I’VE HAD IT! I am so fed up with people who think they are too important to put their dishes in the dishwasher.  Who ARE you people? What makes you exempt from the basic manners of community living? All I’m asking is that you open the dishwasher door and stick your lousy mug in. No unloading. No adding soap or refilling rinse agent. Just open door, pull out rack, insert mug.

But NOOOOooo! You are too important, too in-demand, too busy to put your mug in the dishwasher.  Surely there is some peon, some minion of the corporate world with nothing better to do who should be placing your mug in the dishwasher. That’s what you assume when you leave your mug in the sink.

Sure, the mug isn’t that big a deal, but the problem is your attitude. ‘Cause if you’re too important to put your mug in the dishwasher, you’re probably too important to photocopy too.  If you’re too important to photocopy, you’re probably dependent on someone to photocopy for you.  If you’re SO busy, you probably only get your work done right at the last minute.  If you get your work done at the last minute, you probably need someone to stay late to photocopy it. And if you make someone stay late to photocopy, you have basically told that person that you’re more important than her spouse, her kids, her softball team…or whomever she would MUCH prefer to be with than you—the person hasn’t bothered to learn how to photocopy at any point during the 54 years since the invention of the photocopier!!!

YOU—yes you, mug-in-sink, too-good-to-photocopy person.  You are sucking the life out of us. Work is hard these days.  It’s complicated, it’s demanding, it’s changing so fast we’ve got whiplash.  We are all treading madly to keep our heads above water.  And we do, most of the time.  But that one day when I’m running between meetings, fighting to make a deadline, struggling with heated arguments on really important stuff…on THAT day, when I have to walk into the kitchenette and see your grubby coffee-stained “Don’t Worry Be Happy” mug sitting in the sink—you’re going to put me over the edge!

Grow up. Be a civilized member of the team. Learn how to make a photocopy so one night someone won’t have to stay late. Do some of the crappy work that is just a part of life. Show us you can be a team player. And please, PLEASE put your mug in the dishwasher.

[Perhaps I’m too harsh. If your bad habit is the result of skill gaps rather than a crappy attitude, please see the following YouTube videos: How To Load a Dishwasher. Fast forward to 1:28 for the 2 second tutorial on how to place a mug in a dishwasher. You can also check out How To Make a Copy.]

Further Reading

Everybody Hurts

Tough One: When the Slacker on the Team is Friends with the Boss

How to Deal with the Teammate that Drives you Nuts