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I fell in love with the idea when she mentioned it and couldn't stop thinking about it for days. So we followed through with it today after we finished with our Christmas shopping in the Woodlands Mall area.
We decided that we would pre-write our notes, then walk through the parking lot looking for exceptional parking jobs to reward with the notes. Twenty notes seemed a worthwhile number, but we couldn't come up with more than five semi-unique things to write, so we copied each four times. Here were the notes we left (links to images):
Note 1: Judging from your perfect parking job, I would imagine you are an excellent driver, too! Thank you for keeping our streets safe and being a considerate parker during this stressful season. Merry Christmas!
Note 2: Thank you for your excellent parking job! It's people like you that make the holiday shopping season a little less stressful. Merry Christmas!
Note 3: I saw what a great job you did parking, so I wanted to leave you a note to say "Thank you"! So, thank you for being so considerate and helping make this holiday shopping season a little less stressful. Merry Christmas!
Note 4: I can imagine it is terribly difficult to park such a large vehicle between the lines, so I wanted to express my thanks that you were considerate enough to take the time and do so! It's people like you that make this holiday shopping season a little less stressful. Merry Christmas!
Note 5: Thank you for being considerate of other holiday shoppers with your excellent parking job! Keep up the good work, and maybe together we can make the world a better place! Merry Christmas!
One of the problems with writing the notes was making sure they didn't sound sarcastic. It was pretty hard! (And I'm guessing we weren't entirely successful!) Now I understand why some people are paid full time to think about that kind of stuff.
| Once we had copied the notes down, we were ready to go make some positive mischief! We had a strange feeling of sneakiness and kindness. |  |
| The fourth note was designed specifically for large vehicles, mainly the huge trucks that are everywhere. It was the hardest note to get rid of. |  |
| Actually, it was a lot harder to find 20 exemplary parking jobs than either of us expected. We walked most of the parking lot before we were out of notes. |  |
| We were very sneaky about our operation, always checking to make sure no one was in sight. |  |
| We felt good about our anti-prank, but unfortunately it's kind of hard to measure how effective it was. How did people react? We didn't stick around to find out. |  |
Here are some more action shots: Jenna: 1, 2 Jason: 1, 2, 3
So that's it. Hopefully people were amused or reaffirmed and not put off by our silliness, BUT I GUESS WE'LL NEVER KNOW. Which is kind of cool.
December 21 2004, 12:39:37 UTC 7 years ago
That guy in LA is just justifying being a jerk though, and some of the people in the comments are even worse. "I'm just naturally a bad parker, and life is too short to worry about such things!" Ho ho; I hope he's "naturally a good driver", elsewise we're all in trouble.
December 21 2004, 12:40:44 UTC 7 years ago
December 21 2004, 15:58:09 UTC 7 years ago
"winter" in houston
obviously, you've never been to houston, texas! i can remember numerous christmas mornings running around in t-shirts and shorts. this year has actually been pleasantly "cool." :o)7 years ago
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December 21 2004, 13:55:44 UTC 7 years ago
December 21 2004, 16:20:23 UTC 7 years ago
7 years ago
Anonymous
December 23 2004, 12:24:32 UTC 7 years ago
needed followup!
Good job on the prank, but you really should have stuck around to see people's reactions.If there was a note such as that on my car, I'd have crumpled it up and thrown it on the ground, then check my car to see if anyone keyed it or slashed my tires. I'm not saying Milwaukee's rough or anything, but we tend to cherish our posessions and when someone screws with our stuff, we tend to get a bit ticked off. Even if it's a friendly note.
There's still a shopping day or two before Christmas, so maybe you should go out there and get reaction. People can be very nice or very cruel around this time. I tend to see cruel more than nice. Case in point: A few years back I had to go to Best Buy on 12/23 for whatever it was I thought I needed. Parking was of course a bear, and being Best Buy, worse than it should be due to poorly designed lots. Anyway, I'm inching along and I see someone trying to back out of a spot so I stop. The person in front of me sees this and tries to back into me to get the spot. Not realizing there's a dozen cars behind me that can't move, the person in front of me gets ticked off, and squeals the tires trying to find another spot. The other car backs up ok, and I pull in. Here's what I still don't get... The driver of the car in front of me got out of her car, ran up to me, stuck her finger in my face and screamed at me, "Merry Christmas, a**hole! Nice f***ing Christmas f***ing spirit a**hole! F***ing jerk!"
Huh?
So in followup, go back and get reaction, and happy holidays!
-whiskey mike, milwaukee WI
December 24 2004, 01:49:00 UTC 7 years ago
Best Buy Carnage
My friends and I, like the idiots we are, decided to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving this year. When we got to Best Buy, the parking lot was crammed, as would be expected. A spot opens up, and my driving friend zips into it, not realizing that we just "stole" it from a lady in a minivan. Since my friend's car is a bit of a boat, she was manuevering for quite a while, trying to get it parked so that we could all get out. Eventually, the car infront of of us leaves. We pull through to see the SAME WOMEN in her minivan looking like she was going to kill us.We later discovered that when Best Buy had opened that morning, someone went down and needed stiches and a woman went into labor.
Anonymous
7 years ago
7 years ago
December 23 2004, 14:25:58 UTC 7 years ago
wow.
Kudos. That's fantastic.-mike d, New Haven CT
December 23 2004, 19:10:59 UTC 7 years ago
December 23 2004, 22:30:27 UTC 7 years ago
which mall was this?
I'm jsut curious- I'm another houston-ite.Sugarland? I know it isn't the galleria..
I want to do this.. I'll be biking to the walmart market now... not with parking letters, of course!! ;-)
December 26 2004, 06:03:45 UTC 7 years ago
Re: which mall was this?
*strolled in from Cockeyed.com*I can already tell you that they're definitely at The Woodlands Mall.. Recognized the Marriot in the background. *is a fellow TW-er*
Great prank, anyways. Knowing some of the people around here, I'm sure there were some very interesting responses..
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Anonymous
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December 23 2004, 23:04:40 UTC 7 years ago
December 23 2004, 23:31:37 UTC 7 years ago
Anonymous
December 24 2004, 23:11:38 UTC 7 years ago
combating sarcasm
Pick up a very cheap box of candy canes, attach one to the notes with tape. The symbolic gesture of providing a sugar treat goes a long way to drive home sincerity of praise. It doesn't have to be eaten to have an effect. Think about it; it reinforces "good behavior" with the same mechanisms of positive reenforcement that animal trainers use, and it isn't coal in the stocking. Very few will fail to recognize it at some unconscious level. Yes, I learned this from my evil days in the Dale Carnegie program.cheers,
nepolon
December 27 2004, 02:37:55 UTC 7 years ago
Re: combating sarcasm
FABULOUS!December 24 2004, 23:13:09 UTC 7 years ago
What a rad prank! I would get the warm and fuzzies if I saw that on the car. First I'd be paranoid and examine my car to see that I had parked correctly and that note-leaver wasn't being sarcastic, but then I'd get the warm and fuzzies. Awesome.
ps, isn't it nice living in a place where you can just wear jeans and t-shirts on Christmas?
December 25 2004, 04:17:56 UTC 7 years ago
7 years ago
Anonymous
December 26 2004, 06:08:28 UTC 7 years ago
nice
if you were worried about sounding sarcastic, why didn't you just add a smiley at the end?Anonymous
December 27 2004, 01:12:26 UTC 7 years ago
Re: nice
A smiley would've done it!Brilliant anti-prank. It's an inspiration indeed.
[Also accessed from cockeyed.com]
Anonymous
7 years ago
7 years ago
December 26 2004, 20:12:27 UTC 7 years ago
with a smirk of satisfaction...
After checking out cockeyed.com today, I have one thing to say: I told you so!(and I hope scuba-diving was awesome)
December 27 2004, 02:46:31 UTC 7 years ago
Re: with a smirk of satisfaction...
You SOOOOOOO told me so. Thanks :)And scuba was awesome. Expect photos and a LOOONNNNGGGG "Here's what I did this week" entry.
Also, Merry Christmas to you!
December 28 2004, 02:29:13 UTC 7 years ago
December 28 2004, 06:30:04 UTC 7 years ago
I was too busy trying to beat the system to think about other people. This puts me in awe of your maturity and makes me jealous.
December 28 2004, 02:55:22 UTC 7 years ago
And the note was probably written by the daughter of my boss, which adds another dimension.
Anyway.
I wish people did this more often. I dislike the idea of going out of one's way to be nasty. Why is it more valid (to be mean.) than being kind?
December 28 2004, 06:12:36 UTC 7 years ago
I have written a few notes in my life to people who parked poorly, but they were playful: both of them threatened swirlies and called the person a poopface. I mean, you would get the idea but still find humor in it right?
But I like writing nice notes a lot more.
December 28 2004, 08:35:04 UTC 7 years ago
I remember one time I got a note on my windshield. I am a fairly recentish driver (almost a year with a license), and I didn't notice it was there until I was on the freeway (yes... I may be blind). I was really scared that I would lose it and that it would say something important like... "Oops! I hit your car! Check the passenger door! Sorry!"
Turned out it was from my biology professor, saying that I sucked at parking and needed to stop parking in the faculty lot. With a smiley face.
Boy was I relieved!
Anonymous
December 29 2004, 17:49:18 UTC 7 years ago
Some parking lot drivers are just plain ignorant
Went to mall on Monday night to take in a flick. It has snowed that morning, so as expected, the parking was little worse then normal as ppl could not see the lines at all and the rows were all cockeyed.I'm driving up and down the rows (in the correct directions mind you, why ppl can't understand that they are designed for one way traffic is beyond me) when I get near the end of one particular twisty narrow row (about 50 cars in a row..I'm like 6 from end now) when this woman coming the wrong way blocks my way. I sit thinking that since she's closer to the end and it's wider, AND she's going the wrong way, she'll back up. Nope. She sits there...even creeps forward a bit. I decided that I was gonna be just as stubborn. So I put it park, put my seat back a bit, tilted my hat down and sat. Went on for about 3 mins...then she again decides to try and creep forward...not that there was any room whatsoever...then she finishes her cigarette and starts to back up. She only had to back up maybe 10-15 feet and I was able to easily get around her...but she thought I was going ot back up 100yard for her? HHAHAHAHAHA. I pulled along side her, gave her a big smile and waved...;)
December 31 2004, 00:42:17 UTC 7 years ago
Re: Some parking lot drivers are just plain ignorant
from cockeyed.comgreat story. my friends and i always talk about pulling an anti-prank like that, but lack the guts. good to see someone keeping the faith!
January 1 2005, 04:00:34 UTC 7 years ago
January 2 2005, 01:26:10 UTC 7 years ago
January 11 2005, 02:01:18 UTC 7 years ago
Did you "pay it forward"?
January 10 2005, 06:05:01 UTC 7 years ago
i was in the woodlands two weeks ago(i was on vacation from az, and we were staying at the marriot...no wonder that parking lot looked familiar), and all we could think to do was see a movie.....
great job!
January 11 2005, 02:03:37 UTC 7 years ago
But seriously, vacation in The Woodlands?
7 years ago
Anonymous
January 13 2005, 18:27:28 UTC 7 years ago
nice
Nice job. I think you got good suggestions on how to minimize the chance of making people worry they are being targetted (smiley face, candy canes, etc.)It's a shame the LA guy is getting publicity from you; his objective was to get people pissed off, and collect the evidence. Uncool, and I don't even see why that's funny.