October 28, 2000

The Peter Principle in Action: First in a Series

I'm at the drive-through and they ask me for my order and I say, "A chicken sandwich and a small chocolate shake, please," and they say that the shake machine is broken and I say, "OK, then I'll have a chicken sandwich and a medium Dr. Pepper instead."

Now, fast-rising employee, would you interpret the "instead" to mean I'm replacing the entire order, or just the shake?  Do I want "a chicken sandwich and a Dr. Pepper" or "a chicken sandwich and a chicken sandwich and a Dr. Pepper?"

If you answered the former: Congratulations!  You've been promoted to management!

If you answered the latter: You're not familiar enough with conversational convention to have read this far, are you?

And if you noticed that I'll blindly pay whatever amount they ask me for without thinking about it: You're a smart-ass.

 



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