They picked a beautiful Saturday for a wedding. At least, that’s what I thought when I saw a group of well-dressed people filing into a church by my home on a recent morning. I could see more attendees arriving by car, searching for a spot in the suddenly full church lot, or scrambling for a non-existent parking space on the street.
What caught my attention as I walked by was a note left by the church on several parked cars on the street. Posted on at least a dozen windshields, it read, “We are having an event on Saturday. Please move your car from the street by 10 a.m. so we don’t have to have it towed.”
At first, I looked at the note as a thoughtful gesture. If there were posted street signs notifying people their cars would be towed on Saturday, this was a helpful reminder…but no, this wasn’t the case. There were no signs. The church was having the event and they expected their neighbors to move their cars. They had no authority to tow anything!
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to have extra parking for your guests. However, the way they went about their request could have been warmer and more effective – since, judging from the number of cars on the street with the note still attached, their method didn’t get the results they wanted.
I would have asked, not semi-demanded, the neighbors move their cars. I would never had made an unenforceable threat and would have given the neighbors permission to not move their cars if they didn’t want to. I would have thanked them for even thinking about moving their cars and I would have invited them to visit the church…because, if you’re looking to increase your flock, why not?
I would have written, “Dear Neighbors, we’re having an event at 10 a.m. on Saturday and we would really appreciate it if you would move your car so we could have space for our guests to park. If this is not possible, we certainly understand. We hope you’ll come visit us some day soon. Thank you for your consideration!”
It harkens back to the age-old adage, “You can catch more bees with honey than with vinegar.” To this, I would add: “…if you use the right type of honey.” Or, at least, “Whatever you do, don’t threaten to have the bees towed."
Lanny Zechar, speaker and consultant to some of the most happily successful people on the planet. Cold calling, sales and customer happiness consulting.
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