you’re remembered for.  Oh, and I am perfect by the way.