I broke a rule today and I’m OK with it.
I’m typically a fan of following the rules. I believe there
are good rules and bad rules, but I’m generally a fan of the order they keep.
Have you ever seen a cowboy on the verge of tears?
I never had until today when a customer was having photos
printed for what I assumed to be some sort of memorial for his beloved horse
Champ, who he just buried earlier in the day. Some of these photos were from a
cowboy calendar and thus were copywritten. It’s the policy of the business not
to copy anything that’s copywritten and it’s not just a good rule, but a great
one. As a writer, I wouldn’t want someone taking my work without paying. As a
music lover, I despise the idea of someone stealing music. But the key to this is
making a profit or keeping someone else from doing so. This grieving man and
his wife weren’t going to profit from these copies and they’d already purchased
the calendar containing the images.
My supervisor had previously told the couple that we couldn’t
copy the copywritten images and then she went on her break. While she was gone,
the couple asked me if they could use the self-serve copier option to make
copies of the calendar photos. I said, “Sure, but next time don’t tell me you’re
doing it.” We’ve never kept tabs on what people are or aren’t printing on these
machines, after all. The only problem was the color copier wasn’t working
today, so feeling bad for the couple I offered to do it myself. This is when
the supervisor walked back in. Even though the customers left our business
completely happy and we made a slight profit she wasn’t happy. But, sometimes
the “right” way to do something can feel like the absolutely wrong way to do
it. Sometimes it’s better to be a good person than it is to follow the rules.
